FYSH: Diving Deeper.

Chapter Five: Roommates?

Of course. Of course, Kai was our coach. Of course the sneakiest, slyest man, who I had odd feelings about turns out to be the one taking care of me. Just my luck.
"Okay, now the health checks are done, we can go check out your homes! There will be a load of health checks over the course of the next few weeks because we'll be doing some vaccinations and things but nothing to worry about. Okay who's ready for the good part!?" Kai called to the bustling crowd. Few people whistled and some yelled energetically.
He began to skip over to the back of the room whilst swinging his arms, as our group, like a herd of mice, scuttled over to follow. A modest door stood, shy.
"Welcome kiddos," Kai whispered, fitting a key into the door, "To the Games Room."

It was a kid's fantasy. A large, rectangular room, packed from wall to wall with games and gadgets. On one side of the room, there was a ping pong table, and next to it, an air hockey table. Two bookcases hid behind them, chock full of books. In the middle, there was a screen hanging from the ceiling, surrounded by several sofas and a coffee table. On the other side there was a little white kitchen, every pot and pan gleaming clean.

Kai clicked his fingers towards the kitchen.
"Label your food, kids. Things were always disappearing last time, and if you don't want anyone stealing your stuff, make sure they know it's yours." He said. No one payed attention to him, most boys were picking up the multiple games and controllers in awe and thrill. But my ears picked up on something that he had said, but something I couldn't quite remember about his rapidly passing words. Only me and a few girls stood at the doorway, all the other kids buzzing around the room, and then Tyde approached me.
"Cool, doncha think?" He smirked.
"Not my type of thing." I retorted. My nose scrunched up and my eyes slid into squints as I tried to think back on what he had said. It had made the hairs on my back rise. But I just couldn't pick up on why.
"Why do you look like that?" Tyde laughed. I rolled my eyes.
"Shut up, you're ruining my train of thought." I snapped at him, assuming back into my position of thought.
"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot last time." Tyde said, a quizzical smile pasted on his face.
"Last time?" I inquired incredulously. Wait, last time? My head pulsed with thought, droning back to what Kai had actually said.
"Things were always disappearing last time," His velvety smooth voice had spoke, without much thought. And no one had even hesitated, too caught up in all the games, too deep within the trap. Whether it was a clue, on purpose or not, I wouldn't just sit around to find out. There was another project like this? Before us?
I threw off my backpack and forced my hands down into the front pocket. I pulled out my little black notebook, which was everything to me, and turned to the last page. Drawing out my favourite felt tip pen (matte, with the extra thin, small tip), I jotted down his words, putting my mind at ease. My fingers traced over his words in my writing.

Last time.
...

"Finally, meet your home!" Kai's booming voice cracked. The door placed in the middle of the Games Room was swung open to reveal a horizontal corridor. From there branched out several long hallways. In each hallway, there were ten rooms, five on the right, five on the left. Kai called names and we left to truly meet our new homes. The difference between the Games Room and our rooms was vast. The walls were gray, containing only a little door, a small desk and a wooden chair, a wide but small bed and a poster that hung just above it. The poster was of two children, facing sideways, clasping each other's hands. It seemed as though they were sitting at the top of a hill or field, with little flowers and plants budding all around them. The sky behind them was stark and bleak, and the field under them was vivid and chromatic. The images were cartoonishly outlined in bold, thick lines, and the colours were chosen, almost amusingly. On the top read, "Usque Ad Mortem!" in fat, black lettering.
Propaganda, I thought.

I dropped my backpack on the ground beside my bed and went over to explore the dwarf-ish door. Folding my fingers over the knob of the door, I shivered slightly at the thought of what lurked behind. Or perhaps my imagination liked playing games with me. The door clicked as it unlocked and let out a quietly unholy moan whilst cracking open a bit. At the same time, the door to my room smashed open with a startling roar, and I screamed and jumped back, falling on my bottom. My head whipped around to face the monster that would arise from the ashes of my worst fears and gobble me up, only to realize that it was Tyde who stepped out of the shadows. His hands dawdled over his mouth, covering his grin.
"Are you okay?" He asked, muffled.
"Y-you scared me!" I choked out. He lifted his hand up, pretending to rub his nose.
"I-um, didn't realize how light the doors were." He told me, a pretty smile playing on his lips. He walked over to me, his long legs leading up to me in only a few strides. He squatted down and lent me a hand. I rolled my eyes and got up. He looked at me from the ground and continued smiling.
"This must be what the world looks like at your size." He said. I zipped down and pushed him over. As he toppled over, I imitated his smirk.
"Balance much?" I asked, sarcastically. He brushed off his pants and cocked his head to the side.
"I was never too good at keeping my balance, or my cool it seems." He said smoothly. "But you look like you are."
"What do you mean?"
"What's the door?" Tyde asked, motioning to the little door that I had tried to open before.
"Don't change the subject. Wait a second, why are you even here?"
Tyde didn't say a word but crept over to the door. In a flourish, he yanked it wide open and turned the lights on.
"I knew it!" He cried.
"A bathroom?" I said.
"A bathroom." He replied.
"What of it?"
"There isn't one in mine."
I hesitated.
"Are you saying-" My double-take mixed with my gasp and I ended up taking a longer pause than anticipated.
"Ye-e-s?" He stretched, waiting for me to say something. His shiny eyes were on me for a long time, and he slipped his finger in between his teeth.
"You have to come in here to use the bathroom?" I exhaled, short of breath.
"Well, only when I have to." He shrugged.
"Oh, thank goodness. So only when you have to-"
"Yeah, pee and other things. Also shower, wash my face, brush my teeth and all that."
I felt as though I couldn't breathe again. He would be in here all the time.
"Can't you pick another room?"
"The room next to yours doesn't have a bathroom, like mine, and the other rooms surrounding you are all girls who have already outed me as a pervert."
"I don't blame them." I muttered.
"Come on, Atlanta," Tyde whispered, "You're the only one left. I promise you won't even notice when I'm here. And you'll always go before me if we ever need to go at the same time." He drew in very close, and I had to take a step back.
"I won't ever peep in on you, or talk to you when I'm here, if you don't want." His voice became low and growly. He walked me up to the wall, and my back slid up against the cold plaster. He placed his hand against the wall above my shoulder and curved his chin down.
"What do you say?" Tyde smelt like woodfire. A permanent ashy smell hung off him like a cape.
"Okay, okay!" I snapped, flustered. This boy could charm the legs off an octopus. I pressed my palm on his chest and pushed firmly. His smile loosened for a second and he eased off me.
"I'll bring some of my stuff in." He muttered, and in a couple of steps, he was gone. I sighed. Boys changed their moods far more than we did! I crinkled my nose and clicked my tongue.

I took out my black and white shampoo and conditioner from my bag, as well as my other bathroom items and placed them on one side of the shower cubicle and one side of the cupboard behind the mirror.

Then, I stared at my reflection. Was this really me? She looked like me. Only, more raggedy and bruised up. More sleepy and moody than I felt. I suddenly noticed a shadow standing still right behind me. Without thinking, I spun around.
"Tyde!" I snapped into his chest.
"Are you that proud of your face?" He joked, his arms full with his bathroom products.
"How much stuff does a guy need!?" I said, my eyes wide as saucers.
"Never lived with a guy before?" He asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. I didn't answer. He caught sight of my reflection as he closed the cupboard door, and he pursed his lips.
"What's, uh, the thing on your neck?" He mumbled, climbing into the shower. Consciously, I felt around my neck, wondering if I had some kind of a mark.
"That black thing." Tyde explained.
"Oh." I replied, pulling at the skin that held my tattoo. "Something of a stamp, I guess. A label, you could call it."
"Label?" He asked. His voice echoed in the shower cell and he immediately cleared his throat.
"A label?" He repeated, much more quietly this time.
"Ah, yeah. In my village, if you break one of the five major rules, you get this thing on a part of your body to symbolize that you've done wrong. They pour boiling ink onto a huge wooden stamp kind of thing and make you lie on your back or stomach, and stamp it onto you." I told him. I watched him as he stepped out of the shower and lowered his head. He lifted it a little bit and leaned against the door frame. Tyde bit down on his lip.
"What did you do?" He whispered. I shook my head. His eyes were mesmerizing.
"Um, broke a rule." I coughed.
"What rule?" He asked curiously.
"An important one." I told him truthfully.
"What was it?" He persisted. Finally, I snatched his sleeve and tugged him towards the door.
"Number one, you will not commit adultery. Number two, you cannot leave our village unless special permission or reasoning is given. Number three, you will not take practise in any religion. Number four, you will not hunt animals in our domain. Number five, you will not commit murder." I listed the five major rules of our villages and shooed him out of my doorway.
"Take a guess which one I was out for, why don't you?" I asked him, and proceeded to slam the door.