“Aaron’s here in my office. Lucas is on his way over. Ethan and Mira are on the other line.”
“The news is out,” Colin replied. “My calculations show the crest is either now, or happening soon.”
“Hang on, let me tell Ethan.” He waited as Roland relayed the message. Then, “Aaron says we should stop jiggling your elbow and trust you.”
There was no reason why the words should make him want to weep. “I have to go.”
“Wait. What do we do now?”
“Nothing. For the moment, we watch.”
He cut the connection, descended the stairs, and joined the others in the dining room. The chamber held one larger table for eight, two for four, and two others for three. It was an odd situation, but it worked. The atmosphere was more casual and intimate than if everyone was forced to sit together. There were always a few empty chairs, which also helped. Colin filled his plate from the chafing dishes lining the sideboard. He chose the one empty table and ate alone. He had no idea whether he had been assigned kitchen duty. He had not glanced at the board holding the weekly list of chores since all this began. He helped bus the tables, then accepted the two dish towels from Camila, one damp and one dry, and cleaned all the dining room surfaces. He felt like a robot with its battery almost flat. Unfeeling, uncaring. Just going through the motions.
When he reentered the kitchen, Camila accepted the two towels and pointed him to the drying rack. Wiping down the dishes and putting them away meant he was the last student to finish.
As he closed the side cupboard, Camila said, “You been skipping meals. You sleeping okay?”
It was their first real conversation in six years. “Some. Not a lot.”
“You’re losing weight. If you’re sick, you need to tell the lady.”
“I’m not sick.”
“You sure about that, are you?” Dark eyes surveyed hisform. “I guess you look all right, except for those plum bruises you got under your eyes.”
“I want to stop being so fat.”
She turned back to scrubbing the stove with a wire brush. “Well, you’re going about it all wrong. What you want is to get yourself in shape. Eat right. Sleep. Exercise. That’s how you lose weight and keep it off.”
“I like to swim.”
“When was the last time you got in the pool?”
“I don’t …” He had trouble figuring out it was Friday. Which was when he realized he had missed several lessons. “I went last Sunday. No, wait. That was … four Sundays ago.” He felt vaguely ashamed. That so much time, so many weekends could pass unnoticed. But it was all he could do just to hold himself together.
“You should be doing something every day.” She used a soiled towel to go over the stove top. “You head off for your classes so early, you eating any breakfast?”
“I get a glass of juice sometimes.”
“That ain’t enough.” She pointed at the three refrigerators lining the side wall. “Look in that middle one. Down there at the bottom. Those yogurts are meant for Grant, but I’ll tell him. He won’t mind you sharing. You take one, you mix it with fruit from the bowl. Apple, banana, something. Then you put some of them bran flakes on top.”
“That sounds awful.”
“Don’t matter how it sounds. You got to eat a balanced diet, you want to lose weight and get in shape. That starts with breakfast. Else you’ll just put the weight back on faster than you lost it.” She went back to scrubbing. “I imagine you just ate yourself some meat and a pile of potatoes. With gravy, I bet. How many vegetables did you put on your plate?”
“I don’t like them.”
“Now you’re sounding like a child. You want me to treat you like a little boy, or a man?”
Colin had no idea how to respond, and remained silent.
“Balanced diet,” she repeated. “Cut down on the fat and the carbs. You’re a smart boy, check out what I’m telling you online.”
“No,” he said. “I don’t need to. I’ll do what you say.”
“Three meals each day. Stop skipping. Don’t matter how busy you are. And eat smarter.” She pointed at the exit. “Now you go get yourself some rest. And remember what I told you.”
CHAPTER17