Hello again readers and authors, It's taken me a while, but here I am with the next chapter. So previously we saw the training ground at Nomanisan, and got to see Alex square off against one of the programs participants, Fiona Kennedy, and forms a friendly rivalry with her. This one took me a while to come up with, since I make up some parts of the story as I go along, but it's all worth it for you all to read. Enjoy.
Chapter 14
Over the course of the next couple of days, Alex continued to train, along with the other participants in the program. He mainly focused on practicing his hand to hand skills, using a dummy for practice, as if it were an enemy, and even going through some of the obstacle courses, some were scenarios that a hero would face on the job, while some were just a running course that threw one trap after another. He had also been practicing with some of the people that he had become friendly with, most notably Travis and Napoleon. Sometimes, he would gain support from Violet, who he started to spend more time with after training sessions finished.
After dinner, the lounge was packed with all of the programs participants. The lounge had a simple layout, but was given a stylish look and a few touches that gave the room a modern feel to it. There were several couches that were close to the walls, and tables that were spread out as well, a refreshment and snack area, and a few small coffee tables that were right in front of the couches and couch chairs. There were also two TV's, one mounted on both sides of the room, which had any channel that could be turned on if they wanted. To top it all off, there was a large window at the end of the room that showed a view of the vast jungle area. Alex sat in one of the chairs, with a cup of water in his hands as he could hear everyone around him.
"You did better today on the burning building scenario, saved a lot more civilians this time." Travis said to him. Alex looked to his friend, who was sitting next to him on the couch.
"Thanks, but I'm not sure about the random trap one." Alex said to him, taking a sip of his drink before looking at the others around them.
"I feel you bro," Travis said to him "You're not the only one who hates that one, I had trouble completing it."
"Really?" Alex asked him.
"Yeah, the opening trap doors and lasers were tough ones." Travis replied "I saw that one of the teens, I think Tradewind's kid, made it through the water part easily, but he couldn't get through the robots or the blades." Alex looked at Travis, then at all of the other kids and teens that were socializing in the lounge, and felt that he may be right about not being the only one.
"Still, I'm sure there are some courses that some think are a piece of cake for them." Said Alex.
"I'm sure there are," Travis said "But the thing right now would be to focus on what you think is a piece of cake."
"I don't know, it all seems kind of hard." Alex replied.
"It's supposed to be hard, but you'll get used to it," Travis said "Besides, if it wasn't hard, then then it wouldn't be much of a challenge."
"I guess." Alex said, thinking that he might be right with what he said. He was about to take another sip from his drink until he saw Violet walking towards them.
"Hey there boys," Violet said to them as she walked up.
"Hi," Alex replied "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, just thought I might drop in, see how you're doing," she replied "So, what are you guys doing."
"Nothing, just talking about the training exercises we had to do today." Alex replied to him.
"Radom traps one hard?" She asked.
"That's just what we were talking about," Travis replied "Hard for you?"
"A little bit, but my brother thought it was easy," said Violet "He didn't even slow down, he just zipped right through it." Alex couldn't help but find that a bit funny, since Dash would seem to find that easy, having to go through without even walking.
"Hold on a minute," said Travis "I just need to get a refill, I'll be right back."
"Ok." Alex replied. Travis got up and made his way through to the dispensers, leaving Violet and Alex together, alone, sitting in the couch next to each other. Alex couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, not knowing what to say. He then looked at her casual clothing, which consisted of a purple T-shirt, and long black pants with white sneakers. "So, you look nice" Violet heard his complement.
"Thank you," she replied before she looked at his average clothes "You don't looks so bad yourself." Alex smiled from that statement as he continued the conversation "So, you doing alright."
"Fine," she replied "What about you?"
"Same," said Alex "I do miss my parents a little bit."
"I'm sure everybody feels that way, so do I." said Violet.
"Really?" Alex asked, trying to sound intrigued.
"Yeah, my mom was worried at first because of the location," she said to him "It's bad enough that Dash has to come along too." Alex nodded at what she said, before taking another sip of his drink.
"So you seem to be pretty helpful." Alex said to her. Violet looked a bit surprised and turned to Alex.
"What do you mean?" she asked him "How have I helped you in those exercises?"
"Well, I know you weren't with me," Alex said "But I didn't mean physical help, I meant confidence," he put his cup back on the table so he could have a free hand "You and my new friends helped motivate me to get through that stuff."
"Oh it was nothing," she said with a smirk "You know, I never got to thank you either."
"For what?" Alex asked her.
"For saving me during that bus accident," she said to him "You came through for me that day, and I really owe you one for that."
"You're welcome," Alex said "It's not every day that you get to help out a pretty girl." He almost stopped at that last part. Violet seemed to hear a bit of the last part, and turned to his direction.
"What was that last part?" Violet asked him.
"Oh," Alex said "It was… uh, it was nothing."
"I don't think so," she said "It sounded like something." Alex was now more nervous than ever until he finally gave up.
"Ok," Alex sighed "I said…" he seemed to continue but only appeared to mutter the last part. Violet knew he was trying to hide it and wouldn't give up that easily.
"I didn't hear you," she said to him.
"I said I think you're pretty alright," Alex said finally giving in "Happy?" Violet knew that he was embarrassed, and Alex was sitting there, not knowing what she thinks.
"I Am," she simply replied. Alex looked up at her surprised, while Violet, who not saying anything formed a warm smile on her face. Alex could feel butterflies in his stomach at the moment, but he was also feeling good for the moment at the same time. Before they could continue however, Travis came walking back up to the couch, not noticing the conversation that was taking place.
"Hey, I'm back." Travis said from the corner of the couch. The two of them turned, to see him walk back with his refilled drink in his hand.
"Oh hey man," Alex replied. Travis looked at Alex.
"Do you need anything?" He asked.
"No I'm fine actually." Alex said. Travis seemed to take note about what Alex was in the middle of, and decided to walk away to give his friend a moment. He then sat in a couch chair that was right near the window and took a sip of his cup. Alex turned back to Violet.
"Sorry about that" Alex said to her.
"No it's ok," Violet replied "I'm sure my friends are probably wondering where I am," she got up and headed off to where her friends were "It was nice talking to you,"
"Yeah," Alex said, feeling a bit happy at the moment "I'll see you around then."
"You sure will," Violet said. "And thanks for being honest, that's why I think you're a good friend." She gave him a little wink before she turned around and walked off to the table that her friends were sitting in. Even though she was gone for now, Alex couldn't help but feel proud. He got to talk a little bit more to Violet, and when he did, he got to admit something that he felt before should have been private. He knew that this was a good night for him, and kept that in mind as he got up and decided to move around a bit, getting a quick snack before the bell called everyone for the sleeping areas.
The changings went by quick as everybody was fast to brush their teeth, take a shower, or do whatever they needed to do before they went to their beds. It was close to 9:00 now, and both rooms were still active, especially the boys room. All of the boys were either in their beds, getting ready for sleep, or doing whatever they can do with the time left today. Alex was sitting in his bed, already dressed; sitting around before they called lights out. He still had his cell phone with him so he decided that he should call his parents before he goes to sleep, since he promised them he would stay in touch.
"Well, I guess it's now or tomorrow," Alex said to himself. He got his cell phone out of his bag, but before he dialed the number he decided that he needed to do this somewhere that he wouldn't be interrupted. So he got up and walked towards the exit, being careful to make it past several of the guys before a guard at the door stopped him.
"Where do you think you're going?" the guard asked him.
"I'm just going to call my parents, but I want to do it somewhere private." Alex said to him. The guard looked at him, figuring out if he was trying to play him or not, until finally giving him an answer.
"Alright, stay close by the door," the guard replied "and five minutes, no more." Alex nodded and made his way out into the hallway. He pressed his back against the wall making sure no one followed him. He turned the phone on, then dialed the number he wanted to dial. Then, he waited as the phone began to ring, and soon, he heard a voice that was always familiar to him.
"Hello?" Henry asked on the other line.
"Hey dad," Alex said to him. His dad looked a little tired at the moment, as if he had just been woken up, but he couldn't help but smile.
"Hey champ," said Henry. Alex could hear the hint of exhaustion in his voice, and quickly realized that he should have called at a different time.
"Oh sorry," Alex said "What time is it over there,"
"Late," Henry said "But its ok, your mother and I aren't asleep yet." Alex breathed a sigh of relief before his dad continued. "So, how are you doing? We didn't get to talk to you for a day or two."
"Yeah sorry," Alex said "I guess I was just so busy with the training that I didn't get a good chance to talk to you guys. How's it going for you, miss me?"
"We do," Henry replied "It's been a little quiet around the house without you, but we manage. So how's the program, are they treating you good."
"Yeah, it's actually pretty cool," Alex replied "All of the kids I'm with are pretty cool, and the person who runs it, Mirage, she seems like a nice woman."
"Any new friends?" Henry asked.
"Yeah, a few actually," Alex replied "A lot of the kids here are pretty cool, even Violet."
"Wait a minute, you mean Violet like your new friend?" Henry asked him.
"Yep, I found out she and her brother are Mr. Incredible's kids." Said Alex.
"Really?" Henry replied "I always knew there was something familiar about the last name Parr." He looked to the side for a minute and then looked back at his son "Hold on a minute, your mother's here, she wants to talk to you."
"Ok." Alex replied. He waited for a few seconds until he heard another familiar voice.
"Hi sweetheart," Jenifer said to him "I miss you,"
"Hi mom, I miss you too," Alex said.
"So I heard you're doing alright?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I told dad that I was fine," Alex said "Sorry If you missed out on some of the things I said."
"It's alright," Jenifer said to him "Your father can let me know after, I just still miss you."
"I know you do," Alex said "Some of the other kids here probably miss their parents too. But I'm doing fine, and I'll be back before you know it."
"Alright kid, times up. Wrap it up and get back in your sleeping area." The guard said next to him. Alex turned to him and then back to his phone.
"Looks like its bed time for us," Alex said "I had to come out in the hallway so that I wouldn't be interrupted."
"Ok Alex," Henry replied "Make sure you talk to us again when you have the time."
"I will," Alex said "Good night."
"Good night Alex," said Jenifer.
"Good night son." Said Henry. He waited until he no longer heard their voices, and Alex hung up. He then walked back to the entrance of the sleeping cabin, passing the guard and finding his own bed and putting his phone back into his bag. He did feel that he was distant from his parents, but felt that it was nice that he could stay in touch with them, and he knew that they were proud of him. It wasn't long before the lights went out, and after resting in his bed for a bit, Alex slowly closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
So that's it for now, I hope you guys liked it. This is more of a filler chapter that will lead right into the next one, so I hope you guys don't mind. I wanted to have his relationship with Violet be shown a little bit in each chapter, since it will keep growing throughout the rest of the story. I wanted to have a scene where Alex talks to his parents, but I couldn't find the room in previous ones to do it, so I decided to include it in this one since I have the room. So please leave some more reviews and I will update, and I promise the next chapter will be more exciting. So stay tuned.
Update: Just re-edited the chapter since I added in the cell phone policy in the previous chapters.