Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Chapter One

Dim sunlight cascaded through the crack between the curtains as the sun drifted into the sky. Thin beams of light crept into the room, across the floor, and onto the bed, where a small figure lay sleeping. Book laid in her bed, her covers draped in a tangled mess over her. A beam of light slipped over her face, making her groan and cover her eyes with one of her arms. She laid like that a little longer, her breathing slowing once more as she drifted off.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sharp sound of metal against metal shot through the air. Book jumped, her heart pounding against her cover before she realized what the noise was. She groaned as she rubbed her eyes, her stomach dropping like a lead weight. Soon enough, she made her way downstairs, making sure to avoid the other girls on her team as they passed by. She was at the bottom of the stairs of their shared bunk when she saw someone who made the dread in her stomach heavier.

Taco: A flour tortilla filled with fish and other ingredients one would find in a taco. May have been a traitor at one point...?

Book cut the definition off there as she slipped back behind the staircase. Taco sulked past. She didn't seem to notice Book as she went outside, the door shutting loudly behind her. Book waited for a moment before creeping up and sneaking outside after her. Outside, all of the contestants were gathered outside of their bunks in a circle. In the center stood Four and X, the strange Algebraliens who cast the object's lives into a chaotic game.

Then again... Book thought. This game's always been chaotic... She didn't have time to finish her thought before Flower's sharp voice cut through the air.

"Do you guys really need to do this every morning!?" Flower complained. She still had her petals in their curlers as well as an eye mask pushed up onto her head. "You're ruining my eight hours of beauty sleep!" She huffed as she unrolled one of her petals. Four paid her no mind as he looked over the group of contestants. He seemed to be taking a tally of who was there. X bounced on his heels next to Four. In his hands, he held a crumpled flyer. Book crept towards the front of the group, ducking under some of the taller contestants as she peeked through the crowd. Finally, Four cleared his throat.

"Contestants!" He announced. His voice rang through the air, waking up the contestants. He paused before speaking once more. "As you may all know, our new year anniversary will be coming very soon! So, as a gift to all of you, we will be hosting a sort of 'par-tee' by the end of the year!" Four, despite his confusion as to what a party was, bubbled with excitement. The crowd burst into chattering. X pulled out a noisemaker and blew, once more silencing the crowd.

"And for this par-tee, we will be inviting the Exitors as well!" X blew the noisemaker again as the crowd murmured amongst themselves. Book's brow furrowed.

Great. Pencil will be there. Book rolled her eyes and scanned the crowd. She spotted Bubble and Ruby across the ring of objects, but they looked nervous. Fanny, on the other hand, looked angrier than she normally did. She continued to gaze at the other contestants when she caught Taco again.

Taco stood with her arms crossed. The light hit her just right, illuminating her fillings and face. Taco was fixated on Four, her eyes glimmering. Book whimpered.

Oh dear, Book thought as she stared at Taco. She'll be there... Book felt her face. A strange warmth radiated from her face. She snapped out of her trance to notice Taco glaring right back at her under a furrowed brow. Book squeaked and ducked behind Spongy, her face buried in her hands. She trembled behind Spongy, covering her flustered face. She peeked out from behind her squishy wall to see Taco had vanished into the crowd. She sighed in relief.

The crowd dispersed shortly afterward, the contestants chattering about the party. Book, though, snuck away from the crowd into the woods on the outskirts of the field. The golden leaves filtered the early morning light, casting the forest in a soft yellow glow. Patches of leaves scattered the ground. They crunched under Book's feet as she wandered about with her hands held behind her back. The heat had vanished from her face, but a soft blush remained. She kicked up a small pile and sighed.

"Why don't you just talk to her?" She mumbled as she watched the leaves drift from the air into the resting piles around the trees. "You have to apologize at some point," She found the remains of a log and sat on it, letting her legs kick. She rested her elbows on her knees. The quiet autumn air calmed her, the rose fading from her face as she let herself be enveloped in the quiet morning. After a fair amount of time, she got up and turned to find...

"T-Taco!" Book jumped as she noticed her teammate leaned against a tree next to her. Taco turned to Book, regarding her with cold eyes.

"Hey." Taco's voice was flat and tired. She crossed her arms and stood in front of Book, who was still stuttering to herself.

"Uh, um, what are you--Why-ugh!" Book tried to speak, up Taco only raised a hand, making her shut her mouth.

"Please, let me talk." Taco huffed. "What's up with you? You've been acting really weird lately..." Book paused for a moment.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing. I just--"

"Nothing? One minute you hate my guts, and the next you saved me from death!" Taco stepped forward. "Just tell me what's going on, and I'll leave you alone." Book opened her mouth to speak but only sighed.

"I-It was just a matter of payback," Book said simply. Her heart was pounding in the most peculiar way, and she found that the heat was returning to her face. A wave of flustered embarrassment came over her. "Nothing more, n-nothing less. Now, please, can we just drop the matter?" Book looked away, her hands folding behind her back. Taco looked her up and down, then grunted.

"Payback, eh? Alright." She turned to walk away. "You still owe me though, don't forget that," With that, Taco walked off, the leaves crunching under her footsteps. Bk stood there until the sound of rustling faded, her heart still beating with an unusual intensity. She felt where her heart would be on her body and flushed further.

Taco: A flour tortilla filled with fish and other ingredients one may find in a traditional taco. A...cute friend?