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Everyone looked around the room at each other, faces ridden with confusion. They were all called here, Orion, Sofia, Chrysta, Galial, Turon, and Garish. They didn't know why, but all they knew was that Vega called them all to the main Protector hall.
"Any idea on why we're here?" Sofia whispered to Chrysta.
"I don't know, but by the looks of it, doesn't seem to be good news." Chrysta gestured over to Vega, who was standing in front of the main table, her eyebrows furrowed, and her arms crossed.
The room was silent until Orion interjected.
"Is there a problem Vega? Why have you called us all here?" Orion stepped forward.
"Its nothing too serious." Vega put her hand up, lightly waving it as to dismiss Orion's worry. "But I just wanted to know..." Vega paused before walking to the break room, coming back with the broken coffee machine that everyone used, every morning, and afternoon. "...Who broke it?"
Everyones eyes were on the coffee machine, then darting to each other, and back to Vega.
Vega sighed. "I'm not mad, just curious." She raised an eyebrow, waiting for someone to speak up.
"Well, who was the last one to use it?" Garish questioned.
"I don't know. That is why I am asking." Vega shifted her weight. She was getting impatient. She soon had enough, and called out another's name. "Chrysta."
Chrysta jumped up. "Yes?" She muttered.
"When did you use the machine last?"
"Not since this morning! I got here earlier than everyone else cus' me and Sofia were gonna do some training, she was with me the entire time!" Chrysta looked back at Sofia, her alibi.
"It's true! It didn't break when Chrysta was using. It worked just fine after." Sofia jumped beside Chrysta to defend her former trainer. Chrysta simply nodded.
"What I do know is that Orion used it an hour after I did when he arrived." Chrysta announced.
Everyone glared at Orion. He just stood there in silence before finally answering. "I did use it, but I didn't break it either."
"You sure?" Chrysta teased.
"Yes, Chrysta, I'm a hundred percent sure. Look at that thing!" Orion pointed to the coffee machine. "It looks like it went through a planetary collision. How, and most importantly, WHY on earth would I do that to the machine?"
Orion wasn't exaggerating when he said the coffee machine looked like it went through a planetary collision. That machine was busted up. Like someone took out years of bottled up aggression onto the poor, helpless machine, who only wanted to replenish everyones energy before work, and now someone has taken its non-existent life away. It was basically a crime scene.
"Okay okay. Than who used it after Orion?" Vega looked around the room, waiting for the next person to speak up.
"I don’t want to be a snitch but…I did see Galial use it after Orion.” Garish pointed at Galial who glared at him with wide eyes, and an expression saying ‘I’m gonna drown you in a river infested with brain eating amoebas.’
“You liar! I don’t even drink that crap!” Galial stomped in front of Garish.
“Than what were you doing at the machine?!” Garish put his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow.
“I use the coffee creamers when im making tea. Everyone knows that, GARISH.” The elf huffed.
But it was true. She was the only one among the Protectors who had a strong dislike for anything coffee related. The only reason she’d be near the machine anyways were the coffee creamers that she puts in her tea. Other than that, Galial wouldn’t be seen using the coffee machine.
“And what about you Garish? Did you use the machine today?” Orion crossed his arms.
“No. I can’t even fit through the dang door to the break room!” Garish shouted. “And I’m going to speak on behalf of Nerissa because she isn’t here right now. She can’t even consume caffeine, It’ll kill her.”
“So…no one else used the machine today?” Vega said.
The room fell silent. No one answered Vega until Chrysta flew next to her.
“Vega, Turon has been awfully quiet..” Chrysta mumbled, but just loud enough for Turon to hear.
“Oh, really?!” Turon hollered. “I wasn’t even here for half of the day! I was busy with my missions since the morning! Then, when I finally come back not even five minutes ago, the machine is broken! It couldn’t have been me!”
The room went from quiet voices to obnoxious arguing and shouting. Everyone blaming each other, all pointing fingers, desperate on trying to find out who broke the precious coffee machine.
Sofia scurried out of the heated circle, and beside Vega, who just watched in amusement at her fellow Protectors arguing over the machine.
“If none of us broke it, than who did?!” Sofia looked back at everyone still arguing and bickering. She thought for a moment, until… “Wait…”
Vega looked down at Sofia. “Hm?”
“Where were YOU the whole day?”
Vega paused for a second, her entire body was now facing Sofia. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Well, Chrysta didn’t break it, I didn’t break it because I was with her, Orion didn’t break it, Galial doesn’t drink coffee, Garish can’t even access the break room, Nerrisa is deathly allergic to caffeine, so that only leaves you!”
Vega stared at the girl with wide eyes, everyone else stopped their arguing and looked at her. Vega sighed.
“Okay, fine. You caught me. I broke it.” Vega folded her arms.
Everyone gasped, they all looked to each other perplexed on why Vega even broke the machine, and even though she broke it, why she even called this meeting in the first place, asking, ‘who broke it?’ despite her being the culprit?
“Why on earth did you break it…!?” Orion squeaked, he was so astonished his deep intimidating voice gave up on him.
“It stopped working as I was using it, I assumed punching it would make it spring back.” Vega kept the same serious look on her face, but it was clear you could see her trying to hold in a laugh.
“I’m sorry, you punched it..? You practically MUTILATED IT.”
“Yes, I punched it many times, mostly out of frustration.” Small chuckles left Vega’s mouth.
The others were trying grasp at why this whole situation was so funny to her, and why she even thought beating the machine to a pulp was a good idea. She didn’t seem like the type to resort to such matters when it came to fixing something, but than again, there was a lot the others didn’t know about Vega.
“Hold on I’m so confused.” Chrysta stepped in front of Vega. “If you broke it, why the hell did you even call this meeting in the first place?!”
Vega made a small humming sound before speaking. “I just wanted to see what you all would do. If you would all try to figure things out logically, or play the blame game. As it turns out, my second hypothesis was correct.” Vega looked at Sofia, who was discombobulated. “Well, except for you, of course. You were the only one who actually used your brain.”
Everyone stared at her with wide eyes. Vega looked at them to see their expressions.
“Think of this as…a team building exercise.” Vega clasped her hands together. The others weren’t understanding a thing she was going on about. “And before you ask, we have a spare in the storage.”
Vega left the room to retrieve the spare coffee machine, leaving the other Protectors to process what just happened.
“That was definitely, the strangest thing ever.” Galial sighed. “I’ll never understand that woman.”
“Those punches surely got to her head.” Garish joked.
Chrysta flew back to the others. “I don’t blame her, that thing was always acting up, we were bound to throw it out someday.”
Just another day with the Protectors, every day stranger than the next.