To Be A Survivor

Chapter 35: Always Take The Weather

"And we'll put on this one and this one and we can maybe add some glitter too and-"

"Slow down, Penelope," I laugh. "I don't think Janine would appreciate us putting glitter on her equipment. Let's just stick with the stickers, alright?"

Janine has said that if we runners want, we can decorate our headsets as long as we don't put any permanent decorations on it like paint or glitter. Kytan and Rowan has been pestering her about this for a while, I think, and when Sam heard of it, he also thought it was a good idea. I guess she finally gave in since there was a good chance they weren't going to stop asking about it anytime soon, and she's got bigger things to worry about.

I actually wasn't going to decorate my headset, seeing as I don't actually see it as mine and I've broken on my headsets because of my first run in with the Deadlocks, but Penelope insisted on letting her decorate my headset for me. So here we are, with Disney Princess stickers and some other children's stickers to go with it. I know she put on a few Peppa Pig one, because she did she'd make a little 'oink' sound and giggle hysterically.

"Okay. Well, we'll put Ariel on because she didn't have a voice like you, but now she does. And we'll put Beauty-"

"Belle," I correct.

"Belle because she has brown hair and eyes like you, and then we'll Elmo because he's scarier than the zombies so he'll scare them away and then..." She continues to ramble on and place stickers on my headset, but then I hear a faint sound come through it.

"Be quiet for a moment, hun," I say, gently taking the headset from her and slipping it on. Penelope looks at me with her head titled to the side like a puppy, and I press my lips together in confusion when no sound comes though. "Hello-"

"Runner Five and Runner Eight, report to the gates at the double," Major De Santa commands suddenly, causing me to flinch harshly and scare the poor child sitting next to me.

I sigh, wishing that for once somebody else could go on one of these missions, or that they could at least choose a time that I'm not doing something with my kids.

'I have to go,' I sign with a apologetic smile. 'We can finish decorating later, okay?'

Penelope nods, although there's a small bit of sadness in her features that she tries to hide. I hate it that I'm the one who seems to be the reason of the children's disappointment here of late. I know that I'm a runner first-I'm supposed to be, at least. I'm starting to wish I wasn't, though.

"Hurry now," The Major says. "We have no time to lose."

I quickly take my leave from the school, knowing Penelope will have to go back to class soon anyway. While I head towards the gates in the quickest manner I can without running into anyone, I can hear Sam stuttering something out, or at least trying to.

"Uh, I um-"

"Yes, out with it, Yao. Speak up."

"It's-it's just that..."

"Come on. Come on," She says impatiently. "No doddling there. Vital mission for you both, Runners. And what was it, Yao? Out with it, man."

"It's just... you know... I-I mean, you know they're not really soldiers a-and they've all volunteered, and I get the stuff about discipline and I know it's important, but we try to be a bit nicer to them, that's all," He stammers, and I feel a smile stretching across my face. Of course, that's what he would try to correct the Major on.

Dork.

"I-I mean, thanks for saving our lives over and over again with-with your military discipline and-"