“I'm. Not. Going.” Melissa clapped lightly in between each word but they still didn't listen to her.

“Mella, we've already been here overnight and I've got to get back to work.” She knew she was pushing it. Her mum tried hard to keep her cool in front of their people around them but she would explode eventually and it wasn't going to be fun.

“You have to go back to work. I don't.” She knew what would come next and withheld a bitter grin as her mum's tray of canteen food landed on the table with a rattle and the latter grabbed her upper arm.

“You have to go to school, young lady.”

The canteen here didn't smell like the one in school. It was cleaner with the faintest trace of rice and several spices spreading from the kitchen where the cooks were in the middle of preparing their meals. The table and chairs that weren't in use had already been wiped clean and no one had etched rude doodles into their surfaces. The only noises were the clinking of cutlery in and around the kitchen, and her altercation with her mum. Their voices bounced off the watery beige walls and early morning light drifted down from the massive skylights above them as if the building wanted to make up for its general lack of windows.

“I don't care about school.” She tried not to crack the plastic cutlery folded into the napkin in her hand and set down her own metal tray.

“You will,” insisted her mum. Regret floated across her expression like a body face down in a swift river. “Later on.”

“But Judy's not coming back with us,” she said, pulling her arm free as the aforementioned woman joined them by the table in the middle of the canteen.

“That's because Spy hasn't woken up yet,” said her mum with a shake of her head. “And it's different for her. She's got a lot going on with the clinic and she doesn't have to go to school any more.”

“But I want to make sure he wakes up too.” Melissa lowered her voice. “Besides we can't leave her alone here with these people, can we? What if they're dangerous?”

“We are dangerous,” said Tasha from right behind her and her heart momentarily turned to stone.

“Thanks for that.” She forced a smile as she looked up at the butch woman.

“Anytime, kid.” Before Tasha could move, Lala made her sit in the chair next to Melissa.

“It's their last day, babes,” she said, sitting down opposite Tasha and next to Judy. “The least we can do is keep them company”

“They're never going to see us again,” growled Tasha but she didn't move from her seat. “Why the hell would they want our company?”

“Because you're cool?” suggested Melissa, beaming as the older woman looked at her. Does she like being called cool? She'd probably laugh at me if I called her pretty. Jay thinks she's pretty.

As if summoned by her vaguely sour thoughts, Jason stumbled into the canteen behind Ken. His red hair was all over the place but his dull of his gaze told a story of insomnia, even though he had been tired enough to fall asleep in the van the day before.

“Hey Jay!” She waved at him. “We're over here.”

He paused mid step and looked around as if the canteen were an echo chamber before he finally found her. He walked towards their table with the grace of a robot and, after a moment, Ken followed him.

“Hi,” he croaked as he got closer, lifting a hand.

“You okay?” He's obviously not okay.

“Hm? Yeah. Sure.” His eyes were rimmed red and he moved as if his toes were made of steel. “You?”

“Yeah, I'm good.” She pointed at the other end of the canteen. “You can pick what food you want. It's like a buffet but they serve you as well. Want me to grab you a tray?”

“Nah, I got it.” He waved her offer away and trudged towards the serving point. “Thanks.”

Even the cooks looked sorry for him when he stopped in front of their counter and stared at his hands as if he had only just realised he needed something to put his food on. Ken tapped his shoulder with the corner of a spare tray and he didn't even have the energy to get annoyed.

God, he's really not okay. Probably because we left Satara in a place she's never been before overnight. Melissa poked at her fried egg with a fork. If I was her, I'd be freaking out right now. What if she goes back to ours and finds us gone? Or worse, what if she can't go back and she's waiting for us to find her?

“Mella, I know you're upset but you should still eat something.” Her mum motioned towards the yolk leaking over her egg whites with a cereal-less spoon. “It's a long drive back and they didn't spend time making food for you just so you could play with it instead.”

“I know that,” she muttered, picking up her buttered toast. It smelt like heaven but hell fire had already burned away her appetite. “I don't want to go back.”

“Awh, babes,” said Lala. “It's not really that fun here. That's just the affect I have on people.”

“I don't want to stay because it's fun,” she insisted, unable to contain a small smile as Tasha snorted into her black coffee. “There's nothing to go back for.”

“Go back for – Ah.” The older lady's eyes twinkled at someone behind her. “I get it.”

“What –?” Melissa turned and found Jason standing by the table next to her as if he had forgotten how chairs worked. “Um, you can sit down if you want?”

“Thanks.” Jason chuckled drily as if he had remembered an inside joke, then rubbed his face as if he wanted to wail.

“Should I pull out the chair for you too, master?” said Ken from his other side, a grin in his tone instead of on his face.

“Shut it.” Jason placed his tray beside Melissa's. His chair screeched as he pulled it out and sat down. “And don't sit next to me.”

“If you insist.” Ken walked around the table and dipped his head to Pam before gesturing at the chair next to her. “May I?”

“Of course.” Her mum dragged it out for him at once.

Frick, is she blushing? Although, it's not like I can blame her … Courtesy of his looks alone, Ken would definitely have had all eyes on him at her school. He wasn't tall but his lean body hid that particular fact very well. He had clearly just had a shower and, though his skin was as pale as always, it seemed brighter and the shade of his hair was more vibrant. Similar to how some people shone post work out. Not gonna lie, he's actually kind of hot. Until he opens his mouth.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Do you know who's dropping you back?” asked Judy as Ken sat down and started eating.

Her mum shook her head and leaned forward to look at Lala who nodded.

“It will probably be me,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder with a half eaten meat patty. “Dem's out and Co-Jo isn't back yet.”

“Co-Jo?” asked Pam.

“He's part of the team too. He went to check out the clinic …”

“Did you sleep okay?” asked Melissa, letting Jason's exhaustion blot out the rest of her mum's conversation.

He looked at her at if he wanted to ask her what she thought but chose to smile painfully around a piece of toast.

She tried not to pay attention to the flutter in her stomach. “You want me to butter that for you?”

He removed the bread from his mouth and blinked at it. “I don't even like brown bread.”

“It's good for you,” said Ken from the other side of the table. “Fibre helps you go to the –”

“I know what fibre does, dude, and I don't need to think about it when I'm eating, okay?” growled Jason.

“Okay.” Ken smiled. “Your friend's right though. Butter might make it easier to eat if you don't like it.”

“It might make you easier to –” He stopped and covered his face with a groan.

“What's wrong? Are you –” Ken's eyes flitted to her and away again. She almost didn't see it happen. “Do you have a headache?”

Was he about to say what I think he was going to say? Ken's freshly showered look suddenly turned malignant despite his clueless gaze. It's not like that. They only met yesterday and Jay likes Satara. There's no way they –

“It's nothing.” Jason shook his head and started to stand. “I'm not hungry –”

Dee's hand landed on the crown of his head and pushed him back down. “Eat your food, kid.”

“But I'm not –”

“Eat,” said the older man sternly. “And come over when you're done.”

Jason woke up instantly and twisted in his seat to look up at him. “Why?”

“I've got something to tell you.”

“You can tell me now –” Jason winced as the hand on his head pushed down harder before lifting.

“I'm going to eat in peace over there.” Dee pointed at a spot several tables away, then at Jason's half filled tray. “Finish your food and then we'll talk. Ken, make sure he eats.”

“Yes, captain,” said the other boy straight away.

“Okay, okay, I'll eat.” Jason barely looked at him, shovelling scrambled eggs and toast without any butter into his mouth.

“Hey, at least put salt on it.” Melissa handed him a spare sachet, nose wrinkled. He's going to make himself puke like that.

He tore it open and sprinkled the little crystals so fast she was sure it would taste like the Red Sea.

“You shouldn't eat that fas-” Ken gave up mid sentence and pushed a tiny black pepper sachet across the table with one finger.

Jason ignored it, focused entirely on his food, and the other boy took a deep breath before he looked at her. “I know you haven't known him for long but is he always like this?”

“Uh –” Though he didn't seem to have any interest in their conversation, she didn't want to come across as disloyal. Especially not on Ken's account. “– I don't know. We only met the other day.”

“Did you meet his friend too?”

“His friend?”

“The one who's gone missing.” Contrary to the boy sitting at an angle opposite him, Ken seemed to have forgotten his food. “Satara?”

“Why do you wanna know?” demanded Jason, after hastily swallowing a huge mouthful.

“I'm just curious.” He unfolded a napkin and spread it beneath the closest edge of his tray before adding the contents of a red sachet to his semi-bland noodles. “Her absence seems to weigh on your mind. I just wondered what kind of person would have that affect on you.”

“Taking notes?” she asked, biting her lip as she felt Judy glance at her. He was rude to us first.

“No need. I'll remember.” He smiled at her. “My memory's pretty good.”

That's not what you're supposed to say. Judy was probably still paying attention to the conversation so she kept her instant reaction to herself and tore her fried egg apart instead.

“She's none of your business,” said Jason. “Get curious about something else.”

“The more I know about her, the easier it'll be to find her.” Ken stirred the spices into his noodles with a pair of disposable chopsticks. “Isn't that what you want?”

Jason glared at him and took an aggressive bite out of his toast.

“What kind of things would you need to know?” asked Melissa. She leaned away from the red-haired boy as he shifted his unimpressed eyes to her. “What? We don't have to tell him anything we don't want to but if it helps us find Satara sooner –” – you'll be happier, won't you?

“She's Sinja's cousin, right?” asked Ken in between bundles of deliciously dripping noodles. He picked them up with his chopsticks and flipped them into his mouth like a pro. “Can I assume they look similar?”

“Yeah,” said Melissa when Jason didn't answer but also didn't try to stop her. “Her hair's longer though and she's shorter than him.”

“Is she the same height as you?”

“I think so?” She glanced at Jason. “What do you think?”

He shrugged. Thanks, Mister Helpful.

“Okay.” Ken paused and dabbed at his mouth with another napkin. “What was she wearing?”

Don't ask it like that! She started to eat her breakfast, giving her face time to think twice about blushing.

“A black hoodie. It wasn't there when I woke up but I think she left in her pyjamas.” She couldn't remember seeing Satara's clothes anywhere in her room but Jason coughed suddenly. “I mean, she took her bag with her so she might've got changed first. I don't know.”

“I see.” His silvery eyes shifted back to Jason as if he expected to be ignored. “Does she normally go MIA or do you sleep that badly anyway?”

“She doesn't normally wander off like that,” said Jason after he finished the last of his scrambled eggs. “She's not stupid.”

“So something abnormal enough happened to make her do something dumb?” Ken's voice lowered as if he were talking to himself.

Her mum and Judy were too engaged in their conversation with Lala to hear the shift in his tone from polite to piercing.

“She wouldn't do anything dumb,” growled Jason.

“Everyone does dumb things,” said the other boy. “It's normal.”

“Satara's not very normal.” Melissa warded off her best friend's glare with both hands. “No offence. Normal's overrated anyway.”

“I can agree with that,” said Ken, nodding with his eyes closed for a second.

Don't agree with me!

“Well since you're both getting along great, maybe you can excuse me.” Jason drained his plastic cup of apple juice in one gulp and stood up. “I've gotta find out if someone's actually doing something to find her or not.”

“Jay –” She snatched up a fresh napkin and tried to wipe the butter and breadcrumbs from her fingers before he escaped.

“Jason.” Judy smiled he looked at her. “You might want to say bye to Mella and her mum now. They're going back home after this and I don't know how long Dee's going to keep you there. You might not get to see them before you go.”

“You're going back?” Jason blinked and frowned as if the idea hadn't occurred to him before.

“Not if I can help it,” she muttered.

“Mella …” rumbled her mum softly.

“I don't have a phone on me,” said Jason, twisting towards Lala and Tasha. “Do you have a number she can use to call us?”

“You want me to call you?” The air in her throat bounced around, uncomfortably, giddily, and she smiled up at him.

“Or maybe you should just give me your number and I'll call you when I can.” He picked up a clean napkin and seemed disappointed by the lack of pens in the middle of the canteen.

“Oh okay. That's fi-”

“But it'd be better if you call us straight away if you see Tara.” He turned back to the agents, clearly awaiting an answer to his previous question.

She was glad he had stopped looking at her face. Her expression was bad enough to elicit Lala's maternally sympathetic gaze. The air stilled and she drank her orange juice to flush it away, smiling ruefully into her cup. When're you going to learn your lesson, you stupid lump of muscle?

“I'll ask Dee for you and give it to them if he says we can,” said Lala.

“Thanks.” Jason smiled tightly, then held out his fist to Melissa. He almost seemed happy. “Speak to you soon, I hope.”

“Yeah.” She bumped her knuckles against his.

What was I expecting? A hug? Did I think he'd ask why I have to go? Or tell my mum to let me stay? Why would he do any of that? I'm not Satara. His skin was rough against hers and he left her sitting at the table with the same callousness as he searched for somewhere to discard his tray. It doesn't matter if I want to stay or if I find out what happens to Spy. I'm not part of their lives like Judy is. She finished her orange juice. Both Lala and Ken watched her, the latter significantly more impassive than the former.

“Let's go then,” she mumbled. Somehow both her mum and Judy heard her. “If you're not going to let me stay anyway, there's no point hanging around, is there?”

<><><><><>

Just over an hour later, she found herself back in the vehicle depot. Jason hadn't come to see her off but then, to be fair, neither had Judy.

“We can't have too many people outside at one time because of security issues,” said Lala with an empathetic softness to her features. “Really sorry, babes.”

“It's not your fault,” muttered Melissa.

She threw her bag in the back of a car with tinted windows and sat down next to it. Lala had been nice to her so she didn't pull the door shut as hard as she wanted to. Her mum and the agent looked at each other as if she had.

“We'll go shopping once we get back, okay?” said her mum. “We can go to that cafe on the way too.”

“I thought you had work to do.” Melissa turned towards the window and stared at a random pillar until it doubled in front of her.

“Yeah but I've got a little bit of time before then.”

“Yeah, okaaay.” She shrugged and leaned against the car door. She didn't bother checking if it was locked properly. I can see you looking at each other again, you know.

Lala started the car and pulled out from beneath the building. Melissa didn't look back as the shutter came down to part her from Jason and his story forever. She looked at the clouds and couldn't even cry, fiddling with her phone as they drive away. He only wants to hear about Satara. If they find her before we do, I won't have a reason to talk to him ever again. She let go of the phone and watched the clouds pass.

I know where I'm not wanted or needed.

And that's everywhere.

<><><><><>

“So what did you wanna tell me?” Jason stopped by Dee, who had almost finished his chicken stew with white rice.

The older man made him wait until he swallowed the last morsel before answering. “I told you I wanted to eat in peace.”

“But you said come over when I'm done though?” He scratched his head.

“I did so what did you do? Breathe your food instead of eat it?” Dee shook his head and motioned to seat opposite him. “Sit down and don't make a scene.”

Jason ran around the table and dropped onto the seat so hard his backside ached. “Why would I make a scene?”

Dee eyed him for a moment, then sighed. “We heard from Rob.”

“You what?!”