Sounds Rough

The next two months don’t exactly fly by, but they do pass. I train a lot, heal a lot, and get to talk with my teammates a lot. Well, besides Aria. As usual, there isn’t a lot of her. She’s always training, and only comes to Room 21 every once in a while just to eat. Phillip always goes nuts when she does come—I’m pretty sure he has something for her. Sometimes I think she stays away so she doesn’t have to deal with his overwhelming liveliness. I’d like to get closer to her, though—she’s the only one I haven’t had a chance to have a genuine, deep conversation with.

Now it’s time to put two months of training to the test and see if I have the mettle to be part of this team. I’m going on my first mission. Currently, Roj is giving us a briefing on it. Like always, Georgia and I sit across from Clara, Aria, and Phillip.

“This mission is not an easy one, the likelihood of an attack is high. Item #3112 is being targeted by the Time for Hell Faction, and tensions have been growing. To reduce our visibility we are leaving tomorrow afternoon to pick up and transport them at night. Keep in mind, this also makes it harder to see any enemies that might come at us, so remain extra vigilant. I already gave you the rest of the information and you have your packets. Make sure you memorize our path and formation.”

Aria immediately gets up to leave, prompting Phillip to make puppy dog eyes and say, “Pleaseee, just stay for a little while.”

”Don’t be gross,” jabs Georgia.

I laugh. ”Nobody is gonna stay if you look at them like that.”

“He’s not wrong though, you should stay a little,” says Clara. “It’s Terr’s first mission too.”

Aria finally says something, “I suppose I can give you guys a few minutes, but I do need to get back to training.”

”Hey, why do you train so much anyways?” I ask. “I get you gotta be the best, but it’s not like you need to train 24/7 to do so.”

“Bro, you can’t ask her that,” remarks Phillip.

Aria puts up a hand to stop Phillip and interjects, “It’s fine.” Her eyes become impassioned, and her usual seriousness intensifies. “When I was a kid, my family died in a novacide. It’s not like I’m out for revenge now—I understand that it was simply a result of the conflict this war creates. But we weren’t part of any faction; my family was innocent. That’s why I train—to keep getting stronger, so I can help prevent more people like my family from dying needlessly.” Well that’s certainly intense.

“I… have a lot of respect for that,” is all I say.

“That’s more than enough time I’ve given, time to get back to training,” Aria gets up and starts leaving.

“It was nice getting to talk to you!” She doesn’t even look back at me and leaves the room.

Phillip turns to me. “Dude, are you kidding me? You ‘have a lot of respect for that,’” he mocks, making air quotes with his fingers. “That’s all you had to say? We barely get to talk to her and you fumbled it.” He laughs while throwing his hands into the air in an exaggerated manner.

“I mean what else is he supposed to do?” Clara sprawls her upper body across the table, reaching out with her hands. “Ughhh, I still remember when she told me. I thought comforting her would be the nicest thing to do, but she just stared at me and said, ‘There is no need to do that,’ after I was finished. So embarrassing.”

“I don’t think it went very well for any of us,” adds Georgia.

“Sounds rough,” I say. “I’ve only been around for two months and it’s been enough of a struggle to talk to her. Can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.”

Phillip chimes in with his usual adoration for Aria, “But her mysteriousness just adds to her swagger, don’t you think?”

I answer, “I guess it does make her seem cooler. You know what would be really cool, though?”

I was gonna answer it myself, but Georgia cuts in and says, “To have a full conversation with her.”

“Exactly.”

“Personally, she’s more like an idol to admire than someone you can get close to. She’s just so far above us peasantry,” Phillip declares, shrugging with his hands up.

I laugh. “I guess so.”