Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

No one was moving a single muscle and everyone seemed to have been placed in a quagmire. We were in a staredown with Marisha and the pressure she was exuding was enormous. A few girls behind us lost feeling in their legs but then Marisha spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"All of you, get dressed. I'll wait one minute."

"Y-YES MA'AM!"

Everyone just ran back inside to look for the clump of clothes that we threw somewhere but Kaley and I easily put on ours because it was inside the armory. With the girls, they just mixed and matched their clothes because time was of the essence and they were all almost the same size.

After exactly one minute, all of us were kneeling like last time while Marisha was looking down from above. We weren't making a sound as she scanned through each of Micah's girls but her gaze eventually landed on us. My mind was in shambles and I didn't know what to do, but Marisha eventually spoke.

Marisha raised one of her eyebrows as she folded her arms, "Kaley..."

Kaley instantly flinched, "Y-Yes, M-Mom?!"

"I told you so."

"W-W-What?"

"Didn't hear me? I told you so."

"I-I-I don't g-get it, M-Mom..."

"You will… your mind is just in shambles after seeing me. Anyway, breakfast is ready but I'd take this time to tell you girls to come to my home right after. It's only a few walks forward past your permanent residence. And Micah, if you don't mind, I'd like you to be there too. We'll just have a little talk with your idea."

Micah flinched when she heard her name but she replied, "Y-Yes… I'll bring them right after breakfast… and a shower… a long~ shower..."

"That would be nice."

Everything became silently uncomfortable for a complete minute before Marisha spoke again.

"Cynthia, how are you? Doing okay?"

"Y-Yes! M-More than okay!"

"Can you please elaborate?"

"W-Well… I think I've g-got more f-friends now and e-even if… n-nevermind… it's fine I-"

"What do you mean by even if? Did something happen?"

"U-Umm… n-no! I-It's not important I-It's okay… I m-mean… u-umm..."

"I see..."

"W-What?"

"It's not about something that happened, it's about something that did not happen. You came from the other room with the others, right? How did not being included with your new friends from your nightly 'activities' made you feel?"

Kaley interjected, "M-Mom! Please! You already know, right?! W-We're all adults h-here… we can just-"

Marisha briefly glanced at Kaley and it shot her down, "Kaley, I know. We're just talking, right Cynthia?"

"U-Umm… technically… yeah… j-just talking… T-To answer your question… I wanted to spend more time with everyone b-but… u-umm… I don't know how to explain this..."

"Go on, there's no judgment here. As I said, we're just talking casually."

Cynthia was a little embarrassed but she continued, "Y-Yeah, I know… I just really couldn't put it into words… it's like… like… I just kinda wanted to ease into it… not you know… b-but I would like to be as close as everyone… they're really nice… not just with… you know... I'm really not sure what to say..."

Marisha faintly smiled, "I think that's easy enough to understand. Rin?"

'Is she gonna talk to each of us?! Right now?! Before we get breakfast?! What?!'

Rin flinched the same as everyone, "Y-Yes?!"

"What's been going on without you lately? I think last we spoke was five days ago, right?"

"Y-Yes… u-umm..."

Time continued to pass and what we talked about were just embarrassing confessions about each other, fun introductions from everyone, cheesy secrets, and so much more. Everyone actually enjoyed this talk after the awkward and scary encounter from earlier. WE got to learn about each other, especially our new friends.

With that said, Marisha didn't talk to me like everyone else but she asked to talk to me privately. She even asked Kaley to leave the room and have breakfast with everybody while the two of us were left inside.

We were just staring at each other for a short moment before she spoke.

"So, how are you feeling?"

I replied, "I'm fine. Kinda tired but… I'm fine... really. Why did Kaley and the rest have to leave? Is there a reason?"

Marisha faintly smiled, "Obviously. I just wanted to talk in private."

"I-I know that a-already… Let me r-rephrase then… Umm…"

Marisha chuckled, "I'm just joking, you're too stiff. You're not in trouble… kinda..."

"Ah… That didn't sound too good… Is there a problem?"

Marisha's expression turned solemn, "Okay, I'm just gonna tell it to you straight. I can read my daughters even if they're not talking and I could as easily read other people even after just a short conversation. There's no denying that Kaley loves you dearly but those other girls? It's not as great or intense but they also have feelings for you. It varies from each girl but you've made a connection with them whether you like it or not."

I scratched my head, "Yeah… I felt that sometimes but if you're worried about me, you shouldn't. I thought I established that already even if our current relationship with everyone is really complicated to explain. I make sure to follow our boundaries and even if… I mean… last night… we did something off-book… it was with each other's agreement. We'd never do anything that the other doesn't want."

Marisha suddenly tilted her head as her eyebrow raised, "And what is this off-book thing that you speak of?"

"U-Umm… we just… I don't know how- nevermind… okay… It's one of our rules to make sure that we're both present if we ever do the… the deed with other people… the thing was… y-yesterday… after we did it… i-in front of everybody… I stayed in my room with Micah's girls and s-she… in the other r-room..."

Marisha started rubbing her glabella, "That girl..."

"N-N-No! Please! Here me out! It's not just her! Just let me finish… It's actually Micah's idea and she asked Kaley profusely..."

"And?"

"Kaley agreed but I didn't..."

"Then how did it happen then?! This story of yours is starting to get woozy~ You're telling the truth but you're not making any sense, you doofus!"

"J-Just let me tell the whole thing before you interject, a-alright?"

"Fine… continue."

"Since we have this rule that I told you earlier… I obviously disagreed and I brought her up to my room to do the uh… private-public thing with everyone… but… Kaley just… just… don't get me wrong… I love her… I really do fucking love her but sometimes… I just go along with anything she says because she'd be happy with it except one other thing I'm extremely trying to get her to change her m-mind..."

"And that is?"

"T-That's not i-important… let's get back to what I was saying e-earlier… I said that I go along with what she wants sometimes but there are still cases when I enjoy and have fun with everyone even if I… even if I'd just rather spend all my time with her. Kinda hypocritical, right? I kept saying I love her and I'd rather just be with her but I'd still partake with what she wants whether I go along with it or expect it and sometime even want it… It's too complicated..."

"..."

"Sometimes… sometimes… I just… I just hate that I would think with my di- my g-genitals… sorry for being vulgar..."

"I think we're already past that after you told me that you two had intercourse in front of everyone."

"Ah… N-Nevertheless… I'll keep an eye on it..."

"Sure, continue."

"I pride myself being a genius but when it comes to these things… I'm fucking stupid. I don't know… Sometimes I like it… sometimes I don't but get this… I still enjoy it… Well, it might be because doing it releases a few things in our brains and it relieves me from everything that's happening outside but still… I can't just cherry pick what I want in our relationship and just simply tell her to stop what I don't like just because I wanted to… It isn't as simple."

"Do you two talk atleast? You know… after doing it but you know… when it's just the two of you?"

"Always. Even if we didn't do it we always talk… We always talk about everything and we had a serious one back then... But please don't ask me about that, it's not fair for her if she's not here. That's her story to talk about, not mine."

Marisha just looked at me solemnly with a saddened expression, "She's my daughter, I know. Who do you think talks to her each time she made a bad decision or was just crying as she opened the door to our home? Who do you think is the only person she could talk to when everything is just falling apart? Trust me, I know… But thank you for saying that, that means a lot to me."

I pursed my lip as I looked down, "I-I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that..."

"What are you apologizing for? You never did anything wrong, right? And if you ever did, it's by accident and you never meant to do it. You promised me something last time and I'm sure you're keeping it."

"Of course… always… u-umm… isn't there something you wanted to tell me? I… I appreciate that we talked like this but I kinda wanna know the reason..."

Marisha chuckled, "I said it earlier, right? We're just talking… no… talking is a part of it but I wanted to pick your head as well."

"T-That's it?"

"I've talked to each and every person in your place and this is only one of the few times that we seriously talked to each other about your relationship with my daughter or any other subject. As you said earlier, I needed to be fair. I just dropped by here to give you the same reminders I'm giving her because I'm sure that something happened here that I'm not particularly fond of."

"But still..."

"I know! I get your rules with each other but I'm still her mother, remember? What I said to you two last time had more or less happened but I'll make sure once I talk to them later if they're going through with their decision or not. I don't want to meddle even if I wanted to but I sure as hell could give some advice. Take note, I really give good advice. Or… if you just wanted to vent… I'm always here. It's always nice talking to you."

I faintly smiled as I looked at her, "Thank you..."

Marisha's face suddenly turned blank, "No."

I got confused, "Huh?"

"No. I said no. Are you even listening? This is the part where you ask for my advice."

"Ah..."

"Hahaha! You should have seen your face! But I'm serious about giving one. Whether you listen to me or not, I just wanted to leave a few things coming from someone that walked a little further than you in life. You're a very intelligent human being but you'd still need to experience more in life. I'd happily share a few from my pages."

"Okay..."

"Hmm? Okay what?"

I breathed deeply for a moment and then I looked at Marisha straight in the eye, "I'd like to ask some advice about marrying your daughter."