Colors of Rain

Chapter 5: Polar opposites

As the group sat in the dining room for dinner, the entrance door swung open causing some of them to jump.

"Hello, my ducklings!" It was Dr. Lane who was rather slightly cheerful at the moment, not until the group realized why as CC suspects she had wine, more like a bottle of wine.

"Dr. Lane, wanna eat dinner with us? We bought take-outs." Devon asked holding up a bowl of soup.

"No thank you, darling. Already had one. Oh! I have a surprise for all of you." she said, saying the last sentence in a singsong. Everybody immediately stopped what they were doing, excited as to what this surprise might be.

"Look who I found!" Dr. Lane cheerfully exclaimed pulling Evelyn's arm for the group to see her. There was a moment of silence before the group greeted her and you can see a slight disappointment in their eyes. Not Eliza though. Ever since the breakfast at the train, she has grown intrigued with the woman whom she believed may have a cold demeanor but has a warm heart. Or was it just a spur of the moment to avoid the awkward atmosphere?

"Dr. Craig, would like to have dinner with us?" CC asked.

"No, thank you," Evelyn replied coldly.

"Oh stop it, Lyn, and be nice to my ducklings. By the way, you guys wouldn't mind if she stayed with us right?" Dr. Lane asked trying her best not to close her eyes.

"Nope, but would she mind if we asked what happened to the hotel she was supposed to stay in?" CC asked earning her a mild elbow from Eliza.

"What? I'm just curious."

"There was a misunderstanding over the phone and they accidentally gave my room to someone else. All the other hotels within the area are fully booked, as well, because of the convention." Evelyn said.

"And I found her and took her in! Poor thing." Dr. Lane said rather loudly whilst clinging onto Evelyn's arm.

"I'm not a stray anima-"

"Shhh. Now, before-eat dinner-take me- room-tired." With that Dr. Lane passed out and with a sigh, Evelyn carried her to her room and the group resumed what they were doing.

...

Morning came and convention day finally dawned upon the delegates. Eliza decided to wake up a little early to cook for the group. Though excited she carefully tip-toed her way out of the room to not wake anyone. It was 5 am and it was still dark outside. She quietly walked to the kitchen and noticed that the lights were on. Slowly she peeked to see who it was as well as avoid scaring the person. Much to her surprise, it was Evelyn with her notes on the table. Noticing that someone was watching, Evelyn looked over her glasses which gave Eliza chills and a little bit of something more.

After staring for a few seconds, Eliza managed to say, "G-good morning, Dr. Craige"

"Good morning," Evelyn replied and went back to studying her notes.

"Is it okay if I use the kitchen? I'll try not to be so loud."

"I don't mind," she replied and went back to reading her notes.

Eliza could only shrug off the awkwardness as she made her way to the fridge to see what she could make of the available ingredients. Thankfully, there were enough choices to make several dishes. She took out the things she needed and cooked them away. She was so focused on cooking that she had not realized Evelyn was standing behind her.

"Can I help?"

Startled, Eliza turned around looking at Evelyn, trying to process the scene before her.