I, Immortal

Chapter Five

By the time our day off came around, I was all too ready for it. Paizlee had upped our training for the second day, starting with deep breathing and ending with diamond push-ups. I'm convinced I almost died at the end, but Flip and Flop tried to outdo one another with the push-ups. I secretly hoped their arrogant competitiveness made them nothing but sore on their day off. Brynn and I had quickly become friends, though she still refused eye contact. Sunshine and Rose hit it off with the hyenas, joking and laughing through everything. I never knew laughing could be so annoying until those four joined up.

At 11am, I met Lulu on the incoming flight from Seattle. She charged through the crowd of passengers, heels clacking against the shiny floor, and jumped into my arms.

"Xander! I didn't know you'd meet me here!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around my neck so fast that I nearly fell backward, "It's so good to see you!"

"Great to see you too." I smiled. Her hair smelled like hairspray and vanilla. Vanilla was one of my favorite aromas, and she knew it.

Chatting like two long-lost friends, we walked to the baggage area where Lulu promptly pulled a hot pink suitcase from the belt.

"Ready to go?"

She shook her head. "Hold on. I have another case."

"Another?"

"Yeah. My laptop and stuff."

"You didn't take that with you on the plane?"

"Well, no!" Lulu shot me a mortified look, "I-I didn't know you could. I've never been on a plane before. You know that."

I patted her shoulder. "No worries. It's called carry-on."

Lulu nodded as if to make a mental note, then eagerly moved to retrieve her second bag, a sparkly blue laptop case that had just come onto the baggage belt.

"Okay, I'm ready now." She smiled perkily

 I took her bags and we were off. She jabbered about the flight, how exciting it was to be above the clouds, and inquired as to what I had done in my two days in New York and if I had enjoyed my stay. I told her about the training, the participants I had met and the nicknames I had given to them, the taxi rides and the jet tub in my flat. The more she heard of my NYC experience, the more curious she became. As we walked out of the airport, Lulu squeaked excitedly.

"I've never been in New York before! This is so cool!" She jumped around, looking everywhere at everything.

"C'mon, little sis. There's more to the city than the airport." I laughed as we stepped into a taxi.

*

After Lulu was situated in her hotel room, I gave Cy a call and he promptly invited us to a "cool, fancy restaurant" he'd found on his morning exploration of the city. We arrived at the restaurant nearly twenty minutes later than planned, and a snappily dressed waiter guided us up a flight of stairs and past white-clothed tables decorated with candles and flowers to the balcony, where Cy sat enjoying the view as he waited for us.

"Hey, you two!" He stood, gave Lulu a hug and patted me on the back. "Thought you weren't gonna show."

"Sorry we're late. Lulu wanted a new dress for the occasion, so we went shopping."

You wouldn't believe how long it takes to find the perfect dress.

Cy waved my comment off, pulling out a chair for Lulu, who thanked him and sat down. "Can't complain. With a view of NYC like this, who cares about waiting a few extra minutes?"

I leaned against the balcony railing, took a sip of my ice water. Cy had picked a winner of a place for a view. The sun had started its descent behind the horizon, and millions of red, blue and green lights had set the city afire in color. 

"Oh!" Cy exclaimed, standing up."I almost forgot something special. I left it at the hostess stand. Be right back."

He quickly left to retrieve his surprise, and as I gazed out at the city below us, Lulu came up beside me and leaned on my arm.

"I've missed you, Xan," She murmured, "We all have."

I grunted. "I didn't think anyone but you cared when I moved out."

"Well, they did. Why don't you come home more often?"

Because I don't want to.

"I've been busy with other stuff. I just finished college, I've been working two jobs, Cy's been dragging me along into his adventures..."

"Is this one of them?"

I didn't have an answer ready for her. Cy had taken a trip to Protonet for a college class the year before, and had come back raving about a huge scientific program that would be revealed soon. It was true - he had indeed reeled me into his adventure, telling me about genetic resequencing that could turn an average human into a real-life superhero. He had sparked my interest in the program.

"This was my decision." I answered vaguely. Cy hadn't signed my name to the Αlphα list - I had. I made my own choice to sign up for the program. The rest had been up to Protonet and Αlphα Tech.

"Okay," She sighed, a hint of sadness in her typically joyful voice, "I just needed to know."

She looked up at me with a wistful smile. My heart fell. I turned and wrapped my arms around her, drew her in tight to my chest.

"I love you, sis. I don't mean to be so distant."

"I know." Her muffled voice replied. She leaned her head against my shoulder, and a cool breeze blew her vanilla-scented hair into my face.

"I'm back with the -" Cy walked in on us and stopped abruptly. I glanced at the awkwardness plastered on his face, then at the enormous bouquet he was moving back and forth between his hands. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Lulu pulled away from my arms, brushed the stray strands of her coffee-colored hair behind her ears. "No, you weren't interrupting. We were just enjoying the view. Are those for me?"

Cy looked down at the red and pink peonies he held. "Um, yeah. I bought them as your welcome gift to New York."

"They're just lovely! Xander bought me a dress. You bought me flowers. I'm a happy girl today." She accepted the bouquet as if it were made of crystals, "Mm, they smell wonderful."

The waiter returned shortly after to take our orders. We chatted and laughed throughout the meal, talking over the days of ice cream shoppes and bike rides around our neighborhood. After our plates were emptied and our faces hurt from laughter, we all took one more look at the expanse of city lights below, then turned and left for the hotel.