I took my plate and passed the rest down to the next person. “Oh,” I answered quickly. “I was around. Did you need something?”
She shrugged. “I just wanted to see if you wanted to go to the rec after dinner. Maybe we could play checkers or something.”
I smiled. “Definitely. That sounds fun.” Honestly, it sounded boring. With the amount of action that had taken place in the last couple weeks, returning to normal every day colony life was a major adjustment.
Colin sat down across from us, with Molly Edwards. “What’s up, girls?”
“Nothing,” I replied. My answer was short yet cordial. I never elaborated or struck up a conversation with him, but I simply remained polite to save myself from any future arguments.
“Same here,” said Grace. “How about with you?”Grace didn’t stay mad at Colin for long. He explained to her that he had nothing to do with Monica’s disappearance. He also said that Mr. Baker had formed that plan on his own, before he got his father and Mr. Edwards involved.
He smirked. “Not too much.” After that he turned his attention to Molly and proceeded to flirt with her in front of me.
Occasionally, I’d catch him, out of the corner of my eye, trying to sneak a peek at me without seeming too obvious. He was about as obvious as a T-Rex watching a field full of brontosauruses. I knew exactly what he was trying to do. And I knew for sure that the jealousy I’d once felt when I watched him flirt with Molly Edwards before would never return again.
In the rec, I sat across from Grace on the dirt floor, with a stern face, trying to decipher my next move. Grace glanced at the checkerboard, then back up at me. “You could move there.” She pointed to an empty red square.
“Don’t help me!” I scolded. She was already annihilating me, and had way too many pieces left on the board.
“I’m just trying to help,” she stated.
“It would help me if your pieces just magically disappeared,” I joked. And we shared a laugh.
Getting back to my move, I started to slide my piece forward. Grace shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she warned.
I grinned. “You’re not me.”
The truth was, I was tired of playing. I just wanted to go back to my room, lie down on my cot and relax. So, I continued moving my piece forward, knowing that as soon as I took my hand off of it, Grace was going to jump me four times and the game would be over.
Grace’s eyes sparkled as she picked up one of her pieces. “One. Two. Three. Four!” She made her move, swiped all of my pieces off of the board and snapped her fingers. “I win!”
“Darn it,” I whined with a bit of anguish in my voice, trying to sound believable.
“Maybe next time, eh, Georgie,” Grace teased.
“That’s what you say every time.”
* * * *
On my way to my room, Frankie met up with me in the hall. “Where were you?” She looked around the hall warily.
“Getting my ass kicked in checkers by Grace.”
“Don’t swear,” she said.
“Sorry,” I corrected myself. “Getting my “butt” kicked in checkers.”
Frankie stopped mid-step in the middle of the hallway and grabbed me by the arm. I watched her intensely as she stifled a look around the hall. She seemed worried. Frankie was rarely ever like that so I was instantly concerned. “Is there something wrong?” I patted her shoulder gently and she faced me.
“Come with me,” she demanded and drug me down the hall to our room. “Someone has been in my things.”
“What?”
Inside, I flopped backward on my cot when it dawned on me that she found the kiss that I’d put in her drawer.
Propping myself up with my elbow, I kept my eyes on her as she rooted through her drawer. Then, Frankie removed the kiss and brought it over to over to me. “It’s chocolate,” she said. “I don’t know how it got in my drawer because it wasn’t in there yesterday.”
“Chocolate,” I said in a hushed voice. Then, I peered around the room cautiously, playing along. “If I were you, I’d eat it before anybody can catch you with it.”