A Dinner of “Bonding”

“You need to get up. I’m not sure what this is, but it sure as hell isn’t a cold.”

A girl resembling Isla stool alone in a pure while void, speaking in a cheerful tone with her hands behind her back.

“Go, go away. Let me rest… you….” She couldn’t think of any words to describe this person, which she disliked so much.

“Isla.” The girl walked forward toward her, making no sound as the space seemingly absorbed her footsteps instantly. “Please get up! You can’t just sit around without trying to get rid of… whatever this is.”

Isla took a few steps back as the girl resembling her walked forward.

“It will, it will go away! I recover fast! Just leave!”

The other girl took another step towards Isla.

“I get that, but your sicknesses don’t affect me,” she explained. “This thing is having effects on me too. My whole body feels tingly.”

Isla planted her foot forward and clenched her fist, wincing as she hit the bandaged part of her hand.

“You, you mean my body. I am, I am the one in, in control!”

“I’m trying to do what’s right for you!” The other girl raised her voice just a little while still keeping her friendly tone to get her point across. “Haven’t I always done that?!”

“I don’t need your help! I never wanted you to exist anyways!”

The girl sighed, realizing that her words weren’t getting through this time either.

“Fine.” She turned her back to Isla and disappeared into the void of white. “But just so you know, doing this doesn’t come easy to me. I’m very sorry, truly.”

Images of a small girl crying flashed across Isla’s mind, waking her up in a cold sweat instantly. She sat up hesitantly, looking at her surroundings and noticing Hazel sitting on her bed reading a book. Her body trembled as she stripped the blankets off herself, revealing the pajamas someone had put on her.

“There you go, ruining another good time for me.” Hazel calmly shut her book and got up from her bed, hovering over Isla. “Why did you wake up?”

She didn’t respond, Isla slipped out of bed and reached for the doorknob.

“Did you talk to her?”

Isla froze up briefly before shed walked out of the room and slammed the door shut, leaving Hazel in there alone.

The distinct sound of friendly chattering and cheerful conversation resonated up from the second floor. She stood in place between the door and the staircase for a few moments, playing with the rim of her shirt contemplating whether to go downstairs or not.

Her mind told her that she shouldn’t go down but her stomach needed to eat since she wasn’t able to get any lunch and it’s not like she had anywhere else to go.

After a minute that felt longer than it should have of standing in the hall, she slowly made her way down the stairs trying her best not to be noticed.

“How on earth do you remember all of these different spices?!” Oliver exclaimed in disbelief. “There’s so many!”

Charlotte laughed at his comment wholeheartedly as she kept taking spices out of the cabinet.

“Through lifetimes of training,” she said jokingly.

“Hey, look who’s up!” Gray heard a small creaking on the staircase and looked up, seeing Isla climb down the stairs. “Want to help us make dinner?”

Her dull eyes faded even more as her plan to go unnoticed came to a halt immediately as Gray’s sharp hearing pointed her out. She glanced over at Charlotte first before answering.

“Sure.” Isla finished her decent down the stairs, not worried about making as little noise as possible now and stood at the kitchen counter with everyone else. “Now?”

Charlotte turned the warm water from the faucet on.

“Well, you should wash your hands first. Can’t go out giving your germs to everyone, right?” She winked at her.

Isla washed her hands well, getting the soap in all the crevasses as best as she could.

“Good.” Charlotte nodded her head with approval. “Now please help your brother with rolling that pastry out. He’s not working as efficiently as I thought he would.”

She looked over at Gray on the left side of the counter furthest from them desperately trying to roll the pastry out thinner.

He handed her the rolling pin as he stepped back, giving Isla room to work.

“Good luck, this thing keeps getting pulled apart too easily.”

“He just doesn’t have the right technique.” Oliver stopped mashing the potatoes to joke around.

“Yeah, yeah. I just don’t have the right technique down or whatever, very funny.” He waved Oliver off as Isla stepped in front of the pastry.

She refolded the pastry, filling all the holes that Gray put in it and began rolling out smoother than he did.

“You seem to have that down.” Gray leaned over her shoulder to look at how she was doing. “What else can I do now that my job’s been taken?”

Charlotte took the cutting board, knife, and a few cloves of garlic, placing the items in front of him.

“You can mince the garlic for the mashed potatoes. Just be careful with the knife, please.”

He pulled the knife out of the sheath then pulled the skin off the garlic cloves before setting them in a group on the cutting board.

“I think that I’m, that I’m done with this pastry now.”

Stopping her work on cooking the meat for a second, she checked in on Isla’s work flattening the pastry out.

Oliver smirked at Gray as Charlotte praised Isla’s handicraft.

“I don’t even want to hear it.” He put his hand up and closed his eyes, turning his head away from him. “If anything, I was like her mentor and laid the groundwork for her to succeed.”

Oliver nodded while keeping his sly smirk plastered on his face.

“That’s going to be really embarrassing when someone lays the groundwork for you one day and you still fail after saying all that.” Oliver held back his laughter while commenting.

Charlotte rushed back over to her station to turn the meat over, preventing it from burning on one side.

“It doesn’t matter how it gets done,” Charlotte said. “Teamwork is important after all. We’ll just say it was a joint effort.”

Gray took the knife out of the half chopped up garlic and spun it around fashionably.

“Trust me, when someone gives me the opportunity to do something, I’ll practice what I preach and do it effortlessly… starting from now, earlier didn’t count.”

“I, I did good?” Isla looked up to Charlotte for confirmation.

“You and Gray both did great!” She took Gray’s wrist, stopping his fancy knife movements. “Honey, please, you’re going to poke your eye out.”

He sighed and gave up playing with the knife, returning to chopping up the rest of the garlic as inefficiently as possible.

“Dear, you don’t need to raise the knife that high to chop garlic.” She got behind Gray and guided his hand, lifting the knife just slightly and letting its momentum carry itself through the remaining garlic.

He looked down at the cutting board as the knife gracefully moved along the cutting board.

“I see,” he whispered. “I have so much more to learn about the art of the knife.”

“What else should, should we do?” Isla came up to where Charlotte was working with Gray.

She resumed her position by the meat and turned it over one more time.

“Nothing else.” She rolled the meat out of the pan and onto a tray. “All that’s left to do is roll this in the pastry and mushrooms then shove it in the oven and we’ll have some goooood beef wellington.”

Isla took a seat at the table, pulling out her phone while waiting for the food to be finished.

“Everett is going to be so excited.” Oliver took a seat opposite of Isla. “Did you tell him about what we’re having tonight?”

Charlotte shook her head no as she set the tray of wrapped up meat into the oven and closed the door.

“It’s a secret,” she said. “I actually have some news for him that I got in the mail today that I’m excited to share with you all.”

Gray walked up to the table and sat next to Oliver, closer to Charlotte who was at the head of the table.

“What happened?”

“I can’t tell you now.” She put her finger up to her lips. “It’s a secret until you’re all here and dinner is ready.”

“Well, well.” Hazel trotted down the steps with her book in hand. “What am I missing down here? It smells delectable.”

“It’s nearly done cooking.” Charlotte motioned to the table, inviting her to sit down. “Please, take a seat.”

Hazel slipped herself into the seat right beside Isla, inserting the bookmark where her finger held the page and set it on the table.

“Did you help make this? She snaked her hand into Isla’s who dropped her phone at Hazel’s sudden touch.

Oliver cleared his throat just loud enough for her to hear, directing her attention to Charlotte who was now out of her seat and waiting for the wellington to be done in the oven.

She moved her hand back into her own lap with a slight smile.

“Yes, I did.” Isla picked up her phone and looked down at her lap, not making eye contact with anyone.

Hazel took the napkin in her spot of the table and lightly coughed into it.

“Do you need some of the cold medicine too?” Charlotte asked worriedly. “You might have caught something from Isla.”

“If you could spare some, that would be lovely,” Hazel requested.

Gray raised his hand, getting Charlotte’s attention as she made her way to the medicine cabinet.

“Do you think we could get some too?” Gray asked, pointing to Oliver as well. “Both of our throats have been feeling kind of bleh for the past few hours.”

She took the bottle of cold medicine out of the cabinet and tossed it to Hazel who caught it with ease.

The three of them each took their turn taking their fill from the bottle before Gray returned it to the cabinet.

“That always tastes so bad.” He filled up his glass with water from the fridge and chugged it, trying his best to wash down the foul medicine taste that filled his mouth.

“What the hell is all the noise out here for?!” Everett swung the door to his shared room with Jasper open and quietly yelled.

“Watch your language!” Charlotte peeked into the hallway from the kitchen and scolded him. “Can you get Jasper and sit yourselves down at the table? It’s time for dinner.”

Everett’s face flushed red as Charlotte strictly told him off.

“I’m sorry.” He called out that dinner was ready to the room, getting pushed out of the way as Jasper rushed out.

“Oh boy!” He took his seat at the table excitedly as Everett followed closely behind. “Dinner!”

“Alright!” Charlotte’s face turned to excitement as the final two took their seats. “I just know that you will all, especially Everett, be thrilled for dinner!”

“The suspense is killing me.” Everett tucked his napkin into his shirt. “What is it?”

She took her place by the oven, opening it slowly to reveal the beef wellington sitting beautifully in the tray.

“Tada!” She took it out of the oven and set it on the table with a towel underneath, moving the side dishes from the counter to sit on the table around the main item.

“Holy moly, that looks delicious!” Jasper grabbed the large knife on the dish and began cutting himself a piece off. He took one of the end pieces with the most pastry to meat ratio on it.

Everett’s sharpened eyes gazed condescendingly at Jasper as he gave himself the first and best piece of the meal.

“You should thank Isla, Gray, and Oliver. They helped to make this whole meal!” Charlotte explained.

“Thank you so much for helping with dinner.” Everett’s tone conveyed the opposite meaning that his smile gave off.

“Now, to the big announcement! A little something came in the mail today!” Charlotte pulled a letter out from her pocket and unfolded it. “Everett has been selected to be the face of the school in the annual student council meeting!”

The other five of them clapped unenthusiastically but still energetic enough to fool Charlotte.

“Does it say who is representing the other schools?” Everett asked.

She looked through the note, reading everyone all over again to search for what Everett wanted.

“It says that Paul Jackson will be representing East Boston High and Elijah Thomas is the representative of Excel High,” Charlotte said.

“I think Elijah is new—” Oliver was interrupted by Everett’s loud sigh.

“Not Paul again.” He leaned back in his chair and ran his hands down his face. “He’s the worst!”

Charlotte folded the letter back up and set it on the counter.

“What’s bad about him?”

“He always needs everything to be about him, and he thinks he’s the best at anything! He’s so self-centered and egotistical,” Everett explained.

Gray and Oliver smiled to themselves as they looked at each other in secret and played with their forks to keep themselves from laughing.

“He sounds quite troublesome,” Hazel slid into the conversation.

“Thank you!” Everett stabbed his fork into the meat on his plate and took a bite out of it without cutting a piece off. “Finally, someone is on my—”

His speech was interrupted as he put his elbow to his mouth to roughly cough without spreading his germs everywhere.

“Sorry,” he apologized to Charlotte. “My throat has been killing me for a while now.”

Isla lifted her arm to cover her face from his fit of coughing.

“Cover your, cover your mouth more when, when you cough.” She scooted her chair over more towards Hazel’s side.

Charlotte stiffened up a little at the mention of being sick, turning to Jasper.

“Are you feeling sick too?”

He looked up at her mid-bite, feeling her gaze on him.

“I don’t think so,” he confirmed. “My throat tickles a little but not enough for me to be sick. Probably just an itch.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to concentrate and gather her thoughts.

Gray noticed her usually steady hands slightly shaking as she got up and went back to the medicine cabinet. She grabbed a different bottle with no label and set it onto the table with a little bit of force.

“All of you take some of this,” her voice demeanor returned to normal. “It will help you to recover quicker.”

One by one, the six of them let the thick liquid run down their throats.

“What is this stuff?!” Jasper stuck out his tongue, trying to get the taste out of his mouth.

“It’s stronger cold medicine,” she said. “I figured if you’re all sick, you probably need something stronger than the basic stuff.

Gray briefly made eye contact with Oliver as they noticed her demeanor shift slightly.

“Now go to your rooms and rest up,” she said strictly. “You’ll all need it to recover.”

The six of them dismissed themselves from the table.

“Wait, there’s one more thing for you.” Charlotte stood up and pushed in her chair, standing in front of the table. “Set alarms for every hour in case you fall asleep. Make sure you fully wake up before going back to bed.”

They all looked at each other, for once not arguing due to their confusion.

“Excuse my interruption,” Hazel said with a cough. “But would waking up every hour not be counterintuitive to resting well?”

Charlotte bit her lip, staying silent for a moment and letting her eyes rest on everything but the siblings.

“For this specific sickness, it’s the opposite.” She puffed out her chest with pride. “Don’t worry, I didn’t go to medical school for nothing.”

“I see… I suppose we will take our leave and rest as you instructed.” Hazel gently took Isla’s arm and pulled her back to their room.

“Don’t worry about the dishes,” Charlotte said. “I’ll clean them.”

Everett and Jasper individually went back to their room without speaking to each other or anyone else.

“Good night!” Oliver called after them without receiving a response.

“I’m going to get some more medicine from the store,” Charlotte said. “Make sure you two get rest as well.”

She backed up slowly as she spoke, reaching for her jacket on the coat rack a few times before finally grabbing it. Charlotte rushed down the stairs as she put her jacket on.

Gray quickly beckoned Oliver to follow him into their room. He tripped over himself as he rushed into the room, waiting a few seconds for Oliver who waltzed into the room in no particular hurry.

“In a rush, huh?” Oliver said jokingly as he entered the room.

Gray glanced out of the door, looking back and forth before shutting it hard.

“Something isn’t right,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Oliver went to sit on his bed. “Is it unusual for a guardian to give their children medicine when they’re sick?”

“Not that part.” Gray waved his hand in the air. “The whole set an alarm for every hour thing, and her concern for us seemed more like fear.”

Oliver put his hand up to his chin and thought for a moment.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It seems odd, but maybe she has a reason for it,” he explained. “She is technically certified to be a doctor.”

Gray opened the door again and smiled at Oliver.

“We’re going to find out what’s going on.”

“Woah, woah, woah.” He shot up from the bed and grabbed Gray’s arm. “How can we have a nice family if we can’t even trust our mother?”

“But the evidence all stacks up,” Gray complained. “She’s hiding something, I can feel it.”

“I get it, some things seem fishy to me too, but we have to trust her. She took us all in and has raised us for years, there’s no way she would do anything to harm us.”

Gray sighed as he looked longingly at the stairs down to the first floor.

“You’re right.” He nodded sadly. “I need to give up on my fantasies and delusions about some secret treasure.”

Oliver let go of Gray’s arm as he sighed with relief.

“I’m glad you’ve come to your—”

Gray bolted out of the room and ran across the kitchen to the stairs.

“You tricked me!” Oliver got up from the bed as fast as he could and ran after Gray down the stairs. “I thought you said you were going to give up on your delusions!”

“A real adventurer never gives up!” He jumped down the stairs, skipping most of the steps on the way down.

“Gray!” Oliver called after him as he did the same jumps down the stairs as Gray. “Get back into your bed!”

“Try and… try to get… pause, I got really lightheaded from the stairs.” He leaned against the nearest bookshelf, trying to regain his balance.

“It’s the cold. Now go back to bed!” Oliver strictly went over to Gray, ignoring his pause request and went to grab him but fell short. “I won’t… I wo—”

Gray snickered.

“You got… lightheaded too.” He backed up from Oliver’s outstretched hand, losing his grip on the bookshelf and fell to the floor.

“Gray!” Oliver leaned down as best as he could and tapped his face, poking him harder as Gray didn’t respond. “Everett! Hazel! Anyone… help… help.”

His voice faded slowly as he lost consciousness and fell on top of Gray.