Elemental

Chapter 16

When she went to breakfast, Christine felt more like herself. The coffee helped. She sat at a table with Isaiah, Silvia, and Damien. From what she could tell, Silvia hadn't told anyone about her meltdown. Everything felt normal, except she could almost feel the distance between her and Damien. She didn't let herself dwell on that.

Christine was finishing up her eggs when Ned came over.

"Hey," he said, taking a seat next to her. "Raquel wanted me to tell you that she can't train you this morning. She's finalizing some things for the attack. She said you can train on your own or work on your speech with Damien."

Damien looked up at the sound of his name. "Help with what now?"

"Her speech," he said with his mouth full of pancakes. "The one that'll be broadcasted. Christine didn't tell you?"

"No, didn't mention it," he said, locking eyes with her for the first time since they sat down.

"We can work on the speech later," Christine said, standing up. "I'll just go train in the gym."

"Mind if I join you?" Silvia asked, standing up. "I was heading that way anyway."

"You don't need my permission to use the gym," she said and flinched at the hurt that flashed in her eyes. She didn't mean to sound like such a bitch. "But I'd like the company," she added.

Silvia beamed. "Great, let's go."

They started walking and Christine tugged nervously on the corner of her shirt. She had changed into a pair of green cargo pants, a white tank top and combat boots with her long hair loose and flowing down her back. Silvia had changed as well, into a pair of slim black pants and a red V-neck.

She wanted to bring up what happened this morning and ask Silvia to keep it to herself. She was already embarrassed by the whole thing and the last thing she wanted was other people finding out about her meltdown, especially Damien.

"So, about this morning," Christine said, carefully. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

Silvia trained her big brown eyes on her and smiled. "That thing? 'Course. It's not a big deal. I've had my fair share of the giggles. Everyone has."

"The giggles?"

"Yeah, when you're tired or stressed and you just have to laugh. Everyone gets them."

She was surprised, not only that what happened to her had a name but that it was common. "Really?"

Her smile widened. "Yeah, definitely. One time when my family and I were on the run, my little brother couldn't stop laughing and was laughing so loud we had to cover his mouth with a bandana. We were on our way to our first camp."

Christine smiled. Relief flooding through her at the thought of not being the only one. "Thanks."