wrong crew?

"Wait, hold on a second. What are we going to need a nurse for…. I know y'all we say it's important 'what if someone get hurt' but come on boy, we talked about this, we didn't discuss about having nurses and how the hell will a footballer be useful in the jungle? That doesn't make any sense. Are you sure this isn't some kind of joke?" he tried not to seem ridiculing but it wasn't working.

As he spoke, Jerry could see Mike and Serinal shifting uncomfortably. Their faces were clearly flushed with embarrassment, and they seemed unsure of what to say as well.

For a moment nobody spoke, they where all staring at their self as no one had any defensive statement now, so suddenly, Serinal broke the silence, probably going to give a try on a defense mood, she couldn't really rely on Jerry to do the whole talking, if she truely wanted to be part of the expenditure.

"Don't worry, M…Mr.. ummm,"

"Jonas, Jonas is the name" Jonas replied clearly seeing the ignorance of his name in her face.

"Yeah, sure, Jonas… umm sorry, Mr. Jonas" Serinal said, trying to sound confident and respectful.

"Just because I'm a nurse doesn't mean I'm not capable of other things. I can definitely contribute to the trip. Emm, for example, if anyone gets hurt, I'll be there to help, I know you already made mentioned of that. And I'm sure I'll be useful in other ways too. Just give me a chance." She gave a nervous laugh, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I have to agree with Mr. Jonas," Mike said, scratching his head, also trying to play defensively.

"I'm not sure how a footballer will be of any use in the jungle. I mean, I'm great at kicking a ball around, but that's not exactly a survival skill…. Hahahaha." He chuckled, but it was clear that he was also embarrassed.

"Maybe I could be a good morale booster?" he offered, trying to sound upbeat.

"I could lead the team in calisthenics," Mike suggested, striking a ridiculous pose.

"Nothing like a good jumping jack to get the blood pumping, right?" He grinned, knowing full well that he was being really stupid right now.

Serinal shook her head in disappointment, rolling her eyes. "Maybe we should just leave the comedy to the professionals, Mike," she said with a laugh.

Jonas fold his arms staring in disbelief as he heard mike speaking, he couldn't believed his son got dummy friends like this, especially the one speaking now.

"Dad, we don't have too many options" Jerry interjected, his voice tinged with exasperation.

"Mike and Serinal are more than just their professions. They're good people, and they're here to help. Please give them a chance."

He turned to his friends, giving them an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry about this," he said, looking embarrassed as well.

It seemed Jerry's silent admonishment reminded Jonas that he was being inappropriate with his actions because he immediately changed his mind.

Although, honestly, when Jerry spoke of getting backups for this mission, Jonas wasn't in anyway expecting this kind of backup. Which of course got him disappointed.

However, he still had to recruit men for this mission, his options here where few after all.

"Okay, fine, I'll give them a chance," Jonas said, sounding resigned.

"But while you stay, you will be tested, I don't want anyone irrelevant along" he added, giving them a stern look. "Since you are already part of the team calmly follow me to the research room. There's a lot of work to be done."

"Thank you sir!" Mike and Serinal said in unison, as they where now accepted on this mission.

Jonas turned and walked out of the room, leaving Jerry, Mike, and Serinal to exchange glances and do their tumps pumping, as he expected them to do.

The three of them were just about to take the stairs down to the research room when they heard another knock at the door.

"What is it with all the knocking?" Jonas muttered, a hint of frustration in his voice. Jerry quickly turned to the door.

He was behind all of them, still feeling a bit frazzled, he went to open it, hoping to see more friends for the mission. But instead, he was surprised to see his cousins; Lily and Zilia, standing on the porch.

Lily, a dark-skin teen was beaming, her curly brown hair bouncing as she waved excitedly. Zilia stood next to her, arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"Surprise!" Lily exclaimed. A wide smile spread across Jonas's face as he saw Lily and Zilia standing on the porch. Without hesitation, he rushed forward and swept them both into a warm embrace.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're here!" he exclaimed, squeezing them both tightly.

Lily laughed as she hugged him back, while Zilia smirked and patted him on the back. Lily's face was full of excitement, while Zilia's at the other hand, her expression were more subdued.

Mike leaned in close to Jerry, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Are those your relatives? Or some part of the crew?" he asked, with a look of surprise on his face.

"Yep," Jerry whispered back. "Those are my cousins, Lily and Zilia. They live a few towns over."

"Wow! Damn. She's so beautiful." mike exclaimed silently as he glanced lustfully at one of them.

"What?" Jerry asked, staring at mike, who was now pretending not to have said anything.

Lily was a petite woman of nineteen, with curly brown hair and a warm smile. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

While Zilia was tall and thin, with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was a few years older than Lily, and her appearance was more reserved, but she still gave off an air of confidence and grace.

Jonas released his cousins from the hug, he gestured for them to come inside, the rain seems to have stopped, it was just drizzling now.

"Come in," he said, smiling. "We've got a lot to catch up on."

Lily and Zilia followed him into the house, marveling at the grandeurs.

Then Jonas opened the door letting his cousins in, he motioned for them to come inside.

"Alright, welcome to my home," he said, a warm smile plying on his face. "do well to make yourselves comfortable."

Lily and Zilia stepped inside the sitting room, looking around in awe at the grandeur of the house. They took a seat on the couch as Jonas settled into an armchair across from them.