quiet existence | toni shalifoe

eight

Anya, Fatin, Martha and Shelby all lay on their backs, heads resting against one another while Toni sat in the space between Martha and Anya's legs.

"Blue crab sushi from Hinata, drizzled in ponzu sauce, with just the lightest touch, just a kiss of wasabi." Fatin spoke dreamily.

"I just want some Indian tacos, the way mom makes them... with black beans and velveeta." Martha confessed.

"Oh I would destroy some velveeta right now." Toni spoke enthusiastically. "Like, I would just have it straight from the packet."

Anya turns her head slightly in Martha's direction. "I miss your mom's cooking too."

"I'm thinking cheesecake factory, four-cheese pasta, fresh brown bread." Shelby enthused.

"Okay cheesecake factory is grotesque." Fatin reprimands, causing Anya to let out a quiet snort of amusement.

"Grotesque?" Shelby questioned.

"I'm just saying, cheesecake factory is a mall restaurant for mall people, no judgement." Fatin retorted.

Shelby instantly sat up, turning her whole body to face Fatin. "What is a mall person? And why do you say it all derogatory like?"

Martha and Anya began to sit up, Fatin soon following. They spot Dot playing around with the fire, causing the girls to furrow their brows in confusion.

"Dottie, what is that?" Anya questioned

"Wet wood gets us black smoke, gets us a signal fire, probably a good idea to keep it going during the day." Dot confessed, before continuing. "And guys, you know, I was pretty slack on this yesterday, and it cost us. We got to get real about shelter. If we all, you know, pitch in, grab the materia..." Dot stops when she spots Fatin raising her hand. "Yes, lady in the leopard?"

"That sounds really unappealing and I'm exhausted, and there's rescue coming, so for those reasons, I'm out." Fatin confesses.

"Just because you shot me down Shark Tank style, doesn't make me any less annoyed." Dot grumbled.

The group soon spot Rachel, Leah and Nora stumbling towards the Ocean. Anya turns to the person beside her, Shelby, and tapped her shoulder. "What are they doing?" She whispered.

Shelby starts to stand up, stepping towards the trio. "Hey, where ya'll going?"

"We're swimming out to the wreckage, see if we can find anything useful." Leah informs the group.

"Alright, just real quick, what do you guys think about building a shelter?" Shelby questioned.

"Not interested in laying down roots." Rachel replied, brushing off the blondes suggestion causing Anya to roll her eyes at the girls behavior.

"Au revoir!" Leah calls out with a wave.

———

Dot starts to tug a hat onto her head, throwing various items into a random rucksack.

"Dot?" Anya inquired.