Refinement: A War of Europe

Chapter Twelve: West: Not Great News

Eloise~ West (England)

I weaved through the maze the West’s base consisted of, and headed to a nice looking little bakery from where an odor of pure bliss permeated the air. My stomach twisted at the scent, drawing me to the little shop lighted with orange bulbs descending from the white ceiling, creating a cozy atmosphere. The orange, brown, and red seating were so incredibly soft where, upon sitting, you would sink three inches deeper than your body was expecting. Therefore, pulling you in their warmth, and almost begging you to take a nap. But, no, the coffee in your hand would prevent that, so you would just sit there, in a perfect state of mind, so that you could go there and finish whatever you had planned on doing beforehand. I had gone there to study with my contemporaries, where we could hopefully make a grade on it high enough to pass into the next category without a worry of any sort.

“Ah, she’s made it! Here, Lex bought us all bagels. So sweet of him.” Arielle crooned, looking at the ground shyly. I sunk into a brown chair and opened a book. I was suddenly overwhelmed by war strategies and weaponry techniques.

“Did you hear me, Eloise?” Lex asked, clearly not experiencing what it felt like to be completely engrossed in a book, to the point where reality is just a tiny particle residing in your subconscious, a quite annoying particle, actually.

“Um, no.” He laughed and ruffled my hair. I puffed the black hair out of my eyes.

“Your bagel is getting cold. Eloise, these are the best bagels you have ever tasted. The East goes green with envy over their very existence. Here, spread this cream-cheese on it. THERE! Magnificence on a plate.” He handed it to me, wiggling his eyebrows humorously. I shrug, and take a bite.

“Oh my gosh.” I say through a mouthful of euphoria. I hastily dive into another bite.

“I don’t mean to interrupt your discovery of ecstasy in bagel form, but we still have to study.” Jenny chides. I nod through a mouthful, and open my book again.

“How long have you two been friends?” Lex wondered out loud. Jenny sighed deeply at her brother’s impatience when it came to studying, and burrowed her head deeper into her book.

“Hasn’t it been six years, or so?” Arielle remembered. I nodded, remembering Arielle’s pink face on the first day to be at my new school. It was right after a huge bombing, so every kid within a two-hundred eighty mile radius had to attend this school that was held in an underground just incase of another bombing. There were not closed off rooms, so instead we sat in clumps of around three-hundred children each, on the cold hard floor for nine hours. Having school in an under-ground made the war a huge reality, scaring us all terribly. I was just nine years old, and I dreaded my first day of school. In my clump, there were only kids my age, so I sat down by a small shivering boy with curly red hair, and Arielle.

“Do you have a pen I could write with? Mum said that I can only use pencils because pens are too expensive because of the war.” I avoided eye contact with her, because of what had recently come to a new found wealth in our family. This was two years after my father died, and my mother had just gotten a promotion to be the head doctor at the hospital. Which, yes, she was never home because of the war wounds that were constantly happening.

“Um, yes. Here you go.” I handed her a black pen. I didn’t tell her that I had three others in my bag. Wealth was a new thing for me. I was just getting the hang of it, and I was extremely shy about it.

“You are beautiful.” The girl said in a hushed voice, and to my great surprise, there was a twinge of jealousy in the back of her throat. How could a girl, of such beauty, complement such an ugly girl as me?