OverSimplified- DanPlan dystopian future au

10

 Ann

It was exciting having guests over. Cooper and Bryce get boring very quickly, also when they were the only people you have a friendship with. Cooper and Bryce are brothers that I met when I was in Miami. We have been friends since that trip, and they were the first people to become members of the Leitas. The other members don't talk to me other than asking to take orders or to get something.

Cooper was 18 with short hazel hair and blue eyes. He was a gamer before the Tainting and could tell you anything about any game. His favorite thing to do is help me cook or play board games. Cooper also really likes to talk. And I mean a lot. He could go on for a good hour about how much he hates oranges.

Bryce was Cooper ́s younger brother He looked a lot like Copper, same hair and eyes. But he was 16 and tall. He was even taller than Cooper, who was two years older than him. Bryce likes to read and eat. Those are the only two things he does in his free time other than sleep. He says that it's healthy to have options, but he's really just being lazy.

I flip some pancakes on the griddle and sigh. Stephen's friends were strange. Then again, my motto is 'Everything is strange in the Tainting'. The Leitas live by it and so do I. The pancakes are ready to be served now, so I pile them onto a plate. I poke my head through the door and call over to the boys that breakfast was ready. They all shuffle into the dining room and sit down. All is silent for too long, until Hosuh talks.

̈So, Ann." He asked. "How is life?" It was a good try.

̈ ̈It's life." I respond. ̈ ̈Telling people what to do, cooking, other stuff."

The room went silent again. Jay gets up and brings his plate to the sink. He walks out back into the living room and nothing else is heard. Stephen tries to break the ice.

"So. What do you guys want to talk about?"

Daniel is the first to talk. "There are two doors in front of you. One is labeled 'Golden Tweezers'. The other is labeled 'Orange Blob' Which one do you walk into." Stephen slams his fist on the table.

"How dare you, Daniel. Assuming I can't walk into both rooms at once." Hosuh started laughing, used to this in Daniel's games. Stephen started laughing along with him, and Daniel trying to stop them only made them laugh more.

I sighed in relief, glad to have the sour tension out of the room. Hosuh brings his knees to his chest, trying to calm down. Stephen managed to stop laughing enough to start breathing again.

"The 'Orange Blob' room." He says.

"Inside, there is a, well, orange blob. A notecard next to it read, 'The blob will emit happiness and smells like whatever the subject enjoys most."

A smirk grows on Stephen's face. "Mmmm. Hosuh." He said.

"Wait what?" Hosuh said, clearly uncomfortable. Stephen started laughing again. Is this what they usually do in their free time?

"I was expecting food or a place or something," Daniel said, who was now laughing a bit too. "Oh my god, Stephen we have talked about this." This only makes both of them laugh more.

I'm pretty sure they forgot I'm there. They go on like everything was normal like this wasn't the Tainting. The thought was amusing. I get up and put my plate in the sink. The three boys keep laughing along to their weird game. I walk into the living room and spotted Jay on the couch, staring out of the window. He had a distracted look on his face like his entire world was on fire in there. I sit down next to him and he speaks for the first time. His voice was serious and dark, like a different version of Stephen.

"They do this a lot," he said simply. "Laughing like there is no problem."

"You look occupied. What are you thinking about?"

"I was just thinking about our situation. If the Tainting never happened, I would be Graduated and gotten a job somewhere. Now, I'm here at a stranger's house that one of my best friends is actually friends with, and I saw something that can never be taken back, my other friends are with that friend forgetting all about our situation." He turns over to me. "It's like I'm the only one with common sense here."

"I can't say I understand what you feel like, but I can relate to being the only person with common sense. Being a leader of a group that people refer to as a mafia is hard work." He chuckled at that.

"I can't say that the Karambits are a mafia but I get what you mean."

"The Tainting has changed everything, hasn't it? I used to be that girl in the back of class spending the entire time working on sketches. The quiet girl that no one talked to, except Stephen, of course. But now I'm the leader of a freaking Mafia in Armageddon. Very big difference."

He looks at me for a bit until grinning. He laughed and turned back to the window. I could still hear the boys in the kitchen, arguing and laughing. It was a wonder how they got along, being so different. I guess they all balanced each other out like together they were a whole person.

"Do you ever, feel like you don't fit into the group?" I tried. Maybe I could figure something out about this guy that made sense.

"What makes you ask that?" He was holding back on something.

"It's just, you seem to disappear a lot. I was wondering if you felt misplaced." He looked over at me until continuing.

"Daniel is the main guy who keeps everything under control. Stephen is the chaotic one who protects everyone as much as he can. Hosuh is the little weakling that likes to stay quiet and stays vulnerable. And I'm just, an awkward extra add on to the group. Everyone has their place in the group that makes the Karambits, well, a group. I guess I do feel like I don't fit in." He sighed and rested his head on the backrest of the couch.

I nod my head and look down. We sit there on the couch for a long time, listening to the conversation that the boys were having in the kitchen. Jay was facing me but he looked like he was somewhere in his mind at the moment. Even though I couldn't see his actual eyes, it just seemed like he was in a different place. I was good at looking for those things, studying people's looks and to find out things they won't tell me. That's what pays off for being the quiet girl. People don't talk to you or tell you things, so you learn to find them out yourself.

Jay sighs and tilts his head to the kitchen. "They sound like they're having fun in there without me," he whispered. I look over at him.

His face seemed angry and desperate, like the face of a dog when you give it a bath. It wants out, just like Jay wanted to be out so he didn't have to watch them have a better time without him. I would know what that felt like, but I can't always relate to everything.

TBC