Young Writers Society

Soooo....starting soon? I'm excited!! xD

Yep! Tomorrow I will start! This should be fun!!

Lynnox Mastin

"NO! Lynnox, help! Please! STOP!"

I bolted upright, my brother's screams still echoing in my head. It was just a dream. Sweat drenched my sheets, making them stick to my body. I rubbed my face with my hands. My eyes were swollen and puffy. I must have cried in my sleep. The light flooding into the room told me it was about nine in the morning. I peeked over the top of my bunk to see if any others had woken up. The room was filled with wooden bunk beds. Everyone shared. The girls in one room and the guys in another. Most of the bunks were empty which meant they were all at the slop room where food was served from eight to ten every morning and five to seven in the afternoon. I popped my head under my top bed to see if the little girl I shared a bed with was still sleeping. I frowned when all I found were crumpled up sheets. She was the only one I was able to open up to. Something about her sweet innocent smile and her tall tales drew me in. She reminded me of my brother, Logan. Just thinking about him made my heart cry out. I am going to find him, I have to. I shook Logan out of my head and climbed down. I pulled on a sports bra and a donated shirt and made my way to the slop room. As soon as I stepped into the hallway a handful of kids rushed past me, all racing towards one of the five bathrooms in the whole orphanage. I pushed my way through them and stood in line to get food. When I got to the front of the line I pointed to some debatable looking eggs.
"Just those please." I ordered. "And my cran-orange muffin. Like usual."
The warden behind the counter ignored me.
"Hey? Excuse me?" I said a little louder. "I said I would like eggs and my muffin, please."
No response. She turned her back towards me.
"I said-" I repeated but she whipped around and cut me off.
"I heard you the first time." She growled. She always had scared me a little.
"Then why didn't you-"
The warden jabbed her finger at the clock behind me.
It read 10:07. I was late. I ground my teeth and left the slop room with a growling stomach.

Max

I spooned the last bit of yogurt into my mouth, looking across the table at Molly who had been patiently waiting for me to finish for the past five minutes. Her attention was turned towards the food line where Lynnox was being turned away for being late.

Taking my blueberry muffin from my tray I held it out to Molly and suggested, "Monkey, how about you go give this to Lynnox? Make sure no one sees, okay?"

Molly had taken a liking to Lynnox within the first few hours of being moved from the nursery to the "big kids room", as Molly calls it, and Lynnox seemed to have the same liking for Molly. It was good for Molly, I think, to be close with an older girl. She has no memory of our mother and I'm her only family. Me, a teenage boy. So I was happy to give up some of my breakfast - she took care of Molly when I couldn't, like in the middle of the night when I wasn't allowed to go into the girls' room, and she was her companion.

Molly snatched the muffin from me and gave me a gap-toothed smile - those baby teeth of hers were going to bleed me dry. After all, she deserves a tooth fairy, even if it costs me a buck per tooth.

Molly hopped out of her chair, stuffing the muffin in her pajama shirt pocket, and ran to catch up with Lynnox.

"I'll be there in five minutes, Monkey!" I called after her.

Throwing back the last of the milk, I crumpled the carton and picked up my tray. I stood, throwing the milk carton away and placing the tray in the dirty dish pile.

I quickly made my way to the boys' room and opened my dresser drawer, pulling out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt to change into. Pulling the gray pajama t-shirt off, I threw it in the hamper and remembered when I had first come here. The room was stuffed full of boys from five to seventeen, and I refused to change in front of them and show them even more of my scars. For a few months I would change under my blanket, but eventually stopped caring. There were only a few of us now. Most had aged out or been adopted or fostered. This could only mean one thing - the train was soon.

Stepping out of my sweat pants and into my jeans, I couldn't help but frown. Molly and I had survived a handful of trains together, but that in no way saved us the next time. And just five months from my eighteenth birthday this time, if she gets taken from me I don't know what I'll do. But I did have one trick up my sleeve just in case....

Threading a hand-me-down belt through the loops, I crossed the hall towards the girls' room. I buckled it just as I went through the door, spotting Lynnox and Molly sitting on Molly's bunk. I smiled at the sight of them, Molly in her pink pajama pants and a white t-shirt of mine and Lynnox eating the blueberry muffin I had donated, smiling at something Molly told her.

I opened Molly's drawer and pulled out her favorite blue dress, tossing it on the bed as she told a story to Lynnox.

"Little monkey," I said, scooping her up standing her on the floor, "put a pause on the story and get dressed."

Molly pulled off her pajamas but continued the story, "So the giant knocked on the roof of their house and growled 'you will give me one of your children or I will eat you all!'"

I pulled the dress over her head and tugged it down as she said, "So the man and his wife spent the whole night trying to decide which child to give to the giant. But they couldn't decide, so they put all of their names on a piece of paper and put them in a hat."

Wait a minute, I thought to myself as I sat beside Lynnox, I know this story, "You little thief!"

I grabbed her by her stomach and pulled her into my lap, tickling her mercilessly as I laughed, "I told you that story last night before bed!"

In all honesty, though, I was so tired last night that I had taken a story from my new book "And The Mountains Echoed" and used it as my own, but she would never know that, especially the way she botched it up in her seven year old way.

Molly shrieked with glee as I tickled her and began yelling between laughs, "I'm sorry, stoooop tickling meeeee!"

I released her and she sped to the other side of Lynnox, safe from my tickling fingers.

I looked over to Lynnox, examining her gray eyes with my own mismatched ones. Clearing my throat, I said for the first time, "Thanks for, you know, taking care of her when I'm not around."

She stared at ne for just a moment before responding with a small smile and a soft, "Really, it's my pleasure."

I nodded slowly, then quickly stood and said, "Monkey, I'm going to go look for something to do. You coming?"

She shook her head no and declared, "No, I'm going to finish telling m-your story to Lynnox."

With a shrug of my shoulders I stalked off, heading towards the common room in search of someone to talk to or hang out with. This place gets more and more boring with each passing day, I swear.

Sitting on the couch that's been there longer than I had were London and Greyson. Molly got a kick out of the boy's name, loving that it matched her own last name. He and I had actually become friends - after all, there weren't many boys our age in this dump.

"Hey guys," I muttered, sitting down on the couch beside London, "Five bucks we end up in Boston."

Gee, that sure would be something what with Lynnox being with us.

I got a small chuckle out of them, and then Greyson said, "Man, I wish there was something to do around here."

"Me too man," I responded, shaking my head, "You two wanna go look around or something? Maybe we can grab some of the others and get some kind of game going. I think we still have the basketball."

London

Greyson contemplated Max's offer, planning out the possibilities of winning no doubt. I watched as his eyebrows drew closer together and his grey eyes grew darker in thought. My brother was smart, but sometimes he couldn't just play a fair game without using some impossible tactic to win. Rolling my eyes, I shoved Greyson's shoulder and stood.

"Alright, but it isn't a fair game for whatever team has to go against Grey," I joked as the other two boys stood to join me. They towered over me, but that was something I had grown used to. I wasn't exactly short, but compared to half the guys here, I looked like a dwarf.

Grey rumpled my chocolate brown hair and pulled me into a hug.

"I don't appreciate being talked about," he joked, a deep laugh rumbling through his chest. I always liked it when Grey laughed, because it felt as if he didn't do it often enough. I missed the old days when making him smile wasn't so hard and talking to him didn't always lead to a fight. But things had changed; we weren't young anymore.

I left the depressing thoughts behind as Greyson, Max, and I went off to find more players and the old basketball that we had gotten forever ago. We didn't have much excitement in the Orphanage, but things were about to get pretty interesting.

Cassandra/ Cassie

Waking up to screaming and shouting, again. Why does everyone have to be so loud?
I looked over at the old, cracked watch I keep under my pillow. It was 11:24am and I had missed breakfast; it was not anything new, I often missed breakfast. It gave me a chance to avoid everyone and ‘lurk in the shadows’ of the orphanage.

Slowly, I pealed the thin cover away from my body and jumped down from my top bunk, making a loud thud. I got dressed in my favourite attire, black top on black jeans with black combat boots and black eyeliner.

By 12:30pm everyone must have been awake. I went for a walk around the orphanage, being careful to avoid the other kids. I wasn’t in the best of mood this morning… afternoon or whatever.

I didn’t have a very close friend, since any friends I made, all ended up in foster/ adoption homes.

Today should be eventful, I thought to myself as I observed people walking through the hall, from a darker lit corner.

"Hey baby girl!" I smiled as Molly bounced towards me.

"For you!" She exclaimed and held out a muffin.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

Molly's tiny hand grabbed mine as we walked towards our room.

"Ooh!" She squealed as I sat down on her bed. "Do you want to hear a story?!"

"Of course I do, silly! Just as long as you help me make the beds!"

Her big eyes shown with excitement. "Okay so there once was a family with tons and tons of children!"

"Oh yeah?" I asked pulling up the sheets. "How many?"

"Way too many!" She beamed.

I laughed. Through the corner of my eye I saw Max walk towards us. I only knew him a little, and by a little I mean I knew who he was and that they were nothing without each other.

"Little monkey," He said, scooping her up, "put a pause on the story and get dressed."

Molly pulled off her pajamas but continued the story, "So the giant knocked on the roof of their house and growled 'you will give me one of your children or I will eat you all!'"

"Oh no!" I gasped. "What will they do?"

Max tugged a dress over her head as she said, "So the man and his wife spent the whole night trying to decide which child to give to the giant. But they couldn't decide, so they put all of their names on a piece of paper and put them in a hat."

I kept my eyes on her rapidly moving hands while Max sat beside me.

"You little thief!" He teased.

He grabbed her and pulled her into his lap, tickling her. "I told you that story last night before bed!"

Molly shrieked as he tickled her. "I'm sorry, stoooop tickling meeeee!"

When she broke free she sped to the other side of me hiding in my shirt.

Max looked at me. I felt my cheeks grow warmer as he stared at my eyes. I met his gaze and smiled sheepishly. I could stare at his eyes forever. He was pretty cute. Not that it would ever happen or anything. I bit down hard on my tongue, punishing myself for even thinking about that. I can't get close with anyone. I don't want to hurt anymore. Well I guess I had already screwed that when I took Molly under my wing.

Max cleared his throat, cutting off my thoughts."Thanks for, you know, taking care of her when I'm not around."

I didn't say anything. It was the first time he had actually talked directly. Speak Lynnox. "Really, it's my pleasure." It came out quieter than I had wanted. Oh well.

He nodded slowly, then quickly stood and said, "Monkey, I'm going to go look for something to do. You coming?"

She shook her head no and declared, "No, I'm going to finish telling m-your story to Lynnox."

I smiled. It was rare she picked someone over Max.

Molly finished her story while I made the beds and put some real clothes on.

"The End!" She took a bow, her dark waves going everywhere.

"Very nice!" I applauded. "I liked that one! You'll have to tell me another before bed time okay?"

She jumped into my arms and nodded happily. "Come on," she urged. "Let's go find something to do!"

I swayed back and forth, making Molly,who was resting on my hip, giggle.
"Hmm. You know how much I don't like to talk to people."

She stuck out her bottom lip and clasped her hands together. "Pleaseeee, Lynnox. I'm bored. You don't have to talk to them, I will! Just come with me please!"

I sighed and tickled her stomach. "Okay. Let's go."

She hopped out of my arms and grabbed my hand, pulling me down the hallway.

"We could watch TV?" I suggested.

"No. There's nothing ever on TV!" She whined.

She was right. The TV only got about 10 channels. Most of them were infomercials.

Molly skipped down the halls, asking everyone what their name was and how they were. Most kids ignored her but a couple mumbled small answers back.

"Molly!" I called as she bounded ahead of me. "Wait up silly!"

She turned the corner and disappeared. When she came into sight again she was talking to another girl about my age or so.

"Lookit, Lynnox!" She boasted proudly. "I found us a new friend!"

I examined the other girl, suddenly becoming very territorial of Molly. She was mine and Max's. I don't want to share her.

"What's your name?" I asked her, slightly more hostile than when Molly asks.

"Cassie." She murmured.

I looked her over some more. She had super long hair, that of which I am very jealous, and deep green eyes. I had seen her around a couple times but never made an effort to talk to her.

"Molly, babe, maybe we should just go and find Max. Cassie seems content in this corner."

"No!" Cassie reached out to touch me but I glared at her before she could. "Really, it's fine." She turned towards Molly. "Who's your friend?" She asked her voice colder than before.

I was taken aback that she hadn't just asked me. I was standing right here afterall.

"That's Lynnox!" Molly beamed, oblivious towards our attitudes.

I ruffled her hair. "I think I'm gonna go find your brother. Have fun, okay? Be careful!"

"He's probably watching TV or playing basketball!" Molly said.

"Alrighty. Come find us later so we know where you're at."

She bobbed her head and pulled Cassie down the hall, my eyes burning a hole in the back of her head.

Molly

"Sometimes me and my brother see you standing by yourself. Why are you always alone?" I ask, our hands entwined as we walked down the hall.

"Well," Cassie said, "I don't have many friends. Besides, I kind of like being alone sometimes."

Looking up to her, I ask, "But if you talked sometimes maybe you would have friends. Then you wouldn't have to be alone."

She looked down at me with a smile, and I thought for a moment, then looked back up at her and questioned, "Are we friends, Cassie?"

Smiling, Cassie gave a nod of her head.

"Well then you'll love Max! Come on!" I cheer, holding her hand tightly as I headed towards the door.

Cassie called my name a few times, but I kept going until the sun was on our faces and the gravel crunched beneath our feet.

"Max!" I yell, causing him to turn to look at me.

He smiles and waves with one hand, and all of the sudden someone steals the ball from him.

"Hey!" I say with a frown, running over to the person and latching on to their arm, "You have to play fair! That wasn't fair!"

I was stopped, though, when Max scooped me up, enveloping me in his familiar smell, "What did you need, Monkey?"

Squirming to get out of his arms and away from his sweaty chest, I replied, "I need to show you something."

He set me down and I ran to Cassie, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards Max.

"Maxy, it's the girl who is always by herself. Her name is Cassie - she's my new friend!"

Squinting against the sun, he looked at Cassie, still panting from a minute ago.

Smiling, he waved her over, "Want to join? My team is down a player."

So that's a no on new characters? Ok.

Cassandra/Cassie


I guess this wasn’t a very welcoming person. Never mind, I guess I don’t look like the friendliest girl out there anyway. She asked me for a name so I murmured my reply.

She eyed me up, as though assessing for any danger or competition. I held back a smirk as she tried to move away with the little girl, Molly.

You’re angry…

“Who’s your friend?” I asked Molly, this other girl didn’t seem to like me and I quite frankly didn’t give a damn.

“That’s Lynnox!” Molly replied, all too oblivious to the tension between Lynnox and me.

Lynnox eventually decided to leave, but left me with Molly, at least this kid seemed nice.

You’re calm…

Molly pulled me down the hall, while I silently chuckled to myself as I knew Lynnox was giving me the death glare.

“Sometimes me and my brother see you standing by yourself. Why are you always alone?” Molly asked me as we walked down the hall.

“Well, I don’t have many friends.” I said. “Besides, I kind of like being alone sometimes.” It tends to work out better…

In her own innocent way, Molly told me that if I spoke to people, then maybe I would have friends, and wouldn’t always be alone. I looked down at her with a smile, the kid was cute.

“Are we friends, Cassie?”

I thought for a moment, then smiled and gave a nod of my head. How could anyone refuse to be friend with her?

“Well then you’ll love Max! Come on!” She shouted, holding my hand extremely tight.

She pulled me down the hallway and outside. I tried to get her attention by calling her name, but she kept going until we reached the blinding sun.

Molly shouted Max, who I assumed to be her brother. He turned to look at her and had someone steal the ball from him.

Molly ran over to the guy who took the ball and latched onto their arm, shouted at them that they wasn’t playing fair. I laughed; she was a feisty little kid.

Max picked her up and they spoke, while Molly struggled to get out of his arms. After he set her down, she ran back over to me and pulled me towards Max.

“Maxy, it’s the girl who is always by herself. Her name is Cassie- she’s my new friend!” Max squinted against the sun and looked at me.

He smiled and waved me over. “Want to join? My team is down a player.”

“I, uh, I don’t know…” I liked basketball, it was the type of game where I could take out any frustration I felt and use it against the other team.

“Oh, come on. We could do with any help we can get!” Max replied.

“Um, okay then.” I said, then smirked as I walked back towards where they were playing. “Just don’t underestimate me. I mean it.”

Max laughed. “Don’t worry, we’ll treat you like we treat anyone else.”

Teddy

I had been awake for six hours, and it was now noon. There was just no motivation to get up, even for breakfast. After the screaming had died away earlier, it was so peaceful and quiet. My face was down on the pillow, my nose uncomfortably squished against it. I didn't mind the uncomfortable feel of it though, compared to the silence it was a small price to pay.

The people in this orphanage scared me, every last one of them. Even the sweet little Molly made me want to run back to my room and hide. I was getting sick of my own fear at this point, and today had been the day I vowed to do something about it. There was just no motivation, though.

What was the point of making friends in a place like this?

The Train was coming soon, and getting close to other people was the furthest thing from anyone else's mind. Even I should be worried, but oddly I wasn't. I had avoided being taken for a few times now, hopefully this time wouldn't be any different... yet, I didn't seem to care. Maybe I was becoming jaded, or depressed.

Eventually I knew I had to get up, and stumbled into the bathroom. Luckily, it was empty. I splashed some water on my face, getting it all over my too-long brown hair. I stared at my reflection for a few moments, hoping that, once again, it would be an unwanted face. I walked back to my room, shoved my hoodie on, and walked to the kitchen to see if lunch was ready yet.

London

I smiled at the black haired girl, lifting my hand slightly to wave. I didn't get a chance to see if she smiled back or not, because Greyson moved in front of me. His broad shoulders blocked my view of Cassie and pretty much everything else in front of me.

"Grey," I complained, shoving him away from me. "I was being nice." He stepped back, pretending like I could actually push him, but Greyson was over two hundred pounds of muscle. I couldn't knock him down if I wanted to.

"What did I tell you?" he asked, smirking to lighten the mood, but it did nothing to help my sinking heart. "Don't get--"

"Don't get too friendly," I cut him off. "I know." I understood that he was just trying to make it easier, but couldn't I just socialize a little bit?

"Hey," he said, pulling me into a hug. "If we leave--if we have to get away, we have to do it by ourselves. We can't take care of other people, we can hardly take care of ourselves."

"Minimizing the damage," I muttered, nodding. Grey let me go, patting my shoulder and smiling at me. "What?"

"Oh nothing." He looked away from me, still smirking. "I was just thinking about how much you look like mom."

"Alright, are we going to play or are we going to sit around?" someone called before I could reply. They tossed the ball to Greyson and I instantly saw his eyes darken as he got into the game. I was sure glad I was on his team.

Max

“Just don’t underestimate me. I mean it.” Cassie said walking on to our make shift court.

With a laugh I reassured her, “Don’t worry, we’ll treat you like we treat anyone else.”

Taking the ball to start, I bounced it to Greyson and he bounced it back, starting the game. Greyson automatically rushed towards me to get the ball, so I quickly moved to the left and tried to get closer to the basket.

"Cassie!" I called as Greyson blocked me. She looked over, and rather than throw the ball over Greyson's head and risk him catching it I threw around him. Cassie caught the ball with ease and proceded to throw the ball at the basket that had lost its net years ago.

The ball touched the rim for just a second, then fell in.

"Yeah, Cassie!" I called, clapping my hands, "From now on you're always on my team."

I could see Cassie blush, Greyson grabbing the ball as I called, "Time out!"

I was starting to get a bit sweaty despite the cool autumn air, so rather than get my shirt sweaty and waste it I peeled it off and gave it to Molly to hold until we were finished.

"Check it to Lynnox." I told Greyson, walking back on to the court.

***

We ended the game at 6-6, deciding we should go in for lunch.

"What do we have for lunch today, Theresa?" I asked the warden. She simply pointed down at the food.

Contemplating for a moment, I looked to Molly who was having her tray filled with a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, an orange, and apple juice.

Turning back to the warden, I nodded towards Molly and said, "I'll have what she's having."
She looked me over with disapproval as she put food on my tray, and I realized I'd forgotten to put my shirt back on, that Molly still held it in the crook of her arm.

In that moment I was a bit embarrassed about the scars that were scattered across me, so I took my shirt from Molly and quickly pulled it on. It was one thing for people to see the scar on my face or my mismatched eyes, I couldn't control that, but they didn't need to see my other scars. The other orphans were one thing, but the wardens?

I began to head to a table, but spotted Molly at another, talking to the boy Teddy. He looked terrified.

"Molly," I reprimanded, "Did Teddy say you could sit here?"

She looked up to me, discontinuing the story she had been telling him, and shook her head no.

"Come on monkey, Teddy wants to be alone, okay?" I told her, leading her to the table where London, Greyson, Lynnox, and Cassie (....since no one else is posting....) already sat.

Teddy

Molly was supposed to be the cute one. The one we could all trust and like, just by the way she looked. She was, in fact, innocent and adorable with her stories. That didn't change the fact that talking to her made me want to run away and hide. Today was supposed to be the day that changed, though... and if anyone would be more likely to be my friend, it would be a little girl. She would be too young to notice that the Train was coming soon, and hopefully too young to realize that you weren't supposed to make friends in a place like this. She was lucky, with built-in friends already.

Delving deeper into my hoodie, I turned to see where Molly went. She was sitting at a table with London, Greyson, Lynnox and Cassie...

My face turned beet red as Cassie turned to meet my gaze. I pushed my tray of food forward and placed my red face on the table. Why did people look at me? Why couldn't I be invisible?

My mouth became a grim line, and I picked my head up off of the table. Before I could convince myself not to, I walked with my half-finished tray over to where Molly sat, and sat across from her. "D-do, you guys, uh... mind if I sit here?" I stammered, realizing I had ended up next to Cassie without realizing it. If I should be scared of anyone, it should probably be her.

The group all shook their heads though, and I tried to smile at Molly. "Y-you, uh, didn't g-get to finish your story.." I told her, and she lit up excitedly.
Within a millisecond, she was back where she started and eagerly telling me a story I had honestly never heard before. It was interesting, and kind of cute. When I was younger, I never really had anyone to tell me stories.

This wasn't that bad. No one was yelling at me for intruding, and Molly was eager to share her stories with me. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.. At least, until the Train came.

Cassandra/ Cassie


After the game, everyone went for lunch. I only got an apple, the food here wasn’t the nicest, and I had the slightest suspicion that the wardens spat in the food when we wasn’t looking…

I noticed Lynnox passing me the evil eye over the table, again. Come on, it was getting old.

You’re angry…

I didn’t want to look helpless and weak, I’m the complete opposite! So, I looked up from the table and gave her one of my coldest glares. I must have surprised her because she blinked a few times, huffed and then ignored me for the rest of the time.

"So.." Lynnox sighed, picking the crust off her sandwich. "What are we going to do about the train?"

"What do you mean, what are we going to do about it?" I said icily. "We do the same thing every year, try to avoid being adopted."

Lynnox raised an eyebrow. "I mean, Cassie," she said rather coldly. "My brother is stuck somewhere in Boston without me and I am going to find him."

Everyone on the table tensed up. But honestly, I couldn't give two shits. If she wants to play the guilt trip game, she can freaking try. But, she cannot expect it to work on me. I felt like giving her a lecuture on how pretty much everyone has a family member they can no longer see. I felt like screaming at her that at least she had some family left, even if they were far away. Me? I had no family left. My parents were dead, my grandparents were probably dead. And I had no siblings.

But instead, I just smiled, cruelly. Yes, it was mean. But right now, it was probably the nicest thing I could have done.



You’re calm…

I scanned the lunch room; feeling isolated since no one particularly knew me. My eyes rested on Teddy, he was ever so quiet and seemed to be extremely afraid of people, even little Molly.

As soon as Teddy saw me looking at him, he shoved his tray away and put his head on the table; poor kid, he was easily intimidated.

After a few awkward minutes of silence, Teddy walked over to the table. He looked terrified as he asked to sit down. Of course, no one minded.

He sat down next to me, but I could tell from his body language that he seemed to regret the decision.

After Molly finished telling another one of her stories, I decided it was time for me to try and coax Teddy out of his shell. I don’t talk to people enough as it is, but I’m not too shy.

“So, Teddy, right?” I asked, not intending to get an answer. “Why are you so scared of people? I mean, we don’t look all that scary, do we?” I spoke fairly quiet, so no one else intruded on the conversation. He looked scared enough talked to one person.

“I-I, uh, p-people never s-seem to like m-me.” He stuttered.

“Hey, calm down. I’m not going to bite you.” I said with a reassuring smile, he sounded terrified.

He gave me a shy smile.

“Well, don’t worry.” I continued. “I won’t make you talk to me if you don’t want to. But if you ever fancy a chat, come and find me. I don’t have many friends either, you know.”

“O-okay, thank y-you.” He said.

“Anytime,” I replied. “Right, I’m going back to the bunks. We’ll have to have another game sometime. You would have so lost that game without me!” I called to Max.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever!” He called back with a laugh.

I walked away from the lunch room, and back to the bunks. I needed to be in my own company for a while. People can be annoying.