quiet existence | toni shalifoe

eleven

A long couple of days had passed since Anya had confessed her feelings to what she assumed was a sleeping Toni. However the Shalifoe teen had heard almost every word that the blonde had spoken, and had chosen not to mention it yet.

Most of the group had deflated completely, help never came and the girls were losing all hope. Anya sat perched on a rock beside Leah, watching as Martha jumped around on her now healed ankle. The blonde smiles at her friends antics, while the girl sat beside her was buried deep within the pages of her book.

"Hey, Anya, Leah watch this." Martha called, before leaping around in the sand. "Doesn't even hurt."

"Woah." Leah smiles.

"I don't even feel it." Martha gleams.

"I'm glad your feeling better Marty." Anya spoke happily.

"You took your splint off?" Leah questioned, noticing the girls now bare ankle.

"Yeah, I feel like a brand-new woman." Martha breathed out. "I wonder if I'll actually say that and mean it one day."

"I kind of hope not." Leah retorted. "'A brand-new woman'? They only say that in old shampoo commercials."

Anya snorts at the girls comment, glancing at Martha who began to speak again.

"Well, you get what I mean." Martha shrugs, shuffling towards the two girls and perching herself beside Anya. "I want to be changed by something."

"Martha..." Anya whined. "You're perfect the way you are, you don't need to be changed."

"You don't think all this will do the trick?" Leah questioned.

"I'd rather be changed by something good." Martha smiled. "Like love."

Anya lets out a small smile, wrapping her arm around the girls shoulder and pulling her into a hug. The blonde then stood up. "I'm gonna go help move our things, see you guys later." She waves at the pair before skipping off towards Dot.

———

The group now all circled around a bag of Takis that lay in the sand. Their eyes glistening in excitement for the food.

"Oh Lord, it's like a miracle." Shelby gleamed.

"Those are so much better than hot Cheetos." Leah stated with a smile.

Anya turned to the girl, nodding her head in agreement. "I second that."

Dot and Toni both then reached towards the bag, going to grab it. "They're mine." Toni grumbled, while the Texan 'claimed' them.

The Shalifoe teen yanks the bag of Takis so that they were in her grasp, sending Dot a warning glare.

"All right, I'm not trying to start shit." Dot raised her hands in defense before continuing. "But I bought those at the airport, I put them in my carry-on."

"No way," Toni dismissed. "I bought them at a mini-mart in Richwood along with an orange fucking gatorade like I always do."

"That is her go-to order to be fair." Anya chirped up, jutting her thumb towards Toni who sent the blonde an appreciative nod.

"She bought them on our way to Fargo to catch our first plane." Martha defended.

"Bam!" Toni yells, pulling Martha into a hug. "Where's your witness?"

"Hey, hey, hey, how about... how about we just take a step back and get a good clear read of the situation." Shelby suggested.

"The situation is that they're mine and anybody who tries to take them is a colonizer." Toni stated.

Anya snorted at the girls statement, raising her fingers to her lips to conceal her amusement.

"Okay, just listen up for a sec." Shelby speaks up. "We're all real sick of eating macadamia nuts right? And here we have something that everyone wants with no surefire owner." She paused, watching how Toni and Dot exchanged glances. "So I say we look at these Takis as a grand prize and we play for them."

"Can't we just eat them." Leah complains, causing Anya to nod in agreement.

"I second that." The blonde confesses.

"Yeah seriously, she's gone full youth group counsellor on us." Fatin joked.

"Play what?" Rachel quizzed, ignoring the other girls statements.

"Three words. Shelter. Building. Contest." Shelby grins.

"No way!" Dot yells in excitement.

"NO." Toni dismissed the idea instantly.

Shelby ignored the Shalifoe teens complaints, continuing to explain her game. "We'll split into two teams, right, and whoever builds the best, most durable one wins."

"I'm out." Rachel declares.

"Why?" Nora questioned.

"How many times do I have to say it." Rachel seethed. "I am not trying to make myself at home here. I want to leave."

"We won't survive without shelter Rachel." Nora spoke. "And the universe has a wicked sense of humor, rescue will probably show up as we finish."

"If you build it, they will come." Dot states with a chuckle, before glancing at everyones confused faces. "Come on 'field of dreams' it's like a brilliant film."

"Come on, Rach." Nora urged.

"Fuck it, I'll play." Rachel huffed out.

Shelby clapped in excitement. "Alright, then, let's do this! First we need a judge." The blonde's eyes flitted around the group, soon landing on an unsuspecting Anya. "Anya?"

The Rivera teen jumped at the call of her name, her eyes flitting up to meet Shelby's. "Huh?"

Anya's obliviousness caused Toni to chuckle slightly.

"Do you want to be the judge?" Shelby asked again with a smile.

"Sure, I guess I don't mind." Anya shrugged.

The group started to move over towards where their things were, when Anya noticed that Toni looked annoyed at the whole idea of playing for the Takis. The blonde decide the shuffle towards the girl, resting her hand on the girls shoulder and leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Come on, Toni. It will be fun."

Anya then took a step back, sending the Shalifoe teen a fleeting smile as she watched the girls cheeks begin to flush red slightly.

———

Unedited
Word count: 965