READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 14: Befriended
Looking around in hopes of finding her, Scott eventually noticed she was getting to work right away, walking to a washing station located in the left-back corner of a rather small room for twenty people. He tried to follow her discreetly to the back, and as she tried setting up her station, Scott hurried up to claim the empty station right next to her. It looked like someone else was trying to claim it, so in an attempt to be first, Scott dashed towards the station, scaring off a young man calmly heading in the same direction. Scott received a strange look in response, but as the girl appeared to not have paid much attention to the demonstration, he managed to remain unnoticed.
While she was distracted trying to open a laundry basket, Scott tried to play it cool as he entered his station. It was a small square with one wide vat and a single washboard to do his job, although he was completely lost and didn’t know what to do once he was there. He got distracted again when he saw the girl having problems with her job as well. He managed to open his basket right away, but seeing her struggle allowed him to quickly leave his station and step closer to hers, leaning in to grab the basket over the vat of her station.
For a moment, the girl reacted defensively, trying to hold on to her basket out of instinct. But as she looked up at Scott for the first time, the weird expression from believing she was being robbed turned into a pleasant one once he managed to open the basket for her effortlessly. Without looking at her, Scott retrieved a few pieces of dirty clothes, and without thinking through, he handed them to her. She didn’t know how to react, but as soon as he had a full view of her face up close, he turned nervous and prompted a response, though it was just a restrained giggle.
–Umm, here you go…– Scott said timidly as he offered the dirty clothes to the girl. She hesitated to grab them, but after a while of nervous staring, she took them from his hands with a grateful but brief smile that made it harder for Scott to focus.
–Thank you, I didn’t really listen to our coach…– the girl replied, laughing just as sheepishly as Scott, even though he looked more nervous to look at her. Regardless, he laughed with her and silently returned to his station, but as he took some clothes out of his basket to start washing, he noticed that the girl’s eyes had followed him and were showing some level of friendliness that got Scott to open up more.
–Yea, me neither. I guess we just uhh… We pour water on them a-and then use some of these things…– Scott said jokingly as he clumsily figured out his way to do the job, becoming even more nervous to have the girl watching as he struggled to wash his first batch of dirty clothes. He grabbed a bottle of liquid soap and squeezed it too hard, splashing the clothes and himself with it. He was startled by his own recklessness but seemed to be having fun, and so was the girl, since he looked at her right as she let out a giggle.
–We’ll just have to learn together, I guess…– the girl replied with a lighthearted smile that Scot returned, but he was now a bit more physically comfortable, even when he just covered his hand and the lower part of his shirt with clothes. He tried to laugh it off, and since he couldn’t come up with anything else to say in response, he turned his full attention to his new job, trying his hardest to scrub the dirty clothes with the many sponges at his disposal, maybe a little too hard. The girl did the same, but after a long silence between the two, she seemed to be amused by the sight of him aggressively washing strangers’ clothes and caught him off guard by continuing to talk to him.
–So, what is your name?– the girl asked sheepishly, making Scott look back at her in surprise. He tried to remain composed and gathered the courage to maintain eye contact, but it looked like the girl was looking down at the clothes she was washing to hide her subtly flushed cheeks.
–I’m Scott, what about you?– Scott responded in a somewhat confident tone, but also looking down like her. His voice did quiet down a little, but he was still able to be heard by the girl, who resumed the conversation without facing him again, mainly because the coach began walking around the room to check up on everyone and make sure they were actually doing their job. For a second, Scott grew worried at the silence coming from the other side, but when he looked up and noticed the girl was staying quiet because the coach had just passed by them, he was surprised to see her look up as well with a playful smile.
–I’m Zoey, nice to meet you…– Zoey replied while trying to hold in a giggle, making Scott smile, though also prompting him to think about her name and take his time to come up with another response as Zoey looked down again at the clothes.
–Cool, it’s nice to meet you too…– Scott said in a friendly but timid manner, and to his surprise, he got a glimpse of Zoey smiling again, but only for a brief moment. While it looked like they enjoyed each other’s company, Scott didn’t get to talk much after that, although he looked genuinely happy to be making a new friend, especially because it was a cute girl his age who seemed to find him likable as well.
With a job to take care of, they didn’t get a chance to chat much. They still distracted themselves with a few glances, but it always ended with a couple of smiles or laughs. They tried keeping up with the pace of the others, but as they seemed to have more fun with work, they took their time to do their job right. But as they weren’t as efficient as the others, they were actually the last ones to end their shift, right as everyone else began having lunch. However, instead of rushing out of the hot and moist basement like all the other volunteers, Scott waited for Zoey to finish her job, and they both couldn’t help but stick together since they didn’t have other people to talk to.
Leaving the basement and trying to find their way out of the barracks, Scott and Zoey remained relatively silent, both pretending to be more focused on looking for the courtyard to find some food instead of talking to each other. It looked like they weren’t bothered by each other’s lack of social skills, probably because when they looked at one another, they could tell they didn’t have much to say or were embarrassed to speak first, so they just exchanged a couple awkward smiles and laughed at the fact they had been running around in circles in the barracks.
It was only when they finally left and stepped into the courtyard together that they found something to talk about. Everyone was already finishing their meals, and the kitchen was closing, but as Scott hurried up to get in line for the last servings, he managed to snatch some food for himself. He was content to have something to eat, even though it was only a sandwich with a couple of slim slices of meat and potatoes. But as he went to take his seat at one of the now empty tables at the front, he noticed that Zoey wasn’t as lucky as him and didn’t get anything to eat. She looked disappointed but not too bothered, which Scott saw as an opportunity to be nice and invited her to the table to share his meal.
–Thanks, but I’m good… I’m not even that hungry…– Zoey replied politely to Scott’s gestures as he tried to get her to sit next to him. It was clear she was being modest, so he insisted. Though, he couldn’t talk with his mouth full and kept calling her over with the same gesture as he munched on his sandwich. Apparently, she found the act silly enough to fall for, and after a hearty laugh, Zoey sat across the table before picking a couple of potatoes. She tried to hide the act of eating in front of him, but he kept his eyes on her at all times, making her laugh out of embarrassment and, consequently, getting Scott to make fun of her with a fake judgmental stare to make her more embarrassed.
–Have you ever touched food before or…?–Scott asked tauntingly, getting another laugh from Zoey, although she didn’t seem too embarrassed anymore.
–Yea, I just don’t want to interrupt you or anything…– Zoey replied modestly, trying to give Scott privacy by not staring at him while he was eating. But as he was interested in keeping the conversation alive, he just chuckled and nodded in a laid-back manner.
–No, it’s okay… It’s not like I have anything else to do– Scott joked with more confidence, getting Zoey to relax a bit more and lean in to keep talking. But as he was finishing his sandwich, Zoey casually stole the last potatoes from him without his knowledge before looking back and seeing that everyone was leaving the courtyard already, only them staying to have a private conversation.
–You’re from Echokinge, right? I’ve heard that was the main target in the attack. I hope there weren’t many losses…– Zoey asked with more sympathy, trying to be respectful with her comment, which Scott dismissed like it was nothing.
–No, it was fine … I mean, yea, a lot of my friends died and… But at least they came to save us quickly, so I’m grateful…– Scott replied nonchalantly, putting a bit more thought into the question in the middle of his sentence, almost going back to the gruesome deaths he witnessed yesterday. But as he remained focused on Zoey’s face, specifically her eyes, he was able to look on the bright side and stay relatively positive, though it did create some concern on her part.
–That’s good… Is your family still with you? – Zoey asked apprehensively, becoming increasingly nervous or insecure to ask personal stuff, even though Scott didn’t seem to mind and kept a friendly attitude. However, her worries increased when she saw Scott’s smile change abruptly.
–No…– Scott responded bluntly, not even thinking about his answer for a second, which caught Zoey off guard and instantly killed the mood. She saw his expression turn into a somber one as he looked down at the table. It was only for a second, but it was enough for her to feel the need to apologize and retract her question. But since Scott noticed her regretting her question and was about to apologize, he quickly adapted his previous demeanor to not worry her.
–I mean, they died way before the battle. I think it was poisoning or something, but it was years ago, so it’s okay…– Scott added in a more lighthearted tone, laughing at the misunderstanding that got Zoey so distressed. She seemed to feel bad laughing at the situation, but seeing as he was cool with it, she gave him a supportive smile and continued to be friendly.
–Oh, okay. I feel you. My parents died of old age, so… I guess that’s the best outcome …– Zoey replied in a similar carefree but self-depressing manner that Scott appeared to relate to. They both managed to laugh at their unfortunate absence of parents, but since they both were so comfortable talking about it, it didn’t stop them from bonding over the topic even more.
–True, that’s the best way to go, reaching thirty-five and passing peacefully in bed…– Scott said thoughtfully, receiving a nod of agreement from Zoey. They seemed to share the same opinion, but brooding over the topic was starting to bring their spirits down. So in response, Zoey tried to change the subject after fixing her gaze on the bandage of his wounded hand, which didn’t stand out at first since it looked like every single villager had received medical assistance, including her.
–Were you scared? I mean, back there in battle– Zoey asked with curiosity but was still respectful enough to not pressure Scott into answering. He hesitated to respond, but after seeing how eager she was to hear his experience, he didn’t think too much about it and gladly shared his story.
–Uhh… Yea, of course. It was terrifying, but I just kept fighting with everyone else. One of the main heroes here called me brave for that…– Scott replied nonchalantly, even sounding proud of his accomplishment of surviving the battle, as well as flaunting the compliment she received from Candy. This seemed to impress Zoey greatly, as her jaw was wide open in surprise when she heard him admit his fear during battle so casually.
–Maybe you’ll be a hero too, then…– Zoey said teasingly but genuinely commended him with a kindhearted and earnest smile that made Scott blush a little. He tried to keep boasting, but as her comment really got to him, he couldn’t help but be modest and just accept the compliment with a sheepish smile.
–Yea, one can only dream…– Scott replied in a pensive manner, staring at the sky with dreamy eyes as his imagination filled him with unbelievable goals for him to fantasize about. He didn’t get to reflect much though; he only entertained the idea for a brief second as Zoey was fully invested in hearing more about him and couldn’t help but ask more. So, with them having the rest of the day to chat, they gladly spent all of their free time getting to know each other while they toured the base together, quickly growing closer as they shared facts about themselves.