NOVEL NEXT Chapter 103: 50/50
Cinthara leaned against the frame of my dormitory door, patiently waiting for me. She twirled a long piece of hair that glinted blindingly underneath the strings of yellow light dangling from the hallway ceiling.
My blood still pounded in my ears as my heart tried to settle down after that strange, yet admittedly enticing, situation with Sarah. I wasn't sure I felt ready to encounter another person, let alone another girl. If I really was as dense as I had been about Sarah's true feelings toward me, who knew what other females might try to throw their lips at me? It was an unsettling thought. And at the same time… somewhat thrilling.
I forced my feet forward, convincing myself of the ridiculousness of Cinthara trying to kiss me or even liking me that way. Most days, I considered myself lucky that she didn't kill me. Cinthara noticed my approach and flashed me a friendly smile and light wave.
I stumbled slightly at her stunning beauty. Sometimes it hit me how pretty she really was. I mean, of course she would be–she was the clone of a goddess. And I was the clone of god… but for some reason, I was much more frumpy and awkward-looking. Perhaps I needed to grow into my looks, whereas Cinthara had already surpassed most people in her own looks. I couldn't help but notice that she was significantly prettier than Sarah, though Sarah was not ugly by any sense of the word.
I caught myself staring a little too long at Cinthara's face and shifted my eyes to the ceiling. Why am I thinking so much about how pretty Cinthara is?
"How was your date?" Cinthara said with a hint of mockery in her tone.
I stopped just a foot away from her and folded my arms in defeat. "Well, it turns out that actually knowing what a date is is extremely important."
Cinthara's violet eyes twinkled as she laughed. "That bad, huh?"
Images of Sarah's puckered lips that sparkled from whatever she had put on them flashed through my mind. And I had fled. Like a coward. Instead of just kissing her, which I had a feeling could have been enjoyable, I ran. Instead of maybe just talking about my conflicting feelings and how I'd never been in a situation like the one she'd posed, I left her in the dust. I'd be surprised if Sarah ever wanted to speak to me again.
I found myself wondering what kissing Sarah would have been like–what kissing anyone would be like. Without thinking, my eyes fell to Cinthara's pink lips. They curved up into a slight smile as she watched me. I studied the soft, slight heart shape of her mouth and noticed that their color perfectly matched the natural pink flush in her cheeks.
"Rayden? Are you alright?"
My face went warm, and I hurriedly moved back two steps. My eyes dropped to my feet, and I pushed away all thoughts of lips and kissing.
"Rayden?"
There was no possible way I was going to discuss my shame with anyone, not Cinthara, and not even Dex. It was the first time since Dex had mysteriously disappeared that I felt grateful he was gone and hadn't been present to witness the unfortunate Sarah incident… or been there to read my embarrassing thoughts about Cinthara.
"Fine," I said through tight lips. "I'm fine."
Cinthara frowned but didn't push me any further on the subject. "So, to business, then."
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I nodded. "How much did you get?"
Cinthara leaned around my shoulder, then looked behind herself. No one was around to listen–most had already gone to bed–but she looked nervous all the same.
"We should do this privately. Do you mind?" She gestured toward my door.
I stepped in front of Cinthara to touch my hand to the cold, silver doorknob. The lock within the mechanism clicked as the machine recognized my neural implant. I turned the knob and swung the door open. I'd since learned how to lock my dormitory after Cinthara had broken in to tell me about the caverns. She hadn't stolen anything or tried to kill me (at least not in that moment), but it alerted me to the possibility that someone else might try to nefariously break into my room.
"I'm so exhausted," Cinthara said as she hopped in, throwing her shoes off to the side as if she'd just entered her own bedroom. She then leaped onto my bed and settled into the once perfectly straightened covers.
I followed her inside and shut the door behind me. I raised an eyebrow at her dirty boots strewn on my floor.
"So, how'd we do? Did you sell all of the loot?"
Cinthara and I had retrieved a lot of odds and ends from the dragon we'd killed. She'd insisted she knew a buyer who wouldn't ask questions about where she'd gotten the monster's foreign heart, scales, and other alien parts.
Cinthara propped herself up against the wall behind her and sighed. "Well, he had no idea what I was giving him–I assumed this would happen since dragons are not indigenous to any world I know of. However, he was intrigued by the amount of essence pumping through the dragon's heart and dragon's core. He thinks the parts came from a monster that was at least a Tier 10."
This mysterious buyer's guess was close. Dex had told me the majestic dragon had been a Tier 12. It was still a shock that Cinthara and I had found a way to kill it. It was mainly thanks to those traps of Lord Solomon's, really. Without them, the dragon could have crushed us with a single swipe of her thick tail before we would have had the chance to even graze her with our weapons.
"We got 1,500 credits for everything," Cinthara finished.
My jaw went slack. "R-really? That's fantastic!"
Cinthara shrugged. "It's the best I could do."
"That's better than I thought we'd get!"
"And as I promised, you get half."
Cinthara gestured for me to get closer. Still lounging on my bed, she stretched her fingers over my forehead and to my right temple. She closed her eyes, and within half a second, I received the notification in my mind that 750 credits had been deposited.
It was good to know that I could trust Cinthara to remain true to her word.
"Well, I'll see you later."
Cinthara swung her legs over the side of my bed and jumped off with more grace than I could ever achieve. She shoved her hands into her pockets and left without another word.
Once she was gone, I took my turn collapsing onto the bed. My exhaustion rushed through me like a welcome storm. Then a dreadful thought entered my mind.
I peered over at my desk with the piles of books, messy papers, and my school tablet sitting on top, just waiting for me to rejoin them. I still had a lot of schoolwork left to do.
Grumbling, I rolled out of bed and shuffled over to the desk. I'd originally thought it might be fun to hang out with Sarah–to enjoy time with a friend. But the disastrous date seemed to have only taken away the time needed for my responsibilities.
Still grumbling, I settled in and got to work.
***
Any bit of sleep I could get was extremely important, especially after a night spent finishing all of my assignments by staying up just two or three hours shy of when I had to wake up and power through my class schedule all over again. But whoever was in charge of the Elite Group #1 shift schedule didn't seem to care.
A loud, high-pitched bell resounded in my brain. I awoke with a snort and clutched at my chest as my heart pounded from the shock. A blurry view of my clock revealed I'd only been asleep for half an hour before the sound had rudely interrupted my peace.
I sank deeper into my covers with a less-than-kind word on my lips but still tried to read the words shining brilliantly behind my eyes.
ELITE GROUP #1 SCHEDULE
YOUR FIRST WORK SHIFT STARTS AT 5:00 PM THIS SATURDAY. PLEASE MEET
YOUR GROUP AT THE CITY ENTRANCE FULLY EQUIPPED AND ON TIME.
Though still half-asleep, I couldn't help but feel a sense of thrill at the prospect of starting another new job and this time as a scout in training! It almost had me too excited to fall back asleep. But reason overcame the thrill, and I got two much-needed hours of rest before I had to start another day.