The Test
"Form a team?" That was the first thing we heard when we followed Amy into Victor's quarters. Victor's gaze shifted from me to Rain, then to Shine, and finally to Amy. "Are you serious?"
Amy nodded in response to Victor's question. Since it was my first time in Victor's room, I eagerly looked around. A brand-new place. A sharp yet refreshing scent of peppermint lingered faintly in the air. Exercise equipment scattered throughout the room gleamed under the lights.
Shine was currently grunting and groaning as she struggled with one of Victor's dumbbells. With her physical strength, there was no way she could lift something he used.
"You just don't want to send those kids to another team, do you?"
"That's part of it."
"I was wondering what was going on when a guy who usually prefers working alone suddenly brings up forming a team."
Victor let out a soft sigh and sat on the edge of his bed. His bare legs, exposed beneath his shorts, were covered in thick hair, which looked rather unsightly. If I were to wear shorts...Wait, me too? Feeling a strange curiosity, I rolled up my shorts. My pale, slender legs were revealed. Not a single unsightly hair like Victor's was in sight.
"Jeff, what are you doing?" Shine, who had been raiding Victor's fridge with Rain, approached and asked.
"Oh, nothing... It's nothing." Startled by Shine's gaze, I hastily covered my legs. "Did you find anything good?"
"Yeah." Shine nodded and held out a large tub. It had a strawberry pattern printed on a white background. It looked surprisingly cute.
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
Shine set the tub down on the floor and sat cross-legged in front of it. Rain was still rummaging through Victor's fridge, with only her butt sticking out of the open door.
"I'm going to open it."
I nodded at Shine's words. She began to pry the lid open as carefully as if she were handling a bomb.
"Nnngh..." The lid wobbled, teasingly close to popping off. Shine hugged the massive tub with all her might, using her entire body weight to push the lid up. Will Shine actually be able to open that? As I watched her struggle, I glanced over at Victor and Amy. Both of them were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even look our way.
"Hah!"
Pop!
At that exact moment, a tiny grunt escaped Shine's lips, and she lost her balance, tumbling backward onto her back. The white lid soared into the air. Trailing right behind it, a cloud of pink powder erupted toward the ceiling. A sweet scent of strawberries immediately tickled my nose. The pink powder rained down all over Shine, who was still clutching the tub on the floor.
Whoosh!
The pink powder that had shot up into the air cascaded directly over my head, leaving me in the exact same state as Shine. My entire body was coated in pink dust. Blinking rapidly, Shine and I stared at each other, trying to process what had just happened.
"It's tasty."
With that, Shine darted her tongue out and licked the pink powder from around her lips. Following her lead, I also stuck my tongue out and licked the powder on my hand. Since it was kept in the fridge, it had to be edible. The initial taste was a bit odd—chalky yet sweet. But then, a rich strawberry flavor washed over my tongue. It was actually pretty good.
"What are you two doing...?"
While Shine and I were busy licking the strawberry powder, Rain approached us, holding a large bag.
"You should try some too, Rain. It's delicious." Shine scooped up a handful of the pink powder and offered it to Rain. Dazedly, Rain held out her hand and accepted the powder. She stared blankly at the two of us for a moment before sticking her tongue out to lick it.
"...Protein powder?"
"Come sit with us and eat." Shine grabbed Rain's arm and pulled her down beside her. Dragged down without any resistance, Rain blinked in disbelief, still unable to process the situation.
"What's that?"
"This is..."
I shifted my gaze to the bag in Rain's hand. The green grape illustration printed on the large bag instantly made me think of candy.
"It's candy..."
"Whoa!"
I reached out and took the candy bag from Rain. It felt quite heavy, suggesting there was a generous amount inside. My heart fluttered with anticipation. Grabbing both ends of the bag, I licked my lips, imagining the sweet treats inside. I took a deep breath and pulled with all my might. The bag trembled precariously as if it were about to tear open at any second. But it wouldn't budge. Pouting, I looked at Shine for help.
"Shine..."
"I'll help."
Shine grabbed the opposite end of the bag. Two forces combined are stronger than one. It was a solution as simple as one plus one equals two. Exchanging a look with Shine, I pulled the bag with everything I had.
"Heave-ho!"
The moment we pulled with all our strength—
Riiiiip!
With a loud tearing sound, my body tumbled backward. Time seemed to slow down. The sudden release of tension launched every single candy inside the bag high into the air. The green hard candies sparkled under the fluorescent lights. Floating in the air, the countless candies scattered a rich aroma of green grapes.
Clatter-clatter-clatter!
The green grape candies rained down onto the floor. However, since the floor was already covered in a thick layer of strawberry powder, the candies immediately got coated in pink dust.
"Wow..."
Lying flat on the floor, I ran my fingers through my hair. The pink powder tangled in my soft strands, creating a strangely mystical look.
"I... I have nothing to do with this..." Rain looked down at Shine and me, shaking her head before burying her face in her hands. Her trembling shoulders looked incredibly pitiful.
"Girls?"
Just then, Amy's voice rang out. I turned my head to check her expression. She looked completely pale, frozen in shock. Watching her, I casually picked up one of the rolling candies from the floor and popped it into my mouth. A rich strawberry flavor coated my tongue first, followed quickly by a burst of green grape that made my mouth water.
Amy stared at the two of us, utterly speechless. Shine, lying next to me with a candy in her mouth, began flailing her arms and legs, drawing a perfect snow angel in the pink powder on the floor. Today, I learned a very important lesson: candies taste much better when coated in strawberry protein powder than when eaten plain. Keeping an eye on Amy, I quietly stuffed a few more rolling candies into my pockets. Since these belonged to Victor, eating too many would surely be rude.
"Do you want one too, Amy?" I timidly offered a candy to her. It was generously coated in strawberry powder and looked incredibly delicious.
"Sigh..."
But Amy didn't take the candy. Instead, she let out a heavy, deep sigh, her face practically dripping with exhaustion. And then, in the blink of an eye, Amy vanished from my sight. As I looked around in surprise, Shine's eyes suddenly went wide as if she had spotted something.
"Je—!"
Thwack!
A sharp impact struck the top of my head. Stars danced across my vision. I think Shine was trying to warn me about something, but I didn't get to hear the rest. As my vision began to spin, Shine came into view. She was slumped over, the candy she had been sucking on slipping out of her mouth.
"Shi... ne?"
Shine didn't move. I stared at her, then reached up to touch the top of my head. A massive bump had already formed, throbbing with intense pain.
"Ow..."
A whimper escaped my lips, and tears welled up in the corners of my eyes.
"I... I didn't do it!"
While I was nursing my head, Rain's voice rang out. She was absolutely terrified. Her face had gone pale, and her shoulders were shaking violently. Standing right in front of her, Amy silently raised her fist.
Thud!
The moment Amy's hand came down, a heavy impact echoed from the top of Rain's head. Rain collapsed instantly, the strawberry powder she had been holding scattering everywhere. Slumped on the floor, she was now completely covered in pink dust. I began wiping my tears with both hands, but the strawberry powder on my fingers turned sticky and smeared all over my face.
"Sniff... Sob..."
It was painful enough already, but now the sticky, gooey strawberry powder made me feel even more miserable.
"Jeff."
"Yes..."
"Shine."
"Yeah..."
"Both of you, stand up."
Shine, who had been twitching on the floor, scrambled to her feet at Amy's command. Tears were welling in her eyes too, just like mine.
"Do you two know what you did wrong?"
I nodded at Amy's question. Stealing Victor's candy and delicious strawberry powder behind his back was indeed a very bad thing to do. Shine, however, shook her head.
"I didn't do anything wrong."
"Shine."
"Amy, I didn't do anything wrong."
"Shine!"
Amy's voice boomed. It was the first time we had ever heard Amy raise her voice like that. Startled by her shout, both Shine and I flinched. Shine's face was filled with utter shock. It seemed she had never expected Amy to yell at her.
"Why...?"
"Apologize to Victor."
"Why...?"
"Do it now."
Shine kept muttering under her breath as she stared at Amy. Watching her, Amy let out a soft sigh and grabbed Shine by the shoulders. The strawberry powder on Shine's shoulders fell in a small shower.
"Shine."
"Yeah..."
"Look at Victor."
Amy turned Shine around to face Victor. Victor was sitting in his chair with his arms crossed, scowling deeply. He looked extremely displeased.
"Do you know what you did wrong?"
"I don't know."
"Do you really not know?"
"No..."
At Shine's response, Amy gently stroked her hair. The confusion clouding Shine's face slowly began to melt away.
"Shine. You shouldn't take other people's things without permission and make a mess of them."
"Okay..."
"Apologize to Victor."
Shine mumbled, her lips twitching. Seeing her fingers and toes squirming restlessly, she clearly didn't know how to put her thoughts into words.
"Sorry..."
"Say, 'I'm sorry.'"
"I'm sorry..." Shine squeezed her eyes shut as she apologized to Victor. Victor's gaze shifted from Shine to me. Caught in his stare, I flinched and quickly bowed my head to apologize as well.
"I'm so sorry!"
Receiving our apologies, Victor scratched the back of his head and let out a weary sigh. "It's fine..." His voice suggested it was anything but fine.
"I'll go wash these kids first. We can finish our conversation after that."
Saying so, Amy scooped up Shine and me, tucking us under each of her arms. Our arms and legs dangled helplessly in the air.
"Ow..." Shine was still rubbing the spot where Amy had given her a bump on the head, whimpering softly.
As Amy prepared to leave the room with the two of us tucked under her arms, Victor called out to her. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Forgetting what?"
In response to Amy's question, Victor pointed to Rain, who was still lying motionless in the middle of the room. She hadn't nudged an inch. Letting out another small sigh, Amy hoisted Rain onto her back and finally walked out of the room.