Okay, so I joined the team. Hey, the girls are cute, what can I say? And it's not like I have to stay forever. I'm just on a trial basis to get my dad off my back. Plus, Uncle Tony asked me to. I couldn't tell him no... Okay, fine. I WANTED to join. This is my chance to have actual, human friends. I won't admit it, but I'm actually kind of excited...
"So which one do you think is cuter? Emily or Katherine?" Sam asks.
He, Robert, and I walk down the hall of our new home and headquarters, luggage in hand.
"I kinda like Emily," I reply, "And she was totally checking me out on the flight over here. Probably impressed with my piloting skills, since her mom's a pilot."
"Yeah right, dude. She wasn't impressed, she just had to throw everyone off of the fact that she totally wants me."
"That's definitely not a real thing. She's 19 and you're 16. Not gonna happen, bro. Maybe you'll have better luck with Katherine. What about you, Robert?"
"Bobby," he answers, "And I've got a girlfriend. You can have Emily. I'll keep my Rebecca, " he smiles.
"Ugh, why do the boys' rooms have to be so far from the girls' rooms?" Complains Sam.
"Because of teenagers like you, that's why," I joke, "I got this room."
"Then I want this one!" Sam rushes to the next room, leaving the 3rd for Bobby.
I'm really liking this so far. It's nice having people to talk to instead of just a computer. Which reminds me...
"JARVIS? You there, buddy?" I ask, after pressing the button on my earpiece.
"Of course, sir, always."
"Good. The systems are all online so you should be able to get into the base's mainframe."
"Already done, sir."
"Already done, sir," I mimick, in a mocking, British accent.
"Knock, knock," he says.
"Who's there?" I reply.
"Not your mother, sir."
Like I said, he was modified specifically for me.
"Oh, so that's how it is?"
"That is how it is, sir."
We joke like this all the time.
After settling into our rooms, we all gathered in the living room. Uncle Tony said before we start training and working together as a team, we have to socialize. Get to know each other. He says it's the first step to a successful team: knowing it. Makes sense, I guess. We have Linkin Park playing on the speakers throughout the house. It's the only music we could all agree on. I mean, who doesn't like Linkin Park? Everything was going fine until we started talking about our parents. Dads in particular. After a few minutes, Katherine just got up and left. The awkward silence is tangible. Finally, it's broken.
"Maybe someone should talk to her?" Bobby suggests.
"Sounds like something team leader should do," Sam says, obviously trying to get me away from Emily.
"I'll talk to her," offers Emily.
"No. He's right," it hurts me to admit it, "If I'm gonna lead this team, I need to be there for my teammates."
"Hers is the second room."
I go up the stairs and down the hall to the girls' rooms. Her door is open. I come to the doorway and see her sitting on her bed, holding a small, framed picture. I knock on the wall. Startled, she looks up at me and sets the picture face down on the bed with one hand while the other wipes a single tear off her cheek.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, sorry. Just kinda homesick."
"Can I come in?"
"Sure," she smiles as I walk over and sit next to her on her bed.
"I'm not great at comforting people, I haven't had a ton of social interactions" I tell her, "but I could sit and listen or I could give you or hug... Or, if you want, I can leave and give you your space. Whatever you need me to do."
She said nothing, but after a few moments, she wraps me in a hug. I hug her back. And we just sit there in silence, holding each other. Somehow I feel we share a similar pain.