Olive Juice

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            One week is an awfully long time when you're waiting for something. Only three days have passed since the incident with Mia, but it feels like it has nearly been a year. And there's no guarantee that Mia even told Landon to meet us.

"I'm hungry," Terrence whines.

Terrence is always hungry. Since he showed up, the hearty supply of groceries stored in the pantry has dwindled down to the end pieces of a loaf of bread and some granola bars.

Gianna sighs. "Well, we're out of food. I guess we need to take another trip to the store."

"No!" I exclaim, throwing my arms into the air. In the process, the Jenga tower we've spent the past hour decimating wobbles and plummets to the floor.

"Wait, isn't the point of the game to keep the tower from falling? And, it wasn't even your turn." Terrence watches me with a mixture of confusion and irritation. Wherever he came from, whether it was training school or some secluded cave, they didn't feed him enough and they surely didn't teach him how to deal with broken rules. Every game we've played has ended with him quoting the rulebook or diving into a deeply analytical explanation of why the game was a breach of the oath.

"Sorry, Terrence. I'm sure we can think of something to cook. There's no need to go back into town so soon," I say.

The snort Wyatt emits tells me there's no way we can turn bread ends and granola bars into a satisfying meal. But, I can't go into town just yet. Partly because I'm tired of grocery shopping. Partly because I'm afraid of getting assaulted by a random loner the way Mia attacked me. Mainly because I'm afraid I'll run into Landon and Mia and she'll cancel the meeting. This meeting is important. Not only because I want to see Landon, but because it may give us the answers we're looking for regarding the strange assignment switch. Nothing can mess this up.

"I have an idea," Wyatt says while picking up the Jenga pieces. "Why don't we eat out for a change?"

"Togethe Town doesn't have any restaurants," I remind him.

"I know."

"Then, where would we eat?" Gianna asks.

He wiggles his eyebrows and slowly produces a pamphlet out of his pants pocket. It unfolds into a vast map of our region of Parity, Equane. "This is Togethe Town. If we ride the bus past town into Impar, hop onto the train and follow the red line all the way up to," he drags his finger alone the thin, red trail," here, we'll be in Sync. The little fork symbol next to it means it's known for its fine cuisine."

Terrence nods enthusiastically. "I trained in Sync before. Some of the best smelling food I've ever smelt. Although, I never had the chance to taste it."