Pro Guardian - (B.M.)

Chapter 04

Bag of Cheetos

The group arrived at the hotel later that day and was shown to their rooms. With the exception of Rachel, everyone was advised to share one of the three rooms available. Margot was assigned to a room with Elianne, and Sam was sent to a room with Billy.

Rachel offered the team a complimentary meal in the first-floor main dining hall, which everyone accepted. Elianne took advantage of the opportunity to change out of her yellow dress and into a soft blue cotton one.

They were currently seated at a table, with Sam and Elianne on one side and Billy and Margot on the other. Rachel was telling the group about her favourite play, The Glass Menagerie, and how as a teenager she frequently played masculine characters.

"How about you, Elianne?" Miss Stevens spoke, causing the young girl to look up from her food, surprised. "Do you have any funny stories to share? You moved around a lot as a kid and are a huge fan of theatre, so maybe you have something entertaining to share?"

"Now that I think about it," Elianne said, smiling broadly and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's . . . well, it's a hilarious story, to be honest. My school put on a Romeo and Juliet play when I was in eighth grade."

"Isn't that a little inappropriate for that age group?"

"Sh, Margot. Keep going."

"I was cast as Juliet, while my crush, this boy, was cast as Romeo. To cut a long tale short, the guy ran away with his girlfriend on opening night, and the play had to be cancelled." She tried to hide her dissatisfied expression. "Now that I say it out loud, it doesn't sound as amusing."

"Oh, damn, that's harsh!" Sam exclaimed, continuing to play with his food.

"He just ran away? Like, eloped?" Margot questioned, raising an eyebrow. "How does that      even⸺

"He just, kind of . . . made last-minute plans, I guess?"

"But the other days," Margot continued, "Surely you didn't just have one day for the performance, right?"

"We didn't actually. It was a before Summer holidays play, so we only ended up having one show because the break was right around the corner."

"And an understudy?"

"I guess it didn't really cross the drama teacher's mind that the main lead wouldn't actually make it."

For a moment, it was quiet.

"But, weren't you upset?" Rachel was the next one to question, frowning slightly.

"Of course I was, who wouldn't be? I'm playing a lead role in something for the first time, I practice so hard, and it doesn't even end up going through." Elianne chuckled to herself. "I was, err. . . actually supposed to have my first kiss that night."

This had caught the attention of everyone at the table ⸺ and she couldn't stand the odd stares she was getting. Even the waiter, who had returned momentarily to place down a jug of water ⸺ had on a frown. Perhaps she shared too much information.

"Wait, so . . . did you yet?" Billy was the next to speak up, aiming his words at her.

"Did I what?"

"Like, um." He paused, rubbing the back of his neck out of pure habit. "Have your first kiss?"

Elianne began to garner inquisitive looks, wondering what the response would be, and Rachel became interested as well.

"I'm still waiting," she admitted honestly, and Sam's jaw hung wide. He finally shut it when he felt Rachel nudge him in the gut to stop being so impolite.

Elianne shifted her gaze to her lap, unable to bear the group's pitiful stares. She sensed someone's gaze on her in particular, but she proceeded to eat her dinner calmly.

On the way back to their rooms, Rachel stopped all the kids from retiring to their suites so quickly.

"I had a talk with the committee⸺the people in charge of the competition, and they said that there's a dance being held in the auditorium in the evening - so if you want to go, then that's fine by me."

Everyone's emotions were reasonably calm, but Billy did make a sound of agreement. Except for Elianne and him, everyone went back to their rooms after that.

She was ready to enter her room as well when she heard a quiet murmur of her name, and she paused. When she turned around, she was not surprised to find the brunette boy.

"I, um . . ." He shifted around his feet awkwardly and shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets. "I just wanted to tell you something, Eli."

"Yeah?"

"About what you said today," Billy said, starting to divert his attention from her face. "At the dinner table, I mean⸺"

"Yup?"

"I just. . ." he trailed off. "If it was me playing Romeo, I wouldn't have run away from you. . ."

Elianne was at a loss for words. She never imagined anyone would care about her pointless story from nearly five years ago.

"Thanks, Billy." She smiled slightly, and he nodded.

Billy grabbed a tiny bag of Cheetos from his hoodie pockets and waved it around freely, motioning to it with a meaningful gaze, as if to alleviate the awkward tension (or maybe his own) in the room. "Take a look at what I got."

"Food," she said with an obvious tone, and he playfully rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but it's good food," he said and passed it to her. "I want you to have it."

"Why?"

"Because it's delicious," he explained as if that was enough.

"But it's yours," Elianne argued, pushing it to him. "I can't just take it⸺"

"I'm giving it to you, so yes, you can," he said, a stern gleam in his eyes. The same kind of look that he harboured back in the classroom earlier that day.

"Billy."

"Eli!"

The two youngsters turned away from each other as another room door swiftly opened. Elianne was already convinced her face was the colour of a tomato, but she was taken aback when she saw Billy running down the corridor and into his room.

All she could do was stare at the bag of chips she was holding.