The Lonely Bird

Chapter 5

Knock knock

"Raven? Are you alright in there?"

I bolted up from my desk where my head had been laying on an open book in front of me. Groggily, I stumbled over to the door and opened it.

Leaning against the doorframe, I rubbed my eyes and saw Kori standing before me. "Oh, good morning. Yeah, I'm fine, just woke up."

"Are you feeling better today?"

"Yes, a little fatigued. But I'm sure I could finish Garfield now if you'd like."

Kori laughed, "I don't mean to pressure you, but the kid is driving us nuts. He expects me to pamper him, Damian has become the target of Wally's pranks, and poor Megan keeps getting caught in the crossfire. It hasn't even been 48 hours; those boys just have too much energy."

I rolled my eyes at the situation, "Do you mind if I eat breakfast first?"

"Of course not," Kori smiled, "would you like me to make you something?"

I just raised an eyebrow at her. Her face turned sheepish before she opted to just wave goodbye and walk away. The cooking on her home planet, Tamaran, was...different, to say the least. We'd long since learned to not accept any food she offers us.

I quickly got ready and donned my uniform like I normally do before heading to the kitchen. I had just started preparing some eggs and toast when Wally whooshed into the room.

"Hey Raven, have you seen any slime anywhere?"

"Slime?"

"Yeah, slime. Would've been a bucket with like 5 pounds of the stuff. It's green."

"No, I haven't seen it."

"Okay, thanks anyway," and with that he ran back out of the room.

Just as I had finished cooking and sat down to eat, Damian strolled in holding a bucket.

"Hey Raven, if you see Wally, could you tell him something for me?"

"No."

"Tell him he's pathetic if he can't think of anything better than to rig a bucket above my door."

I said nothing, and Damian proceeded to exit the room. His whole backside was stained purple. I considered telling him; but honestly, I didn't want to get recruited as an accomplice. Knowing Damian, he'd figure it out and enact revenge that was ten times worse. All three boys were competitive, and I'm not convinced the Tower would survive an all out prank war. Damian was thoughtful and, I admit, a little bit evil. He would plan and execute each prank with the intent of winning the war in a single, soul-crushing display. Garfield was incredibly creative, and he could invent concoctions that could make someone smell stanky for weeks. Wally lay somewhere in the middle. He was tactful, but he didn't mind getting messy either. His speed also aided him in the setting of more elaborate or tricky pranks.

These kinds of things annoyed me to no end, and I did not like getting caught in a trap intended for someone else. I tended to hide out in my room if they were being too immature. But somewhere deep down, I knew I was going to miss this. I hate to say it, but I loved to see them all act so carefree. Almost like we were actually normal teenagers. A part of me wanted to heal Garfield just so he could join in with Wally and Damian.

Healing Garfield. I need to go heal Garfield. Remembering my duties, I rinsed out my dishes and made my way to the med wing.

Garfield beamed at me as I entered the room. Not losing his smile, he said, "Hey Rae! Couldn't resist staying away from me?"