Chapter 29: Getting Along
The lanky boy with messy brown hair tucked under a pair of yellow multi-lensed goggles pushed up from his bed, glancing backwards to shoot the center boy a scowl. Then he turned to Jethro, who was still standing on the room’s threshold, face impassive, his Lizard in his palms. "Don’t listen to him! Welcome to the dorm."
He placed a hand on his chest and a broad, genuine smile spread beneath his nose. "I’m Kekius, and this..." he gestured to the dome-shaped mechbeast laying beside his pillow. "...is Cogsworth."
Jethro looked at the mechbeast, and it replied by tilting its head at him. The creature had a smooth, metallic bronze shell and four delicate arms currently fiddling with a tiny circuit board. Its large intelligent eyes blinked at Jethro.
A Brain Turtle.
As expected, the screen appeared immediately, followed by a dizzying cascade of information concerning Brain Turtles, including possible evolution paths. Jethro had to force himself to look away in order to remove the interface.
"What is he wearing?"
The sneering voice came from the other occupied lower bunk. The boy with slicked-back dark hair – the one who had whispered earlier – leaned forward, raking Jethro with a disdainful look. "Do you work in a healthpost or something?" His eyes paused at the small, bandaged Gutterling now peeking out of Jethro’s collar. "Haha! Is that why you’re bonded with a Gutterling? Do you use it to kill the pests in the clinic vents?"
Jethro didn’t say anything. He merely just walked past Kekius and headed to the bunk which had an empty pod above. "This is mine?" he stopped to ask Kekius.
"Yeah," the boy nodded enthusiastically. "If you want the lower pod I wouldn’t mind swapping with you. Sorry about the mess," he added, gesturing vaguely at the scattered tools and components near Cogsworth. "Perpetual project zone here."
Jethro ignored the offer. He carefully placed his Lizard on the pillow before climbing onto the pod, sitting on the cushion which was surprisingly very comfortable.
"HEY!" The slick hair boy rose from his pod, placing his feet on the edge to get a better view of Jethro. "Are you ignoring us? That’s a mistake you don’t want to make, scrap feeder."