The chowder, or whatever it was supposed to be, was pretty tasteless, but it was hot and filled my stomach enough to help me forget my troubles. I ate slowly and carefully, somewhat fascinated by the lack of table manners both boys possessed as they shoveled food into their mouths endlessly, bowl after bowl.
I stifled a laugh as Reid wiped his mouth on a piece of bread. I lowered my head and stirred my spoon around the remains in my bowl. Next to me, Charlie hit his chest and let out a belch.
Unable to control myself, I burst out laughing.
“What?” Charlie asked; wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
“Hey!” Reid scowled at me. “Not everybody went to charm school.”
It was with the harshness of his voice that I began to comprehend what my presence here meant to this group of renegades. While I was beginning to lose my fear of what they could do to me, their fear of me was increasing. Charlie made it apparent that he wouldn’t allow me to be harmed anymore than I already had. And his way around these men—even the way they had described him in the media, had portrayed him as a kind of leader. A sort of second-in-command to Ben Walden. As it was, I very much doubted they would go against him, even if they did think I would go flying to the authorities at the first chance. No wonder they hated me. If I were in their shoes, I would naturally hate me, too. I had the potential to ruin them, and currently there was nothing they could do about it.
“Exactly,” I said, trying to make my voice sound brave. “And it’s done Charlie a world of good,” I patted him on the head. “Just think how uncivilized he might be with it.”
Charlie glanced over at me and before I realized it, I was smiling back. Reid swore under his breath and got up for another serving, kicking his chair in as he walked away.
“You guys act like you’ve been raised by wolves.”
He raised his eyebrows up and down playfully. “Maybe we were.”
“Ha, ha.”
The doors swung open, hitting the wall loudly. Polo and Yuri walked in, yelling something about a horse and someone’s mother. I figured it was a joke I didn’t want to hear the punch line to.
“You’re an idiot; you need to stop talking to me,” Yuri said to Polo.
They smelled like sweat and oil. I felt myself go still in my seat. I was just beginning to adapt to my environment. Why did things have to change every five seconds?
Yuri got his wish when I turned my head and Polo saw Charlie and me sitting together. He gasped like a cartoon character and rushed at us, practically sliding into us both before Charlie held out his hands to keep him back.
“Easy there, boy.”
“Hi, you guys!” He knelt between us and wrapped an arm around each of our shoulders. From the corner of my eye I could see Yuri and Reid glaring at us and whispering back and forth.
“I’ve been wondering about you guys all day! Where’ve you been? Causing trouble without me?” His laugh reminded me of a hyena.
“Strictly a trouble-free zone.” I tried to remove his arm without offending him, but he didn’t even seem to notice. Charlie shot me a sort of apologetic look and went up for another serving.
The moment he was gone, Polo stole his seat and scooted himself closer. “Oh man, oh man, oh man! It’s a real good thing you didn’t die!” The unnatural enthusiasm in his voice was symmetrical with the tapping of his fingers on the table and the endless stomping of his feet on the chair legs. His energy was contagious and I felt myself bucking up.
“Thanks, Polo. I think so, too.”
“No, but like, really!” In addition to everything else, he started swinging his head back and forth. I thought with a couple of instruments he could be one of those one man bands carnivals are always advertising.
“If you had, I think Charlie woulda like…killed everybody!” He spread his tapping fingers across the table for emphasis.
I nodded, but didn’t really know what he meant. With his childlike demeanor, there was a strong possibility that he was probably just confused or exaggerating.
Reid and Yuri came back but sat at the other side of the table as far away as they could get. Charlie sat on the other side of me. I was much more comfortable when he