The Eternal Flame

Chapter 4 - The Countdown

The next morning, I woke up to the feeling of a pounding headache. Ugh, I shouldn't have drank that champagne.

Oh my god, what did I do? Did I really kiss Drew?

I crawled out of bed and into the bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face and stuck my mouth under the tap. I was really thirsty for some reason, probably the alcohol. I walked back out into my room and saw the clock on the bedside table, it flashed 7:48 am.

I went into the hall and knocked on Drew's door. "Knock, knock. Gotta be downstairs in a few," I called out. "I'll be down in a sec," he responded. I walked back into the room and picked up a neatly folded set of clothes on the dresser.

On top, there was a note. "For Louise, Wear these for training. - Gail." it read. I put on the outfit, a navy lycra tank top with matching leggings and black trainers.

I took the elevator downstairs to 10a as Gail told me to.

The doors opened up to an open kitchen and living room.

"Hello? Gail? Cal?" I called out. I could hear the distant clacking of heels. Gail's head popped out of nowhere.

"Ah! Louise!" she squealed. How could anyone have this much energy at 8 am? "Morning," I forced a smile. "Come, come, breakfast is served!" she said, pulling me over to the kitchen table.

The table had baskets of pastries, jugs of juice and coffee, sausages, eggs, and just about everything one could eat for breakfast. Cal sat at the edge of the table, hanging his head over a cup of coffee and groaning. "Morning," I said. He grunted in my direction.

Drew soon joined the table and sat down next to Cal. "Morning," he said. "Morning," I replied.

He wasn't talking to me, he was talking to them. He awkwardly smiled at me. It was going to be a long day.

Cal raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Did you sleep well, Andrew?" Gail asked Drew. "It's just Drew," he half laughed, "But yeah, I think that was the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in," he continued.

"Oh good!" Gail exclaimed before turning to me. "And how are you my dear?" she asked. "Well, I think I drank a bit too much last night," I groaned, "I must be a real lightweight as I only had one glass of champagne."

Gail grinned, "Oh dear, you mustn't have noticed the waiters topping up your drink!" she chuckled.

Oh yeah, they did keep topping up my drink. "Ohh, yeah ha," I responded, biting into a croissant.

"You oughta go drinking with me sometime, you'll really feel drunk then," Cal chimed in with a smirk. I smiled.

After breakfast, Cal took us down to the training room.

Most of the first day was spent discussing survival skills.

Find water, seek shelter, make a weapon and keep it on you at all times, improvise with what you have.

Eventually, Cal got bored of talking. "Alright, I'm done talking. Go get some sleep, the real trainin' starts tomorrow," he said before returning to the elevator.

We waited in silence until the elevator returned and went up to our floor. I went straight back to my room. I couldn't take any more awkward silence.

I decided to order a large pizza for myself. A luxury I couldn't normally afford, but I might as well make the most of it while I still could.

I gorged myself on margarita pizza until I couldn't eat another slice. Then, I changed back into shorts and a t-shirt and got under the covers, falling asleep the minute my head hit the pillow.