"Where is it... where's my phone?" Michelle was rummaging through her bag pulling everything out.
"There it is." She exclaimed in relief at finding her phone. She turned it on and opened Brynn's contact and almost called her but stopped.
Michelle wanted to talk to her friends about everything but she also wanted to keep it a secret. She also told them she wouldn't be able to call them on the road – and if they asked questions about where she was... she couldn't tell them the truth. They'd freak out if they knew she'd been in an accident and her car had been totaled.
But she needed to talk to someone – and only her friends would understand. They had dated; which means they must've fallen in love. Even if it was a dozen times. They'd know about these crazy feelings and how to handle them. She needed their advice.
She almost pressed the dial button again but stopped and groaned. She couldn't do it. Leah and Brynn knew that she had never dated anyone or experienced any kind of intimate relationship. For a moment she was embarrassed about it; she thought maybe if she had some dating experience she'd know what to do in this situation. But she didn't have any. And she couldn't bring herself to tell her friends about what she was feeling. She herself didn't know what she was feeling. Was this what it felt like to be in love? Why did Brook make her feel like this?
She shook her head. She barely knew him; maybe these feelings were only fleeting. She couldn't trust them. But she wanted to... really badly.
She looked at her phone and noticed that there was no signal. She stood up holding her phone high to see if a signal would come. But it didn't.
"Weird. Maybe I'll get a bar outside." She walked out of the living quarters into the base. There still wasn't a signal.
"Michelle? What are you doing?" Jett asked as he came out from a room Michelle had not yet been in.
"I was trying to get a signal to make a call... oh, I forgot we're underground."
"Who says we're underground?" Jett asked, trying to sound mysterious.
"Um, it's obvious?" Michelle replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"Either way, you're not going to get much of a signal around here – or for the next fifty miles. It's like a dead zone for phones."
"Really? So there's no communication with the outside world at all?" Michelle asked.
"We have our own radio communications system. Soriano and I rigged it up so that no one can hack it or detect it. unless it's installed in your car, you can't do anything. Pretty cool right?"
"Um, sure but why won't I get a signal?"
"That's er – like I said. It's a - dead zone." Jett sounded like he was lying. Michelle felt he was keeping something. Brook came out just then.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Michelle wanted to make a call," Jett said. Michelle lowered her face. She didn't want to start blushing at the sight of Brook.
"No phone calls around here. No internet, no texting." Brook came near and snatched Michelle's phone from her hand.
"Hey!" She tried to take it back but he held it high above his head out of reach.
"I'll be keeping this. You can't use it anyway."
"What? No! Give it back!" Michelle tried in vain to reach it.
"Yeah I mean, she could keep it. It's not like she can use it."
"Someone might try to track her," Brook said, slipping the phone into his jean pocket.
"Right... I didn't think about that." Jett said, rubbing his face.
"But you just said it was a dead zone!"
"There are exceptions. If we can make a radio work in a dead zone, who's to say other people can't?" Jett explained.
"But there's no one out there for miles! You said so yourself." Michelle argued.
"Look, don't make such a fuss about it. You'll get it back, I promise. Why do you want it so bad anyway? Can't you go a day without texting your friends?" Brook asked. Michelle frowned at him. Sometimes he infuriated her; but that only meant he knew how to get under her skin. And that was a sign of defenselessness on her part which she didn't like.
"It's not that," Michelle said, eyeing her phone.
"Then what?" Brook asked. Michelle sighed.
"Forget it," she said before walking off towards the exit.
"Hey wait, where are you going?" Brook asked, running after her.
"For a walk. Is that a crime?" she asked without turning back.
"You can't go outside," Brook said. He caught up to her in three strides and stood in front of her, blocking her path.
"I can't stay in here forever," she said, facing him. He studied her eyes for a moment.
"You're right." His voice softened. "You can't stay in here forever. But you're supposed to be resting after a major accident. Please, just stay inside." He took her phone from his pocket and placed it in her palm.
"Fine, I'll stay," Michelle said, calming down. Brook didn't let go of her phone.
"Promise me you'll keep that turned off. Never ever turn it on." Brook's eyes were piercing as he spoke. Michelle nodded.
"I promise."
Being locked up in an underground base wasn't as difficult as Michelle thought it would be. She had forgotten how used she was to sitting alone while writing music. Of course, she missed her guitar and the freedom of walking around to clear her head after hours of mulling over scores. But on the whole, the quiet of the base was conducive to her writing. She also took the extra time to write in her diary – something she hadn't had time for since high school. What with all the extraordinary things that happened in less than twenty-four hours, she thought it a good idea to record everything. It would be like reading a deviation from normal life where she crashed headlong into a strange adventure – and she didn't know how it would end yet. Also, since she couldn't talk to her friends, she might as well pour out her feelings in her diary. She felt she might go crazy if she didn't voice it out somehow.
"You're pretty industrious, aren't you?" Michelle heard Brook's voice and looked up from her writing. Brook was leaning against the door frame of the living room watching her with a teasing smile.
"Are all college students like this?" he asked.
"Um, mostly."
"You need to learn how to have fun. I thought you were on vacation."
"I am but... I don't really consider this work." She said, indicating to her diary.
"Yeah? Whatcha writing?" He came and sat next to her on the couch. Michelle subtly slipped her diary under her music sheet before he could see.
"Music. I write whenever I get a new tune in my head."
"Cool." He read some of her writing.
"It looks like gibberish to me I can't understand a thing but I bet it'll sound good." He said squinting at the score. Michelle felt herself blushing. It's not that she wasn't used to compliments; hearing a compliment from him made her feel flattered.
"What do you play?" Brook asked.
"Guitar, keyboard... whatever makes the song sound better."
"How come you didn't carry it along?"
"What? My guitar? I er... I didn't really think I'd be playing it on the road."
"Too bad." He stood up and offered her his hand.
"It's past four and you haven't had any lunch. Wanna grab a bite with me?" Michelle checked her watch.
"Oh, okay. You know how to cook?"
"I can assemble a sandwich," Brook said. Michelle laughed.
"Sounds good." They went into the kitchen. Brook took out several items from the fridge and started making the sandwiches.
"Want some help?" Michelle asked as she watched him cut the tomatoes.
"I'm good. You can just sit there and look pretty." Michelle's lips itched to smile.
"Was that a compliment?" she asked.
"It was a command and a fact."
"Hmm." Michelle nodded her head, indulging his cover-up.
"Do you prefer cheese or mayo?" Brook asked.
"Cheese."
"Ditto that." Brook assembled two large sandwiches and pushed the plate forward.
"Order up." Michelle took the sandwich and bit off a generous amount.
"Hmm – better than cafeterias." She said with a thumbs-up.
"It's the one thing I know how to put together." Michelle watched his face as they ate.
"So, Brook, where are you from?" she asked.
"I don't do small talk, Michelle." He said, shaking his head.
"Really? You can't even say which city you're from?" he considered for a moment.
"Brooklyn." Michelle raised an eyebrow.
"Brook from Brooklyn?" she asked without a hint of belief.
"Take it or leave it." Michelle exhaled in defeat.
"Okay. I guess everyone's entitled to keep their own secrets."
"Smart choice," Brook said.
"Okay, here's a simple one. What's your favorite food?"
"Nachos."
"Really?"
"You find that hard to believe?"
"No, it's just... that means you're into Mexican culture."
"So?" Michelle leaned closer.
"So, that means you grew up somewhere near Mexico." Brook grinned.
"What?" Michelle asked, wondering what was so funny.
"Smooth Michelle. You are smart, I'll give you that. But you shouldn't believe everything you hear." Michelle looked at him in dismay.
"You mean, you lied?"
"I told you not to trust me," Brook said, his eyes meeting hers in a cold blaze. Michelle reverted her gaze to her sandwich, his words stinging her. He got up and took the plates to the sink when he saw she had finished. She also got up and went back to the base. She wanted to be alone. Brook watched her leave without a word.
It was dark when the others came back, their cars blazing and roaring down the ramp leading to the base. Michelle looked up from the couch as she watched them park their cars. She put away her diary and went over.
"Good job today, everyone. We'll be able to seal the deal next week." Soriano said as they got out.
"Reece got out of doing his jobs again. It's not fair! Why should we cover for him? Not being able to drive any car but his own is a pathetic excuse!" Paige grumbled.
"Hey whirlwind, calm down. What you need is one of my famous ice tide cocktails. I'll make some right away." Jett said to her.
"Where's Brook? I noticed he skipped out today as well." Payton said, looking at Soriano.
"Brook's doing exactly what I want him to do. Now everyone, take a load off. I need to check some blueprints. And somebody go check on Reece. He's fixing the cams." Soriano said before walking away. Payton also walked off in a different direction.
"Ugh, you're still here," Paige said in disgust when she noticed Michelle standing near.
"Well yeah, it's not like there's anywhere to go," Michelle replied. Leslie smiled at her.
"Feeling better kiddo?" she asked.
"Yeah, thank you," Michelle said. Paige narrowed her eyes.
"You don't look like it. What's the matter, not thrilled about being in a dump like this? It doesn't compare to your fancy college dorms?" Paige asked with her arms folded.
"No, it's fine, really," Michelle said. She wondered why Paige had it in for her – why she was so mean. Paige gave her a penetrating stare.
"Follow me," she said walking away.
"Paige, don't take her outside okay?" Leslie called after her. Paige simply waved her hand backward in silence. Michelle looked at Leslie.
"Go on. Her bark is worse than her bite." She said reassuringly. Michelle exhaled and walked after Paige.