EVERGREEN, elijah hewson

stayin alive

CHAPTER TWO
"stayin alive"

WHO KNEW THAT TO PERFORM CPR, YOU HAD TO DO CHEST COMPRESSIONS TO THE TEMPO OF 'STAYIN ALIVE' BY THE BEE GEES?

That blew Eden's mind. It was Robert who had told them as they watched a few more safety videos. One was about putting someone in the recovery position, one was about CPR and the other was about asthma. Elijah had pulled out his inhaler during the final video. He sprayed the strange fluid all over Robert's hand a few times and the blue-eyed boy kept seething. Eden could never understand boys.

They were hunched in a corner of an empty office room after they were told to do some research on their own. Robert found a laptop left in a drawer and placed it infront of evertone. Miss Alderidge was just trying to get them to waste time as all the other groups finished with their choices. She had announced that the leaving time would be at 11. Eden had been staring at the clock hung at the opposite end of the room. The minute hand seemed to be broken as she'd counted sixty seconds and it still hadn't moved.

Eden was settled right beside Elijah who - for some strange reason - had moved his chair as close to her as possible. Everytime he turned his head, his hair lightly brushed her arm. She felt sick. He made an excuse that there was 'not enough space' when there were at least 4 other chairs on the table that he could've sat at. He was probably going to start teasing her about the U2 thing again. She's put on a hoodie to cover the shirt. He'd noticed.

She thanked God up above that he didn't actually smell of feet. Instead, there was a scent of cigarettes and strong men's deodorant that clung to him. Her fear of men may have slowly dissipated for a second. That fear reemerged when Robert started scraping his nails against the desk. It made the most disgusting sound. Eden tried not to cover her ears to escape it.

Other than Robert's constant scraping, the room was so silent that it was deafening. They'd been scouring through the YouTube recommended videos trying to find another thing to watch. Eden wished they could've just left ages ago. She'd started biting the skin around her nails. That meant she was very, very bored.

"If I have an asthma attack, Bobby will be the one to save me. You three better steer clear. I don't trust any of you." Elijah broke the silence. He waved the inhaler around as he spoke, his eyes giving each of the girls a warning glare. Eden hadn't noticed they were hazel until now. The way he spoke was so serious. Lowered brows, a clenched jaw. Even Eden was lost for words. He then allowed his lips to rise into a mischievous grin. "I'm only joking. Please don't stand around when I'm dying."

"Thanks for giving us the idea." Min-Hee smiled to herself after she said it. There was always a certain pride that came with her snarky comments. Eden could tell that her chest was flickering with satisfaction. It was sweet.

Elijah shook his head, curls flying all over the place. He'd been playing with the thick section of hair at the back of his head. It was driving Eden mad. From her angle, she could see every single strand. She absolutely adored curly hair.

"So, how old are you guys?" Robert asked a pretty normal question. No one had been expecting those words to come from that mouth.

"I'm sixteen. Seventeen in two days." Min-Hee irritably sighed. "Of all days my birthday could be..."

"We'll buy you a cake and some candles." Eden thought about them gathered around a campfire singing 'happy birthday' to her. It was a strangely nice thought.

"Oh, that would be amazing." Min-Hee smiled. "I'm assuming you guys are older?"

"Yeah. I'm seventeen. Eli here is eighteen. He acts like a grouchy old man though, honestly, he's horrible in the mornings. Be prepared for tomorrow." Robert seemed genuinely terrified at the thought of waking up next to Elijah. The other boy just thwacked him across the chest. "What about you, Belle?"