Eliot Strange and the Prince of the Apocalypse

37) Hit the Showers

 When we arrive back at our old school, Prince Torrin is not with the others.

Cindy is sitting on the ground with her legs splayed out like a V and working on a hand-painted sign on a bed sheet that says - Save the Prince. There is more neon green paint on her than on the sheet.

"Prince Torin is my friend," she says. "I love him."

Cindy is now just another girl that Torin has charmed.

"Where is he?" I ask.

"He went to take a bath," says Cindy. "Cleanness is right next to goodness."

I look at Smith and Hellman for an explanation of why they are not with their assignment.

"Tricked me," says Smith who imitates a British accent, " - for bloody sakes man, let me have some privacy. I can't take a poo without you." He laughs and continues, "We laughed. It was funny." His voice trails off, "He rhymed and all. Funny."

"And you didn't follow him?" I ask Smith.

"We thought. You know. You could see he liked the new girl. We thought maybe he wanted to be alone with her. Carli went to clean up first. He followed her."

I feel sick to my stomach. A spider traps her prey. And he followed her. I almost think he is going to get what he deserves.

"Don't blame them," says Steven to only me. "They don't know."

"We need to go get him. Make sure he is safe," I say to Steven though what I would really like to do is turn Prince Torin over myself for a truckload of canned food. The prince is a fool, and I am a fool for caring what happens to him at all.

Steven and I don't tell anyone else our suspicions. We figure we can handle Carli. Even if she is a part of One Nation, she is an amateur. A kindergarten kid could take her out. And besides, we only suspect; we don't know for sure. The prince and Carli could be having an innocent (ha) rendezvous. Right now my selfish self is hoping for betrayal and not a rendezvous.

We sneak into the locker room and hear the shower running in the same shower stall where we first saw the naked prince.

Steven whispers, "De ja vu all over again and again."

I put my finger to my lips and sneak a peek. There Torin is, naked and dripping wet again. He is all soaped up with his back to me, but I would recognize that butt anywhere.

Steven peeks around the corner too and shrugs his shoulders and turns his hands up like - what is going on?

Then we both duck back behind the door when we hear a female voice and giggling. The prince is not alone. I peek back around for a quick look and see a small hand pat the the butt I was just admiring. I hear Carli say, "Need some help with that soap?"

Prince Torin puts his hand over hers.

I quit looking then, but Steven sneaks a long look. There is more giggling and talking coming from the shower. Steven ducks back quickly.

"I don't think he is in danger," whispers Steven. He looks embarrassed. He motions for us to go.

By the time we get back to the gym, I am no longer embarrassed or upset or hurt or in denial. I am not even that mad. I am just resigned to my fate. I don't think Carli is the enemy or a part of One Nation. She wants the prince for something else entirely. She obviously likes Torin, and he likes her right back.

While I should be relieved that Torin is safe, I am too crushed to care. It is time for me to go. Leave all this misery behind. Go find my dad. I pray he is not involved with the end of the world because I need somewhere to go to escape. I need to leave. I just want to hide in a hole somewhere.