Linked

Twenty-Eight : Magma

Rustling and murmured voices. A creak of springs, the purr of a zip dragged open. Whispers and a giggle. I open my eyes, remembering where we are. Tucked beneath the ground at the refuge, sharing space with strangers. My mother is here, too. Corin's is not.

"Are you awake?" A face looms in front of mine. Large brown eyes, full lips, a turned-up nose scattered with freckles. It's the girl I saw laughing and eating popcorn last night, when we first arrived. I blink at her, picking sleep from the corners of my eyes. The girl leans back and pulls a cream coloured knitted jumper over her head. "Newbie's awake!" She announces to the room. Her voice is husky, and loud, and rouses Corin from where he had been softly snoring into my shoulder. He rolls over and just about crushes me. I slide out of the way and haul myself to a sitting position, taking in the space around us.

There's not much to see. The only furniture in here is the bunks. Not even a rug to warm the cold concrete floor. The girl, perched opposite me, yanks on a pair of woollen socks. Her auburn hair falls across her face like a curtain. A man, maybe around mid-twenties, stands bent over beside her, gathering long dirty-blond hair into a neat bun on the crown of his head. He ties it into place with an elastic, which I see he has many of looping his wrists, almost obscuring his Calorie Tracker.

"I was wondering when you'd open your eyes." The girl continues. "About time! I noticed you slept in your jacket. You guys must be super uncomfortable. Did you make the trip in those clothes?"

It has been so long since I've had to converse with another girl -my mother doesn't count- it takes me a minute to figure out how to reply.

 "Er - yeah." That's all I manage. Corin, now lying on his back, groans groggily and rubs at his face, roughly, with his hands. I look down at my black sleeves, waterproof, flecked with mud. Crumpled and tainted with traces of the forest. I feel embarrassed all of a sudden, though I'm not sure why.

"Well, don't worry. I fetched some clean clothes for you both." She dips her chin towards the foot of our bed. I follow her gaze and sure enough, two neatly folded piles of clothing, side by side. "I had to guess on the sizing of course, but after seeing you in passing last night I figured you were more or less the same as me and Zeth. Oh!" She claps her hands together rapidly and spins to face the guy with the bun. "You guys, this is Zeth. And my name's Petra. We have other roommates also, but they're earlybirds and already at breakfast. Me and Zeth, though, wanted to wait up for you two, say good morning and welcome and all." 

Zeth simply raises his eyebrows in greeting.

"Oh. Thanks. And thanks for the clothes," I say, somewhat bewildered by the never-ending stream of words that seem to pour from Petra's mouth. Corin finally sits up, hair sticking out wildly, and flashes her one of his most charming dimple-hugged smiles. He obviously had a good enough sleep to forget about the absence of his mother, or he is purposefully blocking her from his thoughts. I suspect it's the latter.

"Thank you. That's really thoughtful."

Petra's cheeks glow pink. I hold back a scowl. "Well, we do it for all the Newbies. Don't go thinking you're special!"

Corin and I glance at each other. If only she knew how "special" we are. How special Frenchwood made us. But my mother said we had to hide it, so we'll try.

Petra acts as self-appointed tour guide, leading us to the bathrooms so we can shower before breakfast. She chats the whole way. I clutch the fresh clothes to my chest and push them up under my nose, pleased to have an outfit that smells like lemon soap rather than fish. Corin curls his arm through mine. Silently, I ask how his stomach is feeling, drowning Petra out with our Link. The way he used that chair for support last night makes me worry. My stomach is rumbling, Corin replies. But my abdomen is kind of sore to be honest. Petra turns to face us as we reach the bathroom door, noticing our linked arms. "Aww, you guys are like best friends. So cute." She beams at us, and I think... this "Super Link" is going to be really hard to hide.