Chapter 8
677 Words
8
Astrid gestured to the storage room. “What’s taking them so long?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“Do you think she’s killed him or something?”
“Of course not. She’d never do that,” I reasoned.
Astrid crossed her arms, clearly upset Sim was getting private time with Flavia. “Aren’t you curious? Want to eavesdrop?”
“That’s not very nice,” Ryoko weighed in, looking at me. “You’re not going to do that, right, Ylva?”
I hesitated. I was curious as to what was going on but I didn’t want to disappoint Ryoko again. Besides, it was terribly rude to intrude on someone’s privacy. My curiosity would just have to go unsatisfied.
I settled back into the couch, folding my arms to feel more definite about my decision. “Nahh.”
“Boring.” Astrid rose from her seat and tiptoed to the back. She gestured for us to be silent and pressed her ear against the steel. Whether she could hear something through the thick metal, that was an entirely different question.
“Come away!” I called, earning a glare from her.
“Shut up,” she countered. “If you keep talking, I can’t hear anything.”
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes and leaned back into the couch, inching slightly closer to Ryoko. If it was just the two of us, maybe I could sneak in a semi-intimate moment.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“So and so. I’m worried about Ryuga-sensei’s body. He needs a proper burial.”
I nodded as I placed a careful hand on her arm. “I’m sure the headmistress will see to it.”
“I certainly hope so.”
She looked down at where I was touching her and I quickly pulled my hand away. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
“Do you have special Dragon ceremonies?” I asked, checking over my shoulder. Just to make sure Astrid was definitely not paying attention to us.
Ryoko nodded. “Yes, we’ll have a— Is it okay to have Astrid eavesdrop like that?”
“Ummm… Not sure.” I turned to look over my other shoulder at my classmate. “I don’t think she can actually hear anything.”
“Eavesdropping isn’t very polite. Can you do something about it?”
“Sure?” I pushed myself up from the couch and crossed the small hallway to the storage area where Astrid was half-seated with her ear against the steel door.
She rolled her eyes when she saw me approach. “What?”
“Maybe it’s better not to eavesdrop,” I said, earning a glare.
“You know what, Ylva. I always had a low opinion of you, but taking orders from a Dragon… Now that’s even beneath you.”
I clicked my jaw. “Excuse me?”
“I know Ryoko is the one that doesn’t want me here. She should’ve come and told me herself.”
“Hey, I agree with her on this. And she doesn’t do confrontation,” I defended her, moving aside so I stood between Astrid and the couch area. “Now come away.”
She crossed her arms. “No.”
Ugh… Why did she always have to be such a pain in the ass? In a closed bunker, privacy was a bit of a luxury, but that didn’t mean we shouldn’t give them space. It was just like waiting somewhere. Crowding strangers wasn’t cool.
“Come on. Just leave Flavia and Sim be,” I tried again, reaching out for Astrid’s wrist. The moment I did that, I knew I made a mistake.
“Don’t touch me,” she shrieked, slapping my hand away.
“Did you just slap me?” I gasped, immediately returning the favour and hitting her arm. I wasn’t the fighting type, but there was just something about Astrid that rubbed me the wrong way. And she started it.
“Oh! You did that on purpose. Mine was an accident.”
She swatted at me and before we knew it, we were caught in an air-slapping competition, only occasionally hitting each other.
“Stop it, stop it, stop it,” I chanted, flapping my hands in front of my face.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Astrid sang, breaking away from the slapping and shoving me.
I stumbled backwards, caught off guard by her assault. “Hey!”
“What?”
I knew I shouldn’t, but that didn’t stop me. As quickly as I could, I pushed Astrid away from me, against the steel door.
With a high shriek, it swung open to reveal the dusty storage room and Sim and Flavia, entwined in a long and passionate kiss.
- Writer
