The Lost and the Hidden

Chapter 4

The lights go out at nine in the evening and turn on at six in the morning. There's no clock here, Mona told me. The doors automatically open at six point five, they close five minutes before lights out. Everything here is strictly ordered, no exceptions allowed.

The bathrooms are open all the time and all of us share them. We can go there any time as long as we make it to where we're supposed to be in time. There sometimes are a few minutes of break where you can go there. Everybody must be at breakfast at quarter past six. It's now 6:13. I've learned that there are 32 people with powers here in total. 33 now. Mona and I went here together and she sat down with me. I told her she needn't sit with me but she resisted she wanted to. At 6:14, Liam and Miles sit down in front of me. I haven't seen them entering the room, they've come here without us telling them to. "Hey, kid, hey Mones."

"You have nicknames for everyone, don't you?" I ask him.

"Of course I have, kid. Right, sunshine?" Liam turns to Miles who rolls his eyes.

I start as someone sits down on my other side. "Oh my-Fuck, you scared me!" I snap at Twelve. He doesn't say anything in return. He rips of the foil from his cup of yoghurt and attempts to stand up and throw it away.

"Ahh" Liam says in a warning tone. "Give it to me." he demands, holding out his hand and making a gesture with his fingers towards Twelve to give it to him. What does he mean with it? The foil? What does he want with the foil? "Hand it over, Twelvo."

Twelve does as he commands, frowning, lying the foil into Liam's open hand, the side where it touched the yoghurt looking up.

Liam lifts it to his mouth and licks the yoghurt from it. "Now you can throw it away, 'cause I won't lift my pretty ass from this bench if it isn't to get more food." He gazes at Mona, who's chuckling, for a second. Twelve sighs, then throws it away, anyway. "Stop looking at my ass, Milo."

"What-I haven't-God, please, stop talking shit."

"God doesn't talk shit, Milo. Well, he doesn't talk at all, sorry to inform you."

Milo-Uh, Miles looks up at the ceiling. "Please kill me or give me a gun." he mutters.

Twelve is back beside me again. "Who's going to kill who?"

"Unfortunately, nobody will kill no one." Miles replies.

"Suffocate him in his sleep." Twelve suggests. I would laugh, if it weren't that Twelve doesn't look like he's making a joke.

"Would do, I just think it'd be very obvious, if he died and I'd be the only one in the room with him."

"Yeah, that's true, I have a kni..."

"Hey, guys, could we, please, not talk about ways to kill me? I'm a very peaceful human being, actually if we'd play kiss, marry, kill, I'd leave out the killing, and marrying doesn't actually work in here, I guess, so it'd only be kiss. That works for me, kissing's good." Liam winks at Mona, who looks down on the table, cheeks red.

Miles rolls his eyes and takes a slice of cucumber from Liam's plate.

"Don't you dare steal my food, or I'll take out your teeth so you have to drink mixed vegetables for the rest of your life."

"What was that again, you're peaceful?" Twelve asks.

"I am. My food is holy, it's okay to be a little protective." He eyes chewing Miles. "You know, actually, don't worry, take all of it, that's the healthy stuff, you can have it. Stuff your cheeks, chipmunk." Then he looks at Twelve. "Look, peaceful. Peace in person. Peace and love, girls." he says towards Miles and Twelve. "I'm going to get more food. Actually, does someone want to go and get me more food?"