Undefined - The Zephyr Book 1 ? (completed)(#Wattys2016)

Chapter 18 - Syianne

18 - Syianne
"Cello?" I whisper as I stare at the ceiling from the upper bunk. "Are you sleeping?" When I was a kid, I had always wanted to sleep in a bunk bed, on the upper bunk, I don't know why but it seemed like the coolest thing at the time.

At first there's no answer, I can only hear his breathing, but then he sighs. "No."

"Do you trust Tiger?"

He's quiet, this time because he's pondering. "I don't know," he finally answers, "do you?"

"Half."

"I guess I half trust him too."

"Do you trust me?" I ask. I don't know why, but somehow, it's just too difficult not to trust someone. I need Cello's trust because I need to believe in him. To go through my whole life – even if it's going to be a short life – without trusting someone seems too lonely to bear.

"Yes," he answers in a fast way that lets me know he didn't even have to think over it. I hear him move around in the lower bunk. "Even though when I was slugged I thought you betrayed me at some point. I hated you for it."

"I'll never betray you." I make the promise with all my heart, even though I don't know anything about what the future holds.

He doesn't answer.

"I trust you," I say, although he didn't ask.

He's silent and I wonder if he heard me at all or perhaps he drifted off to sleep.

*

We wake up late the next morning – no reason to be the first to arrive at the Zephyr. We both agree that the past two days felt like at least twenty. After breakfast (I wouldn't touch those eggs if I were you, Cello), we take a rail car and arrive at the Zephyr for our third attempt of going into service.

It's already well past ten in the morning, so the gates are wide open and the Zephyr streets are empty. We encounter no one as we make the now familiar way towards Reception.

I've already paid for our room in the Doorstep, so we decided that for the upcoming week, even though Heign Valley is not the most pleasant of places, we would be sleeping in that room. I was glad to leave my luggage there. Today all I have to carry around is my little orange messenger bag. I don't know how it happened but I'm no longer bothered by sharing a room with Cello. Even though we have known each other for a very short time, I feel closer to him than to anyone.

Except Artus.

As we near the entrance to Reception, Fellin trots onto the path before us. I wave and glance over at Cello and notice that he's smiling.

"Hey Fellin," he greets the short boy. Fellin looks even smaller in his Zephyr uniform. He's scratching the back of his head with a small smile on his lips, looking abashed and glad at the same time.

"You finally made it," he says. "You know everyone is talking about you guys?"

"Really?" Cello asks. "What are they saying?"

"Pretty much everything." Fellin laughs. "From what chaotic and insolent brats you two are and on to calling you two heroes."

"How are you holding up?"

Fellin shrugs his shoulders. "Risa Medrick was right, yellow is absolutely not for me, the people there were really mean, and lie all the time and made me take a test which apparently I failed terribly. Yellow is all about being tricky, and I'm..." he grimaces, "not."

"Anyway," he goes on with a spectacular smile on his face, "today I get to take the tour of the Zephyr and then I'll get a guide in green and prepare for my first Plunge."