The Knowledge of the Hidden

Chapter 19

When I wake the next morning most of the shelter is still asleep, but rather than head down to the river as I'd been doing recently, I wait for Sienna, not wanting her to awake and find me gone. Although I've come to value the other friendships I've made since coming to the camp, there is something different about being with Sienna, and I don't want to risk losing it again.

As usual, Sienna is one of the last to rise, stretching dramatically moments before the bell echoes through the air. She glances at me quickly, not saying a word about my presence, but I see her smiling as she leans down grab her clothes.

We walk down to breakfast together, Sienna dragging me through the crowd to the front, where the smell of eggs makes my mouth water in expectation. But when we hold out our plates, it's not eggs that fall onto them.

"Hey, what gives?" Sienna demands, glaring down at the grey mush on her plate. "You call this breakfast?"

The server looks up, his cruel eyes cutting through Sienna as I grab my plate and duck out before he can see me. My heart is still pounding when Sienna catches up, moments later.

"Can you believe it?" she says, holding her food out like it may bite her. "Leftover fish. For breakfast. As if we don't eat enough of this crap every day."

"Mhm," I say, barely listening. Sienna eyes me curiously.

"What's wrong with you?" she says. I shake my head.

"Nothing," I say. "Just didn't feel like dealing with that guy is all."

"Who, Donald?" Sienna asks, glancing back toward the serving tent. "Why? What'd he do to you?"

"Nothing."

We sit on the ground, Sienna still looking at me expectantly. "Spill, pampered," she says. "If he did something to hurt you..."

"No, no," I say quickly. "Nothing like that. We just...have very different opinions." Part of me wants to tell her about the way he talked to me, the way he leaned into me and called me sweetheart in that revulsive tone, but something stops me. I look at Sienna, who's already dropped her gaze, her interest in the subject quickly fading.

"Too bad," she says, picking at her food with a scowl. "I've been looking for a reason to oust him for years, and I'm not the only one."

I'm about to ask what she means by that when Josh comes over and sits beside me, glancing at Sienna with mild interest.

"I see you two've made up," he says, settling his food on his lap. Sienna leans over, peering at his plate.

"You got eggs," she says.

"Yeah, and?"

Sienna holds up her plate, pointing to the leftover fish.

Josh shrugs. "Guess you should have gotten up earlier." He takes a bite of his food, ignoring the looks of anger from Sienna. I frown.

"We can't have been more than a minute behind you," I say. "I could see you ahead of us."

"Food shortages," Maddie says, coming up behind me. "They've been running out of the good stuff faster and faster." I turn to see her, Danielle, and Drew approach and take their seats on the grass near us. No one acknowledges Sienna's presence, but I see her visibly tense as Maddie sits a few feet away.

I hesitate, unsure of how to proceed. On the one hand, I'm grateful to have Sienna back in my life, but on the other, I was just finally starting to feel like a part of this place. If Sienna insists on isolating herself—

Before I can finish the thought, I am interrupted by Xavier's arrival. Just like the others he doesn't act at all surprised to see Sienna there. Unlike them, however, he looks directly at her, welcoming her heartily. He sits down beside her, placing himself between her and Maddie. I can see Sienna visibly relax.