Chapter 20: Part 1

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I was immediately roused, by none other than Eric, who told me I needed a shower, but only a brisk one, as the 'cloth' on my head was just another set of identical clothes. The time was nearly six, and Eric had advised that I eat dinner after my shower, for the recruits were planning to adhere to this agenda. Following their schedule would be sleep, but seeing how my desperation for Drask was ever-growing ever since I learnt his name and seen his face, I could not leave the night to another lazy nap. Of course, I did not tell Eric I was going to the city, otherwise I had to steal or run into a Vernon lookalike and decapitate them.

"And I was told that one of the lunch ladies refused to give you food. Next time, just tell them these specific words: 'I ought to use an umbrella in this weather', if you want a maximum of seven more meals added onto your three," Eric revealed, "Its randomness is the point."

As I repeated the phrase several times to imprint the message onto my brain, Eric commented, "You did well today, Tyzon, but if it wasn't for your little 'accident' in the shooting exercise, you wouldn't have been such a pain in the ass."

"But I'm willing to bet that you were more of a pain in Willian's ass today," I somewhat queried him on his harshness on Willian.

He chuckled in response, "Yes, but it's only because I want him to quit."

"What?" I was in trepidation after his unexpected reply.

"Torretta's worth to me is no more than a piece of shit, she's practically useless. At least shit stays still and just lies there, instead of creating more shit by eating our resources. We aren't offering anybody a home unless they work for it, hard. The gang's not meant to be a sanctuary," Eric educated.

I respected Eric's perspective no matter how brutal he made it seem, for I would have shared his annoyance if I had been in his shoes. As I entered the showers to take a brief wash with a new towel from Eric, I met up with Felix who was already changing into his new clothes, which thankfully meant he was not nude, but that did not halt me from making as little eye contact as possible.

We greeted each other while Felix was hopping around in his underwear, humorously trying to climb into his pants, which allowed me to be a lot less concerned about his mental stability, for the pointblank practice seemed like it had made a significant impact on him. "How'd you sleep?" I asked him, mildly giggling at his dance moves in his trousers.

"'Like a baby panda,' said the nurse," Felix answered to which he then finally managed to put on his pants. Before I could ask him why he mentioned a nurse, Felix ambiguously cited, "I'll see you at the cafeteria, and, by the way, Chump won," then left like a tumbleweed in the wind, placing me in a confusing situation as none of his statements were elaborated.

While I briefly thought about Felix's remarks, I had hung both sets of my clothes neatly and close to my chosen stall so that no one could steal them, unlike my lunch. Eventually, I stripped and turned the water on, which I had never grown used to, showering during the night. The warm, sleep-inducing water distracted me enough to forget about Felix and my quandaries for about a minute or two.

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