A Fiend as a Friend

chapter 15

Immediately I took my bath the next day, I tied my long hair into a messy bun. I liked the way some curls came down my face in an unruly way. It made me look... well... I'll just pin that.

I put on a red gown, well I had a thing for gowns. It was short, but long enough to cover my thighs and it stuck to my body. I slipped into my flip flops and walked out. I didn't want to miss breakfast again. My stomach was virtually empty. All I had been eating was rolls and more of the same rolls.

I stepped into the dining room and to my surprise, nobody was sitting down there. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall, quite surprised. It was just nine o'clock and we usually had breakfast at nine. Had they had breakfast without me? My stomach growled at the thought.

Just as I turned to leave, Bailey came in with some other ladies, carrying trays of food. She seemed surprised when she saw me. "You're here early. Isn't that something?"

I nodded and smiled. "Where are the others?"

"Collins and Thomas went somewhere, so they had their breakfast earlier than usual. Scott left for his date yesterday and is nowhere to be found. I'm sure you know what he is doing with Elsa."

I giggled. "I know, right. Bad boy Scott. Still, this is too much for me alone to eat."

She placed her tray at the center of the table and transferred the bowls of food to the table. "I don't remember saying Michael and Mike went out."

"Oh..."

"Michael won't ever miss any meal with you. He came to me yesterday and begged, I mean, serious pleading. He said I shouldn't include rolls in the meals. Eat good food, lady. He sounded really concerned about you."

I rubbed the back of my neck shyly. "I like your rolls though."

"Yeah, I get that, but I want you to know that I put the same effort in the other meals as the one I put in the rolls. It hurts if you only eat one of everything."

"I didn't see it that way. I'm sorry, Bailey."

"Yeah. Come to the kitchen when you're free. Collins told me to lecture you on how to cook."

I froze. The last thing I needed was word going around that I couldn't cook. I saw the other ladies in the room giggle and immediately, my face turned red. How dare they?

"So, enjoy your meal", Bailey said as she left the room, the girls trailing along, still giggling to themselves. If not for Bailey and my pride, I would have lashed them with words.

When they left, I sat down on my chair and stared at the food. What I really wanted to do was dig in and eat as much as possible before anyone came, but I decided to act mature.

I jumped when someone pulled back a chair. I felt my heart beat faster when I noticed that it was Mike. When did he even get in?

I turned on my seat and stole a glance at him. His hair was wet and water trickled down his face. I felt my mouth get dry. When he turned to look at me, I almost died. I was still staring stupidly at him. His gaze lingered for a while before he looked away.

I couldn't look away, though. When did I begin to feel anxious when he was close? He looked at me again and I could feel myself turn red. He didn't glare at me or smile either. He just stared and that made me feel more anxious.

"Why aren't you eating?" I gasped when I heard someone talk beside me.  I could tell that Mike was shocked too, because he sort of shook. I turned to see Michael gazing at me. He was occupying Scott's seat and that felt weird. You know, him sitting beside me and all.