Chapter 2: (Ab)Normal Days

Jordan turned to Ruby, welcoming another friendly face. "I'm sorry, the spa's a little too dangerous..." She stepped inside, reaching to hold the door open for the DJ.

"A mud bath? No way, that's a thing?" Jordan stared at it in wonder, "And a Sauna? I could go for that."

Jason nearly skipped over to the cues and carefully grabbed one, turning it over in his hand. "These are nice, damn." He put the cue back and looked at the dart board, immediately inching away with a laugh. "I'm horrible at darts, and should not be trusted with them. Especially really pointy ones."

Miranda avoided Jason deftly, giving him only a silent, unsatisfied glare. Once the boy was gone, Miranda proceeded to give another ear-to-ear grin.

"Finally!" She sighed, skimming through the clothes rack to find a black jacket. Her fashion found, she hastily pulled it on her shoulders, fluffing the collar and setting her hair free from the back.

She looked back at the clothes rack, but looked away. She'll come back later. She stepped out of the room, calculating her next move by the door.

Lisa shuffled through the contents of the fridge.

"Looks like it's all age-appropriate drinks and stuff-" her eyes lit up.

"AND Capri Sun!"

She quickly grabbed a pouch and shut the door, eyes dancing with delight.

Ruby smirked at the two girls.

"Back in Skandinavien, we always hung out in saunas and stuff durin' the holidays. Nothin' says family like bare sweatin' at 65 degrees," she remembered fondly.

"Celsius," she added.

Claire nodded vigorously. "Of course mud baths are a thing! I've never tried one before though, it seems a little... unsettling if you ask me. And a 65 degree Celsius sauna sounds like a nightmare. But what I could use..." She walked over to her left towards the sauna. "Is some nail polish! And they even have my color! This muted pink is perfect!" She grasped a small bottle of nail polish and then set herself down on a massage bed.

"This is the beauty of sandals. You don't even have to take them off to paint your toenails."

Joshua smiled weakly.

"Between their blood and the gel residue... I'm going to need such a shower later..."

He slid to the ground, his back against his bed. The emotions he had been fighting to hold back since they arrived spilled over as soon as he dropped his facade. His eyes drifted to the bracelet where they had been shown their videos days before.

"So that's... four people now, isn't it?"

With one final sigh he took his mask, tied it through a loop on his pants, and exited his room to rejoin the others.

"I'm not too surprised," Martin said, twirling a dart in his hand absentmindedly, and then suddenly throwing it. A bit far too the left, Martin grunted, "Just a lil' rusty..."

He gave another throw, and it landed just short of the center, "That's a bit better..Y'know I can teach you if you want."

Jason was overjoyed that Jaden actually addressed him. He puffed up, going to him as he counted his loot. He went up next to the other man, in front of the treadmill. "Oh! The closet actually has clothes in it! I'm thinking of changing into casual before dinner. I'm pretty formal right now." he said, putting the bundle back in between his chest and arms.

"Is the equipment here good? I've never been in a gym before..."

Caleb took one look at the room piled with electronic entertainment.

"How tragic," he said point blank before turning heel to the botanical gardens.

Jaden chuckled. "Yeah, you look like you belong at some kind of fancy reception or somethin'. Maybe I should drop by over there and look for some new threads myself." He glanced at the other machines. "I mean, it's pretty basic stuff. It's kind of like a home gym on steroids if you ask me."

He laughed. "Don't worry, m'dad's tried more times to teach me than I'd care to. Gave up on me eventually, but it took him awhile."

He looked over at the dartboard. "You seem pretty good, though." He smiled a bit. "Is there a badge for hitting the bullseye?"

"I wouldn't mind trying it," Jordan said, poking at the mud bath, "Maybe later though."

"Relaxing, was it?" She asked Ruby, as she walked over the the nail polish with curiosity, "I'm sure any worries would melt away, if you don't." She found a bright green shade of nail polish, "Matches." She held it up next to her hair.

Aris was a bit pissed when Jaden appeared to have expressly turned the treadmill up so she could yak at him and he had a reason to not respond. She did the same thing at gyms when she saw certain guys. But when Jason arrived, the perfect opportunity came in.

"Hey! You two!" She stood up, dropping the weights and coming over. "I got some questions!"

Miranda's eyes flicked to Caleb when she saw him, her hand going down from her wristband. She walked over, giving him a small nod.

"Caleb. I've been meaning to see you." She said, buttoning the middle button on her coat.

Josh stepped into the elevator to make his return to the second floor. He glanced first down the halls, and then to the map on his bracelet.

"A media room..." With one last look around his immediate surroundings, he walked to the room and entered.

"Oh god yeah... I was gonna go to school like this my first day. To... look cool." He shrugged, looking away with his eyes for a second and trying to not make an awkward laugh.

He opened his mouth to say something but was startled by Aris, almost dropping the clothes he had and backing off when she approached. "What questions?" he squeaked, his voice high in pitch.

He threw another dart, once again just short of bulls-eye. "Guess it's not your thing," Martin said, "Don't worry, you're not missing out on any bulls-eye badges. They don't exist." He added, turning around to Jason's pool table, "It's been a while since I played this though."

Martin made another glance at the fridge, "There's vitamin water, right?"

Jaden rolled his eyes, not even looking at Aris. Instead he focused on the speed of his treadmill, which he had since raised to an adventurous seven miles per hour. "Alright then, shoot," he said nonchalantly. "Not that we really know anything more than you do. Not a whole lot to think about here," he rambled.

Lisa held the drink in her mouth by the straw and looked through the again.

"Mm... yeah! Yeah, there's some in here! What flavor?" She glanced back at him.

Ruby laughed a bit.

"Miami's heat's worse than anythin' that sauna's got," she replied. "But I'll paint your nails if you want." She held up her own nails, filed and painted, as an example.

"Well, it is just a single question now that I think about it," Aris shrugged. "But you two talked to Miranda right?"

She tilted her head, brow furrowing. "With her being all different now, what the hell is her talent? I think she's hiding something, honestly."

Josh glanced around the room before sitting down at the closer computer. He jiggled the mouse a bit before sighing and tapping what looked like the power button.

Caleb's eyes fell on Miranda's new jacket before they met her gaze.

"Have you?" he questioned, opening the door to the gardens.