The Facade
The morning had been slow—we shifted from the training room to the lounge room and back to training.
"Hey, man," Odd Star said as he sat down beside me. I looked up from my mashed potatoes to glance at him.
"Sup," I muttered—volume low. It had been rough—training, work, training and work again. The continuous cycle that couldn't be broken.
He was having the same meal as me—mashed potatoes, black beans and a dry piece of bread.
While Fern got meat. Actual meat to go with his food.
Mrs. Chokdee liked him.
A lot.
Chitter-chatters…
The cafeteria buzzed with whispers and gossip of all sorts. Most were staff members—aliens and humans.
They got to share their lives with each other while we were tied to the rules set by the arena to keep our identities hidden.
It was already hard to breathe with our masks on, and now we had to eat with them on too.
The smell of various foods hit my nostrils. Too many—at the same time.
Star sighed—loud enough for everyone to hear him.
"What's your problem?" Fern said.
"I want to go home."
"You can go home by 4 pm."
"Why? We aren't doing anything here."
He wasn't wrong.
We were all wasting our time. Instead of going to our full-time job outside, we were here—in the arena. Doing nothing.
"Eat," Fern said.
Star sighed louder—more dramatically.
"Seriously, Fern, why were we told to come today?"
He looked up from his phone—though his thumb continued to scroll through some news articles about Clematis City.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" I repeated with raised eyebrows behind the mask.
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Before I could ask again, Fern flicked his fork at me. It softly hit against my torso—then fell into my lap.
"Ow—"
"Start eating."
"Alright."
I picked up his fork, taking a forkful of mashed potatoes and bringing it to my mouth. The mask opened briefly around my lips—just enough for me to feed myself.
"Hey, that's mine. Give it back."
"Nah-uh. You want it, tell me why we were told to come today."
I said.
He sighed, louder than Star.
Bunch of drama queens.
"In case of an emergency."
"Emergency?"
"Yeah, crime is on the rise in Starlight, especially with…"
He cleared his throat, gesturing to the otherworldly creatures in the room.
Aliens.
I hummed before I handed him the fork back.
"And Hornet Mask is out of town, so it's better to be prepared."
"Hornet Mask is out of town? Where?"
"I don't know. Something about intergalact—"
He cut himself off as White Watch sat down beside him.
Odd.
"Hey, guys," she said.
"Hi," Star said.
"Hello," I said.
Fern only nodded in acknowledgement.
"So you were saying something about Horne—"
"Eat your food. I'll tell you later."
He cut me off before I could finish.
I glanced at White Watch, who was as confused as I was.
I just smiled behind the mask and picked up my own fork.
"How was training?"
I asked.
"It was good."
Silence settled over the table.
Not the comfortable kind.
The awkward kind where everyone suddenly remembered they had food.
The soft clinking of the utensils against the ceramic plates was all that was shared between us.
"Did you hear back from M. Cool?"
Fern asked Star—diverting the conversation away from Hornet Mask. As if he didn't want White Watch to know it.
Did he?
If yes, why?
"Yeah, yeah. He is having an extended vacation in the Maldives. I heard he built a resort there as well."
"A resort?"
White asked.
"Yep. He got the money," Star replied.
"Technically, his parents' money," Fern added.
"I see."
White Watch didn't react like someone hearing gossip.
She reacted like someone listening for something specific.
Every answer received a tiny nod.
Every name seemed to matter.
After a while, she added.
"How rich are we talking?"
"He is the sole heir to one of the wealthiest families in the world."
Star shrugged, leaning in closer. I leaned in too. "No one knows the name of his family."
"Really?" White asked. She was unusually calm for someone who had learned their co-worker was rich.
"If it wasn't for his family, the arena would be closed."
"Oh… I thought that Starlight Co. runs the arena."
"No… that is a facade," Fern said.
"Oh…"
Fern leaned back, picking up his fork to finish his salad. Odd Star took a sip of the milk.
White seemed lost in thought.
"Out of all of us, he gets the most privileges in Earth Protectors since his family is quite wealthy."
I scoffed. I winced at how bitter I sounded.
"It's a shame," Star said, pulling up his legs on the bench and crossing them. "The only human who gets respect doesn't deserve it."
"So you guys don't like him?" White questioned.
I looked over at Fern and Star. They were as hesitant as I was.
I shook my head.
"He is spoiled," Star said.
"But again, he rarely shows up at the arena," Fern added.
White Watch looked down at her plate.
Quiet.
Thoughtful.
Like she was fitting together pieces of a puzzle only she could see.
Suddenly, Stella's murmured words from the other day came running back.
Blue… file… reven—
I wasn't sure what White Watch was planning.
But I was starting to think Stella knew something we didn't.
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