Powerful

Chapter 6: An Odd Sort of Happiness

 After lunch (which I skipped and won't even bother to describe), I was bursting with anticipation, eager to talk to Luke. I tried to forget those few seconds, when his face was so close to mine, but I couldn't. It was impossible. But... had he really been about to kiss me? He barely knew me! Suddenly, Luke's words floated back to me: "They take everything away. In the end." I couldn't let this develop into anything stronger. Not unless I wanted something utterly devastating to happen. It was for the best. Right?

The door swooshed open, and the sound of laughter reached my ears. Such innocent, happy sounds. They didn't belong in this desolate place. We didn't belong in this desolate place. Nothing was right, and never would be again.

Trying to push these depressing thoughts out of my mind, I strode across the corridor to Luke's cell. Seeing me approaching, he flashed me a huge grin. I blushed. Just friends; we're just friends, I told myself over and over. But I didn't fully believe the words I was repeating.

"Hey," I said as I drew nearer.

"Hey, Ava," he responded, "You ready to meet your fellow prisoners?" He tapped the spot on the cot next to him, inviting me to sit. Reluctantly, I did so, on the spot farthest from Luke. Surprisingly, he barely blinked at this strange behavior.

"So," I said, "Who shall I meet first?" He laughed at my use of the word "shall". At least, I hope that's what he was laughing at.

He looked up and down the hall. "How about... numbers 2 and 3." With his right hand he pointed to the girl with white-blonde hair - #2 - and the younger girl - #3 - who had been humming "Twinkle, twinkle" when I'd first seen her.

"That's Leila," Luke continued, pointing to the older girl. She was now twisting her companion's hair into small braids. "She can control ice, which, coincidentally, has nothing to do with her hair, if you'll believe it. She's also extremely shy, which explains why her only friend is an equally shy twelve-year-old. In the time we've both been here, I've heard her say a total of four words to me, and they were 'Hello, goodbye,' and 'I'm sorry'. The chances of her talking to you are about as great as us getting out of here." He sighed in disappointment, a dejected, deflated sound, full of absolutely no hope, whatsoever.

I begrudgingly sighed in agreement. He looked at me quizzically, but the look quickly vanished. "So... she's shy. You coulda just said that," I replied, "But what about the other girl? Why's she so youn-"

"I was getting to that!" Luke interrupted jokingly. Playfully, he nudged my shoulder. My entire body grew as rigid as a board at this slight touch. Just friends, just friends, rang throughout my head like a news announcement. Luke backed away from the wall I had suddenly built around myself. Silence ensued.

"So..." I finally said, trying to claw my way out of the deep pit that was the awkward silence that hung between us.

"So..." he responded, toying with a loose thread on his pajamas. More silence. The only noises were the disturbingly loud slurping sounds made by Dani and Malcolm as they shoved their tongues down each other's throats. Normally I would find conduct like that in the presence of others completely rude and totally disgusting, but now - now things were different. Trifling little pet peeves now seemed like such a stupid thing to be worried about.

"We were talking about the girl?" I offered, trying to get the ball rolling again.

"Heh heh. Right. Right," Luke laughed awkwardly. Despite this small conversation, more silence followed. It was a few more moments before he spoke again. He cleared his throat. "That's Evie, although around here she's known as the Mistake." He put air-quotes around mistake.

"Mistake?" I asked leaning forward. Suddenly I was very intrigued. Even better, a real conversation seemed to have started; the awkward tension had dissolved into nothing but an embarrassing memory.