We're drifting on the open sea, uncertain why the wind won't blow

[Pippi]

((Sarah Chevalier, Sonia Salazar and Nasir al-Habsi continued from We're nothing but a ship of fools, basking in our days of glory))

“Something must have happened to him.”

The silence in the combined dining room-kitchen of the Salazar household was palpable, as Sonia and Nasir shared a look from across the table. Nasir sat on one side of the table, back to the French doors leading out to the garden. Sonia stood opposite him, leaning against the kitchen counters, arms folded. Between them, at the head of the table, seat tucked in close to it and practically locking her in, sat Sarah. She looked down at her hands, draped neatly across each other, obscuring the manic tension hidden within her. She didn’t see the concerned glance between the other two as she spoke.

It had been a couple of days since they’d last seen each other at the sports centre. Sonia had arranged another meetup at her house, while her parents were away. She hadn’t said why she’d wanted to get together so soon in her group chat message, not directly at least, but the reasons were still fairly easy to infer. She’d always been action oriented, ready to strike the moment the iron was hot. The sooner they started talking and interacting again, like they had a couple weeks previous, the better they’d be able to adjust, once the inevitable news broke.

As with all the best laid plans, it hadn’t turned out anywhere close to how she’d envisioned. George had replied almost immediately, saying he needed time to himself to do something; he’d evaded all questions asking what that ‘something’ was. Harrison had blanked the group entirely. Nasir and Sarah had both turned up, arriving fifteen minutes apart, but conversation had been stilted. Nasir and Sonia shared awkward small talk. Sarah said practically nothing at all.

They’d ended up sitting at the dining room table for half an hour, silently watching their mugs of coffee release spirals of steam into the rafters, a stack of board games on the kitchen counter remaining untouched and ignored, before Sarah finally spoke up. She unlaced her hands, cupping them around her mug, taking a gentle sip, as the other two stared each other down, neither one daring to be the first to say anything. She hadn’t mentioned a name. She hadn’t needed to.

It was Sonia, after what felt like years, who finally spoke up. Her voice was slow and measured, filtered through a facade of calmness.

“Yeah, I… I think we’re all in agreement there. Something happened to him, and-”

“Yes.”

Sarah cut across Sonia, still looking down into the depths of her coffee, and Sonia fell silent immediately. In part, she kept quiet because Sarah really wasn’t someone who interrupted people normally, but more importantly, she was simply worried about her friend. She didn’t want to feel like she was stepping on eggshells, roll of cotton wool in hand, but, well, here she was, waiting on tenterhooks for what Sarah would say.

“Something must have happened while he was in Washington, that, um, means he can’t talk to us right now, or come to water polo sessions, right?”

She finally looked up from her mug, shooting glances at her two friends. They nodded, quicker than could truly be described as ‘natural’, but Sarah either didn’t notice or didn’t care. She seemed satisfied with the response, as she nodded in return, before staring back down into the swirling depths of her coffee.

“Maybe… maybe the coach broke down and they’ve all been stuck there this whole time.”

The silence was crushing. The entire room could have been frozen in time, were it not for the steadily ticking clock and hazy lines of coffee steam. Slowly, Sonia’s gaze shifted over to Nasir, desperately searching for help, but his own vision was fixed on Sarah, mouth hanging open slightly. Once again, the girl in the middle didn’t seem to notice her friends’ reactions, lifting her mug up to her lips to take another sip. Her hands were unsteady. She trembled in the warmth of the dining room.

“Or… or maybe he decided he liked it so much there that he’s staying for a while longer, and… and he’s keeping it a surprise, or his phone died and he forgot his charger, or-”

“Sarah, he-”

Nasir started to speak, but almost immediately fell silent again, as Sonia glared at him, shaking her head and giving him the universal gesture to ‘cut that shit out’. He shrugged, mouthing ‘what?’ in response, but their silent conversation was put to a halt as Sarah raised her head once more.

“So, I guess… I guess we just need to wait, right? Wait for him to tell us what’s going on, I mean. I’m sure he will eventually, this is just the sort of thing he’d do. Um. Keep us on our toes, you… y’know?”

“Yeah,” Nasir said, voice low. “Just have to wait for the news.”

Sarah looked at him, then up at Sonia, and a smile slowly formed on her face, one so disarming that Sonia felt herself returning it in kind.

“I think we should play something, don’t you?”

“Yes, um… yes that’s… a good idea…”

Sarah nodded, before hopping off of her chair and circling around to the counter to scan the stack of brightly coloured cardboard boxes. Nasir opened his mouth again, then slowly closed it. He folded his arms, and looked across the table at Sonia. They stared at each other, un-moving, and didn’t say a word.

((Sarah Chevalier, Sonia Salazar and Nasir al-Habsi continued elsewhere))