"Mr. Arterberry, I accept your proposal. I'm coming with you."

Flaviu smiled excitedly at Anton. "I'm very happy to hear that, son." Anton was starting to get annoyed by being called that. "Now," Flaviu continued. "Won't you come inside? I have a few things I want to tell you about this trip."

Anton checked his watch on his wrist and noticed that it was about time for him to get back to his room to sleep. Thankfully. He smiled apologetically at Flaviu and told him, "Sir, I would like to get back to my room, if you don't mind. It's almost past the time of curfew." He tapped a finger on his watch. 

Flaviu nodded, but Anton didn't miss the way his jaw tightened. "All right, Anton. But make sure you come to me in the cafeteria first thing tomorrow. Also, we don't have work again tomorrow, so you and I are going to discuss this trip the rest of the day." Flaviu turned and shut the door, signaling that their conversation was over. 

Anton nodded at the closed door and walked back to his room. He was thankful for his memory, for if it wasn't for his special attention to details, he would have gotten lost in the dark hallways. He finally arrived back at his room and walked in. He trudged over to his dresser, took out his sweats, and got dressed in them. Once ready for bed, he laid down and quickly fell asleep, dreaming about Victoria and the city. 

----

Anton woke up to the obnoxious sound of his alarm clock. He groaned as he hit the snooze button and groggily got out of bed. He changed into a pair of blue jeans and button-up plaid shirt. He tied his tennis shoes onto his feet and set out the door toward the cafeteria. 

Once there he picked up a tray and got his usual breakfast and looked around for Flaviu. He frowned when he couldn't find him. Instead, he found Victoria sitting at a table with a guy. This guy was well built with brown hair. He was wearing a black t-shirt and dark jeans. Victoria looked very annoyed at his presence, so Anton decided to do something about it. 

He confidently walked toward the table. When he got closer, he heard Victoria saying through clenched teeth, "Go away, Darius."

Darius put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. "Aw. Come on, baby. We haven't talked in a long time."

Victoria made a disgusted face and pushed him away. "I said, go away. I told you I didn't want to talk or see your face again."

Anton took that time to slam his tray of food down on the table, making both Victoria and Darius to jump. He growled at Darius, "The lady asked you to leave. So, leave."

Darius turned his head toward Anton and smirked. "And who's going to make me?" He looked Anton up and down. "You?" he laughed. 

Anton rolled his eyes and shoved him out of his seat. "Yes. Me." Several people were now watching them as if waiting for the fight to happen. 

Darius started to get up and was ready to fling himself at Anton when he doubled over and emptied out his stomach onto the clean white floor. Anton jumped out of the way, not wanting to get hit with anything. Some people gagged, screamed, or ran out of the room while others came over to Darius' aid and helped him clean up. 

While the commotion was going on around them, Anton grabbed his and Victoria's tray and brought them over to another empty table. They sat down and started to eat like nothing had just happened. 

Victoria looked over at Anton and smiled. "Thanks for helping me back there."

"You're welcome," Anton said to her while returning the smile. "By the way, who was that guy?"

Victoria sighed and looked down at her plate. "His name is Darius, and he was once my boyfriend – when I first came here and before I was part robot. Naïve little me thought I loved him, and he loved me back, but the truth had it that when I became part robot, he ditched me and went for some other girl who wasn't. I was broken for days, but I eventually got over it when I realized how horrible and toxic, he was." She sighed and looked over at where Darius was now sitting at the same table with his head in his hands. "Something happened to him, though."

"How could you tell?" Anton followed her eyes over to Darius. 

Victoria's mouth turned down as she looked back over at Anton. "Whenever he gets upset, he drinks. Heavily. Recently I've noticed that he's been drinking more and more." She looked back over at Darius. "I just never thought that when he starts to drink, he thinks of me." Anton almost didn't hear the last part of that sentence since she said it so quietly, almost inaudible. 

Anton followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes. He couldn't help the small pang of jealously residing in his stomach. "How do you know that he thinks of you when he gets drunk?"

Victoria snapped her head over at Anton. When Anton looked back at her, he saw worry and sadness in her eyes. "Because he told me before he started to annoy me."

"But he was drunk," Anton replied quickly, furrowing his eyebrows. 

Victoria nodded. "Yes, he was, but when he drinks it's like he can't lie. It's strange," she shrugged as she poked at her food. "I'm not even sure I understand it, but it's true."

Anton was quiet for a while and stared at his food. He had lost his appetite, no thanks to Darius and his big mouth and now empty stomach. 

He began to wonder why he saw sadness in Victoria's eyes. If he dumped her because of the way she was, then Victoria shouldn't be sad about how he was now. He didn't understand women. No matter all the books he had read about the male and female brains, he still couldn't compute. 

He was brought out of his train of thought when Victoria nudged his arm. "Hey, there's Flaviu. I think he's looking for you."

Anton looked up to see Flaviu standing in the middle of the cafeteria with a tray of food in his hands while looking around. Anton stood up, which helped Flaviu find him. Flaviu quickly walked over to Anton and Victoria.  

"Is this seat taken?" he asked them while motioning to the empty seat in front of them. 

Victoria straightened and smiled politely at him, motioning for him to sit down. "Of course not. Join us!"

Flaviu smiled at her and sat down. "I assume that your friend here, Miss Vasile, has told you about his decision?"

Victoria looked at Anton and gave him a small smile. "I predicted as much." 

"That's good," Flaviu continued. "All that needs to be done now is finish getting the preparations ready and getting the team all in one location."

"The team?" Anton asked. "I thought it was just you and me?"

Flaviu chuckled. "Of course, there's a team. You certainly didn't think that you and I can bring back a hundred and thirty to three hundred pound Morpher back by ourselves, did you?"

Anton felt his face heat up from Flaviu's statement. "You never said that there would be other people," Anton said quietly. 

"You never asked either." Flaviu took a bite of his cereal. Anton and Victoria patiently waited until Flaviu was done before he continued, "Now, we need the basic supplies: a canteen, a pair of clothes, bug spray, sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses. Also, bring some of your science journals and other utensils that you think you'll need. If you have any questions about supplies, come to me, or even go to any of the other team members.

"Now, for the rest of the team. Obviously, there's you and me. There's also Remus Iliescu, Robert Lungu, Adam Balan, and Artur Valduva."

"Artur?" Victoria asked, concerned. "You're letting him on your little quest?"

Flaviu gave Victoria a look and nodded. "Yes, Artur. I know he's not the best person in the world, but he's a great scientist and he's been on my expeditions before. Trust me, he will be fine." He turned back to look at Anton. "I will leave in a few weeks. Please have everything ready and we will leave them." Flaviu stood up and picked up his tray. "Good day." He smiled at them before walking away. 

Victoria huffed and crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. "Artur," she scoffed. "That boy is trouble. I just hope he won't cause any trouble with you on your trip." She gave Anton a sympathetic look. 

Anton shrugged his shoulders. "It might not be too bad. Besides, I'm sure Flaviu will have us doing different projects, so we might not even talk once during the trip.' He hoped. "I'm going to start getting things together. I'll see you later." He smiled at her before picking up his tray and walking away. 

Hi, everyone! This chapter is just a filler chapter so it's a little shorter then the others. I just felt like I couldn't leave this day out so I wrote it! :D

I hope you liked this chapter! Please, if you did, click the little star below!

Also, what did you guys think about the chapter? Do you all think that Anton and Artur are going to get along on their expedition?

:)