Angela smiled as she took a seat in the middle of the rectangular table and said, "Yes, it's indeed Sam. Our new member, please welcome him."
Sam noticed, in front of Angela, there were two individuals he hadn't noticed before. The first was a woman with long brown hair that reached her back, and she seemed to be... sleeping? Who in the world sleeps at the dinner table? Regardless, the other person was another woman wearing glasses, and the dark circles under her eyes seemed to have drained her soul. She was typing on her laptop keyboard at an inhuman speed, dressed in a formal skirt and a stylish suit. Her black hair was tied in a bun, and her light blue eyes shyly reflected the laptop screen's contents.
'What in the hell is this?' Sam glanced at the strange scene before him, realizing it wasn't ordinary. He initially thought Angela was unusual, but he quickly considered her an example of a perfectly fine human when he saw these two.
Kayla was next to Angela. Sam finally noticed that her hair was extremely light blonde. She was genuinely beautiful. She appeared to be the most normal member, at least not an overly enthusiastic old person or someone obsessed with work or sleeping at the damn dinner table.
"What are you doing standing in amazement? Come and eat!" the man shouted at him.
Sam snapped out of his astonishment and took a seat next to the sleeping woman, facing the man who was next to Angela.
He glanced at the food. It was simply... a lot! There were over ten meals from fast-food restaurants, ranging from sandwiches to burgers and even five pizzas! Sam was simply shocked by the scene.
Kayla noticed his surprise and said, "Didn't Angela tell you? We need to eat... a lot." Then she seemed a bit embarrassed, perhaps feeling it was inappropriate to say that she needed to eat a lot as a woman.
"She told me, but I didn't expect this quantity." Sam continued to stare at the food.
"The perfect body grows with perfect eating! Come on, my boy, eat!" the man said as he opened a pizza box to eat... two slices at the same time.
"Marinda? I've told you a thousand times to stop using the laptop during mealtime." Angela suddenly said, glaring at the woman wearing glasses.
Marinda slowly raised her head and saw the clear annoyance on Angela's face. She calmly closed her laptop and placed it at her feet.
Angela's expression softened, and she turned to Sam, saying, "Can you wake up Caitlyn? She's already missed one meal. Just shake her ear a little, and she'll wake up instantly."
Sam turned to the guest Caitlyn and noticed her buried between her arms. Her skin was clear, and her eyes were small and slightly pulled. Sam grabbed Caitlyn's ear and shook it a little, and to his surprise, she woke up suddenly and looked around.
"I expected you wouldn't wake up." Kayla scoffed as she ate her burger with relish.
"Is... it mealtime?" Caitlyn wondered.
"It's the second mealtime, dear." Angela said, taking a small sandwich.
"Oh... I completely forgot." Caitlyn admitted
'They're all... insane.' Sam observed their interactions with each other.
"I think you already know Kayla, Marinda, and Caitlyn. Only the old man, Aaron, is left." Angela said to Sam, pointing to the middle-aged man.
"I'm not old." Aaron replied briefly, still excitedly eating his pizza.
"How old are you, Grandpa? Eighty?" Angela mocked.
"Forty-eight. And aren't you about to turn twenty-six soon? It's okay for me to age; I'm a man! Men are like fine wine; the older they get, the greater warriors they become! As for you all, my goodness, let me finish my pizza so we don't continue this stupid argument." Aaron continued eating harshly.
"Yeah whatever." Angela surrendered as she continued eating elegantly.
Sam hesitated for a moment before taking a slice of pizza and eating it slowly.
The silence was filled with chewing, and Kayla occasionally made jokes about Caitlyn, who seemed a bit slow to catch on, asking what the first joke meant when Kayla was on her fourth.
Sam was surprised that all the many bags on the large dining table had disappeared, and he had his share too. He felt significantly better and full of energy.
"So, Sam, can you tell us about your ability?" Kayla asked, taking a napkin and wiping her lips gracefully.
Sam quickly looked at Angela, who just smiled gently and nodded.
'I don't really want them to know what my ability is, but I guess it won't hurt. After all, it seems like they're a group forced together, not a truly cohesive one. They all signed the contract, so they can't really harm me.' Sam concluded quickly.
"Um, my ability is simply related to time. You could say I can stop time." Sam said briefly, not delving deep into the topic of his ability.
Everyone at the table looked at him in shock, except for Angela. 'This bitch... she knew all along.' Sam cursed silently in his heart.
Aaron's voice suddenly broke the silence as he said, "Didn't I win a bet, Kayla?"
"A .. bet?" Sam asked in surprise.
Angela spoke with a clear voice, "A bet that there is an ability related to time. Aaron said there is one somewhere, Kayla said it's impossible, and that's briefly."
Kayla's expression quickly turned sour.
Sam was puzzled, "Why did she say it's impossible?"
"Because abilities like that are ridiculously powerful and rare!" Kayla replied forcefully before continuing, "Only this lunatic possesses a powerful ability like yours. Most abilities are somewhat reasonable."
"Loser's lament! Bring me my money!" Aaron laughed at Kayla's expressions.
Kayla buried her face in her arms.
"Um, so, what are your abilities?" Sam asked, looking at everyone.
Everyone exchanged puzzled glances.
'Wait a minute, you assholes! I just told you!' Sam was shocked by the scene.
Angela's calm voice stood out as she said, "My ability is to know truths and lies."
Kayla looked at her with a complex expression.
Aaron suddenly raised his voice, saying, "My ability allows me to store everything and summon it." As a proud expression appears on his face.
All of Kayla, Caitlyn, and Marinda remained silent for a moment before Marinda broke the silence, saying, "I can create unbreakable contracts followed by dire consequences. I think you've been through that already."
'So, it was you who bound me, huh,' Sam looked at her as she brought the laptop back up to the table.
"My ability... Oh, I almost forgot. My ability is related to forgetting. I think I can manipulate memories or something like that..." Caitlyn yawned and placed her hands on the table before burying her face in them.
Sam looked at Kayla who was looking towards the ground but she quickly raised her head and said, "My ability can change my appearance. I can become anything and anyone. Shape-shifter, as they say."
Sam looked at her in shock and thought, 'And you're talking about my ability being ridiculously powerful... bloody nonsense.'
At that moment, an idea crossed Sam's mind, and he said, "So, does this mean..."
But Kayla interrupted him in a terrifying voice, saying, "Yes! It's my real appearance, for heaven's sake! Why do all of you keep asking me the same question every time, damn it!"
Sam smiled nervously and said, "No, I was just asking."
Kayla snorted audibly and then got up from the table and left the room.
'... I didn't even finish the question, and she already knew it.' Sam looked at the door he heard Kayla slam.
"It's okay. We all asked the same question when we found out her ability." Angela said, looking at Sam.
"Although I've noticed she's gotten a little taller than before, but I believe she's honest." Miranda said, tapping her fingers on the keyboard.
Angela continued to stare at him and said, "So? Did you like 'the organization'?"
Sam grinned foolishly and said, "Well, kind of."
Then Aaron suddenly got up from his chair noisily and looked at Sam, saying, "Sam! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!"
"Huh?" Sam was puzzled by Aaron's words. Wait a minute, wasn't he huge? he isn't a competitor in bodybuilding or something right?
"Look at your frailty! You look weak and pitiful, just like those women!" Aaron said.
Both Angela and Marinda gave him sharp looks, but Aaron didn't care and continued, "We must go to the gym now! Lifting and pour sweat, tears, and blood!"
'What the hell is this old man saying?' Sam looked at Aaron in terror.
Aaron flexed his left arm and raised it to display his massive bicep. He extended his right hand straight and flexed it to show whatever muscles were there. He adjusted his hips and arms to strike a pose, showcasing his muscles with pride, and said proudly, "As men, we must maintain the beauty of our muscles!"
"A men! must be cool!"