My first inner thought consists of wondering if anyone is around to take care of him, but I gather no one lives with a roommate here, except for me, of course. “Maybe you should go to the doctor?”
“I already did. The doctor said it’s a chest cold, and to drink plenty of fluids, yadda-yadda.”
“Yeah, I know the spiel,” I tell him. “Listen, I’m heading to the grocery store in a bit once I find a way to get there.” I still have no car. I should have pre-planned this. “Want me to make you some soup?” I hear a cough in the distance, and I turn around, catching three men in a conversation on the beach, trying to act like they didn’t just overhear what I said to— “What’s your name again? I’m having trouble keeping up.”
“Colin. Colin Meyers,” he says. “I’d shake your hand, but I don’t want to give you my germs.”
I try to smile, though it probably looks fake because odds are this guy is just suffering from the good old man-flu. “It’s okay.”
“Wow, that’s so sweet of you, Colin says. I—yeah, I already grabbed some soup at the store this morning. Thank you for offering, though. Plus, I wouldn’t have wanted to put you out like that on your first full day here.”
“Oh, it wouldn’t have been a problem. Plus, I don’t put out,” I tell him, realizing way too late what I said versus what I meant to say.
“I figured,” he says with a crooked smile, taking advantage of my slip of the tongue.
“I meant you wouldn’t have put me out,” I quickly retort, trying to undo what I did.
“It’s so weird, something must be going around,” I hear from behind.
It’s Theo, the only guy I’m familiar with at this point, despite only having a few short conversations with him. “Are you sick too?” I ask.
“Nah, but a few of the others look like they might suddenly come down with whatever Colin has.” Theo rolls his eyes, casually as if the thought should be assumed. It wouldn’t have taken me long to figure out what would be happening next since I nicely offered to help a sick guy out. I’d be questioning whether he was telling the truth, but he looks the part, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
“If you need to grab some things at the grocery store, I can take you to the store if you want,” Theo says. “I was going to run over there today too.”
I can only imagine that the glances around me are shooting out like daggers. This place and these people are unbelievable. “Oh, that’s okay. I want to venture out on my own today, but thank you.”
“Yeah, thanks, Theo,” Colin grunts.
“No problem at all. Let me know if you change your mind,” Theo says.
“That sounds good.” Except if I were to change my mind, I have no clue which villa you live in and I certainly don’t plan on going around ringing doorbells, despite that being the thing to do around here. I’m not changing my mind, though, so it’s fine.
I feel the need to step away, backing up toward my sliding door, hoping no one else approaches me for the moment.
When I close myself inside, I find Kricket and Krow at the breakfast nook, chowing down on cereal. All I want to know is … where they got the cereal. I didn’t see any when I was looking through our so-called stocked cabinets.
“Have a nice run?” Kricket asks while chomping down on a dry bite.
“Sure,” I tell her.
The ringing of my phone thankfully interrupts this once-again-awkward encounter. I don’t recognize the number, but now I’m choosing my poison between a random guy or a conversation with these two.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Hi, yes, I’m looking for Ashley.”
“This is she,” I answer, hesitantly.
“Great. This is Noah James from The Clam Pit. I was wondering if you might be able to squeeze in some time for an interview today?”
My heart thumps a little harder than it was from my after-workout burn. “Oh, hi, Noah, yes, I would be happy to meet with you today. What time is best for you?”
“How about three? That way we can avoid the lunch and dinner rush.”
“Three works for me. I’ll see you then.”
“Great,” he says. “Oh, make sure to look out for those moving street lamps.” He doesn’t laugh, and I feel the need to melt into a corner.
