Inoperative

Chapter 6

    I don't talk to Aiden for days and days after that. The only time we communicate is when we pass each other in the camp. Sometimes we'll even mutter a quick "hello" if we're not too busy. Staying with Nadia hasn't been completely terrible. We actually get along really well. I think I've finally found the one person I can actually connect with. Aiden and I have been working on developing our abilities, his still not making an appearance, and Marcel and Lewis have been working with us. I've been set on helping light the bonfire each night and Aiden, as he has no ability, has been employed to collecting firewood. I haven't seen Brayden either. I've taken to avoiding him at all costs.

    "What ya' doin'?" Nadia asks, walking into her sitting room.
    She takes a seat beside me, snatching the leather-bound book from my hands.
    I quickly snatch it back before she can read it. "Marcel suggested that I record my progress and the details of my stay here."
    "In other words, you're making a secret diary?" she laughs.
    "No, it's not secret and it's not a diary. That would be stupid," I say.
    "Then hand it over." I quickly pull it out of her reach before she can grab it. "Oh, I see. You don't want me to read it because it has all the dirty details about your feelings for a certain someone in the camp with a newly-found little brother."
    She makes puckering noises with her lips and I toss a pillow in her direction, laughing.
    "Now, now," she chuckles, dodging my attack. "No need to get all defensive. He's cute."
    I blush fiercely and hit her playfully in the shoulder. I so don't feel anything like that towards him.
    "So, are you ready for your initiation ceremony thing tonight?" she asks.
    "I don't really know what to expect from it," I say, glad to change the subject.
    "They're usually pretty fun. We start as soon as the sun goes down and sit around the bonfire eating marshmallows and talking and then at midnight, you get officially initiated," she explains.
    "I've already been told all of this, Nadia. I don't even know why they're initiating me. It's not like I'll be sticking around here for that long," I say, rolling my head to one side.
    She sighs and says, "You keep saying that and yet here you still are, three weeks later."
    "Three weeks?!" I choke out. "It sure didn't feel like that long."
    I suppose it wouldn't with how much I've kept busy. I've barely had a whole free hour since I arrived here.
    "Well, you need to get out and help them set up. You didn't think just because the ceremony was for you that you could just sit back and not help out."
    I groan and shove my journal down the back of the couch and head out to join the 'decorating committee'.
Ugh! This is so not me!

    Our little camp band starts playing a relaxing melody as soon as the sun goes down. It's slow and beautiful and reminds me of the sounds of the birds and the bush. I haven't heard music since I was little, when my mom used to sing to me. Her gorgeous melodies would lull me to sleep every night. How the times had changed.
    With the help of three others, I light the giant pile of sticks, logs and leaves that people had spent hours collecting. In just moments, we have a roaring bonfire that lights up the camp. The last few rays of light kisses the ground but are quickly fading. People begin pouring into the area from their cabins. I was told they'd found a berry that had the same effect as alcohol. Apparently that's a drink that makes people lose their sense of judgement and sanity. Who would want that anyway?
    These drinks are poured out and people down them in a single gulp. I see Brayden looking around and practically dive into a group who are deep in conversation.
They all give me a curious look so I just say, "Don't mind me. I'm just. . . getting involved."
    They nod and continue speaking.
    A minute later, someone taps on my shoulder and I whirl around to face them.
    "Brayden," I say with a very fake smile.
    "Amara, I've been looking for you for weeks," he says, going in for a hug.
    I step back quickly. "That's funny because I've been avoiding you for weeks." He frowns at me, begging me for an apology with his eyes. "Don't do that. You can't get angry at me for leaving you for a few weeks after your four year long absence," I snap.
    "You're right. Sorry," he mutters and walks away.
    I'm glad he does too. I'm so not in the mood to talk to him right now. I turn around and find my face inches from a bulking chest.
    "Hello gorgeous," Aiden says, looking down at me.
    I smile as a few butterflies rocket around my belly. "I told you not to call me that." He looks at me weird. "What?"
    "It's just. . . you look. . . different," he says.
    "Well no, I didn't change my hair or anything crazy like that," I laugh.
    "No, no. It's nothing like that. You just look. . . happier. Have I told you that you look beautiful with a smile," he says.
    "Don't be ridiculous," I say, tucking my hair behind my ear and biting my lip.
    He tilts his head to one side. "Are you flirting with me, Ms Langley?"
    I notice that he remembers my last name. I don't remember telling him so maybe he picked it up from Lewis or something. Both he and Marcel had demanded to know my last name.
    "Oh, please," I mutter. "It will take a lot more than a few flattering comments to get me to start flirting with you."
    "Tell me, my dear, what would it take?" he questions with a challenging smirk.
    "Well, for a start, it would help if I liked you at all," I say, walking backwards away from him.
    "Alright, Ames. I guess I'll see you 'round," he says with a wink.