The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 7

7

There were few things worse than being trapped underground with people that could eat me for breakfast, but right now, the headache was rivalling it all. “Oh… My head…”

“Shhhhhh,” someone hissed, accompanied with groans of pain that resembled how I felt.

Dazed, I pushed myself up from the green couch, only to stare up in a pair of eyes. Ryoko’s eyes.

Why was she hovering above me?

I focused my foggy head, slowly putting two and two together. An arm under my head, my hand on a waist. Were we cuddling? In front of everyone?

Shit!

I shot up, not minding my hangover for just a moment. The pinching sensation quickly returned, only twice as strong, as if to punish me for moving too fast.

“Are you okay?” I whispered, checking if anyone noticed us.

Across the metal table, Sim sat with his head between his hands, softly groaning in misery. His own hangover clearly didn’t let him pay attention to anything else.

Next to him, Flavia was still sound asleep. A loud snoring emitted from her and she was sprawled all over the green couch, not leaving much space for the curled up ball of Astrid.

We must have just passed out after all the drinking. Nobody even made it to any of the beds. That probably meant nobody noticed my cuddle with Ryoko. Or at least, I hoped not.

If anyone brought it up, I would just blame the booze and that wasn’t even a lie.

The events of yesterday were all a little hazy. I remembered the game of truth or dare, I had a vague memory of drinking coffee, but how or when or why I ended up snuggling into the Dragon? That was a mystery to me.

I stretched the strains from my limbs, relishing in the brief moment of solace until all the aches and cramps returned.

What I wouldn’t give for a breath of fresh air, the wind in my hair, the mist fogging over the cliffs. But down here, there was no chance for any of that. It was just steel and metal and endless grey. None of which was helping with my hangover.

“My head hurts,” I moaned.

“Would you like some water?” Ryoko proposed. “Or perhaps tea or coffee?”

“Do we have any of that?” The pounding in my head echoed with every word, making it hard to concentrate.

“I believe there are still some coffee and tea pouches.”

My entire body protested as I rose from the couch. “Whatever it is, I’ll have some.”

“Some what?” Ryoko asked.

“Anything,” I grunted. “As long as it contains no alcohol.”

She shot me a look of pity. “Did you really drink that much yesterday? How are you so hungover?”

“How are you not?” I countered, glaring at the beautiful woman. She drank at least as much as everyone else, yet she didn’t have dark bags or blood-shot eyes. She didn’t reek of booze or looked like she had a restless night of sleep. So unfair.

“Dragon secret.” She placed a warm hand on my hip. “Why don’t you sit. I’ll bring you something?”

Despite the throbbing headache, my chest fluttered. “Really?”

“Yes. I’m feeling okay.”

“How?” I questioned again, rejoicing as I sat back own.

“Dragon secret.” With a mysterious smile, she walked over to the table in the corner, which we had designated the kitchen last night.

More memories passed through me, reminding me why they were so many torn open packages and half-empty cups. Flavia and Astrid did find coffee, but they were part of big ration packs. And in our drunken hunger, we’d just torn them open and eaten whatever we could get our hands on. At the time, it seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

Right now it just looked like a massive waste. Some of the rations were burst open and spilling out onto the floor. Others were half-eaten or mixed in strange combinations that only drunk people could enjoy. What a mess…

I turned back around, checking if the others had awoken or not.

Flavia was leaning against Sim in a grumpy attempt to use him as a pillow. He didn’t seem to particularly mind, but he could just not have had the energy to protest.

Next to them, Astrid was sat up with her eyes still closed. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have guessed she was still asleep. Actually, now that I studied her better, she was.

“I feel like something died in my mouth,” Flavia groaned.

Sim gagged demonstratively. “I can tell.”

“You don’t smell like daisies either,” she countered.

Before the two could bicker more, Ryoko placed a tray of steaming mugs down on the table. “I brought coffee!”

“f**k, yes.” Flavia jolted up and shoved Sim out of the way for her mug.

What a girl wouldn’t do for her coffee. I’d never even heard her curse properly before, but then, a hangover would certainly lower anyone’s inhibitions.

Drawn in by the roasted smell, I leaned towards the table. “Is there any tea?”

“Yes, here.” Ryoko handed me one of the mugs and sat down next to me with one of her own.

Only when I took hold of the hot cup, I realised how cold it was in the bunker. Deep underground, the heat of the sun couldn’t reach us and it certainly didn’t help that I slept as an unorganised pile on the couch.

I took a little nip from my tea and sighed in satisfaction. “Ahhh… That hits the spot.”

“Hmmm, totally,” Ryoko agreed while holding her own cup.

“Are you drinking coffee?” I asked, perking up so I could get a better look. “You are. Why aren’t you having tea?”

She gave me a faint smile. “I wasn’t in the mood.”

That made no sense. For as long as I’d known her, I’d only ever see her drink tea and she drank it by the buckets. In the morning, during the breaks, before bed. She had tea in her veins. So why wouldn’t she have tea now?

Unless...

I looked down at the tea bag floating in my mug, only just putting the pieces together.

“Was this the only tea you could find?” I asked, holding up my mug.

A guilty look passed over her face. “Yes, but it’s fine. I don’t mind coffee.”

“Switch with me.” I held out the cup, determined to not take no for an answer.

A blush coloured her cheeks. “Don’t be silly. I’m perfectly happy with coffee.”

“And you’ll be happier with tea. Switch.”

We locked eyes in a temporary stand-off, caught in a world of our own. Her eyes flickered with fire, mine captured the magic of the wind. We were so different and yet, there was something between us.

An eternity passed before a smile tugged on her lips and she accepted the mug. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

She chuckled, happily sipping from her tea. “That’s not a very polite answer.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Not where I’m from.” She gave me a smile to let me know she was just teasing. “This is surprisingly decent tea, considering it came out of ration.”

“Hmmm.” I slurped from the coffee. While it wasn’t my favourite, I could appreciate the roasted aroma. There was something satisfying about the deep flavours and the bitter notes, even if there was a slight staleness detectable. “This is pretty good.”

“It’s welcome after last night.” Ryoko leaned back into the couch, not too far away from me.

If we were alone, if I wanted and she’d let me, I could’ve reached out and touched her leg without straining myself. She was that close.

But with the other three seated just a table away, any sign of affection between us would not be received well. Whatever was going on between the two of us, it was a secret the Academy wasn’t ready for.

Reluctantly, I tore my gaze away from the beautiful Dragon and focused my attention on the conversation between Sim and Flavia.

“It’s your fault I’m hungover,” the Reaper muttered, glaring at Flavia.

The blonde scoffed. “Me? I didn’t pour the vodka in your mouth. You’re the one that wanted to get plastered.”

“Yes, because I couldn’t deal with your face.” He straightened his cape pedantically and demonstratively. “You’re the last person I wanted to get stuck with.”

“You’re not my first choice either,” she countered.

His face fell into a grimace. “Well, don’t I know that. You made that abundantly clear last time.”

The Reaper pushed himself up from the couch and stomped away from the main area.

“What? Wait, I was kid—” Flavia called, but he’d already slammed the door to the storage room shut. The blonde looked at us, holding up her hands. “What did I say?”

“I don’t know?” I shrugged. They had a weird relationship and I wasn’t going to get in between whatever was going on.

Flavia sighed. “I guess I’ll go talk to him…”

That just left me, Ryoko, and Astrid. None of us any wiser about what was going on between them or when we’d get out of here.