Elite || Marhinki

•Chapter Sixteen: Choice•

We lay there for a bit longer in silence. There was an aura of comfortability. Back home, I didn't have any friends. The only person I was remotely close to had been Pamela, and we barely even spoke to one another. I was that kid who sat alone at lunchtime. It had never bothered me, really, back then. I was used to it.

But being here, having friends, real friends... it made me realize what I'd been missing out on. Mari, Joven, and David felt like family. I felt comfortable with them, and loved. Some of my best memories were with them. Joven and David felt like brothers, Mari like a sister.

For some reason, pairing Mari's name with the word "sister" in my head didn't feel right, even though that was how I felt about her. At least, it was how I think I felt about her. It wasn't like I had a biological sister to compare my relationship with her too, but that must've been the closest word to describe the way I felt about her... right?

"We should go back inside," Joven's voice cut against the silence of the night. "If it gets too dark, someone might fall climbing back in."

"Okay, mom," David joked. I could hear Joven slap him.

Joven was right, though. We were high enough off the ground that falling would mean death. The last thing we wanted would be to increase that risk.

We sent David down first, as Ian would've returned by now and it would probably be best to make the most familiar face appear to him before the rest of us. Joven went down second, then me.

Once I was safely inside, Mari yelled down to us. "I'm unhooking it!"

We all grabbed the rope. "Ready!"

A few seconds later, she jumped. Thankfully, she didn't weigh too much, and the three of us managed to haul her in. I replaced the window frame.

"Are you going to get out of my room now?" Ian asked, letting go of the rope. He was already dressed for bed.

"Yeah, yeah," Mari rolled her eyes and opened the door. "See you guys tomorrow."

"See ya," I waved to her, before following her out. Joven and I waved goodbye to David, before saying goodbye to each other and heading to our rooms.

Wes was already asleep, which sucked, because his snores were louder than the saws back in the factory I used to work in. Generally, I tried to fall asleep before him.

I quickly brushed my teeth, washed my face, got dressed, and climbed into bed. I pushed some earplugs into my ears and settled into bed. All things considered, I faded out of consciousness fairly quickly.

• • •

The next day flew by fairly quickly.

Lord Raub announced that the Bo fighting competition would be in two days time at morning warmup, which encouraged everyone to grab a staff. The four of us sparred like usual. Joven, bless his heart, was more of a weights guy. All of us beat him easily.

Surprisingly, I managed to hold my ground against Mari for a solid ten minutes. She attributed this to luck. I coined it to skill.

But that tired me out, and David showed me what time of day it was in two minutes flat, which was embarrassing, to say the least.

Science was boring, as usual. I swear the only people who enjoyed it were Mr. Patrick and Boze, who hastily wrote down notes. We were learning chemistry, which was what was so engaging for her, from what I could see. From what I've gathered about that girl, she'd poison every single person in the country if she could.

Lunch was uneventful. I kept catching David glancing at Ian's table, which was confusing, as I couldn't figure out why.

Then it was writing. Mr. Fulmer had gotten a bit more lively over the weeks, and had taught us about nouns, verbs, the difference between they're, their, and there; basic stuff; I assumed that it would get harder for those who choose it as their main class. He gave us prompts every class, and let us write whatever we wanted. David, Mari, and I had a little competition to see who could write the most morbid tale, while Joven wrote light-heart comedies.