Doctor Strange: The Eternal Flame *DISCONTINUED*

Chapter 7

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

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Hey, sorry, everyone! I posted this on Archive about a week ago and totally forgot about Wattpad. Whoops! Well, here's the seventh chapter for all those who care! Please, leave a comment! Let me know your thoughts so I know to continue this story. Enjoy the seventh chapter! <3

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Samrah was nervous and sweaty. I could tell.

Her fork kept slipping through her fingers and into her pasta. It was amusing but also sad to watch. I didn't understand why she got so worked up about meeting new people but I could tell that it was a struggle for her. Her red, orange and yellow eyes kept darting around, sweat beaded slowly down her forehead and it looked like she couldn't breathe. She refused to look at Christine which in turn, made Christine extremely uncomfortable.

Wong and I sat in an eerie pool of silence. The only sound that shattered it was the clinking of forks against porcelain. Neither of us knew what to say to get a conversation started. I wasn't much of a social butterfly myself. The only time I could actually talk to people for hours on end was when I was talking about myself. I've learned to grow out of that, though. Kind of... It was a small accomplishment, sure, but I was still making leaps and bounds. Or at least I liked to see it that way.

Christine made the pasta. It was quite delightful. Long and thick egg noodles piled on top of each other, smothered with creamy white sauce and topped with small green flecks of parsley. There were small chunks of chicken hidden in each layer of noodle and sauce. It was cooked to perfection with just the right amount of golden brown crusting the top. The blend of salt to pepper and garlic was just mind-blowing. It was obvious that Christine had put a lot of time and love into making this dish. Then again, she did that with everything.

"The food is really good. Thank you..."

My head perked up a bit as I wound some noodles around my fork. I was surprised to see that it was Samrah who had made the comment. She was looking at Christine hopefully, probably waiting for a response. She still looked nervous but Samrah was pushing herself out of her comfort zone. I smiled a little bit and took a bite. That's my girl. My smile disappeared and I nearly choked on a noodle. Since when was Samrah, my girl? I swear, these thoughts aren't mine.

Christine flashed a bright smile in her direction, grateful for her saying so. She showed and said it. "You're quite welcome, Samrah. I'm glad you like it! I've been trying to improve my cooking ever since Stephen said it was so bad." She glanced in my direction and I laughed. Nearly choking on my food again.

Darn it! Why does she always bring this up? I thought. It was just a little joke they had between them. Christine didn't used to be good at cooking, in fact, she used to burn anything and everything she touched. Not kidding, she even burned ice cream. It was a freezer burn but a burn nonetheless. One night, I finally told her we should just order take-out or something. Christine had been confused because I never complained about her food. She asked why and I confessed that her cooking was terrible! She had stared at me for a few seconds until she burst out into laughter. We both laughed a lot that night... That was two weeks before the crash.

I smiled to myself as Christine recalled the story to the rest of the table. We passed the night away with laughter and some small talk. Wong was enjoying himself, I was enjoying myself, Christine was definitely enjoying herself, even Sarmah was having a good time. She laughed the most. There was a happy light behind her eyes tonight. A spark that seemed to ignite only every once in a while. I've decided that I'd give up on trying to figure Samrah out. It was too much work to figure someone out who was always changing and surprising me.