Chapter 232 Conversations
The room fell silent after the short exchange. In the background, there were sounds of snoring and the slight rustling of fabric. They waited at the door, silently anticipating the arrival of the others. Eventually, the quiet got to Aleshia, prompting her to start a new conversation. It seemed the silence affected Em as well, and both began to speak at once.
"So..."
"Do..."
Noticing they were interrupting each other, they engaged in a brief exchange of "No, I'll let you go first," and "No, you go ahead."
Finally, they decided that Em would speak first.
Quietly and slowly, she began, "Do you like being here?" she asked plainly. "You seem like the free-spirited type, and you've been here for a long time. I don't think you're used to being in such a small place like this for so long. I understand that you enjoy helping children like me learn to read and write with your little hat friend. I doubt you would want to stay here permanently. You mentioned that you've lived in many places and enjoyed exploring, right? What I'm trying to say is that you will be leaving soon," she said, gloomily expressing her feelings.
Em looked to see if she would receive a reaction, but Aleshia remained stone-faced. Watching intently for any slight indication, Em stared as Aleshia processed her words.
"To answer your first question," Aleshia began, "if you're getting that feeling around me, it might be a remnant of what I used to be. But right now, I think staying here for a while longer would be alright, especially since I have a duty to Daniel to help with the rest of his cursed brethren. As for the second question," Aleshia continued, seemingly losing focus momentarily, "Lucia, my witch hat, has been the one orchestrating the teaching schedule most of the time, and it seems she enjoys what she's been doing. So, adding that to the list of unresolved things, I don't expect to let go of this camp as our nesting ground for a while now." She concluded.
Em looked apologetic, as if she felt she was being too judgmental. An odd silence enveloped their area until someone approached them, lightening the mood.
"Hey, what did you do to Em?" Sam shouted, taking no accountability for the fact that he might have accidentally woken someone up with his loud voice.
However, Em quickly shushed him and covered his mouth, worrying that he would wake up everyone who was still asleep.