Alia is in a thin black tank top with matching leggings that end below her knees. I never put much notice into her physical appearance that much until now.
She's tiny. Probably 5 feet exactly, more than a whole foot shorter than me. Not only is she short, but extremely slim like she hasn't eaten for months. I've never seen a girl's features so sharp and chiseled.
She's measuring Juliette, probably for a new suit.
Juliette, whose wearing a gray shirt and long leggings and also has her thick brown hair tied into a ponytail, is talking to Kenji. The devil is no where to be seen.
Juliette also has her long gloves.
She looks over her shoulder, glancing at me.
I look away and decide to go to the locker room to take a shower.
I shower for over half an hour, going through my usual negative thoughts I've been having lately.
When I get out, I wrap my towel around my waist and find new clothes.
Then I notice my clothes are no where to be found, and some fresh ones are placed on the same rack.
Workout shorts, another large black shirt, boxers, and the same shoes.
On top of everything lies a fresh bowl of oatmeal, even though everyone knows I'm not eating.
Immediately, I know who did this.
Alia.
I curse under my breath, and slowly give into the warm food.
Its been days since I had an actual meal, and it wasn't until now that I realized how hungry I was.
I quickly change into my new clothes and finish up the remains of my oatmeal.
I then dispose of the bowl and spoon and head back into the training room, and I find myself heading towards Alia in her usual corner, sketching in her notebook.
She looks up from her sketches when I reach her and suddenly I don't really know what to say.
"Thanks for the clothes" I nod.
" ....you're welcome" she replies.
Now its awkward.
So I begin to walk away before I notice a shade of disappointment cover her face.
Suddenly, I feel guilty, I feel like a jerk for not being able to be nice for her in return.
The only person I've ever really seen her talk to is James, who's busy trying to cheer up Castle.
Maybe she's just shy and needs a friend. She's shown more compassion to me than I've ever thought about giving her.
Maybe a game of twenty questions wouldn't hurt.
"So what are you drawing?" I question.
She meets my eyes again, an expression of shock and surprise takes over the disappointment in her eyes.
"A-A um a new suit" she stutters.
" ....can I see?"
She then blushes a little and shakes her head.
" ....why not?"
" ...it isn't finished yet" she responds.
I quietly laugh into a small smile.
My first smile in what feels like forever.
" ....can I see what you have so far?" I ask.
Unexpectedly, she shyly nods and let's me take a seat on the floor next to her.
Alia reveals her drawing of Juliette's new suit. It looks a lot more professional, and not like something a "gymnast" would wear as Juliette had once put it. The suit goes along with her curves, the texture looks like its going to come out in leather, and the front is shaped in a giant V neck.
On the sides of the suit are small notes Alia had written down, contains Juliette's measurements and needed material.
"Wow" I say. "Looks cool".
"Thanks" she softly says. "Do you think she'll like it?".
Again, I'm surprised by how soft her voice is. Almost soothing.
"Yeah" I nod. " ....yeah, she'll love it".
I watch her sketch some more of the suit, adding notes about color and drawing a few more designs on the suit.
" ....who taught you how to design like this?" I finally ask.
Continuing to sketch, she hesitantly replies "My sister.....she was always better than I was though".
" .....what happened to her?"
"Death" Alia answers.
".....sounds like you have a story"
"I'm not proud of it"
" ...I get it" I nod. "Well, how'd you end up in Omega Point?".
"Same as Kenji. Castle had taken me in a few years ago"
" ...oh" I nod.
I never once considered where Alia had come from. I know Winston and Ian used to be soldiers and Lily had ran away. How long has Alia been in Omega Point?
"Alright guys, breakfast is over. Warner's on his way, we're gonna begin training. He said we can use the equipment just don't break shit, we need to build up muscle, that includes you too, Kent junior" Kenji says and points to James, who laughs.
"Did they tell you what our plan is?" I ask Alia.
"Juliette wants to take over sector 45...and use Anderson's men against him. After we win, they wanna take over the country" Alia speaks.
"Well that's just great, have they even thought through how the hell we're gonna do that?" I say.
She looks at me.
"Yes" she simply answers.
"You seem confident"
"I'm terrible at confidence"
We're silent again, but she continues to sketch, and I continue to watch.
"How much time do you think we have before Warner shows?" I question.
"Hopefully never. I don't like him" she quietly responds.
Mentally, i pound my fist in the air.Its been a long time since someone's agreed with me.
"What'd he do to you?" I ask.
"I don't usually talk about this kind of stuff" she answers.
I believe it. And I wonder if anyone knows about her past. I've seen her make James laugh, I've seen Brendon make her laugh....but when I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen her communicate like a normal teenage girl.
" ...so you knew Warner?"
"I don't know anything about him....just that our parents used to be really close"
" ....who were your parents?"
" ...just people" she simply answers.
"You don't have to fight me" I say.
" ....you don't have to listen"
"But I'm already too intrigued" I say. "Were your parents commanders?".
" ...yes"
"Oh" I say, a little shocked, I was just guessing. "You don't seem like a spoiled rich girl".
"I hate that stereotype" she says.
"It isn't a stereotype. Isn't that how everyone is in The Reestablishment?" I question.
"My parents were....good" she says. "Being good...outgoing, standing up to what you want.....it all seems to lead to death".
With just that sentence I have her figured out.
Why she never talks or why she looks surprised when you're the one to talk to her. Why she'd rather put herself in her world of art rather than face reality.
I decide to no longer ask about her parents.
" ....death doesn't seem so bad sometimes" I say.
" ....tell me about it"
Her cheeks are flushed and I have no knowledge of why that is. But she's always blushing, whenever anyone is talking to her.
Warner enters through the elevator.
"Let's get to work" Kenji says.
