Chapter 23

"So… We are the ones that will be flying in our group, right?" It was Chris who broke the silence.

"I think so."

It was no longer dark, Anna began gaining some energy, but the awkward tension between her and Chris stayed unchanged. Their conversation carried on with both of them looking off into the horizon.

"And I will be your co-pilot in the G-22?"

"Yep."

There was another long pause.

"Um… look, I just want to apologize," Chris said, sounding like he had had enough of the awkward atmosphere.

"About what?"

Anna turned her head to Chris, who didn't meet her gaze.

"About… what happened earlier."

Realizing that was what Chris was talking about, Anna blushes and looks down while beginning to fidget with her hair.

"J-Just pretend it didn't happen," Anna said quietly.

"Hm."

Chris's plan to ease the tension had backfired.

"Let's head back now and save some seats at the cafeteria," Chris said.

"Sure."

Anna didn't hesitate to go along with Chris's topic change.

As if he could no longer handle the atmosphere, Chris hurried to the stairs. Anna stayed on the deck for a couple of seconds before catching up with him, giving the ocean one last look while exhaling deeply.

Like always, the corridors of GMRS Citadel were by no means easy to navigate through, but after spending a week on board, Anna has gotten quite used to the twists and turns. She stared at Chris's figure from behind as she followed him through the corridors. Soon, she reached the entrance to the cafeteria.

Even though the sun had just risen moments before, the cafeteria is already half-filled with people. The workers were opening up the counters and the stalls, preparing for the day. Chris walked to a large empty table close to them and sat down. Anna grabbed a seat across the table from Chris, but not directly, as she still didn't exactly feel comfortable with making eye contact with him.

They sat in silence, letting the ambient chattering of the cafeteria encompass them. Not many people present were from the academy. The students most likely didn't have a habit of waking up so early in the morning, despite the fact that they come from a prestigious military school.

Anna found herself concerned over where to place her gaze as she didn't want to appear antsy or overly friendly. Then she realized that she was completely overreacting. The whole ordeal with Will earlier that week created a gap between Anna and Chris since both of them had no idea how to deal with the situation. As if adding fuel to an already blazing flame, that event had to take place in the morning.

Anna knew that this shouldn't go on given that they will soon have to participate in co-op training, moreover, Anna didn't want it to go on.

"Chris," Anna said while muttering the courage to properly face Chris.

Her determination wavered as soon as she saw his deep blue eyes.

"Yes?"

Anna didn't have the slightest idea as to where she was going with that. Scrambling for a conversation, Anna panicked.

"T-The sky… sure is blue."

"I'm sorry?"

Chris's confused look was driving Anna into a deeper state of embarrassment.

"Hey, Anna, you sure are up early."

Like the flapping wings of a guardian angel, the sound of Owen's voice had rescued Anna.

Leaving Chris in his puzzlement, Anna turns around to greet her brother, who was walking toward her in his white aviator uniform.

"Good morning, Owen!" As always, Anna leaped into Owen's embrace.

Owen, who never seemed to mind his sister's overt affection, patted her on her head.

"Get a room already, you two," Liam, who didn't have a presence until now, spoke up.

"That's not their intention, I think," Chris muttered.

Anna let go of Owen and went back to her seat.

"Do you want to sit with us?" Anna asked.

"Sure."

"Why not."

Owen walked over and sat down beside Anna and directly across from Chris. Liam took a seat beside Chris.

"The cafeteria doesn't open in 10 minutes, why were you two up so early?" Owen asked.

"We are pretty excited about the training," Anna said.

"Oh, the aerial training? Liam and I will be demonstrating."

"Really? I can't wait to see you show off your awesome skills!"

Anna's eyes lit up.

"Eh? I don't think I am that awesome…" Owen said while scratching the back of his head in a smile.

Chris and Liam watched the conversation without saying a word. It wasn't like they could say anything anyways. Liam tapped Chris on the arm and leaned in to whisper.

"Man, you got a hell of a competition."

Even though he wasn't eating or drinking, Chris choked on something and began coughing.

"Are you okay?" Owen asked, not knowing what had caused Chris's sudden cough.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

Chris waved and took a deep breath. His face is visibly red. Which one would assume was because of his wheeze. Of course, Liam knew the actual reason, but he just sat back pretending to be innocent.

Now that everyone's attention has shifted to Chris, the conversation has also naturally been redirected.

"I haven't seen you around very often in the last week. You are Chris Arden, right?" Owen asked.

Even though they have spent an entire week on the same ship, Chris hasn't had much interaction with Anna's brother. When Anna had gone off to hang out with Owen, Chris spent his time with Charl since being around those two wasn't the most comfortable pastime.

"Yes."

Chris suddenly sat up straight after Owen had turned to him. Though he was still breathing quite heavily from earlier.

"Anna has told me much about you," Owen said.

Anna, who was enjoying listening to her brother talking to Chris basically for the first time, did not respond well to Owen's sudden and suggestive comment.

"Wait a minute, no I haven't," Anna said.

But it was already too late. There was a faint smirk at the corner of Chris's mouth.

"I-Is that so?" Chris said.

However, Anna was telling the truth. She barely talked about her friends with Owen. Most of the time she just listened to his stories with a mesmerized expression. Anna had no idea why Owen was bringing it up.

Liam took no notice of the current situation, or at least pretended to not take notice, and wandered off into his own world.

Chris gave a fleeting side glance to the flustered Anna, who was staring at the table and didn't catch it, but Owen did.

"You seem like a great guy, so please take good care of my sister. Just so you know, they call me Skull because I can drop a bomb from 30000 feet and land it right on a person's head."

A bright smile was on Owen's face, but there was nothing easing about it. Chris's faint smirk immediately vanished and there was an audible gulp.

"Jesus man, you are terrifying," Liam said after being snapped out of his thoughts.

Since Anna sat beside Owen, she didn't know what was going on, in fact, Anna was quite happy because she thought Owen was taking a liking to Chris and Liam was commenting about Owen's skill.

Charl and Leah walked into the cafeteria. Anna waved to them, signaling them to join her. At the same time, the cafeteria stalls had opened for breakfast.