Page 29 of Uprooted
Elowen: She’s ruthless when it comes to Cubes.
Aro: Tell her to take it easy on him next time. He may not recover from the beating she handed out.
Elowen: He’ll just have to get better at the game. You have to know by now that there’s no reasoning with Bri.
Aro: I’m going to need a new wingman.
Elowen: Finally admitting that you need a wingman. This is progress.
Aro: Hungry? I’m starving.
Elowen: Nice change of subject. I can’t eat right now. I’m stuck in the lab for a bit longer.
Aro: I need to eat.
Elowen: Then go!
Aro: I don’t like eating alone.
Elowen: There are about fifty other Tilaks you can drag to lunch.
Aro: I want to eat with you.
Elowen: Okay, give me an hour, but it will have to be quick.
Aro: See, that wasn’t so hard.
* **
Aro is waiting with two bowls of noodles when I get to the mess hall. He motions to the noodles across from him. I’m nervous about seeing him again after our walk through the dome. Butterflies don’t even begin to describe it.
This is the closest thing to a date I’ve had in a while. What if he doesn’t think this is a date? Do his people even date?
The noodles in front of me look different. What is usually clear broth now has a reddish tint with some texture. “What do we have here?” I ask.
“I got you some noodles.” He watches me intently, waiting for me to take a bite.
I twirl some noodles on my chopsticks and take a small bite to test it out. “That’s good.” It’s spicy and salty, so I slurp in another big bite. “What did you put in it?”
“It’s my secret recipe, and I’m not going to let the cat out of my sack.”
I bite my cheeks to stop a laugh from coming out. “You mean, ‘let the cat out of the bag.’” Maturity means not laughing at his incorrect usage of the word “sack.” I’m proud of myself.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” he says.
“I know.” It’s cute he messed up the saying.
I go back to my delicious lunch. This is a huge upgrade from the food I’ve been eating for months. Noodle fatigue is hitting us all. I’m very tired of eating the same thing three meals a day.
“Thank you. You’ve made my day exponentially better. I thought I had something with my research, but it turned out to be nothing.”
“Glad I can help,” he says. “Exponentially.” He tests the word out and looks over at me.
I look around the mess to see if anyone is watching us, still feeling self-conscious about eating a meal alone with Aro.
“I realized last night that I know all about you, and you don’t know anything about me,” Aro says.
“What do you know about me?” I ask with a nervous laugh.
