Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (11 page)

We grab a bite to eat at lunch. I look
around but don't see Molly anywhere. I guess she's off with her new
boy toy. I hope she's not doing anything she'll regret.

My mom comes to sit with Tony and I. "So
how's training going?" She asks.

"It's going." I say.

"Your daughter is catching on very quickly."
Tony elaborates looking annoyed at my short answer. "We are going
to practice hand to hand combat next.”

Yippee! I manage to keep my thought to
myself.

My mom tells us about the plans she's making
to send the same group out tomorrow to take Molly home. She doesn't
want me to come but she quickly relents when I pitch a fit.
Everything is set to start at dawn as long as the rain lets up. I
look out the windows of the dining hall. It's still nearly dark
outside as sheets of soaking rain fall from the sky. I hope it lets
up soon.

We finish our lunch and I go back to the
training room with Tony. He shows me a few combat moves like
dodging hits, punching, kicking and getting out of holds. I try
them a few times but since we are both a little uncomfortable being
close right now, we don't really get much good practice in.

Around five we decide to call it quits for
the day; which is a good thing since I’m starving. I run to my room
to get washed up and meet Tony back in the dining area. As I walk
through the foyer, I spot Tony talking to Molly at the other end of
the room. I try and squelch the foreign feelings I’m having and
make my way over to them. I’ve decided I’m going to be nice to
Molly or at least I’ll die trying.

Tony catches my eye when I’m about half way
across the room. Molly must sense Tony’s not listening to her
anymore because she flippantly turns around and glares in my
direction. I guess I must be cramping her style.

“
Willow,” she says through clenched
teeth and a faker than life smile.

I nod my head at her. “Molly.” I state. “How
have you been holding up? I haven’t seen you all day.” I try and
keep to the small talk so I can keep the more awkward
conversational moments at bay.

“
Good, good,” she replies
halfheartedly. I return her fake smile and turn my attention to
Tony. “Hey, thanks for helping me out today. I really do feel I’ve
learned a lot…like if I really needed to defend myself I could.” I
hear Molly do a small snort next to me. I take a deep breath and
try to think happy thoughts to keep from using some of my newfound
skills on her.

Dinner goes off without a hitch…well, if you
don’t count Molly’s unrelenting flirtation with all the guys at the
table. I’ve concluded she must have some pretty deep daddy issues
so I try and not make a huge deal over it. Tony doesn’t seem fazed.
Either he’s used to people flirting with him or he’s trying to not
hurt her feelings. For goodness sake she’s jailbait next to him! I
feel guilty thinking about how lovely it is that we’re taking Molly
home in the morning! Well, God willing that this rain lets up. I
send a silent prayer to the Man upstairs.

We clear our table putting the dishes in the
large plastic bins.

“
Wello,” I hear a little voice call
from a table nearby. I turn around and see Sebastian sitting in his
little booster seat with all the other children. I put my hand on
Tony’s shoulder and whisper for him to give me a few
minutes.

“
Not a problem,” he says in
return.

I make my way over to Sebastian. I notice he
hasn’t touched his food while all the rest of the children are
having their desert. I squat next to him and ruffle his curls.
“What’s going on my little man?” I ask.

He has his bottom lip stuck out and his eyes
have tears in them just waiting to be released. “I don’t wike what
they give me. It’s uky.”

I look down at his plate. It doesn’t seem
that bad except I know he hates peas. Back home, if his plate even
had one pea on it he wouldn’t eat anything on the plate. I scratch
my head and think about what I could say that might convince him to
eat the peas. An idea comes to mind. Something I used to do back
home.

“
Hey Sabby, you remember back home
when the little green Martians came to visit and they left these
strange green eggs that wound up on our plates?” His little head
bobs up and down. “Well, I think they’re back!” I say in a
conspirator-like tone. His little eyes get as round as saucers.
“And they’re going to be looking for them so we better hurry up and
hide them so they don’t get mad!” I take his fork from his pudgy
little hand and move the peas a little at a time underneath his
mashed potatoes. Once they’re all hidden I wipe my brow in mock
relief. “Phew, that was close!” I say. “Now those scary Martians
will never find them.” A little smile breaks across his face. “So,
you’d better eat your food. That desert tonight was mighty yummy
and I’d hate for you to miss out.”

“
Tanks Wello!” he says and gives me
the sweetest little hug. He lets me go and dives in to his food. I
smile at the teacher and she mouths, ‘thank you’. I mouth back, ‘no
problem’ and give her a smile.

Tony’s standing near the end of the table
smirking at me. I drop my head in mild embarrassment. I didn’t mean
for him to see that. Why I’m embarrassed, I can’t quite say though.
I walk up to him. “Hey, thanks for waiting up.”

He laughs under his breath. “No prob. I
think it’s cute how you’re the only one who can get the little guy
to eat his peas. I don’t blame him. Peas are like the antichrist
anyway.” He holds up his finger like he has an idea. “But, maybe
they really are Martian eggs. That would explain the taste!”

I punch him playfully in the shoulder. “Very
funny.” I laugh a little with Tony as we walk down the hall. “So,
what’s the plan for the night….and where’s Molly?”

“
Molly who?” Tony teases.

“
Seriously, did you lock her in a
closet or something?”

Tony purses his lips. “I may or may not have
done such actions.” We both laugh a good belly-shaking laugh. Tony
rights himself. “No, I asked your mom to take her for a while. She
can be a little…over the top sometimes.”

I raise my eyebrows at him. “A little?” I
ask playfully.

Tony just shakes his head laughing under his
breath. “Come on, Willow. I’ve got an idea.”

I shrug my shoulders and give him a sly
grin. “Whatever it is, it sounds good to me. I need to unwind from
all that work this tough instructor made me do.”

"Yeah, he sounds like a really mean guy." He
says which makes me laugh. He turns and looks behind us making sure
the coast is clear. He bites his lower lip, grabs my hand and
begins running down the hallway. I try not to pay attention to him
holding my hand but it is very distracting. We turn several corners
until we come to the stairwell door on the far end of the hotel.
Tony releases my hand and opens the door. A musty smell permeates
the air.

“
Why did we have to come all the way
over here to get on a different stairwell when we have one that was
a lot closer?”

He wags his eyebrows at me. “That is for me
to know, and you to find out.” He doesn’t try to explain further
before he grabs a candle and matches that he must have stowed
earlier.

“
Did you plan this?” I ask him. It
seems unlikely that there would be candles and matches in a random
corner of a stairwell.

He doesn’t answer me but simply hands me a
candle and lights one for himself. “Come on, there’s something
really cool I want to show you.” I nod and let him lead the
way.

After many stairs and several stops to
relight my candle, we come to the basement door. Tony reaches in
his pocket producing a key that just so happens to unlock this
particular door. The verdict is in…it was totally planned. The door
opens and flings dust with it. I cough a little and wave my hand in
front of my face trying to clear the air. It’s dark in the basement
and it looks really spooky. I can’t say I’m too keen on the idea of
waltzing my way in there.

Tony must sense my hesitance. He holds out
his hand to me. “As friends,” he says.

I try to weigh the pros and cons of this
choice but give up. “As friends,” I repeat placing my hand in
his.

He squeezes it and then leads me into the
basement. I try and lighten the mood with humor. “So, do you lead
all the girls down or just me?” I can feel him laughing through his
hand.

“
Just you, Willow.” Argh, the way he
says my name! I can’t put a pin on it, it’s just
different.

The flickering glow bounces off of the walls
casting shadows on all kinds of hotel items. I guess this is where
they kept their extra beds and what-not's. We round another corner
and Tony comes to a stop in front of a large metal cabinet. “Can I
have my hand back?” He asks.

I hadn’t realized how hard I was squeezing
his hand. I blush in embarrassment. Thankful he can’t see it. I let
go of his hand. He jimmies the handle for a second and then the
door swings open. Another cloud of dust explodes leaving me in a
small coughing fit. I clear the dust away by waving my hand in
front of my face again.

I place my candle closer to the inside of
the cabinet to get a better look. Thin rectangular boxes that look
extremely old, line the different shelves. “What is it?” I ask.
It’s the million dollar question.

"I saw this stuff when we initially searched
the building." Tony takes his hand and begins to wipe some of the
dust that’s formed on one of the boxes.

I begin to make out the name. M-O-N-O, and I
can’t make out the next few, but the last ones are L and Y. I
wonder what Mono ly is. I take my hand and brush some of the dust
off another box. “Y-A-T-Z-E-E. Hmmm, this one isn’t as worn down as
the other is. I wonder what Yatzee means. I’ve never heard of it
before have you?”

Tony shrugs his shoulders. “Let’s take a few
out and see what’s inside.”

I nod and my hand reaches for the Mono ly
box. I place it on the floor and open the lid. Inside are these
tiny green and red houses. “Look,” I say. “Here’s a dog. But…why is
there a thimble the same size as the dog?” Now I’m really
confused.

I hear Tony laughing next to me.

“
What’s so funny, huh? Since you’re so
smart, why don’t you tell me what these are?”

This makes Tony laugh even more. “They’re
games silly. Haven’t you ever seen any before?” He asks.

I guess I’m a bit taken aback by this. I've
played games plenty of times but usually that requires our tablets
or the computer, not a box of random stuff that looks ancient. “How
do you know what this is? And why didn’t you say something before
now if you knew what it was?”

“
I’m sorry Willow, I just wanted to
see what you thought of it first. The only reason I know what these
are is because I’ve read about them. Apparently, a long time ago
people used to play these kinds of games in their spare time. When
I realized we’d have some time together this evening I figured I’d
take you down here and show you; then maybe you’d like to try and
play one with me.”

I scratch my head. I guess his explanation
sounds innocent enough. At least he wasn’t making me the brunt end
of a joke. “Fine, I’ll play. But how do we know how to do it?”

Tony reaches around me and sorts through the
box. He pulls out an old, worn sheet of paper and unfolds it.
“Directions,” he says like it’s the greatest invention since sliced
bread.

We set the candles down in front of us and
sit across from one another. I dump the contents of the box in
front of me. A cardboard piece falls out. I notice it’s doubled
over so I unfold it carefully. “Tony, check this out.” I say and
show him the cardboard piece. Look, it’s so pretty, and
geometrical. There are all these squares with multiple colors
surrounding the cardboard.

“
Look in the middle,” he says.
“Apparently it’s called Monopoly.”

I scrunch my eyebrows. “Monopoly, I’ve heard
that term before.”

Tony nods in affirmation. “Yeah, me
too.”

We read the directions carefully and set the
game up according to them.

“
Tony, check out how cheap this
property is!” I show him a card called Baltic Avenue.

“
Man, this game is really old for land
to be that cheap.” Tony agrees.

We decide I am what’s called a banker and
he’s the one who holds the little property cards. We hit several
road bumps in the beginning but soon we start getting into the
game. My favorite part is rolling the little dice. It takes a while
for me to count all the small circles but it’s not a big deal.

Pretty soon we’re laughing with every move.
It’s either the greatest thing that’s ever happened or the worst.
After an hour of playing, I’m rolling in so much money that I have
trouble keeping it organized and Tony only has two dollars to his
name and has had to mortgage all his properties.

When he lands on Boardwalk he throws his
last two dollars at me and laughs. “Okay, okay. I concede. You are
definitely the queen at Monopoly.”

I stand up and jokingly take a bow. We stay
down in the basement for hours playing all sorts of fun games. We
decide against Yatzee because it takes too long to count all those
circles. We try this one called: Hungry Hungry Hippo. It's one of
the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I put it aside so I can show it
to Sebastian later. The other one we play is Clue. Scarlet is so
gorgeous in her red dress. Tony plays as Professor Plum.

Somehow I end up winning all of the games
except Hungry Hungry Hippos. Tony gets so competitive while playing
that he manages to break the poor hippo's tail, trying to get it to
chomp up the most marbles.

We check the clock and find that it's past
ten. "Wow, we missed dinner." I say.