Long day and then a post.
Hey! Here's Chapter 5!
Life right now is getting busier by the day. I'm assuming I'll have a little more time once September rolls around. I haven't been doing much from a writing standpoint, although I have made progress on my current chapter. I am working on this, just very slowly...
Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, and please leave a review! It helps me get better at this sort of thing.
Thanks!
- Splak R.
The run this morning was brutal this time of year.
That's what it felt like to everyone outside, since it was practically a million degrees out, contrasting the short presence of the sun. Andrew looked like he was handling the heat quite nicely on the outside, but his squad knew all too well that he wasn't okay.
"Is he ok? He hasn't spoken to us at all since the run started."
"Maybe he's just focusing, but he does look a tiny bit tired."
"When's lunch?"
"He usually makes a lot of conversation whenever we run."
"So... you guys get a good sleep last night?" Andrew finally asked.
The run was agonizing for the soldiers up to this point; not only was it hot, it was also oppressively humid.
One of the soldiers answered Andrew, "Yeah, I did. Did you?"
"Yeah! I actually had a much better sleep than yesterday." Andrew replied.
"That's great! Hope you feel better pretty soon." Another soldier said.
"Yeah. Thanks." Andrew mumbled.
Andrew's headache was still lingering in the background. It doesn't hurt now, but he's fully aware that it'll be more painful today than yesterday. Is it from burnout? It definitely isn't from a lack of sleep, that's for sure. Maybe Grayson's wrecking ball stunt yesterday was getting to him a little bit...
"Andrew? Hello? I said your time was 14:58." Seb brought him back to reality.
"Oh! That's great." Andrew replied, not entirely sure what to say.
He had to sit down for a minute. His headache was eating at him by the second, each shot of fatigueness becoming more potent than the last. He couldn't accept that he was getting burned out, he had to be there for his squad. What else would he do besides be there for them? That was the job of an Officer in his eyes.
Andrew couldn't take a vacation, not when his encouragement is actually doing something! He had so much to do with the soldiers, he wanted to give them good habits. Andrew felt like he had a lot to give, and if he wasn't doing that, he wasn't trying his best.
"Yo. You seem pretty deep in thought." The Zoroark Officer came over to Andrew.
"Huh? Oh yeah... this headache is still hitting me full force..." Andrew said.
"Oof. Hope ya feel better soon. You do look pretty burnt out, by the way." Sydney rubbed her eyes.
"I don't wanna be burned out though! There's still so much I have to do..."
"Look... why don't you take a break for a little bit? Maybe go on a vacation somewhere. You can always come back after you've rested."
Andrew pouted, "That's the last thing I wanna do..."
"Well, if you're so insistent on being here, then I'm not gonna stop you, but know this, you do look like you need one." Sydney got up and went to the obstacle course, everyone had finished their run.
"I need to stay here..."
Andrew, Tammy and Seb were conversing at a table near the massive front gates of the skyscraper for lunch.
"Did you manage to get your point across, Seb?" Tammy asked.
"Yeah... although I don't know how long it'll stick."
"Seemed like Dante got his act together for once." Andrew said.
"Yeah. Like I said, I don't think it's gonna last very long, if at all." Seb replied.
"So Andrew, did you manage to get your headache sorted out?" Tammy asked.
"It's not going away... Maybe I haven't been eating much lately." Andrew said.
"I don't know, seems like you got a full plate of food there." Seb commented.
"Sigh... I honestly don't know what it is. Sydney says it's burnout, but I don't think a raging headache comes with a simple burnout." Andrew explained.
"Hmm... Maybe... I actually don't know what your situation is. Have you seen your doctor at all?" Tammy asked.
"No... I just maybe feel tired... I don't think I need to see him. He's way too energetic." Andrew said.
"Here, let's take your temperature real quick. Just in case." Tammy said.
Of course, she had a thermometer on deck.
"Here. I'm sure you know how to do it, you're old enough now." Tammy handed it to Andrew.
He put it where it was supposed to go, and waited for about a minute. It started beeping after that. Tammy wiped it down with a disinfectant after she took it out of Andrew's mouth.
"Well, you aren't running a fever, at least. 98.4." Tammy said.
"Well that's good. If I did have one I would have a cow." Andrew laughed.
"So if it isn't burnout, and it's not a fever, what is it? Sleep headache?" Seb asked.
"I'm not gonna rule out burnout entirely. I will say, I looked it up, and a headache wasn't one of the symptoms." Andrew said.
"You can't just go off of something you read off the internet." Tammy said.
"I know. I just thought it would be useful." Andrew replied.
"I mean, if you read the same thing from multiple sources it can be credible, I've seen geology articles that have similar points on them." Seb chimed in.
"I mean, I just read one article." Andrew said.
"Ok, completely destroy my point with your lack of research." Seb griped.
"Sorry. I just need to think on it for a little bit longer..." Andrew said.
"And that's fine. Take the time you need, you don't have to make a decision right now." Tammy reassured.
"For sure. Once you come to a solution or a conclusion, let us know." Seb said.
"Sounds good. I don't know what I need to do, but I'm gonna be thinking on it hard." Andrew said.
"Oh, Andrew, Seb. I'm gonna be at another Noble meeting tonight, so I won't be in my room starting at 7 till around 10 pm." Tammy announced.
"Alright. I was planning on studying my crystals a little more today anyway." Seb said.
"I can just do whatever until then. I'm probably gonna go to the pool tonight." Andrew said.
"Alright. Have fun you two, I ought to think of topics for tonight's meeting. Jett's going to be there tonight, so if you need him he likely won't be available." Tammy explained.
"Ok! See ya, Tammy!" Andrew Seb said in unison.
Tammy chuckled, "Bye! I put money in your accounts for dinner."
Andrew and Seb internally fist pumped.
"Ok... so if I were to stay and act like normal, how would my headache be? Would it be worse, better, would some other symptoms come with it...?"
Andrew was alone in Tammy's room thinking out loud about what to do about his headache.
He gripped at the golden curtains.
"Sydney said it was burnout. So let's say it was. What would come with it? Tiredness, for sure. I've experienced that first hand. Also stress, but I don't feel stressed. Well, maybe from Captain Grayson, but I don't feel generally stressed when he's not around. Do I need a change of pace? Am I dying of the extreme boredom of same stuff, different day? Ugh! This is so complicated!"
Andrew flopped down on his sofa sleeper, hoping an idea would come to him. He waited for a few seconds, but nothing came to his brain.
He just turned on the TV that was facing the beds. He picked up the remote and started flipping through the channels, he basically had nothing better to do in his mind.
"You never treat me right, Jaso-" Boring soap opera that Tammy watches.
"IT'S TRUCK MONTH. IT'S TRUCK MONTH. IT'S TRU-" Sheesh. How many times can you say "Truck Month"?
"Slap my nu-" Andrew didn't want to know, especially without context.
"...to a resort in Biuzal Springs! Book now for your vacation, and get 60 Poke off your purchase! Right now..." The TV rambled on as Andrew considered that option.
A vacation.
The idea initially presented itself in the form of Seb suggesting it to him. He had sat on the thought for a long time, but he was in denial. He thought he didn't need a vacation initially.
Maybe a change of pace was really what he needed all this time.
The Mayors of each town on Subon Island have a meeting scheduled today. It was in the center of the island, so they had to travel a little bit from each town to get there. Whether they show up or not is up to fate. They've tried to have one meeting where they all show up, yet, at least one mayor is always off doing something else.
The reason that one mayor is off doing whatever is because they argue all of the time, which makes unity between the towns utterly more difficult than it should be. They actually despise it so much, they use code names based on their species because none of them want one of the other mayors saying their name.
So... 3 mayors out of 4 managed to show up to the central meeting room. Fate was merciful today.
"Where's Mayor Florges? I swear, she never has her priorities straight." Mayor Samurott asked.
"Maybe if you weren't up everyone's throats, she would actually be here." Mayor Noivern answered.
Samurott ignored the snarky comment for now.
"Mayor Venusaur, are you seriously sleeping?" Samurott said.
No answer came out of Mayor Venusaur.
"I try to let you guys get here on your own volition ONE TIME! I'm so mad at Florges right now..." Samurott put his head in his paws.
"Being the Mayor of Rinj, she's got stuff she needs to do." Mayor Venusaur woke up.
"Pff. Yeah, right. Rinj is so stupid. They got completely annihilated by Jett Kingdom." Mayor Noivern commented.
"Pretty ironic, since your town was next, Noivern." Samurott said.
"Hey! At least Cholet put up a fight! Unlike Gron!" Noivern said.
Venusaur went back to sleep.
Samurott yelled, "WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY TOWN?!"
At least, Venusaur tried to go back to sleep.
"All of y'all suck. Quilar is the only town that hasn't been raided yet. Let me. Go. To bed." Venusaur said, agitated.
"If you're so adamant on sleeping, why did you come here?!" Samurott cried.
"Eh. Worry about that yourself, drill sergeant. I didn't come here to see you and shithead bicker." Venusaur got up and promptly left the meeting table.
"Hehe... he called you drill sergeant." Noivern giggled.
"SHUT UP, SHITHEAD." Samurott bellowed.
"Sigh... I knew this would go badly. Honestly, I think Florges would've left before Venusaur did." Noivern said. He got up and left the meeting too.
Samurott was baffled. How did every meeting go like this? How did they hate each other so much to the point of not communicating on anything worthwhile? He had to come up with a solution very soon, or else things could get ugly with all the raids that have happened...