Cam sat anxiously at his desk, glasses slid down his nose and he
hadn't bothered to push them back up. He typed quickly and without error.
The coffee maker next to the flat panel of the monitor made bubbling and
churning noises, its cycle nearly done and the pot already half-empty. Cam
felt the presence of someone standing behind him, breathing softly and
watching over his shoulder. "Dad." He straightened in his chair and
adjusted his glasses. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to have read that message." Kanoi gestured toward the screen with his wooden staff. "Is that the first correspondence you've received from Hunter?"
Knowing his father had read what he was typing, Cam felt his cheeks get hot. The caffeine in his system made him nervous and fidgety, and he straightened his blue button-up shirt. "Yeah. I mean no. Well, the first in a while." He looked down and smoothed the fabric with his hands. "Dad, really I wish you'd knock or something. This... isn't your business."
"I am just concerned about the welfare of my rangers." He placed his free hand on his son's shoulder. "And that of my son. Cameron, you've been holed up in this room for days on end." He lifted his hand and walked toward the window. "If it's your feelings for Hunter you're trying to hide..." he began as he pulled down on the cord to raise the blinds. "There's nothing you can get past your old dad." After securing the blinds, he unlocked the window and opened it halfway. "You've been missing this beautiful weather we've been having."
Cam sighed nervously. "The weather is always beautiful here. I can't remember a cold or cloudy day at the illustrious Wind Ninja Academy." He turned his chair to face the computer screen again. "Even pristine weather isn't special anymore when you've been seeing it all your life. The only problem we've ever had... is dead in abyss."
Kanoi sighed. "Cam, come downstairs. Your cousins have made lunch again today."
He rolled his eyes, folded his glasses, and put them in his shirt pocket. "Maybe you're right." He turned around in his chair, stood up, stretched, and cracked his back loudly. "Whether in Ninja Ops or here, I'm always stuck to that damn computer screen." Cam followed Kanoi down the stairs to the kitchen. "So what did they make? I wonder if it's even edible."
"As long as it's not guinea pig food, it's fine by me."
Kanoi and Cam walked into the kitchen together, greeted by Marah and Kapri, who were both wearing kimono, in orange and pink respectively, obi tied perfectly in the traditional manner.
Marah saw them and began grinning from ear to ear. "Uncle!" she squeaked. "Cam!"
Cam looked at his father in shock. "What the–"
His father laughed. "And you think nothing interesting happens around here!"
"Long enough to have read that message." Kanoi gestured toward the screen with his wooden staff. "Is that the first correspondence you've received from Hunter?"
Knowing his father had read what he was typing, Cam felt his cheeks get hot. The caffeine in his system made him nervous and fidgety, and he straightened his blue button-up shirt. "Yeah. I mean no. Well, the first in a while." He looked down and smoothed the fabric with his hands. "Dad, really I wish you'd knock or something. This... isn't your business."
"I am just concerned about the welfare of my rangers." He placed his free hand on his son's shoulder. "And that of my son. Cameron, you've been holed up in this room for days on end." He lifted his hand and walked toward the window. "If it's your feelings for Hunter you're trying to hide..." he began as he pulled down on the cord to raise the blinds. "There's nothing you can get past your old dad." After securing the blinds, he unlocked the window and opened it halfway. "You've been missing this beautiful weather we've been having."
Cam sighed nervously. "The weather is always beautiful here. I can't remember a cold or cloudy day at the illustrious Wind Ninja Academy." He turned his chair to face the computer screen again. "Even pristine weather isn't special anymore when you've been seeing it all your life. The only problem we've ever had... is dead in abyss."
Kanoi sighed. "Cam, come downstairs. Your cousins have made lunch again today."
He rolled his eyes, folded his glasses, and put them in his shirt pocket. "Maybe you're right." He turned around in his chair, stood up, stretched, and cracked his back loudly. "Whether in Ninja Ops or here, I'm always stuck to that damn computer screen." Cam followed Kanoi down the stairs to the kitchen. "So what did they make? I wonder if it's even edible."
"As long as it's not guinea pig food, it's fine by me."
Kanoi and Cam walked into the kitchen together, greeted by Marah and Kapri, who were both wearing kimono, in orange and pink respectively, obi tied perfectly in the traditional manner.
Marah saw them and began grinning from ear to ear. "Uncle!" she squeaked. "Cam!"
Cam looked at his father in shock. "What the–"
His father laughed. "And you think nothing interesting happens around here!"
