Page 20 of Akarnae

“Hey, Alex!” Bear called as she entered the food court and made her way over to him. “How was your class?”

She sent him a wry grin as she took her seat. “I’m still alive.”

Bear copied her expression. “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it, you know. Not after PE.”

She grimaced before laughing with him and admitting, “It was touch and go for a while.”

Jordan arrived a moment later and slumped into the chair beside her. “I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Alex observed. “I’ve known you less than a day, but the common theme is that you’re hungry—all the time. Maybe you have worms?”

Bear had just taken a sip of water and, hearing her words, he spat his mouthful out, choking on a laugh.

Jordan sent them both an unimpressed look and picked up his menu, grumbling about being ‘a growing boy’. When his meal arrived, it was accompanied by a glass of something purple and bubbly.

“What’s that?” Alex asked, pointing to the unnatural-looking drink.

“Dillyberry juice,” he answered, sliding the glass towards her. “Have a taste.”

She sniffed it and took a tentative sip, her eyes lighting up with delight. The juice might have looked funky but it was delicious. It reminded her of wild berries mixed with lemonade and coated with icing sugar. It was very sweet, but it also had a tangy aftertaste. She picked up her menu and ordered a glass for herself.

“Be careful not to overdo it,” Jordan warned when she drank half of her juice in one go.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s an energy drink,” he explained. “Very concentrated.”

Alex wasn’t too concerned. How bad could it be? The taste was well worth the consequences. She’d probably just have to make a few extra trips to the bathroom, no big deal. It might even be a blessing in disguise if it got her out of some of her dreaded Combat class later that afternoon. Bathroom breaks were a basic human right, after all.

She drained the rest of the glass as she skimmed through her menu, settling on a chicken salad wrap and another glass of dillyberry juice. Both appeared instantly and her used glass disappeared with the arrival of the new.

“Hey,” Jordan said, speaking through a mouthful of food. “I forgot to ask you earlier. How was D.C. this morning?”

Alex shook her head. “I woke up to a slamming door, no roommate in sight.”

“That explains it, then,” Jordan said, seeming satisfied. He sipped his juice before taking another bite of food.

“Explains what?”

“Why you haven’t asked Jarvis for a new room yet,” Bear answered with a knowing grin.

Alex looked between the two of them. “Is she really that bad?”

Both boys just smirked at her and continued eating.

Alex picked up her purple juice, sipping thoughtfully. It didn’t take her long to finish the second glass, but she was still surprisingly thirsty, so she ordered another. All that running in PE must have dehydrated her.

A few minutes—and another emptied glass—later, Jordan stopped her from ordering more of the delicious juice. Only then did she realise just how odd she felt. Kind of light-headed and, well…buzzy. The whole room was jumping up and down. Was there an earthquake? Just as she was about to ask what was going on, Jordan pressed his hand down on her shoulder. All motion ceased and she realised that she must have been physically bouncing in her seat.

Bear pointed to her empty glass. “How many of those have you had?”

“I dunno,” she said giddily, her voice slurring the words. “But they tastereallygood!”

The boys looked at each other with unreadable expressions. She tried to remember how many glasses had arrived and disappeared over the course of the lunch break and she felt tremendously pleased with herself when she was able to recall the number.

“THREE!” she yelled triumphantly. “I’VE HAD THREE!”

Jordan and Bear jumped at her exclamation and heads turned in their direction from all corners of the court.

---