Long post! Yay.
Transfer Orders Lilika Ewe and Shelly Otter of Room 6 (Volunteers) are to join Squad 5A. Effective immediately.
When Lilika ran over to her during the morning break, Kayta knew something had happened. Lilika looked absolutely thrilled, but Kayta felt a niggling sensation in her stomach. Not much to go on, but enough to make her uneasy. Lilika's words slurred into one. "Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat???!!" she shrieked, jumping with joy.
"You just drank several liters of coffee?" They'd been introduced to coffee just lately. Lilika had taken to it and it made her rather hyper. Kayta thought it bitter and usually let Fry or some other not-a-morning-person have her share. "Slow down, Lika, I can't understand you."
Lilika took a big breath and then exclaimed, "I was transferred to a Squad! Squad A!" She was bouncing off walls. Figuratively.
Kayta beamed. "That's great Lika!" So much for her foretelling something bad.
Lilika paused and lowered her gaze nervously. "And, um, that means I have to go to their barracks as well. To sleep and all. And I won't be helping on your shifts; I'll be one different ones."
Kayta blinked. "Oh." Maybe she should've listened to her stomach. She plastered a smile on her face. "That's alright Lika. There's mealtimes and freetime and such. Don't worry: just keep repeating 'I'm in a Squad, I'm in a Squad!' and you'll be alright."
Lilika beamed, a true smile unlike Kayta's forced one, and threw her arms around Kayta. "Thanks Kate. I'm normally the cheerer-upper. Thanks for cheering me up this time. I've got to go, sorry," she added, turning and sprinting off. She called over her shoulder. "Shelly and I have to report to the barracks."
Kayta watched her best friend run out of sight and then said quietly, "It's no problem, Lika. I owe you a cheering up or two." She, too, turned and walked away, feet dragging. "But I think I need one more than you right now."
Shelly found Kayta later, a smile on the 2 otter's face as always and Jenelle at her heels. "Lika and I are in a Squad!" she told her, beaming wider than ever. "Can you believe it??" She was bouncing off walls as well. But literally.
"Lika told me." Kayta was hurting a bit and Lilika's nickname on Shelly's lips hurt no more or no less than anything else.
Shelly, observant as she was, caught Kayta's melancholy look. She slung a companionable arm around Kayta's shoulders. "Kate, we'll just be a few minutes away. Did you see us that much when you were sleeping? Or when we were working? Other than that it's the same. Except Lika will be happier and I know however much you'll miss her, you want her to be happy. You know as well as I that being in a Squad was her one and only ambition, other than destroying the League and freeing everyone and then going on to solve the rest of the world's troubles." She grinned, allowing Kayta to share the joke. When Kayta spared her a feeble flash of something that could tentively be described as a smile, Shelly continued.
"Be happy for her and live with it, Kate," she said. "Or go tell her that you're disappointed and she'll probably decline from the transfer. But I wouldn't advise it. She'd do it for you and still be her happy self, but I don't know if you could forgive yourself for asking it of her."
Shelly smiled and lifted up Jenelle into a piggy-back; she started to go, then turned back. "Just to let you know, Kate, I'm not stealing her. Lika's got a big heart. She can have me as her friend and still have room in her heart for you. And knowing Lika, she'll still have room for the rest of the world as well."
Later that week, Squad 5A was sent on a mission and Kayta watched Shelly and Lika and the rest of them disappear into the foliage. When she turned around, not sure whether she was happy for Lilika, worrying for her or sad for herself, she saw Ben standing behind her. "Hey Kayta."
"Hi. What're you doing here?"
"I'm watching 5A traipse off into the wilderness for the first time in a long time. I suppose they had to train all their newbies. Not that I mind. I like going on missions. It's nice to do good things."
"Good. Sure." Memories of the night Lilika had been freed and Kayta had not flashed behind her eyes. She thrust them away and tried to change the subject. She had no right to be angry with Ben. He, at least, had been sorry. "So, you're in Squad 5B right?"
"Yeah." Ben had guessed what had caused her tone. "Listen, Kayta, about that night--"
She cut him off. "Forget about it. I'm trying to. I can't stay mad forever. I need to learn to forgive people."
"Been talking to Lika lately I see." When she lifted her eyes in an unspoken question he told her, "Lilika and I are friends. We have some of the same views on the world and some of the same ideas on how to change it. We started talking because of you actually."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You were a very intriguing damsel in distress. I'm a curious fellow. The best way to get info on you was obviously to talk to your best pal and old labmate and present roommate. I had questions and Lilika was obviously the answer. Anyway, we got to talking about you and kept talking when we drifted to other things. Like I said, we share some views and ideas. Besides, who doesn't need a friend?"
"Lilika sure is popular," Kayta said. "Is there anyone in the world who isn't her friend?"
"Lilika is friendly and nice and optimistic. She also believes very strongly in things. Smiles attract people." He considered her second question thoughtfully, as though he hadn't realized it was rhetoric. "After tonight I have a feeling there will be several scientists who won't be too keen on her."
This startled a chuckle out of Kayta. "Thanks," she said.
He looked surprised. "What for?"
"I needed a laugh," she said. "Lika and I are really close. It'll be strange not being able to just turn and see her every second of every day. It's strange that her heart belongs to more people than just me. It's been just us for a very long time and I hadn't realized that it wasn't anymore until recently."
"There's nothing wrong with having lots of friends. Lika has a lot and I think she likes them a lot to. I also think she deserves them."
"Oh, yes. She does. That's not a question."
"Kayta, this is just my opinion, but I think out of all her friends, you probably mean the most to her. No matter how many friends she makes, you'll always be her first friend and her best one."
This brought a small smile to Kayta's lips. "I wish I was as good at making them as Lika, though. It'll be a bit lonely without her."
"Why? You and the rest of Room 6 seem close. You look like friends to me."
"Mostly they keep to themselves. We talk sometimes and are friendly, but I dunno if we're friends. Shelly's very nice, but she's Lika's friend and I think she's just taking pity on me."
"I don't think so. Lika's told me all about your group," he explained. "From her account, Shelly genuinely likes you." He paused. "Um, Kayta? If you get lonely while Lika's gone or you just need to talk or anything, just come see me, alright? I'm told I make a pretty decent friend."
A smile snuck onto Kayta's face. "Thanks, Ben. I'm sure you make a great one." He turned to leave. "Wait. Um, you don't have to call me Kayta all the time you know. My friends call me Kate."
Several hours later 5A made its triumphant return. The joyfilled faced of recently freed experiments brought out her smile again. But it was Lilika's happiness as she ushered two poor experiment children into the mess hall that made Kayta feel like bouncing off the walls.
Lilika was only able to shout one sentence to Kayta when she came to help them with the experiments. "Kayta," she called, "no one was left behind."
If Kayta was ever asked to describe that night she would've used only one word. Perfect.
