Under Our Roof (3a/14)
anonymous
April 6 2010, 02:42:29 UTC
AN: Human names all shamelessly cribbed from other fills. Many thanks, assorted anons. Katya = Ukraine, Lukas = Netherlands, Miguel = Cuba.
Matthew
Alfred hangs out with the cool kids. I don’t. I don’t mind that. I especially didn’t mind when I couldn’t look at him without getting sick to my stomach.
Katya and Lukas were sitting at the lunch table with me. Katya and Lukas are my friends from drama class. They’re actors and I’m stage crew. Alfred is on the football team. Katya has short hair and teary eyes. Lukas has spiky hair and is too tall.
Lukas sat across from me, eating half of my sandwich. Next to me, Katya was struggling with a baby orange. She and I are both too anxious to have nails, so she had to give up and pass it to Lukas who laughed and teased us before easily peeling the skin off in one piece.
“Come on,” he complained as she tried to grab the fruit back. “No praise? That was awesome!”
“You’re amazing,” she said sarcastically, snatching the orange back. She tore it into thirds and offered one to me. I shook my head.
“What’s up with you?” Lukas said, taking the orange out of Katya’s hand.
I stared blankly. I don’t think that I could have told them if I wanted to, couldn’t vocalize the horrible thing, anymore than I could think beyond the bald, ugly picture of it, seared in my brain. Besides, I didn’t want to tell anyone. It was the sort of thing that could only exist in secret, like a horrible, poisonous thing living under an ancient rock.
I shook my head again. “Didn’t sleep well.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Katya said, maternal beyond her years. I was surprised she didn’t press the back of her hand to my forehead to take my temperature.
“Fine.”
“Don’t get us sick!” Lukas feigned horror and made a cross with his fingers. “I’m clean!” Katya laughed and I was glad that stopped her fussing.
“Alfred!”
I should have recognized that voice first, but I was too on edge. My heart pounded and burst out in a slightly louder voice than usual, “I'm Matthew!”
I turned to see Miguel blinking at me. “Oh. Stupid. Sorry.” He sat down beside Lukas, across from me. Miguel is in stage crew too. He has dark eyes and he keeps his hair in a ponytail and I can always smell smoke on his breath. He has something against my brother, something to do with Alfred being his usual innocently destructive self, I suppose.
Alfred is my twin. We look too alike for most people to tell us apart at first sight.
“Matthew’s depressed,” Lukas said obliviously tactless.
Miguel raised an eyebrow at me. “Really?”
“I’m fine.”
“Anyone have food?” Miguel said. I passed him the other half of my sandwich. I didn’t think that I could keep it down if I tried. The thought of Dad’s lips mashing onto Alfred’s made eating an impossibility.
Matthew
Alfred hangs out with the cool kids. I don’t. I don’t mind that. I especially didn’t mind when I couldn’t look at him without getting sick to my stomach.
Katya and Lukas were sitting at the lunch table with me. Katya and Lukas are my friends from drama class. They’re actors and I’m stage crew. Alfred is on the football team. Katya has short hair and teary eyes. Lukas has spiky hair and is too tall.
Lukas sat across from me, eating half of my sandwich. Next to me, Katya was struggling with a baby orange. She and I are both too anxious to have nails, so she had to give up and pass it to Lukas who laughed and teased us before easily peeling the skin off in one piece.
“Come on,” he complained as she tried to grab the fruit back. “No praise? That was awesome!”
“You’re amazing,” she said sarcastically, snatching the orange back. She tore it into thirds and offered one to me. I shook my head.
“What’s up with you?” Lukas said, taking the orange out of Katya’s hand.
I stared blankly. I don’t think that I could have told them if I wanted to, couldn’t vocalize the horrible thing, anymore than I could think beyond the bald, ugly picture of it, seared in my brain. Besides, I didn’t want to tell anyone. It was the sort of thing that could only exist in secret, like a horrible, poisonous thing living under an ancient rock.
I shook my head again. “Didn’t sleep well.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Katya said, maternal beyond her years. I was surprised she didn’t press the back of her hand to my forehead to take my temperature.
“Fine.”
“Don’t get us sick!” Lukas feigned horror and made a cross with his fingers. “I’m clean!” Katya laughed and I was glad that stopped her fussing.
“Alfred!”
I should have recognized that voice first, but I was too on edge. My heart pounded and burst out in a slightly louder voice than usual, “I'm Matthew!”
I turned to see Miguel blinking at me. “Oh. Stupid. Sorry.” He sat down beside Lukas, across from me. Miguel is in stage crew too. He has dark eyes and he keeps his hair in a ponytail and I can always smell smoke on his breath. He has something against my brother, something to do with Alfred being his usual innocently destructive self, I suppose.
Alfred is my twin. We look too alike for most people to tell us apart at first sight.
“Matthew’s depressed,” Lukas said obliviously tactless.
Miguel raised an eyebrow at me. “Really?”
“I’m fine.”
“Anyone have food?” Miguel said. I passed him the other half of my sandwich. I didn’t think that I could keep it down if I tried. The thought of Dad’s lips mashing onto Alfred’s made eating an impossibility.
The eyebrow rose again. “Don’t you want it?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“See,” Lukas pointed out. “On death’s door.”
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