"Troubled youth, huh?"
You echoed Clementine, looking around at the kids outside. You wondered what could've happened for them to earn that name. She nodded and began to explain.
"Before all this, most of the kids here were put in the school by their parents because of.. issues they had. You'll have to find out for yourself what everyone did to get put in here, I don't think it's my place to tell you, but I promise you that everyone here are good people."
She smiled encouragingly and you couldn't help but return it, it was contagious. Clementine kinda looked like a bunny rabbit. Cute.
"I just hope you all like me." You joked, but you felt nervous underneath. What if they didn't? Would they kick you out? You changed the subject quickly. "So, what'd you do to get here? Did you beat up a teacher or something?"
Clementine laughed and shook her head. She led you to the stairs infront of the middle building and sat down, setting her crutches on the wall beside her. You settled next to her and listened to her speak.
"No, I wasn't here before everything started. They actually found me by a train station after I crashed my car and blew up the building." She said matter-of-factly, looking at you through the corner of her eye to see your reaction.
"Holy shit, are you serious?" Your jaw practically dropped open. How do you blow up an ENTIRE train station? She nodded her head.
"That's SICK!"
The two of you burst into giggles and Clementine let out a breath of air, clenching her hand over her stomach.
"Kinda, yeah. It scared the shit out of me at the time, I thought me and AJ were going to get eaten. It's overrun now." She waved her hand dismissively at the thought. "I'm really glad these guys saved me, I don't know where I'd be without them."
"I bet, I don't know what I would've done if I were you." You said more seriously. A shudder ran over your spine at the thought of an infestation like that.
"So, what's your story? I know about the boat and the river, but how did you get here?" Clementine prompted, looking at you intently. Her eyes shone with interest. It felt nice to have someone to talk to again. While you didn't mind speaking about how you got here, it felt weird to talk about what happened to you again. You tried to keep those thoughts away from your head.
"Well-"
You were cut off by one of the boys from earlier - what was his name... right, Louis! - stomping his way over to the two of you. He looked upset in a fake-dramatic way, lips pouted and arms crossed as he loomed there. You held in a snicker.
"Hellooo! Earth to you two!" Louis waved his hand in front of you and Clementine. She batted his hand away and rolled her eyes. "I called you over like, three times! Dinners ready, come eat." He finished and helped Clementine get her crutches straightened out as she stood. She looked like she wanted to push him away again but let him help, an underlying shine of affection in her eyes. You looked away from them for a moment and only then did you realize that the sun was setting in the dark sky.
"Shit, it's this late already? How long were we talking for?" You said aloud in disbelief. It didn't feel like all that long!
"A good few hours, probably. Nice to meet you, Ms. Talks-alot." Louis joked, flashing you a sarcastic smile. You rolled your eyes. So he was the jokester of the group. Cute. "I see you're already picking favorites. I'm hurt!" He glanced at Clementine and placed a hand over his heart and touched his forehead with the back of the other. You couldn't hold in your laughter.
"Oh yeah, definitely. Me and Clementine are already bestfriends, sorry Louis, you didn't make it in time." You retorted, shuffling over to the other girl. You laid your arm across her shoulders and Louis made a sound of disbelief.
"Clementine, how could you! I thought I was your bestie!" He would cry out, both hands on his heart now. Clementine shrugged off your arm with her giggles and she pushed past both of you.
"Just go eat, you goof."
Louis backed up as she passed and chuckled, throwing his hands up in defense as she threw him a dirty look.
"Fine, fine, I see how it is." He said brightly then turned to you. You suddenly became nervous. Louis seemed really nice - he was really funny, and damn was he cute - but would he be different around just you? Guess you'd have to find out. You felt a little out in the open without Clementine. You haven't had to meet new people in a long time. It was nerve-wracking already.
"So, when's the last time you had a hot meal?" Louis asked you while starting to walk toward a picnic table in the courtyard. There, you saw a lot more people than you did earlier and.. a dog? They had a DOG here? You were gonna lose it. This had to be the best day of your damn life. You quickly followed after him.
"Oh, god, I have no idea." You laughed, struggling to think of the last. He tossed his head over his shoulder and grinned.
"Well, you're gonna be having one tonight. Be prepared to meet the gang, they're already staring." He finished in a sing-song type voice and you followed his gaze to the table. Suddenly, you felt very intimidated.
Every single person was staring at you, even the dog.
Aasim, AJ, and Violet turned away from you and to their food instead, but you still felt the other's eyes boring straight into you. You cleared your throat nervously and quickly shuffled into an empty space between AJ and a red-haired girl. The girl gave you a soft side-eye, more curious and wondering than suspicious.
"Who are they?"
A somewhat harsh voice would ask. You looked down the table to see a boy on the corner, staring at you with a little bit of a glare. Nervously, you went to speak but Clementine beat you to it.
"They're going to be joining us. They came from downstream and we found her by the gates. It'll be fine Willy, okay? They're okay." She gave Willy a reassuring smile and mumbled under his breath, obviously unsure. You gave Clementine a grateful look and she nodded her head.
"You didn't tell us?"
The girl next to you piped in gently.
"No offense, we just don't get many others around here." She added quickly, giving you an empty smile. You shrugged your shoulders. Clementine sighed.
"I didn't want to alarm anyone, that's why I waited until we all came to eat to introduce them. Do you want to introduce yourself?" She said irritatedly, looking over to you. You figured you didn't have a choice.
"Well, I came from way down the river. I fell asleep on the ride and I woke up when I bumped into the shore, and now I'm here." You explained, continuing more softly, "I, uh, want you guys to know that you can trust me. I know it might take a while for you to believe that, so take all the time you need. I hope we can all be good friends."
You watched in relief as they untensed, easing even in the slightest from your words. The red-haired girl was the first to speak, this time giving you a real smile.
"I'm Ruby, it's nice to meet you. I hope for all that, too." She said hopefully.
"I'm Willy! You seem.. cool. " The small boy hesitantly chimed.
"And I'm Omar." Calmly said the cook. His face was blank as he set a steaming bowl of stew in front of you but you flashed him a thankful look.
"Now you know everybody! And after dinner, I've got a fun thing we can all do.."
Louis mischeivously chimed, a devious smile taking over his expression. Ruby groaned and stood from the table, setting her empty bowl on a table next to the pot Omar had left.
"I'm going inside." She announced while walking toward the main building. Aasim finished the rest of his stew in the few seconds that she spoke and dashed after her, snatching her hand up to hold it. How sweet. That left Willy, Louis, Violet, AJ, Clementine, and Omar.
"Uh.. what kind of 'fun thing' is this gonna be?" You asked nervously. Violet chuffed and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever stupid game that dumbass comes up with."
"My games aren't stupid! You just don't know how to have fun." Louis pouted. Omar creeped around him to go inside too, as if he didn't want to risk getting pulled into Louis' antics for even a moment. The rest of them stayed put. You got up and set your bowl in another one after you finished your meal. Louis looked at you with an excited glint in his eyes and pulled a stack of cards from his trenchcoat pocket.
"So, it's.. cards?" You said, a little unimpressed. Louis shook his finger at you and began to hand cards from the deck to all the players, giving you one last. He held onto the card tightly and you struggled to pull it from his hand until he let go, making you stumble back a little. You gave him a dirty look and he gave you a charming smile.
"It's War, truth or dare edition."