Cresswell: The Lunar Chronicles

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five

Cress, kneeling at the coffee table and hunched over one of her new tablets, tapped away at the security codes scrolling up on her screen. Scarlet, Winter, and Jacin were all on a walk and Iko was checking out the office room and getting some suggestions together.

"Don't knock yourself out," Kai said as he came in from the balcony, nodding to the tablet. "I can't still find someone else—"

"No, please don't! I took the summer off from school and was already beginning to regret it. This is fun."

Kai smirked.

"Really. It's been a while since I've gotten to put my computer skills to use. And I have all new devices to play with," she added with a giddy grin.

"Alright, if your sure." Kai put his hands up in mock surrender. "Just don't wanna get in trouble for wearing out a pregnant girl."

Cress giggled.

"I actually came in to get the lighter fluid...? Any idea what it looks like? Thorne said it was in here somewhere," he added, crossing to the farthest cabinet and opening the doors.

Cress shifted her lips to the side. "I think it's a white bottle. And it's got kind of a squirty top that's red."

"Found it. Thanks."

Cress nodded, suppressing a smirk. It still struck her as amusing to see Kai dressed so casually and looking for lighter fluid to help the rest of the guys barbecue.

"Okay there are literally so many options you could do in there, I can feel my processor beginning to overheat," Iko said with a sigh, collapsing onto the sofa and leaning her head back.

Cress grinned. "Don't do that."

Iko lifted her head and smirked. "Yeah, okay. So what's your color aesthetic?"

"Blues, mainly. And then like, whites and greys?"

"Good, that'll be great. Especially for a beach house. What kind of blue? Light? Dark?"

"Um, you know the blue we used for the wedding? Kinda of a grey-blue?"

"Oh, okay that's great! So more muted blues?"

"Yeah."

Iko nodded to Cress's tablet. "Can you pause for a sec or are you right in the middle of something?"

"Gimme two minutes."

Iko nodded, dramatically fanning her face with her hand as if she could sweat.

Cress finished what she was doing and then followed Iko into the office. Iko had a few layouts pulled up on her tablet, showing them to Cress and offering suggestions. Iko, as always, was super helpful and didn't once make Cress feel like her ideas were bad or anything. And it really helped having someone to bounce ideas off of.

"Ooh what are you guys doing?" Scarlet asked as she and Cinder walked in.

"Designing an office," Iko said. "Scarlet where did you get that really cute desk that's upstairs in your room?"

Scarlet blinked. "I'm pretty sure that desk is older than I am."

"Oh." Iko snapped her fingers.

"We're in LA, Iko, I bet there's tons of antique shops around here," Cinder added, sinking into the plush chair in the corner. "Man this is comfortable."

Iko started to say something, but Wolf appeared at the doors opening onto the deck.

"Hey, womenfolk, dinner's just about ready."

"Oh good, I haven't eaten in like two hours," Cress said with a laugh.

"Same." Iko shook her head.

"I'm gonna run upstairs and put on some sweats cause it's getting a little cold."

Iko nodded and Cress took the stairs two at a time, hurrying to her room and changing into some comfortable, but warm, sweats and sweatshirt. As she walked onto the deck with her friends gathered around the fire pit and Jacin and Carswell bickering about who was the better griller, her face lit up in a grin.

"Just hurry up and finish your half, okay?" Jacin waved his spatula toward Carswell's side of the grill.

"My half is going to be juicy and moist and that doesn't happen in seconds," Carswell retorted.

"It's been a half hour."

"Aren't you training to be a doctor? What do you know about making good food—you're supposed to be keeping your meat alive."

"First of all, captain, I just started my third year of residency so technically I'm already a doctor."

"That just further proves my point—and what's with the 'tude when you said 'captain'?"

Jacin innocently shrugged. "Just reminding you so far you're the lowest rank."

Carswell scoffed. "Of what?"

"Us."

"Um, pretty sure I'm not."

"I can actually save people. What can you do? Fly away?"

"Fly away and find a real doctor—one who's nice and—"

"I thought you said dinner was ready?" Scarlet groaned. "If I wanted to watch to idiots fighting I'd... well, I don't want to watch two idiots fighting so hurry up."

"I still think a captain is more important than a doctor," Carswell added.

"Well I've got you both beat as emperor." Kai raised his can of root beer.

Scarlet clanked hers against his.

"I've got you all beat," Cress added, feeling a surge of jitters. "Give me two hours and a good wi-fi connection and I'll change the records in the EC to make myself empress, give myself a PhD from Harvard, a pilot's license plus a ship registered in my name, and still have some time to raise a child."

Carswell blinked. Jacin and Wolf were silent. Scarlet glanced at Cinder, who shrugged.

"So, okay, hacker out ranks everyone?"

"I could eat you all and still be hungry, where does that put me in the line up?" Wolf asked, casually crunching into a chip.

"Criminally insane?"

"But alive."

Carswell grunted. "So alpha is top dog now? No pun intended."

"Looks like it." Scarlet shrugged. "Unless you wanna try and fight him back."

"I'm good," Carswell shook his head.

"Then who's next?"

"Well Scarlet, obviously."

"Oh yeah cause a farm girl really ranks high up there." Carswell rolled his eyes. He waved his spatula toward Cress. "I think the hacker would be next, assuming she survives the massacre and can apparently make herself queen of the world."

Wolf held his hand up and Cress gave him a high-five. "So can one of you lower ranks dish us up something to eat? Cause I'm hungry enough to eat one of you and Cress is growing another human."  

Cress tried not to giggle, feigning sincerity. "Yeah. And make it snappy."