What Remains Here

Chapter 13

November 24

Something just feels off, like that weird sensation you feel the day before getting the symptoms of the flu or cold.

But I don't think I'm sick, even if I'm a bit nauseous right now, since it's probably all the food that we had eaten yesterday. Honestly, I thought I'd be starving today given that going back to our starvation diets after gorging ourselves would probably be torture, but I actually wasn't that hungry at all. I don't know if it's because I'm still full or if it's a bit of subconscious guilt for our lavish feast yesterday.

Much of the morning was spent wiping down the floors for filled wine and crusted flecks of fish that had begun to fill the air with a bit of a rancid odor. Because today wasn't particularly windy, and there wasn't any ashfall, Mom decided to open the windows to clear out the smells, which I could tell were making all of us nauseous, something that we probably should avoid since we don't want to waste calories throwing up.

In between picking up dishes from the floor and pushing the tub filled with water closer to the fireplace so that we can begin scooping and heating the water for the greenhouse, Mira approached me, rubbing her forehead.

"Are you hungover?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's bad. I swear I didn't drink that much. I think I lost all my alcohol tolerance," she replied with a loud groan, plopping herself down into the corner of the mattress with a loud thud. "God, I'd take an ibuprofen right now, but we can't waste any medicine. My headache should clear up in a couple hours anyways."

"Well, best of luck," I said, as she helped me transport bowls to our washing station. "Wait, do you even remember anything from last night?"

"I'm embarrassed, but everything from then is a blur," she said, vaguely gesturing around. "All I remember are the lights, and vague recollections of singing and dancing."

"Oh, well, you probably won't remember that I had told you so that this would happen," I responded as I kneeled down and began drying the dishes that she was scrubbing. "You were saying some crazy stuff while you were drunk."

"Oh God, was I pitching ideas while I was drunk? I swear if I messed up all the work that I had put earlier in the–"

"You actually went and pitched ideas?" I asked while she was swatting a couple of floating bubbles, letting them drift towards the fireplace, the light flashing on their iridescent halos, as if they were ephemeral angels.

She turned and faced me, splashing a bit of soapy water onto my ratty sweater in her excitement. "Yeah, and it actually went amazing. Couldn't get people sold on the tidal electrical generation, but I'm beginning to form a diplomacy council. Mrs. Johnson is sold on it, Mrs. Xiao's a bit more ambivalent but I'm still winning over her, and I know Mom and Dad might get mad, but I've invited Mrs. Weaver onto it. It's time that we end the conflict between our families and work for the greater good, and they've already apologized by installing a water collection barrel for our house. I didn't get much of an opportunity to talk to Caspian's mom since the vibes weren't right, but I'll reach her."

"That sounds great, but, I don't know, I guess what about the Shepards, you know?" I asked, looking down while wiping down my dishes because I felt bad for popping the bubble of her big community plan. "I mean, I guess I'm just worried about creating a group that doesn't really have the big powerbrokers on it. Might make it a bit awkward."

But she took it surprisingly well, shrugging her shoulders casually. "I really respect the Shepards, but they're too trigger happy sometimes. It's good when we need to defend people because we shouldn't hesitate, but we need level-headed people manning diplomatic relations. I've thought about having Mom on it since she's a tough negotiator and gets things done, but I know it'll look bad that I'm skewing it too much in favor of our family. And I know we're supposed to be a unit, but I just want a chance to be able to prove it to Mom and Dad that I'm right."