Ender Wiggin's Last Game

Tensions Released

Ender yawned and lay back in his bed. Lately, things had been very tense in the ship. Penelope was closed off to the world, Valentine seemed to stick to Ender like her life depended on it, and he and Meiji stopped sparring for the time being.

Ender had a lot of pent up energy and no way to release it. 

Ender still worked out, sure, but it was a far cry from the kind of stimulation he got from Meiji.

"Ender, " he heard Valentine call. Ender sat up, looking at her figure taking up the doorway.

"Val, " he responded a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Do you want lunch or are you going to starve?"

"I prefer lunch, actually." He said as he stood. Valentine seemed more reserved after she came back from Muhammad's ship. She was quieter and her posture was more slumped. It was as if she had aged ten years while Ender didn't age at all.

It hurt to watch her be so closed off. Ender often wondered what Muhammad did to her, but he didn't ask. That would be painful for them all.

Compared to Penelope, Valentine was downright upbeat. Ender had tried to speak to Penelope, but she shoved him away. Literally. Ever since then, she refused to speak to anyone but Valentine.

Every meal, this one included, was awkward, quiet. That was just fine for Ender. He wasn't bothered by the silence. But Meiji, however, looked as if he was suffocating.

All social activities had been put on hold for weeks. It took an unexpected toll on Meiji. He had just gotten used to being friendly and open with Ender, but now that the girls were here, their relationship had also taken a hit.

Ender now sat eating in silence. Meiji sat across from him, Valentine on his left, and Penelope on his right.

Despite the tension in the air, it seemed that nobody wanted to sit alone. Least of all Penelope, who went wherever the most people were. Though, neither Valentine nor Penelope ever sat next to Meiji.

It was quite a predicament, Ender knew. Meiji needed to socialize and so he spent his time near Ender like he always had. However, Valentine, who dislikes Meiji revolved around Ender, and Penelope hated being alone even though she doesn't like being around men.

Ender hardly had any room to breathe, but he stuck it out. He just needed time to fix this.

Ender looked up when he heard Meiji sigh.

"I don't know about you, Ender, but I feel like I could go for a spar or two." Ender knew exactly how he felt, but he didn't think violence was at the top of the list of things that would make the girls feel better.

"Don't you have work to do?" He said jokingly. He hoped that Meiji would take the hint even though Ender sounded like he didn't mean it.

"Aren't you a little pent up?" Meiji raised his brow.

From the corner of his eye, Ender could see Valentine and Penelope exchange glances.

Ender shrugged. "I guess, but it's not like you're all that strong. I'd be better off sparring against Penelope." He said, smiling a little. He was joking, of course. Meiji was much stronger than Penelope was.

"Bring it on, commander," Penelope said, in a bored tone. She was playing along. That's good, thought Ender, playing is good.

Meiji seemed to notice her change in attitude as well.
"Hell, I'll take you both on and I bet I'll still win."