When we trudge back to our hut, my face flushes with the realisation that I’ll have to share a room with Archie tonight. Sure, we’re not exactly strangers anymore, but this is weird.Intimately weird.
“Um, do you have a preference?” he asks, eyes flicking to the sleeping bags like they might suddenly bite him.
“I’ll just take this one.” I squat next to the orange bag on the right and unzip it.
He whips out his phone, turns on the flashlight, and carefully scans the inside of his sleeping bag, then the room.
I frown as I crawl into my sleeping bag. “Wha—oh, spider check?”
He winces.
“You really are scared of them, aren’t you? This trip must have been challenging for you.”
He finishes his inspection and lies down in his sleeping bag, turning his light off. “Yeah, me and spiders don’t exactly mix. But I haven’t seen that many here, thankfully.”
A pause hangs between us, and I pick at the fabric of the sleeping bag, the chirps and low buzz of distant night insects filling the silence.
“Well,” I finally say, “good night. Thanks for coming with me today, and for helping.”
“Of course.” I hear him shift on the mattress, the faint rustle of fabric breaking the silence. “You were incredible. I’m glad I was there to see it.”
“Crazy last day,” I say with a small laugh. “I promise it wasn’t like that every day. Thank goodness.”
“I only come for the main event,” he jokes.
“What about you? Did you enjoy your trip? Was it what you expected?” I ask, my hand roving absently over the mattress.
“I did. And,yes and no. What I really didn’t expect—I mean, besides findingyouhere—was that I’d love it so much. The people here are amazing.”
“I know.” I pull the sleeping bag up to my chin. “I hope we made a difference for them, you know?”
“Um, I’m pretty sureyoudid,” he says with a chuckle.
“Right.” I smile, Kato’s face popping into my mind. Then, a bittersweet feeling washes over me. “I can’t believe we’re going home tomorrow. Back to London, to our normal lives.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you excited to play football again? When’s that starting up again?”
“A few weeks from now. And yeah, I guess.” He exhales slowly. “It’s my life. I love it, but coming here… it puts things in perspective.” He pauses. “Do you watch football?” he asks, a hint of surprise threading through his tone.
“Absolutely not,” I say louder than I intended, letting out a small laugh. “Don’t even know the rules, besides the obvious.”
He chuckles. “There are a lot more of them than people think. What about you? Eager to get back to your sterile hospital with all the supplies you could wish for?”
I sigh. “Yeah, that won’t hurt.”
His stomach growls so loudly, I briefly think it comes from outside.
“Sorry,” he blurts out. “That meal did not agree with me.”
I snort. “And you ate so much too.”
“It wasgood,” he says defensively as his stomach growls louder.
“I take it you’re not a spicy food guy, despite living in London.”
“Not really. Are you?”
