𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐊

11. 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗺𝘀

"EVERYONE STICK TOGETHER."

Eszter tugs her suitcase behind her as she follows the rest of her teammates, walking with Michelle as they admire the building from inside. Liz took the lead and Mr. Harrington following in the back, both watching over the younger bunch of the team.

"Yeah," Mr. Harrington agrees.

"You kidding me? This place is huge," Charles admires.

"I've seen bigger," Flash comments.

"There's a bird in here," Abraham notes, pointing at the ceiling when he hears a flutter of wings.

Glancing upward, Eszter catches sight of the bird as it chirps a song, flapping its wings; however, no one else in the building seemed as fazed as they were, or they were unaware of the bird hiding away from the people.

Peter leans closer to Ned, whispering. "Hey, you brought your laptop, right?"

Ned looks at Peter. "Why?"

Not seeming to understand the suggestive tone in Peter's voice, the hero shakes his head and passes Ned, making his way to where Eszter was. The enhanced was with Michelle, refraining Peter from discussing further into his plan with her, but once they get their rooms will be easier for the boy. Eszter glances beside her when she finds Peter walking with her, giving her a knowing look; the enhanced tugs the end of her lip upward but not enough for a smile, but one that she nods and lets Peter know that she understood.

Hopefully, this doesn't cause Eszter to ruin her chances of the dampener coming off or making things worse for Tony and herself. Still, a pawn to the government of the United States, Eszter couldn't simply do whatever she wanted.

"Alright, everyone, get your keys. You only get one each, so don't lose it because . . ." Mr. Harrington sing-songs as he passes a key to each student, voice trailing off into a nervous one. "Then that's on me."

Eszter takes one of the packed keys as she finds two cards inside the pocket; the enhanced pulls one of them out. Sticking one into her pocket, Eszter turns around and sees Michelle gawking around the building, barely listening to the conversation happening around her.

"Here's your key," Eszter passes the card key to Michelle, who takes the key from the enhanced, thanking her as she shoves it into her own pocket. The two start to make their way up to their rooms. "Are you okay with me bunking with you?"

The enhanced glances back at Peter as he and Ned were making their way to their own room, Eszter faces forward as she walks beside Michelle. Although Michelle and Eszter are best friends--even as the feelings don't necessarily feel mutual--the enhanced wasn't certain whether her friend is okay with the idea. Eszter is pretty sure Michelle wanted her own room.

"Doesn't matter now anyway. I would've loved being alone, but since you're my friend, it's okay," Michelle shrugs, barely offering any reassurance. But she sees the frown on Eszter's face, concerning Michelle at the slightest, the girl rolls her eyes. "Dude, it's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks," Eszter makes a face. "I guess."

Michelle smiles, patting Eszter's shoulder. "You're welcome," then she swipes her key card into the key slot, watching as the red light flickers to green. "I call the bed that's away from the air conditioner. I don't plan on freezing to death, so you can."

Once the door opens, Michelle leads Eszter into the room, and walking inside, the enhanced watches as her friend chooses her bed. Further from the window and the air conditioner, Michelle chose the bed that wasn't anywhere near the door. Much to Eszter's dismay, the enhanced drags her suitcase near the bed closest to the window.