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H E R
"What's your favorite food? Anything you'd like, I'll make it." A kindly lady said to me as I pressed myself against the wall of the kitchen, trying to stay furthest away from where the actual party was taken place.
"Um, I'm not sure." Honestly, I was happy with any food at this point in my life. I would devour whatever ended up in front of me. I was no longer a picky eater.
"Come on, Sweetheart. All those months on the road must've left you hungry for something." She smiled. It was a kind smile. But I felt my stomach drop like lead anyways.
Sweetheart. The damned title Gareth had given me. I felt my jaw tense, my heart skip a beat. The supposed pet name fell bitterly on my ears, filled me with dread as it had followed after me all this time. Teasing me. Calling me out for the monster I was.
I could tell she was only trying to be helpful, not knowing what actually went on outside the walls. It wasn't her fault she was so oblivious. So like I had done with most of the Alexandrians, I smiled and brushed it off. "Spaghetti, I guess."
"Now, where's your mom and dad? I'd love to meet them. Get you all over for dinner—"
"—My parents are dead." Because what else was I supposed to say?
"Oh." The woman seemed to short circuit a moment before she tried to smooth her unsettled expression with an awkwardly forced sympathetic smile. "I'm so sorry. Well, uh, you enjoy the rest of the party, okay?" And she went off.
I inched my eyes around the archway, fingers curling around my red solo cup full of some citrusy soda (no alcoholic beverages for minors, pity) with 'Eleanor' written with a flourish in Maggie's cursive near the rim. I had almost forgotten what my name had looked like all written out. I used to hate my name as a child, it was too long and too plain. A boring name for a boring girl. But now looking at it, I was glad my parents had chosen it. The letters went together nicely, almost in a pretty manner. However, despite how much I now could admire how it looked written, I definitely loved how it sounded out loud. Specifically when it was being called by Carl.
Speaking of Carl, I was half on a mission to seek him and secure a close proximity to him. I felt almost lost, scrambling, without him at my side in this strange and unknown situation.
Without his hat, Carl was pretty hard to spot, especially since almost everyone was a full-grown adult and he was a malnourished mid-teenager. I moved onto my tip-toes, bracing one hand against the frame of the arch as I sought him out through the crowd.
