The Return of the Titans by James Thompson Page B

her finger at them. “Get to bed.
Tomorrow will be very busy, I have no doubt.” She turned and headed
for the door. “And brush your teeth before you go to sleep,” she
said over her shoulder as she left. The door slid shut behind
her.
    “Sounds just like my
grandmother,” Aaron muttered.
    Justin laughed. “Yeah. But I kind of like
it.” He gave the clock one last glance then headed for the bedroom.
“You have a preference on beds?” he called out to Aaron.
    “Nope, just pick one and
I'll take the other,” Aaron answered.
    Justin picked the bed on the right and
looked under it. There was a canvas bag there. Justin opened it,
found a toothbrush and toothpaste and headed for the bathroom.
    When he was done, he came out and Aaron
headed in. Justin changed, got into bed and lay back, staring at
the ceiling. The bed was very comfortable and the comforter had a
pleasant, woodsy smell. He tried to focus on the incredible day he
had had but he fell asleep before Aaron even came out of the
bathroom.
     

 
    Chapter 4
     
    The next morning, Justin and Aaron woke up
to the sound of the door chime. Justin sat up blearily and looked
over at Aaron, who stuck his head under his pillow and grunted with
irritation.
    “Come in,” Justin called
out as he got out of bed. The outer door slid open and Mrs. Mallon
walked in.
    “Good morning, gentlemen.
Time to rise and shine.” She glanced into the bedroom and saw Aaron
tucked under the pillow. “Well, time to rise anyway. You can shine
later, I suppose.” She set a tray down on the table in the living
room. “Get up, Aaron! The Commander will be dropping by to talk to
you soon, so eat breakfast and get cleaned up,
double-time!”
    Aaron groaned but stuck his head out.
“Breakfast? Coming!”
    Justin chuckled as he sat down on a couch
and took the lid off the tray. Mrs. Mallon had already left and the
door closed behind. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted from the
tray and Justin's mouth watered.
    “I still don't get how
that door knows to close after someone leaves,” Aaron said as he
stumbled into the room and sat down with a thud. “Hey, that smells
great!”
    After breakfast, the two grabbed their
bathing things and headed for the baths. Several other boys were
doing the same. Justin noticed that they all looked as unfocused as
he felt.
    In the bathing room, Aaron and Justin
quickly determined that the pool that Jonathon had called 'warmer'
was just the right temperature. Three other boys agreed while
others preferred either the 'warm' or 'hot' pools. No one seemed
inclined to jump into the 'cool' pool.
    Justin was fascinated to see that the clouds
of soap that appeared as he bathed quickly vanished into a wide
slot along the wall of the pool. The water was constantly moving
but stayed at exactly the same temperature for the entire bath.
    After they dried off, Justin and Aaron and
several others that they had chatted with during the bath went back
to their rooms to get dressed and wait.
    The two new friends sat on the couches and
talked. Aaron wondered who this 'Commander' was that Mrs. Mallon
had mentioned.
    “I assume it's Mr.
Fitzgerald. The head guy we saw yesterday,” Justin said.
    “Yeah, I guess so.” Aaron
looked at Justin. “So, do you have a list of questions you want to
ask him?”
    Justin just shrugged. “A few. You?”
    “Loads. But I'm not sure
where to start. Or which ones are the most important. He didn't
look like a guy to ask dumb questions to, did he?”
    Justin felt nervous suddenly. “No he didn't.
But he said we were to ask anything we wanted. And, after all, they
are here because of us, aren't they?”
    “Are they?” Aaron stared
intently at Justin. “Do you really believe this Titan stuff? I
mean, come on. So we're a little different from a lot of people. So
what? I don't look like a Titan, at least not what I would call a
Titan. And you,” he grinned at Justin, “aren't exactly a giant
either, are you?”
    Justin returned the grin.