Supernova||Book 1 [Wattys 2024]

Episode 10.2 Do It Properly

"Ahhh." Jorah frowned. "Enough..." He'd had enough of being dragged around by Norris. Since they'd left the room, he'd been dragged here and there for various activities.

Norris was excited by every other activity, so in the last few hours, Jorah had ridden jet skis, windsurfed, and even snorkeled. Now, trudging back to his room, he threatened Norris, "I'll find another roommate if you keep this up."

When they got back to the bungalow, they headed to the shower.

"What now?" Norris asked after they had both showered and reconvened in the living area.

"Aren't you tired?" Jorah asked.

Norris shook his head. "I'm not," he replied.

Jorah frowned. "I'm tired. I don't want to do anything else." To prove his point, Jorah sank into the beige loveseat, determined to do nothing.

Realizing Jorah was not budging, Norris sighed. "OK fine. Since you went outside with me. I'll stay inside with you."

Jorah shook his head. "It's fine. You can go out. Do whatever you want. I don't need a babysitter."

"But alone?" Norris frowned.

"Sure. Why not? I go to a lot of places alone."

"That's because people are afraid of you." Norris replied. Immediately after speaking, he slapped a hand to his mouth, eyes filled with panic.

"Huh?" Jorah looked at him "How does that even make sense?"

Norris laughed "You're right. It doesn't make sense." He pouted "But I don't want to be alone."

"Too bad." Jorah reclined in the seat.

They were silent for a moment before Jorah asked, "What about you?"

"Hmm?" Norris looked at him

"Are you afraid of me?"

Norris thought. "Yes and No. You're scary but you're also nice."

"How can I be scary and nice?"

"I don't know" Norris replied. "Before I got to know you I thought you were kind of mean. Like you treat a lot of people very uh....roughly." Jorah listened. "But after..you're not really scary. You're kind of nice." Jorah raised a brow. "Well I think so." he said.

Jorah didn't reply.

"You can go out and find something to do. There are lots of activities." Jorah encouraged "And soon it will be time to work."

Norris thought about his words before reluctantly agreeing, leaving Jorah alone in the bungalow.

With Norris gone, Jorah closed his eyes and drifted off. His mind wandered to Nine. He wondered if he was alright. Before they left, he said he had a headache. They were less frequent these days, but Jorah didn't want to take anything for granted. He shook the thoughts from his head and tried to clear his mind. A gentle breeze wafted through the half-open door, carrying the scent of flora and fauna mixed with the saltiness of the ocean.

That's right. Don't think about anything. Just relax.

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Gage stepped out of his bungalow, taking another swig of the divine concoction they'd been serving since their arrival. As he did, he spotted Norris approaching, head down, texting, and clearly not paying attention.

Gage narrowed his eyes. Even as Norris got closer, his focus remained on his phone, with a smile on his face.

Gage frowned briefly before a devilish smile tugged at his lips.