“No, we don’t play it like that.” Alex was quick to correct. “Look, here’s how we used to do it. We each take a turn to spin the bottle, and whoever is sitting in the direction that the cap lands on gets asked a question by the spinner, simple right?”

“Simple and stupid.” Sophia wasn’t afraid to make her feelings evident. “Even stupider than the real way you’re supposed to play.”

Neil tilted his head, “what’s this for, anyway? Is it like an icebreaker or something?”

“That’s exactly what it is!” Said Alex with a snap of his fingers.

“But you remember we’ve been trapped in this place for months, don’t you?” The girl said with a raise of her eyebrow. “The time for icebreakers was ages ago.”

Alex gave a faint smile, an acknowledgment that he agreed with her, but then gestured his head towards the person beside him.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor with the rest of his friends, Timothy wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation his they were having, he was too busy taking in the sights. He had been in this room before, in fact, he was pretty sure at one point he’d passed out in it. It was the ‘Caf’ room, and it was just as big as he remembered it. There were rows on rows of black metal tables, laid out in an order similar to the beds in the ‘Bed’ room. As is customary with tables, around them sat chairs, standing patiently in attendance. It reminded the boy of his old home, at least in a small way. There had been arrangements like this at the orphanage, though not nearly as many, not by a long shot. Though the walls did mark a very noticeable difference. Instead of being low to the point of nearly scrapping your head across them, the Lavender’s walls were massive, reaching up and circling around like a giant clock.

A silent smile crept along his face, he couldn’t believe that he had the chance to see things like this.

“I guess there’s no harm in playing,” Neil spoke up. “But where are we going to get a bottle? We don’t have a soda machine sitting around the place.”

“Well, I only said bottle because it sounded better than ‘weird sludge can.’” Spoke Alex as he rose from his seat. “Spin the weird sludge can just sounds wrong, you know?”

Timothy watched as Alex approached a giant machine that was lining the entire back wall of the room. Like everything else in the Lavender, it was forged in some strange dark material and was only seeable thanks to the little lights that lined the edges of the floor. There were more buttons, switches, and levers on it than you could count, although he got the feeling that Neil had done that at some point. There were plenty of places where, theoretically, something could be dispensed or inserted. But what those things did was a mystery concealed by the knowledge that they had no way of obtaining. However, despite this, they at least had the one thing vital to their survival.

Stretching as far as they could go, Alex’s fingers strained as they pressed two buttons down on the machine. Leaning his body, his other hand had to reach as it went for a lever, needing to throw it down with a bit of effort. Almost instantly, something started rattling, and Timothy could’ve sworn that the whole contraption was moving. In the next second, a metal cylinder shot out from the side of the machine. It came out so violently and so close to Alex’s head that he wouldn’t have been blamed for flinching, although it was clear by his calmness he had done this many times before.

The cylinder landed on the ground with a clang, skittering across the floor like a scared mouse running from a cat.

“Uck.” Sophia moaned. “I’ll skip breakfast.”

“Yeah, me too.” Concurred Alex, retrieving the unappealing container. “It’s not the type of thing you want to eat in the morning.”

Walking back, the boy in the tie quickly squeezed the can over an open panel at the top of the structure. An oozy, clumpy-looking sludge poured out, mercifully vanishing into the recesses of the machine. He was quick to scrape out any excess that was left, although the task did not bring him any joy whatsoever.

“So, who starts?” Timothy asked as his friend took his seat back in the circle.

“Well, I suppose that would be the captain,” Alex replied, sliding the crushed cylinder over to Sophia.

She eyed him like a judge about to give out a harsh sentence, “fine.” Was the response, although she cocked her head. “Which end is the cap?”

Neil leaned over, pinching the ends of the brittle metal together to make a distinguishing mark. “There.”

Not wanting to waste any more time, Sophia flicked her wrist and spun the ‘bottle.’ It wobbled as it went, blurring with speed like the wings of a hummingbird. Soon the momentum slowed, and the ‘cap’ came to a halt facing Alex’s shin.

The boy waited for his question, but the girl had neglected to think of one. “Uh… what’s your favorite color?” The words stumbled out.

Alex was able to keep his remark about how basic of a question that was to himself, “it’s red.”

Sophia nodded, “neat…” She gritted her teeth, why was she playing this stupid game again?

“Is it my turn to spin?” Timothy spoke up.

“Oh, yeah.” She remembered herself and slid the can over to him.

Timothy’s spin wasn’t as impressive, only turning around two or three times before stopping in front of Neil. “What’s your favorite food?” That was a good starter, he thought.

There was a confused look on the boy's face, like the prospect of eating had never occurred to him. “Um… I don’t know.” He admitted. “I haven’t had anything except what’s in these cans for a while… I guess I forgot.”

“C’mon, you have to remember something.” Sophia retorted. “Just because you were cooped up in here for a year doesn’t mean you forgot what a pizza tastes like.”

He nodded, although he didn’t look up. “Yeah, I guess pizza then.”

There was a bit of silence before Timothy understood that his friend had finished with his response, “that’s cool, I don’t think that I’ve had pizza before, but it sounds pretty good!” He smiled as he slid the cylinder over to Alex.

The can spun with a flourish before wobbling down and facing Sophia. “Great.” She mumbled to herself.

“Well… I’d ask you what your favorite color is, but I think that’s obvious.” Alex said, rubbing his chin. “Why all the green, though?”

Sophia shifted in her seat, “no reason.”

The boy frowned, “that’s not really an answer.”

She shrugged, “just feels right, I guess.”

Alex got the distinct feeling that he was being lied to, which made him feel awkward, that was supposed to be his thing. “Neil, you’re up.”

The bottle didn’t even manage to have one go around until it landed towards the boy in the tie again. Neil hadn’t been focusing, he was too distracted trying to remember a portion of food or anything that he enjoyed eating before he was taken here. So, when he finally looked up from his stupor to see his friends all staring at him, he panicked. “Uh… um… have you ever kissed anyone?”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The question seemed to rock everyone, quite literally in Alex’s case as his head went back against his shoulders. “Wow, way to come out of the gate swinging.”

“No, no, I didn’t mean to say that!” He stammered, waving his arms like he was trying to stop a car. “I wasn’t thinking, I’m sorry, I’ll ask another question!”

Alex waved him off, “it’s fine, don’t worry. We’re not stodges or anything, I was just surprised to hear you say that. You’re normally so reserved about that sort of thing.”

“Though you’re wasting your time,” Sophia said with a coy look. “It’s not like any of us had many opportunities to get up to that before we got here.”

“Speak for yourself.” Alex snarked, crossing his arms.

“Really?” She wasn’t believing it. “You’ve probably just played the real version of this game before, that doesn’t count.”

“No, it was with my partner.”

The girl’s eyebrows raised. “Partner? Kinda old-fashioned, don’t you think? So then, if she were real, what was her name?”

Alex paused for a moment, “his name was DeAndre.”

“Oh.”

The silence in the air was palpable, and for the first time in a while, the boy in the tie seemed to shrink. It was like he was back in the Cantina, with the pressure raining down on him like hail from above. He worried that he had made a critical mistake.

“How the hell did manage to find a boyfriend that would put up with you?” Sophia continued without missing another beat. “He must have had the patience of Gandhi.”

An awkward, but relieved chuckle escaped from Alex’s mouth. “I don’t know, guess I just got lucky.”

Neil still seemed apologetic, “look man, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Yet again he was waved off, “it’s fine, it was about time anyway.” Alex straightened his tie, his shoulders rising. “So, to answer your question, yes, yes I have.”

“I’m so sorry.” Timothy’s voice was suddenly sullen like it had been dropped down some pit.

Alex raised an eyebrow, “why?”

“You must miss him so much.”

There was silence again, but this time for a completely different reason. Alex had stopped moving, like he was frozen in time, but his eyes still conveyed his thoughts. He shuddered, not because it was cold in the Lavender- although it was quite chilly- but rather it seemed it was all his body knew how to do in the moment. “Yeah…” He said finally, breaking the spell. “I do, Tim. I do a lot. But we weren’t… when I left…” He shook himself. “Anyway, that wasn’t the question, and Soph it’s your turn.”

The girl nodded and spun the can, not wanting to press her friend any further. Finally, it landed on Timothy, and he clapped in excitement. “My turn!”

Sophia pursed her lips, trying to think of the best question to ask. It occurred to her how little she actually knew the boy sitting next to her, despite all the things that they had been through together. Sure, he had mentioned bits of his life before, rather depressing bits, but that wasn’t enough to gain any insight into him.

“So, what do you like to do?” It seemed a fitting inquiry.

“Well, the orphanage didn’t have much, but I managed to come up with my own little things.” He seemed excited to finally share his interests with someone. “There were these books that Mr. Graham had tossed out after the chair he was using them to balance broke. Inside there were all these pictures of people that I decided to cut out, and I used bits of the floorboards to make little figurines for them. I was really young at the time, so I didn’t feel childish for playing make-believe.”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Sophia said, trying not to sound a little bit concerned. “But what else did you do?”

Timothy thought for a moment. “Chores, mostly.”

“Sounds kinda sh…” Stopping himself, Neil decided to rephrase. “It doesn’t sound like that place was nice to grow up in.”

The blond boy smiled, “it was good, I made do.” His words came out quickly, like they were rushing to move on. “There was a roof over my head, and that was enough for me.”

“Yeah…” Neil wasn’t prepared to challenge his friend on his worldview, but from where he was sitting, that place sounded like a dump.

“Oh, it’s my turn to spin!” This time, Timothy flicked his wrist like he saw Sophia do, and the bottle went flying. It twirled beautifully, until it finally skirted to a stop at the boy’s own feet. “Well, I guess I have to ask myself a question then.” He thought for a moment. “What are you forgetting?”

“What?” Sophia was confused.

“There has been something on my mind that I can’t remember.” Timothy clarified. “Like, something nagging me on the tip of my tongue. I feel it’s important.”

Neil pulled his coat together, a twitch in his eye. “Is it about the voice?”

“No… it’s not about that.” The boy frowned. “It’s as though I should know what it is, like it’s so obvious but I’m missing it. I suppose that is like me, of course.”

“Well, it will come to you eventually.” People in Alex’s life had always told him that when he forgot something, but even now he didn’t believe it. “Spin again since it landed on you.”

Elated by the prospect, Timothy spun the bottle with another flick, this time the makeshift cap pointed towards the girl in green. Sophia was prepared for a question, just not the one she got. “Why did you shoot Mr. Ham?”

“Sorry?” Was her surprised response. “I don’t…”

“When we were back at the Cantina, during the time when Mr. Ham had that cannon pointed at me, why did you shoot him?” His face was curious, but his voice was almost accusing. “I don’t understand that.”

“What’s not to understand?” Why did she sound defensive? “He was going to kill you.”

“But…” The boy looked away, seeming embarrassed. “You could’ve killed him!”

“That was kinda the point, Tim.” Neil leaned in to say.

This shocked the boy, “why would you want that?”

“I already told you.” Sophia was adamant. “He was about to kill you, Timbo, I wasn’t just going to sit there and let that happen.”

“But you could have ended a life!” He cried. “I don’t think I could imagine doing a worse thing.”

Alex was quick to defend his friend, “it wasn’t about killing him, it was about saving you! If there was another way, I’m sure she would have done it differently.”

“Saving me? Why would you want to do that?” He sounded sincere. “Why would you ever end the life of someone, just to protect me?”

Sophia raised a hand to her face; he wasn’t making any sense to her. “Shouldn’t it be obvious?”

The boy took a breath, “I’m sorry, but sometimes I miss that.”

“You’re our friend, Tim, we’d do anything to save you,” Alex explained softly.

“But… I don’t understand… why?”

The girl slammed down her fist on the floor, “I’ve had enough of this question. Let’s move on.” The Blazer in the ring of her coat rocked with her motion, and for a split second, all eyes were on it. It was strange, she had almost forgotten that she had it, but now it felt like a red hot-iron at her side.

Sophia wasn’t going to be drilled on why she would do what she did to save her friend, she just wasn’t. Sure, maybe it was reckless, and maybe it was stupid, but what else could she have done? But, despite not admitting it, some part of her was surprised at herself. There had never been a moment at home where she thought that she would be raising a gun and firing at another person, the girl assumed that sort of thing was reserved for the movies. But here she was, having fired a shot into a man’s head. It hadn’t killed him, but what if it had? Would she have felt guilty then?

“Alex, just go.”

The game seemed sullied ow, like the fun had suddenly been yanked from the room. “Me again?” Neil mumbled, seeing where the bottle had landed.

The boy in the tie wanted to lighten up the mood a bit, so he thought of an easy question. “What was life like back at home?”

The boy in the tattered coat was still fumbling, just trying to bring up a memory. This time, he had an answer, he just didn’t want to say it. “Fine.”

“That’s it? Just fine?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Sophia frowned, “you’ve never really told us what your life was like before all of this. Why is that?”

Neil pulled his coat tighter, “just wouldn’t interest you, I guess.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Timothy replied, already back to his chipper self. “We’d love to know anything!”

It was hard for the boy to say no to him, especially after what he had pulled a day ago. He gritted his teeth, despite it feeling like they were being pulled. “It was… a lot, I guess. Just a lot of… stuff?”

“So, you were busy?” Pushed Alex.

“Not really, but things happened around me a bunch… family dealings.” Despite his coat already being pulled as tightly as it would go, he snagged it shut even further. “But I was on my own a lot if that adds anything.” It was clear from their expressions that his friends wanted more, but none of them wanted to pry, which he was quick to take advantage of. “This game was fun, but I think I’m good now.”

Neil stood up, brushing himself off while the others looked on. “I’m going to go be on my own for a little while, guys.” He continued. “Maybe you can show Tim around the place?”

“If anyone should show him around, it should be you.” The girl in green pointed out, standing to face him. “You know this place better than any of us.”

He frowned, “I’m sure you can manage, Soph.”

Looking down at his feet, Neil quickly stepped out of the room through the massive doorway. His anxious footsteps against the cold floor sounded down the corridor, the noise echoing through the entire structure. As soon as he left, he felt his face grow pale. Why would such a mindless game make him feel like his skin was crawling? He felt like a bug under a log, skittering away from the sunlight, not wanting to be exposed. Just take a deep breath, he thought. Ignore it.

Back in the Caf room, the three eyed each other uncomfortably. “Sorry about that, he gets in a mood sometimes.” Alex explained with a sheepish look. “How do you feel about a tour of the place?”

He received a quick enthusiastic nod as a reply.