The Start of Pain

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Hamilton knocked on the door tentatively. He knows how much Sinead hates it when people disturb her while she’s working. You do not want to see what she did to her brothers that one time they...

Hamilton shuddered involuntarily, balancing the tray that held Sinead’s lunch.

“Come in, Hamilton,” Sinead called from inside. Hamilton took a second to analyze her tone. She didn’t sound mad, or annoyed, or exasperated. But she didn’t sound happy, either. Sinead just sounded casual. Then again, Sinead’s ‘casual’ is the closest thing to happy when it comes to these kinds of situation. Hamilton sighed. How he hated girlfriend analysis. The scary thing is he’s actually getting pretty good at it, if it was a subject he’d probably get an A+.

He was about to opened the door when it suddenly flew wide open in front of him. Sinead stood inside, dark circles under her eyes and her pulled on top of her head in a really, really messy bun. She yawned hugely before saying, “What do you need, Hamilton?”

Hamilton took another long second to appraise her look before he gently pushed his way inside the room. Sinead rolled her eyes at his back. He set the steaming bowl of soup beside the fried rice. “You look like death,” he said plainly.

Sinead snatched a prawn cracker and popped it in her mouth. “Yeah, ‘cause girls like it when their boyfriend tells them they look like death,” she said sarcastically. “Do you have any other things to do here before I snap your neck?”

“That’s really cute, Sinead,” Hamilton waved the empty threat away. “Thinking that you could actually take me down in a fight.”

Sinead pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I could,” she told him.

“Sure you could,” Hamilton drawled patiently.

“Bring it,” Sinead said bravely, making no move from where she was seated.

Hamilton rolled his eyes. “I did not just walk over to your favourite Chinese store and buy all these things to see them get cold because you want me to beat you so bad in, what? A thumb wrestling competition?”

Sinead held out her hand. “Give me my noodles,” she said with a sigh. “If you keep on evading me whenever I challenge you in a fight, I might be reduced to thinking that you’re afraid to lose to me.” She blew on the steaming noodles before stuffing a big chopstick-full. 

“Keep thinking that,” Hamilton replied unaffectedly, plopping down beside her with his fried rice. He looked at all the microscopes and bubbling whatever around the room. “Have you made the antidote yet?”

“Is my name Sinead Starling?” she replied cheekily, mouth still full. She reached over and took a dumpling from Hamilton’s fried rice. “It was fairly easy. The poison in Natalie’s blood is the antidote itself. I just had to test it to make sure. When I was five hundred per cent sure, I just had to alter some of its genetic components to make they multiply once inside Angelle’s bloodstream, so to speak. That will be finished in,” she quickly glanced at her watch, “ten minutes, max.”

Hamilton nodded as he chewed, used to Sinead’s scientific mumblings. He is starting to understand a third of what she’s babbling about. Although he is not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing yet. “Yeah, well, Wizard’s getting pretty anxious,” he said. He shook his head, looking at Sinead. “I don’t get why he’s so excited for Angelle to wake up when he knows he’d get his butt kicked the second she opens her eyes.”

Sinead shrugged. “Boys are masochistic,” she said frankly. Hamilton snatched the innocent, little crabstick on Sinead’s bowl and quickly put it in his mouth. Sinead let out an annoyed whine. “I was saving that for last,” she complained, whacking Hamilton on the arm over and over.