A TEMPORARY ACQUAINTANCE

After some pondering while lying on the hospital bed Ellie suggested to her friend that they should do something about this enemy situation. 

"You want us to show them that we are friends!?" Hoover asked Ellie, interest obvious in his voice. 

"You know I heard during the training that the real owners of these identities went into some kind of pit together so if we start acting like friends, they might think that we are scheming something!" I give them some much needed awareness about our circumstances. 

"There is nothing wrong with that! Charlotte told me that in our group the ones who got the worst injuries are us three. We can just act like after experiencing something so horrible together we decided to become acquaintances." Ellie suggested this with confidence. 

"Besides if we want to do things together in the future than we have to do something about this enemies bullshit!" 

"Can't argue with that. But it will be difficult to do so don't you think? I will have no problem, but you guys have friends, and I have seen how your friends look at each other!" 

Hoover again raised awareness about the difficulties all three of them will face in this friendship conquest. 

"We will do something about that, we can just say that we were given warnings because of our savage attitude towards each other." Ellie gave us idea about what to say. 

"Ok! It looks like this is the only option we have!" I shared my opinion. 

........ 

After I told Richard and Gil that I have decided to make temporary acquaintances of both Hoover and Ellie they both looked at me and then at each other in disbelief. Richard even gritted his sharp teeth because of anger. 

"You know how they treated you on our first mission right?" 

Richard asked me about something only the real Seth would know about. 

As I didn't have anything to say I just gave them a sad stare filled with empathy for myself with implying that this is the only option we have. 

"Why are you looking like that? Don't tell me they forced you, I swear if the-!" 

I stopped Richard before he could go to Hoover. 

"We really don't have any other choice!" I appealed to them. 

"How? Why are you so forgiving? Why are you forgetting how you got your second ability!?" 

My second ability? What is Gil talking about!? Is he talking about the, 

[One who created flames] or something like that ability. Well, I remember Seth wrote about this in his diary that now he can create flames to some extent but he didn't write anything about how he got both of his powers! 

"They were the ones who abandoned you in that area when Norde was the one in charge for the inspection and safe return of his team, but he forced you to go on a solo mission where you encountered danger and were bedridden for two weeks don't tell me you forgot!" 

I just lowered my head and closed my eyes in shame then let out a sigh and looked in the eyes of Gil who was looking at me with confusion and anger. 

"I know that! But if I want to achieve something I have to make the enemies of yesterday today's friends!" 

"And make today's friends tomorrow's enemies!?" Richard frowned deeply. 

'Man, this guy Seth Locke was really lucky to have friends this caring!' I thought inwardly. 

"Hey sharkboy! If he wants to become friends than why are you stopping him? It is better if our division learns how to be nice to each other!" A voice suddenly interrupted our conversation, and I realized it was the girl because of whom I learnt about the Clawford's name. 

"Stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong!" Gil exclaimed with anger. 

The girl gave Gil a look filled with surprise and smacked him on the back of his head, "Talk to me with respect you little shit!" Her way of expressing her anger was just like my sister. Now that I looked at them carefully both of them have similar facial features. 

"He wants to be friends with those wretches, sister Armanda!" Richard complained to her. 

"I know! If he thinks it is right to be friends with them then let him be. Why are you both so against it, he knows it better than anyone what can happen by this decision." Even her way of explaining things to others is just like my sister. 

"I have only made them acquaintances, there is no friendship or some relation like that!" I cleared their misunderstanding. 

"See, they are just acquaintances, and I am telling you that it's solely for the purpose of completing the last mission that awaits us." 

"Yeah, but still!" 

.******** 

Richard lowered his head in disbelief and sadness as if thinking that his friend will have to make an alliance with wretches, if only he was in the same group as his friend instead of Norde and Elizabeth. 

Gilbert also thought the same thing. 

After making them understand my intentions behind making an alliance Armanda went to talk to Ellie who was busy throwing punches in the air as if checking the strength of her punches. 

................... 

We were all sitting in the giant dining hall of the Heinsberg, it was not specifically related to one's dorm. It was for both dorms even though they do have different dining halls in their dorms. It might be because of our training together but Ellie had told me in the nurse office that only the dinner is served in this giant hall. The food was served in buffet style, everyone has to go themselves to get food. 

After getting my food I was sitting on the round table in the middle of Gil and Richard. They were surrounding me but were not saying anything and were silently eating their food. The situation was awkward. I also focused on eating the food since the big steak was looking so delicious, I can say it without any hesitation that these guys serve best food for their cadets. 

I was silently eating my food with great love for it when a girl with two plates in her hand came in front of us standing silently because her mouth was filled with food. As she put those plates down eyes of Gil, Richard and mine rolled upwards in sync. It was Emma she came to sit in front of us I hurriedly looked around to see if there really was no other vacant seat left in the giant hall that she had to sit on a table of all dudes, it turned out that there was really no other seat in the dining hall. 

Emma ignored our gazes and started eating her food. To make her feel comfortable we didn't ask her any questions and again focused on eating our food. 

After she sat on our table I sensed some stray gazes but did not look at the directions they were coming from. 

"Emma! Don't eat with that troublemaker bastard, eat with us, eating with him will dampen your mood!" You can guess who it was, to no surprise it was Andre who shouted this bullshit all the way back from the table near the entrance gate. 

Emma just gave him a frown with her mouth filled with food, she was chewing her food without caring about what he was saying. The ones who got angry in my stead were of course Gil and Richard who were about to stand up when I stopped them. 

"There is no use in saying anything to him." I whispered in their ears. 

"You are right! You two should also stop getting angry at small things, it will just encourage that bastard to do it more." Emma finally said something after sitting at our table. 

"She's right! If Seth can ignore him, you guys can also do it!" The one who said this was a boy who was sitting at the right table of ours, he is in my group! If I remember it correctly than his name was... Erick! 

I just looked at Erick who was smiling at us. Gil and Richard did not look happy after he said that. But it looks like Seth was not only surrounded by bullies he had people who cared for him as well in this place. 

Clawford was nice to me, Emma is still nice to me as she willingly sat in front of me, Erick is on good terms with me, I have two caring friends, Gil's sister is nice to me. It is different than what I had in my mind. 

Someone else came to sit with us at our table, it was another girl from our group, and I don't know her name, I was only at the beginning and at the end of the training, it is not my fault if I don't know everybody's names. 

"Hey Richard, how it's going?" She asked only Richard about his wellbeing. 

"Not good!" 

I immediately hit Richard in his shin with my foot because what is this idiot doing? 

Richard gave me a look that was filled with questions after receiving my blow. I ignored it and put another slice of steak in my mouth. 

"Well, it's not looking good you know, it has just been some days since our last mission and our next mission is in line for us already." 

Richard understood my signal pretty fast; my dumbass would have never. 

"Why are you so worried? It was our group which had the worst experience not your group!" She looked at me for a second after completing her sentence, so she also thinks I am the one at fault for all the tragedy. 

Emma was just chewing her food while looking at me and sometimes this girl who sat beside her. After analyzing her behaviour, I think it is pretty easy to guess that she has a crush on Richard, she might be into those sharp teeth of his or some other thing. I know young love is always foolish and childish and that young people fall in love with many things. I am saying that with my experience of seventeen years of life. 

I was most shocked about Emma as why didn't she said anything except for only one sentence after coming to our table? I looked at Emma, when our eyes met she frowned as if questioning about my gaze. I just rolled my eyes toward my food. 

"I am worried about everyone in here!" Richard replied to the girl. He exclaimed with enthusiasm. Sadly, I still didn't know her name so I leaned towards Gil to ask him about her name. 

"What was her name again?" I whispered in Gil's ear. 

He gave me an inquiring look before replying, "Lawren!" 

After knowing her name I looked at Richard who was still talking to Lawren, he had mixed expressions on his face. He was looking more happy than angry. 

I occasionally saw Hoover and Ellie eating their meals as well. There was one guy who just could not swallow his food without looking at me every single second. Andre's eyes filled with hatred were constantly capturing pictures of my appearance. Honestly, he should stop being such a hardcore bully. 

The only people who were eating their food without doing anything strange were Emma and Gil. The one who was being the biggest nuisance in this dining hall was none other than me, as I was constantly shifting my head with every single bite to look at other people. 

"You should stop responding to everyone's gaze with your own gaze and eat your meal, it is getting cold!" Finally, Emma again said something, why was she so quiet all this time? She had a lot of opinions about me during the training. 

"O.. Ok!" I replied with softness in my voice, damn it always happens with me. 

Emma just gave me a glance without any particular expression as she drank water from her glass. 

.................. 

A man was sitting on his study table made out of wood. He was dressed in formal clothes with black vest and black pants wearing a white shirt. He was busy writing something and putting cross over it again and again for some time in a notebook when a man entered his room that was illuminated by only a single lamp resting on the study table. After entering the room, the latter man could only see the back of the former man who was writing something and putting cross over it. The man who entered the room said to the man who was sitting at the table, "Their next mission for the Emerald nation will be a week from now!" 

Man sitting on the table turned his head and nodded in agreement with a smile on his face.