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Ali stood up and stretched. Her stomach was growling.
"Hungary Ali? Lance laughed.
"Starved. What are we doing for breakfast?"
"Salvaging something from the fridge."
"As long as there is something edible."
She left the backroom to find herself some food. The others followed.
"Breakfast time already?" JC asked.
JC set his pen and journal aside and tried to make himself breakfast at the same time as five other people. Rori sat down out of the way. She figured she would be better off. JC and Ali both reached for the cream cheese at the same time. JC enclosed his hand over hers. Everyone stopped in their tracks, afraid of an oncoming argument.
"Take it." JC pushed it towards her. "I’d hate to make you wait for anything."
JC opened his mouth but couldn’t bring himself to say what he wanted to. He threw his half made bagel in the garbage and squeezed his way through everyone to get back to his bunk. After a few seconds of the tense silence, the group returned to making their breakfasts. Once everyone sat down and was eating, Ali only stared at her bagel.
"What’s wrong?" Rori asked her.
"Nothing. I’m just not hungry anymore."
"Does it have anything to do with JC?"
Ali sighed, twirling the ring on her finger under the table.
"It has everything to do with JC."
"Then go talk to him."
"He’s the one who needs to talk. He started this whole argument."
"Ali?"
"Yeah."
"You wouldn’t let him talk when he tried earlier."
"Oh yeah. I guess your right. When did you get so smart?"
Rori just shrugged her shoulders and took another bite of her bagel, which she was dipping in ranch dressing.
On their way to the back of the bus for more video games, JC stuck his head out of his bunk.
"Can we talk Ali?"
"Yeah. We can." She answered. "Go ahead Chris. You can start the game
without me. I’ll be there in a minute."
Once everyone had cleared the hallway, JC swung his legs out of his bunk and stood next to Ali.
"What?" she asked.
"Just like you weren’t thinking when you asked me to marry you?"
JC could have crawled in a hole right then and there.
"Ali, I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I’m glad I asked you to me."
"Then why wait two years?"
"Because I have to be sure…sure that…"
"Sure that what JC?"
"Sure that I love you." He whispered, looking down at his feet.
"Because you wanted it. You never said anything but I knew. And the way you’re always saying you can’t wait to have kids but you want to wait until you are married…I just felt…"
"Obligated? Here," Ali took off her ring and pressed it into JC’s hand, "pressure’s off."
Tears began to fall from JC’s eyes as Ali slammed the door to the backroom behind her clutching the ring. He slowly climbed into his bunk and cried himself to sleep.