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THE SUN WAS HIGH ABOVE the window’s edge before 62 stirred. Days of hiking through the wind-blasted desert had drained every ounce of his energy and as he wiped his eyes, he wondered if he’d ever get it back again. His stomach gurgled and he wrapped his arms around himself to quiet it. He sat up slowly, taking in his new surroundings. Today they’d hike back down the hill to retrieve the rest of their things. 62 groaned, plopped back into bed, pulled the covers over his head, and went back to sleep.
It was mid-day before a knock at his door roused him from his slumber. His voice sounded raspy and broken when he called out, “Hello?”
The door opened just a crack, the latched chain keeping it from moving any farther. A blue eye peered through the narrow breach. “Hey, you coming down? Sunny’s making us something to eat before we go.”
62 felt even more exhausted than he had the first time he woke up. He sat up slowly, marveling that the rest seemed to be making his tiredness even worse. He nodded at Blue, then got up and shuffled across the room to unlatch the chain holding the door. Once the door was unlocked, Blue pushed it open and leaned against the doorjamb. 62 went to the closet and rummaged through the few things he’d unpacked the night before. He pulled a long-sleeved shirt on over what he was already wearing. Socks and boots soon followed. “How is she today?” 62 asked as he dressed.
“I don’t know,” Blue said with a frown. “There’s definitely something wrong, but Sunny won’t talk to me about it. She’s acting like we’re back in town and everything’s normal.”
62 grabbed his coat and a clean mask, and followed Blue into the hall. There wasn’t a way to lock his door from the outside, but 62 figured that there wasn’t much in his room to protect, and not many wandering eyes to protect it from. He closed the door tight and walked with Blue to the stairwell. “If there’s something going on, I’m sure she’ll tell you after she’s gotten to know 00 and me a little bit better,” he offered. “Or, maybe, there isn’t really anything wrong. She might have just decided to not go back to Hanford after the Oosa let her go.”
Blue pushed the wild hair out of his eyes, letting their blue irises shine out from his boyish face. “I guess it’s possible, but I don’t think anyone has ever been found after the Oosa took them, unless they came back to town to grow new babies.”
“It’s a big world, you know?” 62 said. “Maybe we don’t know everything that happens out there.”
“You just might be right,” Blue said. His smile reached his eyes and he slapped 62 on the shoulder. “Now, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
The pair made their way to the cafeteria where 00 was already stooped over a bowl of hot, steaming, fried potatoes. He glanced up as they entered, and spoke with his food rolling over his tongue while he ate. “G’mornin!”
62 gave a shudder at the sight of his friend’s open maw. “Hey, can you finish eating before you say anything? Your face looks like a dust devil full of mashed potatoes.”
00 winked at his friends, but finished chewing and swallowed before talking again. “You’re jealous because I got the first serving.”
“Nope,” Blue said. “We just know there’s such a thing as table manners.”
“Pshaw.” 00 leaned back in his chair. “Who gives a rat’s tail about table manners? There’s nobody out here to tell us what to do.”
“True enough,” Blue said. He looked at 62 and tipped his head toward the kitchen. Leaving 00 behind to maul his meal, the two hungry friends headed into the cook’s room in search of food.
“Hey there,” Sunny said with a weak smile when she saw them. “I found some lard in the pantry and fried up some potatoes. There’s jerky too, if you’d like some meat.”
“Potatoes are fine by me,” Blue said. 62 nodded and they followed Sunny over to the stove where she served them hearty portions. “Thanks.”
62 stared down at the bowl of cooked tubers. “They’re orange!”
“Yes. I found a whole stash of sweet potatoes. A bit of fat and salt and they fry up really nice.” What little bit of a smile Sunny had was lost as she watched 62’s bewildered expression hovering close to his bowl of food. “You do like sweet potatoes, don’t you?”
“I bet he’s never seen ‘em before,” Blue said. “He came up from Adaline not too long ago. Parker fed them potatoes, but only regular white ones. Right, 62?”
62 stuck his tongue out, prodding the soft meal with it. He wrinkled his nose. “Right. White potatoes.” 62 looked up at Sunny, whose face had blanched. He stammered, “But I’m sure these are great. Thank you for making them for us.”
“Parker?” Sunny’s whisper was barely audible. She clutched a hand to her neck and leaned back against the stove.
“Yeah,” Blue set his bowl down on a nearby counter and moved close to Sunny. He raised his hands as if he wanted to hold her, but when she shrank back he lowered them to his sides, fingers twitching nervously. “Parker took over classes for the refugees after you didn’t come back. If you come out and sit with us while we eat, we can tell you all about it.”
“No.” Sunny shook her head. Her eyes were watery and she trembled where she stood. She gripped the edge of the stove behind her for support with one arm, and the hand around her neck dug into the soft skin around her protruding collar bone. “I don’t feel like eating just now. You Boys go on ahead. I think I’d better go lie down.”
“Okay,” Blue said with concern in his voice. “Maybe later, then.”
Sunny nodded, then pushed herself away from the stove and scampered toward the exit like a wounded animal. The door swung closed behind her and they listened to her footsteps fading away into some dark corner of the building.
“That was odd,” 62 said. “Do you think she’s all right?”
“No. I do not think she’s all right. But there doesn’t seem to be anything to do about it now.” Blue narrowed his gaze on 62. “Good job being grossed out by her food.”
62 hung his head. “I’m sorry. It does smell good. It’s just new, is all.”
“I know,” Blue lamented. He picked up his bowl and shook his head. “Let’s go eat.”
00 passed them on their way out of the kitchen. “Going for seconds!” he exclaimed, waving his fork in the air. They waited for him to scoop himself up another round of sweet potatoes and then all went back into the dining area to eat together. Once 62 had watched both of his friends eat half their meals without retching, he speared a slice of glistening orange potato and took a bite. The exterior of the potato had a light, salty crisp to it, and the sweet center melted over his tongue.
“This is delicious!” he exclaimed as his eyes popped open. He stabbed another bit and shoved it into his mouth.
“Why couldn’t you have said that to Sunny?” Blue rolled his eyes to the ceiling and slumped back in his chair.
00’s eyes darted back and forth between his friends. “What happened?”
Without looking away from the ceiling tile above him, Blue raised a hand and pointed at 62. “This chucklehead made a face and complained about the orange potatoes right in front of Sunny.”
62 dropped his fork to the table. “Well you’re the one who brought up Parker and almost made her cry.”
00 gulped. “You guys! You can’t make her cry. Then she might not cook for us again.”
62 glared at 00 and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re not helping. I wasn’t trying to be mean about the food. I haven’t had this kind of potato before, okay? And with all the weird food that Parker’s been throwing at us, I wasn’t sure what to expect.”
“And, I didn’t know that talking about Parker would make her sad. I mean, they were always together before she went to the Oosa. How should I know that she’d cry if I talked about him?” Blue dropped his arms to his sides and slumped farther into his chair, defeated.
“Maybe she misses him,” 00 offered. “Sometimes when I think about Adaline, I get sad because I miss it there.”
“But if she misses him, why didn’t she just go back to Hanford?”
“I don’t know,” 62 answered. “But what I do know is we’ve got to finish eating these delicious potatoes she made us. Then, we need to bring N302 back here before it gets too late.”
They finished eating in silence and cleared the table. As they were preparing to leave, 62 rested his hand on Blue’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. And maybe after we’ve been gone a while she’ll be ready to talk again.”
Blue pressed his lips together and dipped his chin in agreement. Then he pulled a clean blue mask over his face and secured its straps around his head. His voice was soft and low as it leaked through the filter of his mask. “We’re burnin’ daylight, Boys. Let’s go get that blasted bot.”