Gifts of the Living Phoenix

Chapter 6

Melody met up with Faith at 3 o’clock class and walked with her to Critical Research.  This class was a self paced course that emphasized the ability to find old manuals and research the past and present issues relevant to moving forward.  This course was critical for anyone who was interested in joining the council.  Again, a course that Faith had no interest in, but was rather stuck doing.  Luckily, she had found regional development a favorable topic to research to aid in how they were going to be moving from underground bunkers to live in the outer world above in masses. 

Melody however, had been observing the people walking through the halls and noticed one pair of eyes that were still trained on Faith.  It was her job to notice these things, and it was not hard to see that the blonde haired boy was looking causally in the direction Faith was walking, but definitely was staring at Faith unabashedly.  Melody would have to find out who this guy was.  He was older than the both of them, this was for sure.  So how did he know Faith or better yet, what was his interest?

Hrm, he’s cute, Melody thought.  But then realized his interest was singularly focused on Faith. Oh no… Melody groaned inwardly.  Another admirer.  She was really going to have to have a talk with Everett and Edric. 

            “Hey Everett,” Melody caught up with Everett right before dinner.

            “Hey, what’s up?”  Everett’s eyes scanned around Melody looking for Faith since they were mostly together.   He looked slightly disappointed when he didn’t see her.

            “Yeah, about that,” said Melody.

            “What?” Everett said a little more defensively than he meant to.

            “You have a thing for Faith, don’t you?”  Melody got straight to the point.

            “Yeah, well, it’s pretty complicated for all of us,” Everett confessed.

            “No, I get it, you guys are Council kids, and you aren’t exactly free to choose whoever you want for a union.  But there isn’t any reason you guys can’t just be “dating” while you’re here, can there?”  Melody reasoned.

            “Again, not so simple and I’m not the only one interested.  Edric loves Melody, though he won’t admit it.”

            “Ugh, why are you guys so complicated,” said Melody squinting up at Everett.

Their conversation got cut short as Edric and Faith walked in laughing at an inside joke.  Everett realized how much he really cared about Faith and his brother.  He didn’t know if he could ask her choose between them if they were even given such a choice. 

            “This conversation isn’t over,” Melody said curtly.

            “What conversation?”  Faith asked curious to join in whatever discussion they were having.

            “Ah, yeah, nothing of importance.  We were just having a debate,” Everett explained.

            “Ohh goody, I’ve been learning about the nuances of debating, let’s have at it,” Faith said enthusiastically.

            Everett just chuckled, seeing her enthusiasm. 

            Edric surveyed the two of with interest but interjected and said, “Next time hon, let’s go eat, I’m starved.”

Dinner was a fun affair as they had a free weekend to relax and just hang out together.  Everyone was in deep discussion trying to figure out how to have the most fun with the least amount of exertion and stress.  Mid-terms would be the following week so they were all wanting to get rest and relax as much as they could. 

            “How about we just go have a picnic and hang out by the lake on the school grounds?”  Faith suggested.

            “Wait, who’s cooking?” asked Melody cautiously.

            “Faith will!” Both Everett and Edric volunteered together.

Faith glared at them in mock protest, both knew she had a flair for cooking and baking.  They both loved the things that Faith made and couldn’t wait to see what she would make for them.

            Eyeing them suspiciously Faith asked, “So, is this what we’re going to do?”  

            “For sure, and could we have others join us?  We can have them all bring some food as well, that way you don’t have to do all the cooking and baking,”  Everett said with a smile.

            “Ok, no problem, but I’m not going to go crazy.  Though I could use a stress release of cooking and baking,” Faith admitted.

            “YAY!” Both twins yelled in anticipation and Melody just grinned because she had no idea what she was getting herself into. 

            “OH, Melody?  You get to help!”  Faith grinned mischievously.

Ugh… why me thought Melody…I don’t get paid enough for this…

Faith had been joking when she teased Melody about helping but she had already determined that she just needed some quiet time in the school kitchens.  She had done this before and asked to use the stoves and ovens to make some food for one of her class trips.  The kitchen staff were only too happy to allow her the use of their equipment.  Although most of the stoves were manipulated by coal and wood fires, they were pretty reliable and baked or cooked food items very evenly. 

Faith loved this quiet time and set about making a few different dishes for her friends to enjoy.  She made finger sandwiches to start, chicken kebabs with some vegetables and mini pork cutlets in sauce.  For dessert she made mini pies that were sweetened with fruit juices and extracted sugar cane juice.  When she finished hours later, she looked for her friends so they could help her carry the dishes, but only stepped outside of the kitchen to see them all waiting for her.

            “We figured we’d be on hand to help and didn’t want you to have to try and find us,” Everett announced. 

            “It was my suggestion,” Edric said proudly.

            “I’m just here to eat,” Melody said laughing.

            “OK, if everyone will grab a bag, we can go down to the lake,” Faith said smiling.

Everyone was excited about eating different treats that they had made.  The boys had brought some fizzy drinks that were fizzed with magic.  Melody brought all the necessities like plates, forks and napkins.  Looking around, Faith noticed there were eight of them in total. 

The Undine twins were there with a couple of dishes smiling up at Faith, and Kyle and Jacob both brought desserts their parents had sent them.  Everyone took a look at the delicious spread, the heavenly aromas starting to make their mouths water.  The whole group started talking at once about what was what and got excited to sample everything.

            “Mmmhhhmmm, oh my god, this is SO good Nami!” Faith said moaning a little at the chicken pie she had made.  Nami just beamed at her, pleased to hear her compliment her cooking.

            “Oh WOW, Faith, this is amazing!”  Melody murmured trying to talk with her mouth full.

            “Ew roomie, don’t do that.  Eat now, talk later.”  Faith burst out laughing.

Faith looked over at the twins who looked like they were in heaven sitting with their plates balanced on their laps.  Both of them were too quiet, both savoring each morsel of food that entered their mouths.

            Faith laughed at their expressions because the twins looked exactly the same - like they were in ecstasy.   Edric moaned a little causing Faith to blush when she heard him.  Edric blushed too when he realized he had made the sound out loud for everyone to hear.  The whole group burst out laughing and continued to eat, drink and enjoy their day.  It was a truly enjoyable way to spend some time relaxing.    

            From afar, Dante noticed the little group of friends sitting together.  He wanted to join their conversation for the sake of talking to Faith but decided to corner her later in the library or some other place.  He realized that in his attempt to eavesdrop he was almost stalking Faith and decided to leave before someone saw him. 

            Unfortunately for him, someone did see him and she did not like what she saw.  If she wasn’t able to have Everett, it was one thing, but Dante was the cutest guy in school.  She wasn’t going to let Faith have him too.  Something had to be done!  Someone had to teach that girl a lesson…