Taking the hand Billie was offering her, the girl stood up and together they ran toward the origin of the voice that was calling to them. 

"Hurry up !" She yelled as she saw them approach.

"Are you obligated to always be this bossy, Iza ?" asks Aphrodite, visibly annoyed. "Also, you said dinner was ready, I don't see any food !"

"Why yes I am ! That old bag only serves food if we're all reunited, and I'm hungry !"

"Are you aware that it is us, as in my girls and I, who prepare the food and that we also serve it ? Your only job is to set the table and call everyone !" another girl stepped in.

"Obviously ! Who do you think I am ?" said Izadora, upset.

"A girl who claims that he's the one serving ! You know, it's vexing when someone you consider as family attributes all your efforts to someone else, let alone someone you aren't really found of !" 

"I only meant to say that he doesn't want us to begin eating before everyone is around."

"Girls...?" said Bille quietly.

"Who cares ? He's not even here !"

"GIRLS !" she yelled this time, and continued with her normal voice as every person present was looking at her. "Hey, let's not fight ! Iza, just... Finish setting the table and everyone will be here, okay ? They heard you, don't worry about them being on their way. Nia-"

"I'll be with the others in the kitchen, we'll bring dinner when it's ready, and the table better be ready by then."

"O-okay."

"Is everybody here ?" asks Billie after several minutes, as she wasn't seeing no one arriving anymore.

"We're just waiting for Mickey" said Aphrodite, who just finished counting heads.

"Here I am !" shouted the latter, out of breath. "And for the love of God, my name's Mikayla !"

"Whatever, Minnie."

"Bullying me like that isn't cool ! I was only late because-"

"FOOD !" yelled Izadora when she saw Niana and her gang arrive with dishes of all kinds.

Everyone took her place at the dinner table, set earlier by Izadora. There was no fight regarding who would take which seat, following sort of an unwritten rule. Moreover, they were hungry, no time to lose in pointless arguing, especially a time they could be eating during. That being said, they still were open to have discussions while eating.

"Frankly, I just don't get it. Why does he insist on complicating our lives with his stupid rules ? And why are we following them ? I mean, more than half of the time, he's not even here !"

"Yes, that's messed up. But even more messed up than that, is how we can't even go out. I don't understand."

"We were talking about it earlier, Di and me. He says we're special."

"Special, my ass !"

"NYMPHADORA !"

"Oops. Sorry."

"We're eating !"

"I said I'm sorry, I got carried away."

"Anyhow. Mickey, you said you had a good reason to be this late ?"

"Yes ! Actually, I was looking for an answer to that question." She simply said, but one could see how much she was dying to protest regarding the nickname that was given to her.

And just like that, you could suddenly hear the flies fly. Even the ones who were only eating without giving much attention to what's happening around them stopped moving. After all, it was a subject everyone was curious about.

"So ?"

"As Billie just said, he often says that we're special. That we have something others outside don't. The question is, what's that thing ? Well, as we can't go and discover the outside world by ourselves, we have no way to find out. Unless..." She paused, then resumed, dramatically.
"Unless there's a way."

"But you just said that-"

"I know what I said ! I thought that one of us could discretely take the exit and the others would cover her up, he never does a headcount anyway !"

"Why would it be you ?"

"I never said it would be me. Actually, it better not be me. He could be back any moment, and I draw too much attention for anyone not to notice my absence."

"Was that a discreet self compliment I just heard ?"

"I'm not bragging ! I'm just saying, it would be wiser to send someone whose name he doesn't know, or at least didn't call for quite awhile or someone who blends easily into the crowd."

"It's slightly megalomaniac to say that." adds Céline.

"Not at all !" she said standing up abruptly before clearing her throat "I admit it looks like it but-"

"Okay, I'm going." announced Sandra out of the blue. "She's the only redhead girl of us and I'm apart of the brunette majority; it's cristal clear to me that I'm the one who should go."

"We'll do our best to cover you up, Sandy." Said Billie, encouraging her friend.

"Wait up ! I didn't say yet where to look." Protests Mikayla.

"Easy peasy, i just have to keep on looking outside for a girl our age, then I'll use my observation and deduction talents to find out our said specialty"

"I've got nothing to add. Go on !"

"Don't forget to tell us what the trees look like !" Said Victoria, excited.

"Oh ! Oh ! And sand !"

The girls continued to list "outside wonders" which more than the half of them had literally never seen in real life.

Among the ones that actually lived outside long enough to know those, only a few still remember it more or less clearly. In fear of forgetting too, they dedicated themselves into immortalizing those memories, by telling stories or drawing colorful images. 

"Girls !" Yells Nymphadora to finish talking as soon as a relatively calm atmosphere was back on "Does somebody know if he's getting back any time soon ?"

"Dunno."

"Thank you for this essential answer for our survival, Nicky."

"Sandy already left anyway."

"We didn't tell her about the stars!"  Billie panics while Aphrodite rolls her eyes.

24/07/2022