Colors of Rain

Chapter 4: Away

Friday has finally dawned upon the ducklings, as Dr. Lane would put it. She is often perceived as the mother of the group and Dr. Simpson as the older sister, which was ironic for the most part. It was a rather cold and gloomy day for a trip but nevertheless, the group still couldn't contain their excitement. They were all waiting at the station for the other professors to arrive. Eliza, being one of them was running a little bit behind as she had to wait for her brother to come home. Yes, she has a sibling, an older brother, but most of the time she just simply forgets as he travels a lot. Waiting impatiently by the door, Eliza heard a knock and when she opened it there stood a tall man with the same skin color as Eliza. He had a bright smile plastered on his face with a glint in his eye.

"Eli!" The man squealed opening his arms wide coming towards Eliza for a hug but she dodged it.

"Eliot." she stepped away and went for the door. "Good to see you but I have to go. I'm late. Bye." She closed the door not giving Eliot a chance to speak. The guy only shrugged and when he spun around, he exclaimed "Pops! Long time no see. How are ya?" earning him a death stare from his father. "Oh come on I'll be here for two weeks so you don't really have that much of a choice."

"I do actually, but since I've not seen you for so long. I'm gonna make those two weeks of yours a living hell." the old man replied with a sinister grin. "Now buy me a beer."

"Nice try, but Eliza said you're not allowed to drink."

"Well, I see no Eliza here."

"Still. You can't make me." Eliot pouted.

"Oh really? Well, I guess Desiree would be happy to see you-"

"No! Fine I'll buy you a beer." he gritted his teeth and sighed finally giving in. "But just this once."

"Well, you're here for two weeks so who knows what may happen." Roger shrugged and just smiled before pulling his son for a hug.

...

Upon arriving at the station, Eliza saw CC waving her over to their spot. She went over to see that she was last to arrive causing her to apologize repeatedly when Dr. Lane put a stop to it by saying it was okay. Luckily their departure time got delayed as there was some sort of engine check. They all went aboard by 8 and found their cabins as it was going to be a long ride to Washington. They were all paired up with their roommates all except Dr. Craig who insisted she gets a one-person room.

CC and Eliza eventually found their room and as soon as they did CC plumped herself flat on the bed drifting off to sleep. Eliza, on the other hand, decided to have breakfast in the dining cart. Before going inside she peeked through the glass to see how many people were eating and luckily for her there weren't that many. Opening the door she went inside and found a spot next to the window. A waiter came in and took her order which was pancakes, scrambled eggs, and orange juice. In a few minutes, the waiter came back with her order to which she said thank you. As soon as the waiter left she started to eat whilst enjoying the view outside. She must have been staring so long that she had not noticed the figure who was now sitting in front of her. She looked at the person who was wearing a white button-up shirt whose sleeves were rolled up to her elbows.

"Good morning madam, may I take your order?" the waiter came back.

"I'll take what she's having but please do add bacon." the woman said and the waiter nodded before leaving.

"You don't mind me sitting here?" she asked now looking at Eliza.

"Certainly not, Dr. Craig," Eliza replied giving Evelyn a small yet warm smile.