LOGINI don't know if I'm hearing things or there's really the sound of knocking. Is that Dashiell's voice I'm hearing? No, there's no way. But it really sounds like him. But well, I can't think of any reason for him to call my name like that. Ah, I know; I must be dreaming. Ouch, the voice's getting louder!
"Hey! How long are you going to sleep? It's almost lunch? Whatever, I'm coming in," says the voice.
Before I knew it, my shoulders are being shaken.
"Hey! Wake up. Don't make this harder for me," says the voice.
'Give me five more minutes' is what my mind says
I heard the voice again, saying, "Okay, don't blame me for this."
What happens next is... Tap, tap, tap... Wait, my face is being tapped. Ouch! I broke away from my sleep and screamed, "What are you doing?"
"Waking you up," came Dashiell's reply.
"You didn't have to do it like that!"
"Really? I was here for almost ten minutes just to wake you up. I can't believe it's taking this long for that. You won't even budge even after all the noise I made," said a slightly annoyed Dashiell.
"Okay, I'm sorry for that so please take it easy on me. Also, it's still too early to get so worked up like this, isn't it?"
"Oh yeah, it is. It's indeed early for lunch."
"Huh? What do you mean? What time is it anyway?" I asked.
"It's 10:30 in the morning, idiot."
"What?" And with that, I checked the time on the wall clock. Dashiell wasn't lying; the clock reads 10:30 am. I continued, "Fine, you're right, but please I'm not an idiot so you didn't have to call me that."
Dashiell just waves his hand, "Alright, alright, my apologies. Now get off the bed and rise. We still got some stuff to discuss."
"Like what?" I inquired.
"There's no point in holding a conversation with the others in the living room if we'll hold a question and answer session here, is there? So, come on, just get up and follow me. We'll go to the living room. And also, don't you feel itchy wearing that lacy dress for quite a long time now?"
Dashiell's comment about me wearing my dress for a long time got me going embarrassed that I jolted out of my bed in an instant.
Dashiell throws me some stuff, saying, "There, your change of clothes. I'll go ahead to the living room. There's already food in there so your stomach won't growl while we talk."
"Hey! That's mean!" was what I said which he just ignored as he continued walking towards the living room. He didn't have to say that 'growl' thing though.
Anyway, when Dashiell was completely out of my sight, I closed the door of my room and then, quickly changed into the set of clothes that Dashiell had brought for me. When I'm done changing, I gargled with mouthwash. Feeling ready to face them, I headed to the living room.
When I arrived in the living room, I was greeted by everyone excluding Dashiell which for an unknown reason had sort of ticked me off. I know I offended him before, but does he have to act like a jerk to me every time? Besides, I already apologized to him so why? Are all guys like this? I could only mentally groan in frustration. Not wanting to get bummed too early in the day, I just blew some air on my nose. And by the way, I returned the greeting I received from mama, Dr. Al, and Mr. Thomas. And ooh! there's really a tray of untouched food on top of the coffee table for me. Mama must have prepared it for me. I expressed my gratefulness to mama, "Wow! Thanks for the food mama and I'm sorry for waking up this late."
"It's okay, dear. We finished quite late yesterday, around three in the morning so it's understandable. By the way, it was Dashiell who prepared that tray of food for you, not me so you should thank him instead of me."
I don't know how to react to what I heard from mama because I am surprised. Nevertheless, I thanked Dashiell albeit it sounded somewhat hesitant. He acknowledged it with a nod. Jesus Christ! It's not hard to respond with a 'you're welcome' or 'no worries,' is it?
As I'm chewing on my food, I started expressing my curiosity, "So, what will we talk about this time?"
Dr. Al just brushed my question, "Come on, Alaine, finish your food first."
Mr. Thomas seconds, "Doc's right so just sit still and enjoy your food."
"You heard them, Alaine," said mama.
I muttered a 'Thank You.'
Meanwhile, Dashiell didn't make a single noise saved for the light stomping of his foot which I really appreciate. And just like that, I resumed eating my delicious food.
I'm halfway finished with my bottled water when Dashiell spoke, "Cheers to you for clearing this phase."It took me seconds to register what he said. When it did, I squealed in delight. Dashiell chuckles at my reaction and resumes, "I get it, you're happy but don't squeal like that especially when you're sitting next to someone; you'll blast their eardrums.""Sorry.""It's okay. Just don't do it next time.""Got that.""Anyway, you did well in all the tests. Good job!""Yay! I did it! Thank you, Dashiell.""Haha, thank yourself instead, and don't get too elated just yet as this is only the first phase. There are still two more.""I know but still I can't help but be happy knowing that I have the potential to succeed. It's like I feel more motivated now to continue with this. That being said, please continue guiding me."Dashiell titters and ruffles my hair, saying, "Yeah, okay.""Hey, stop that! You're messing my
Arriving at the training room, I noticed that several gym equipment had been set up. When I asked what those equipment are doing inside, Dashiell said that he will test if I'm fit enough to clear this phase and move onto the next one. With that, I started warming-up by doing some breathing exercises, stretching, and light cardio exercises.When I finished warming-up, Dashiell explained that between each test, there's a five-minute interval in which I could take a little rest. Then, without further ado, he started testing me. Beginning with a speed test, I underwent a flying 30m sprint test, 40m Cycling Sprint Test, and a Plate Tapping Test. My punching speed was also tested.Moving on, my power was put on a test. In that test, my punching power was measured. I did bench presses too as well as basketball throws in a seated position. Following such, I had the vertical jump test, drop jump test, standing broad jump test, and a power clean repet
Before I could ask my first question, Dashiell supplied that he was the one who named Pillow. He explained, "When I first brought Pillow home, I observed that she likes sleeping on pillows so one day I thought out loud that I will name her Pillow which she seemed to had liked since she purred right then."After that, Dashiell didn't speak for a minute so I thought I could start with my first question. "So, when and where-"And just like that, Dashiell interrupts me and steals the rest of the words out of my mouth, saying, "When and where did I get Pillow from, huh? I got her two years ago when I was going back to the bunker from my tiring work.""You mean, Pillow was once a stray kitten?""Ah, no. I got her from an animal shelter. She-"This time it's me who interrupts him. "Awesome! You adopted her then?""Geez! Let me finish, will you?" responded a seemingly annoyed Dashiell"Oops, sorry! I got excited, " was my shy reply.Da
The sound of my phone's alarm woke me up. I jolted out of my bed to wash my face and brush my teeth. Afterwhich, I left my room to proceed to the aisle leading to our common exit. I tried to hide as I await for Dashiell to pass by. I opted to do it that way because I have no way of checking if Dashiell is already on his way to visit his "beloved one" unless I checked him in his room which is something that I'm scared to attempt.A few minutes had elapsed and I'm feeling a bit drowsy. Please Dashiell, just show up already. And just like an answered prayer, Dashiell appeared seconds after. He is carrying a backpack which I assume, contains some food. Less than a minute after he went past the spot where I stand, I followed him from behind. I walked as stealthily as I could; however, Dashiell's senses are so sharp that he noticed that someone's following him. He demanded that I reveal myself. I revealed myself and I felt mortified for being discovered which is why w
Right now, I'm lying on my bed thinking about what's happened since my talk with Dashiell. It's been two days since our talk in the living room. The next day after our talk I tried waking up as early as four in the morning, but I didn't manage to get up even after setting up an alarm time. It's not surprising though considering the time I slept, and well, my personality. I've always been like this; a heavy sleeper. Gosh! I missed out on seeing Dashiell before he left. Mr. Thomas said he left for an errand and to visit his beloved one. That "beloved one" thing always gets me. Ever since I heard about it, I can't stop wondering who that "beloved one" is. Even though Dashiell said it's not his girlfriend, I can't help but think it's his girlfriend that he visits a lot, like come on who would wake up earlier than five in the morning then later after training, rush out of this bunker just to meet someone. It's not like I'm trying to stalk Dashiell, I only want to know who he meets with.
Dashiell opened the light snacks he got for us and offered me to eat them with him. I reluctantly agreed albeit I don't feel like eating at this hour when I am supposed to be sleeping. I thought if I don't accept Dashiell's offer, he would get offended which I don't want to happen.In between Dashiell's munching on our snacks, he begins, "My dad asked help from his friend, uncle Ray, who we discovered as the owner of the inn where our common entrance is located. I don't know if I should call this fate or coincidence, but uncle Ray happened to be an acquaintance of your uncle Bob. He said that your uncle Bob once saved him from a hospital debt. Your uncle Bob paid more than half of his hospital bills. Back to uncle Ray, he registered himself as my legal guardian. As you might expect, we lied that dad had disappeared without my knowledge, leaving me orphaned. Naturally, my registered address was changed into that of uncle Ray's that's why I was able to finish my studies without