#alex 01

To think he used to pride himself on his sense of direction. It wasn't a the simple orientation needed after stepping out of a tube station in London. He hadn't gotten turned around in Central Park. Tej arrived at that damned rope bridge he'd already passed by once.

Every path looked like the last and all the trees appeared cut from one pattern. Time to admit he was a bit fucked. Lost. Unsure where to go.

Except the bridge, but it looked as if it hung on by a hair.

Then a recognizable figure. One Tej used to watch as he recovered on the couch from nasty Sunday hangovers. He'd overheard a rumour they were on the island. Lo and behold. "You're that. You had that show." Had, have, huh. A loud snap of the fingers. "We the Survivors, yeah." A beat. "Wait, is this the show?" Tej pointed to the ground, and then over to one of the ever present cameras, the one which could provide a compelling view of anyone who dared to cross the bridge.

It had been a little stifled, visiting her parents to take Flora on an adventure, but she’d gotten through it. And now her baby sister was securely wrapped in the rebozo that Lily had positioned to tie like a backpack across her back, with her little arms around her shoulders.

“So when I say do you want to see the baby, what do you do?” Lily asked her.

“Supise!” Flora said, wriggling her arms out of the rebozo to throw them outward. 

Lily grinned and reached back to squeeze one of her little hands. “Yeah, Flora-lor, that’s right! It’s a surprise! Now we’re getting close, OK, so be very quiet.”

“Okay,” Flora agreed with a giggle, and bundled herself down into the rebozo. Lily couldn’t see over her shoulder but she was very confident in her sister’s ability to hide herself.

When she’d reached the kiln and found Alex already out for the day, she grinned. “Alex!” she called out. “Hey! I have a surprise for you. I brought—”

Flora popped up, her little chin resting on Lily’s shoulder as she threw up her arms. “Supise!” she cheered, laughing. Lily laughed too and moved the rebozo around so the sling was at her front and not her back.

She heard the main doors slam shut and felt her stomach drop. By some brilliant design, that was in definitely in violation of every safety regulation or fire code known to mankind, the cellar could only be unlocked from upstairs. It was why they kept a doorstop at the top of the stairs. Maeve knew she checked the doorstop before she came to finish the inventory. Maeve never quite outgrew the childlike fear of subterranean spaces. She always had to remind herself not to run up the stairs as quickly as she could. 

Imagine her fury when she realized it was none other than Alex at the top of the stairs, trying to get service. She didn’t bother to stifle her groan. “Tell me this is a prank. Tell me you set up some hidden cameras, hid the doorstop, and plan to make a tik tok series about how your coworkers react to be trapped in the cellar.”  

She didn’t look at Alex, not directly. Despite working in the same club for the past six years, the dialogue between the two of them would barely fill a sheet of paper. Maeve would have liked to keep it that way indefinitely. 

“What did you even come down here for?”

Mik ran along the beach, as fast and as he could, arms flailing at his sides as he enjoyed the pure joy of pushing his body. Seeing how fast he could go. He loved looking out the window of a bus and imagining a cheetah running alongside. He looked to his side now, and he was running as fast as a cheetah, he was so fast!

He couldn't remember how he ended up on an island, but that didn't worry him too much. Mum had talked of going on a vacation to the Philipines so much that the blanks filled themselves in neatly. Island paradise, golden sand and salty spray. And the water! He was going to swim in it this afternoon, maybe he could find a surfboard? He'd always wanted to try surfing.

everyone – like literally everyone – seems worried about returning to campus. that student council president dying really has put a damper on the whole back to school feeling and while her parents placated lennon over the phone, she has this ominous feeling that the rest of the kids’ guardians were actually concerned. her father hadn’t even seemed to blink at there being a second unfortunate event in six months and her mother had simply sent a text this morning that read:

[ sms ] stay safe xx bises 💋

what a fucking joke it is to be the daughter of these people who care little about what her needs are and more about what she can do for them. more often than not, lennon feels as though she was conceived to check a box rather than to be cared for. though, how often did people have children for the right reasons?

“oh my god, lex,” len starts, her head throwing back against the armchair she has deemed her throne for the evening. “do you think you can adopt me? or maybe just take my place as my parents’ child for a couple weeks?” she asks, sighing heavily as she tosses her phone aside, looking at her friend. alex has always known far more about her than she feels comfortable, veering too close to real friendship for her usual liking. but he is easy and he doesn’t let her get away with trying to turn the other direction. “i would almost rather my mother not talk to me than send me this shit,” she whines, pulling her brows together.

Was it horrible that Mik was loving the heat wave? For weeks he'd been moping about in a hoodie and jacket, barely warm enough to stop shivering. Now, now Mik was living his best life. He was shirtless and sunbathing on the shore of the endless beach, taking in the hottest rays of the day while everyone else sweltered in the shade. Well, almost everyone.

"Hey," Mik called out to the other person on the endless beach, wishing he'd managed to barter some sunglasses off someone. "You want some mango?" Mik offered. The only people who were casually strolling on the endless beach at this time in the day were fellow fire attuned, and Mik could use some company from people who weren't irritable in the high heat. That, and he did have a mango to share.