i woke the next morning at Neils. as i sat up my head began pound. ahh shit.
" how much did i drink last night " i spoke as i groaned & held my head.
" well good morning sunshine , how'd ya sleep " he asked as he walked in & handed me an advil with a glass of water.
" ouch why so loud bugs " i asked before i took the pill & chugged the water.
" oh this is payback for you scream singing the cheetah girls at 3 am. "
" oh i didn't . pls say you're kidding "
" oh but you did & you're lovable bestfriend jus so happened to have recorded it "
" i will kill you if anyone ever sees it " i pointed directly at him.
" i wouldn't dare. " he held his chest pretended to be offended.
" you sent it to my mother didnt you "
" she was so concerned i had to show her you were okay " he bust out laughing as he walked out the bedroom into the livingroom
" Neil. did you sleep on the couch "
" yeah why "
" why "
" bc you took over the bed "
" Neil. "
" im serious , you spread out over the whole bed , kicked me right off "
" i didn't ; oh damn im sorry " i laughed as i tied my hair up into a bun
" oh you did. you wild sleeper , i thought i had 3 people in here last night . "
" funny man , you should be a comedian. now pls get out of the way. your breakfast is a crime against humanity. "
" its a bowl of cereal "
" exactly. scoot , go shower do something. "
he left the kitchen & i got started on making his favorite fratata.
i chopped some peppers , onions , diced some ham & bacon , got my eggs ready & started on it. Neil is a jack of a lot of traits but cooking is not one of them. i always bring him food , the day i saw him eating an m r e in training.
flashback
" ok trainees , fuel up then we're back into the classroom. "
swear this man is gonna make me chop his throat. i walked towards the chow room when i heard someone in the closet next door.
" shit. "
" need some help ? "
" thanks , uhh wynters right ? "
" yeah. "
" burman , Neil. its Neil "
" nice to meet you Neil. " i laughed as i crouched down to help him pick up the box he dropped " what are you doing in the closet "
" i stashed my food in here , i don't trust the masses , they did something to my food once for correcting Hanover "
" swear that man is a piece short of a whole set "
" if that "
" your funny. " i looked down at the ' food ' this man eats m r e .. for fun? " i will never forgive myself if i let you eat this in good conscience "
" im fine , thanks thou. see you around "
i looked down again as he scurried out the room & down the hall towards the wing where our bunks are.
" he forgot one .. " i know what ima do. i snuck into the kitchen & stole a pan & some ingredients went into my room & got out my hot plate i hide in a false wall in the wardrobe , i don't eat they nasty ass food either.
i repurposed his m r e ( meal ready to eat. ) & added fresh veggies , some herbs , made it into stuffed ravioli , snuck back into the kitchen & met up with my favorite cook. she lets me use things when no one else is around , i put it in the over for a couple minutes & then into styrofoam plates & covered them then walked to find his room.
" burman .. burman .. Neil ?! "
" wynters ? " he finally poked his head out of a room 2 doors down.
" sorry didn't know which room was yours , your mate in? "
" no , come in. " he stood off to the side & i walked in.
" sorry to bother you but you left one behind , i made it for you. "
" thanks , i was just studying. "
" we haven't even started on the bomb course yet , how far ahead are you ? "
" i really have a thing with puzzles , bombs are like an explosive puzzle . "
" yea suure . anyways , here " i handed him the plate & sat in the chair opposite his.
" this is not an m r e. "
" yea it is. i repurposed it into stuffed shells with a side veggies. i don't eat their food either , im no fool. "
he hesitated but he ate it & his face lit up.
" now no more eating that nonsense , find me at chow & we'll eat together. "
" ok wynters , i just might "
" its Maliya. "
flashback over
i smiled at the memory & plated breakfast as i turned to make a smoothie.
frozen berries & some water , add a little yogurt base & some almond milk , your good to go.
" we really gotta get you some açaí . "
" ok super fruit "
" hey. sit , & eat mr cereal. "
" ahh fratatas & berry smoothie , you spoil me. "
" someone has to , you're a horrible chef "
" i take offense , after this wanna hit the gym . "
" & miss a chance to box you into oblivion. you wish i'd miss that "
we ate & got changed for the gym. i stay here a lot so i have a lot of clothes in his closet.
" you ready "
" yeah , do you know where my .. nvm found it "
i slipped on my old gym shoes & we headed out
" here "
" oh the famous bugs bunny water bottle for me ?! "
" remember the day Sasha painted it , said it went well bc i was a burgman "
" she never could get ya name right , but it is cute. hell of a job. "
" yeah , yours was better "
" its in my room. i cherish my spidergirl bottle "
" the question is , is it vodka or water ? "
" its water you fool " i slapped his arm as the elevator doors opened & we got on to go to the basement.
we walked down the hall & he used his keyflob to get in , i sat my towel down next to my phone & water bottle & started to stretch.
" workout playlist ? "
" yes ! & shuffle it , if we're lucky we won't hear the horrid - "
" oh oh , we start off with the horrid song .. BUDDY YOUR A BOY MAKING BIG NOISE PLAYING IN THE STREETS WANNA BE A BIG MAN SOME DAY , YOU GOT MUD ON YOUR FACE YOU BIG DISGRACE "
" i hate you .. "
" you love this song. "
" i have nightmares with this song playing in the background. we never should've got that drunk in training. "
" do not blame the song for Sasha & Trey's madness "
" its just a trigger , uh " i shuddered at the memory & shook it off .
we started on the treadmill , ofc trying to run harder then me , sweating already & we just started.
next was the regular warm up , squats , thrusts , lunges , even did some rope work. then my favorite , boxing.
" ok spider , you ready "
" are you ? ready for this combo "
we stepped onto the little sparring mat & finished strapping the gloves.
" ok now remember , not the goldmine "
" boy . shut up " we laughed.
we started slow , matching rhythms & kick combos. but honestly , he's holding back , he always does scared he'll seriously hurt me. but in the field no one holds back.
" Neil , stop "
" what tired already ? "
" no stop treating me like a fragile little girl. ima big girl i can take a punch "
sparring isn't supposed to be so lax , gotta challenge each other .
" ok scenario , a hostile comes out you for combat. his stance is off but he has power behind his punches what do you do ? " he asks.
" face off. let him find a rhythm try my best to stand ground & when he gives way on why his stance is so off i make my move "
" ok . act on it "
he threw a punch & i dodged it , watching his movements , trying to find his new groove , & he swung again , connecting to my abdomen but not too hard to knock me off balance , threw my elbow down connecting with his shoulder not to hard but with some pressure , he recovered , we matched blows for a while until he gave away his weakness , he favors one leg. threw a punch to cover my kick & knocked him to his knees & then from there threw another elbow to get him flat on his belly then get on his back & grab his arms to pull em into an arresting position.
" good job "
" i had a good partner . "
we sparred for a little while longer before doing a cool down. which is normally stair master followed by some yoga for me. Neil always falls
" that was a good workout , i need a nice long shower "
" yeah i wasn't gonna say anything spider but wow , you SMELL ! "
" i do not ! cut it out "
" no like its bad , idk if i can be in the elevator i may take the stairs . "
" oh yeah ? you go head & climb those 14 flights . i'll meet you up there "
i was laughing so hard , i waited for the elevator & pressed 14. he ran up the stairs & i gave him til flight 6 til he pressed for the elevator.
" oh wow .. you made it to 8. im proud "
" shut .. up " he breathed out ,
" out of breath huh ? want some water " i teased as he snatched the bottle & chugged the last of the water
" just for that im showering first & your making the protein shakes . that was just wonderful , im so proud "
we reached his floor & my phone rang.
William Wynters
is trying to facetime ..
why does this man know how to facetime
i rolled my eyes as the call connected ..
" hey dad "
" hey there babygirl , jus get a workout in ? "
" yea , bested Neil in sparring. "
" oh did you? well jus checking in bc your mom over here won't stop singing amigas cheetahs. "
neil bust out laughing & i slapped him on the back of his head.
" sorry dad , we'll swing by later & watch it with her so she'll stop. "
" ok see you soon love you "
" love you too dad "
" ugh ! im going to kill you Neil Burman "
" in my defense , you wanna watch the video again? it was a justified share ! "
" Neil ! it was not ! "