MCSKSG, Three point one
Not all of chapter 3 and not even hitting a real scene break! But fight + more Seductionists coming up tomorrow. 2,163 words.
I had to call my mom again and let her know I was spending the night. The call went something like this:
"With you being in trouble at school right now, I don't think I should let you--"
"Mom, please, it's a Saturday night, you know exactly where he lives--"
"I'd like for you to be home."
"I really, really don't think I can make it home right now, Mom--"
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Are you sick? What happened?"
"No--no I'm fine! Just--just something happened that really freaked me out and I'm...too scared to walk home by myself."
"I could come pick you up--"
"Mom, just let me spend the night, please."
"Honey..."
"Pleeeease?"
And finally with a sigh she had relented, but requested to be handed over to one of Chris's parents so she could confirm that I was indeed staying at his house and this wasn't some elaborate teenage sitcom scheme to sneak away and cause trouble. The good thing about my mom is that if I beg or pout enough I'll eventually get whatever I'm asking for. It was one benefit to being an only child, the fact that the only real limit on what I could get away with was the same as the amount of dignity I was willing to sacrifice.
With my mother taken care of, all that was left was telling Chris what had transpired.
He seemed enraptured by it. "Dude, Lacy Greaves? Seriously?"
"Actually I'm a little more concerned about the wailing--"
"But dude come on, Lacy's pretty hot, you gotta admit--"
"The stairway's haunted?" Danny, whining from his bed. "Chris what if it comes to get us?"
"But dude, Lacy Greaves--"
"Chris, your brother is genuinely upset about this, maybe you should forget the part about Lacy for just a second."
"Dan," with a sigh he turned his head to look at his little brother, "the ghost isn't gonna come get you."
"But I'm scared!" He was curled up against his headboard, blanket wrapped tightly around himself, pouting in that special manner that upset eight-year-olds have mastered.
"Why don't you just go sleep with Mom and Dad?"
"They don't let me anymore!"
"If anything happens you got me an' G over here to protect you."
"...Yeah." But I was hesitant. I was just as scared as Danny was, but more fifteen-year-old scared about it and less whiny eight-year-old scared. "I'll--" I didn't want to sleep on the floor, because the dark emptiness under a bed can be pretty scary, and I didn't want to think about that tonight. "If you're really that scared, I'll sleep with you tonight, Danny."
"Really?" Danny has this way of giving you perfect puppy dog eyes. It's heartwrenching, but very disconcerting at the same time.
I would never, ever admit it, but if my mom had actually convinced me to come home, this was one of those nights I'd spend in her bed for the sake of security. If Danny needed me for security, I could use him for it too. There's something about just having somebody next to you that makes the threat of nightmares, darkness, or ghosts seem more distant. Maybe it's a strength in numbers kind of a feeling. I just knew that I didn't want to sleep alone tonight, and Danny would probably spend all night crying and/or whining if we tried to make him, so it was a nice solution to both problems. "Yeah, really."
He seemed so relieved to have this answer that, for a moment, it made me feel a little better about the whole situation.
* * *
I had dreams of Garm and locked doors and the feeling that I was running from something that I couldn't see and getting caught meant something worse than death but I could never run fast enough to escape it. I woke up terrified at an hour that was simultaneously too early to be up and too late to try to fall back asleep. I just lay on my back staring up at the ceiling, listening to Danny breathe next to me and thinking about Lacy and that feeling of cold absence when she'd left my side.
After breakfast I called Mom and asked if she could come pick me up, and then I waited for her to appear at the door. It was the middle of the morning, sure, but I'd rather have her there just in case anything decided to happen in the stairwell again.
I left with Mom and was very thankful for the uneventful trip down the stairs. I held her hand the whole way down and stayed close by her side, and this seemed to concern her because when we got to the car, she asked if I was alright. I told her that I was fine, just a little shook up by something I'd seen the night before.
"It reminded me of Payon," I said, which I didn't quite realize it had until I'd said it. Payon was an old city with a lot of ghosts. I'd never actually seen one there, but everyone talked about them. The cave was haunted, nobody lived near it but the archers, everyone was terrified of climbing the hill to it. When you're seven the last time you see a city famous for its ghosts, the ghost stories are the things that stick with you.
She told me that she understood, but there was nothing to be afraid of about ghosts, and she doubted Chris's apartments were haunted like Payon was haunted. I didn't bother to correct her; I didn't want to talk about it.
It did lead to a conversation about how much we both missed Payon sometimes, though. Despite the ghosts, it had been a nice city. I already know I want to move back there someday, I'm actually thinking of applying to Greenwood Lake University once I graduate high school. Whenever I mention this though, Mom just gives me a sad kind of smile and says, "That's wonderful, honey," so I didn't mention it today.
When we got home I went straight to my room and worked on finishing up my English paper for Wednesday.
For the five-hundred word essay on the WNC I wrote, "It isn't fair to make somebody write an essay on something that is a major stressful part of her life," and wrote my name at the top. If I was going to be in trouble for this, I decided, I was going to earn it, whether or not Mom's wrath would be invoked in the process. (For a girl.)
The next day at school I noticed that Lacy and Esperanza didn't seem to be talking to each other, which made me wonder if they'd gotten into a fight. The exchange with Lacy on Saturday made me wonder if it had been a fight about me, which was a very mind-boggling thing to consider. For the sake of my own mental health, I decided that it had to have been about something completely different and could not possibly have involved me. It just would have been too world-shattering a reality to consider.
After school was the parent-teacher conference with Miss Jones. Mom seemed kind of annoyed about it, because, she'd said, she had to miss a business meeting to be here. That kind of worked out for me because she projected that annoyance at Miss Jones. Every argument Miss Jones tried to make against me, Mom took my side on, and the conference eventually ended in Mom telling her to find better things to do with her teaching career than pick on students for standing up for what they think is right.
Of course, the minute we were in the car, she said, "I can't believe you did that."
"Huh?"
"Turned in a paper like that. You made a dangerous enemy, Guido."
"E-enemy?" It was just an angry English teacher and one thrown away assignment...
"I know how these things work. You questioned her authority, now she's going to power struggle with you to prove she's boss."
I didn't know what to say. I just stared out the window at the buildings rushing by.
"I don't want to see you throw away your grade, Guido, and if you engage any teacher in a power struggle, that is what will happen. It's the only method they have to control you, they will use it."
"Mom, I'm not--"
"It might feel like losing, but if you don't give her any reason to dock you on anything, you're really using the system against her to win."
"It's not--it isn't a turf war, Mom."
"Oh, but it is. Turf wars are my expertise, honey, I know what I'm talking about."
I sighed and remained silent, hoping the subject would drop. Thankfully it did, and the rest of the ride home was spent in a thoughtful silence.
* * *
There's a tree right outside my window and sometimes I like to sit out in the branches and contemplate the mysteries of the universe. I know, more racial stereotypes, but the solitude is nice and it really helps me think. There might be a reason cats like to hang out in trees, I think they've really got something there.
Today it was at dusk that I pulled open my window and reached for the branch that I use to get to my usual spot. There were a few things in my life that needed some deep contemplation right now and it was as good a time as any to just sit down and think about them.
It was still warm out, but, as tends to happen near nightfall, the temperature was starting to drop off so I'd replaced my usual vest with a coat before heading out onto the branch. The boots had turned out more comfortable than I'd anticipated when I'd first been handed them, and so I was wearing those as well.
"Guido."
I think I squeaked. It's not a proud noise, but it is a very dismayed noise, and one that accurately displayed my surprise at being startled. It would have been something a little more manly sounding than a squeak, except I was so startled by the sudden calling of my name that I almost slipped out of the tree and just barely managed to catch myself. If you've ever seen a cat hanging from a limb by just its front paws, that would be a fairly accurate image of where I ended up.
"You could pick a better time!" A quick glance downward revealed him, the guy, the guy in the tux, standing in the shadows of the yard below. I decided to ignore him while I worked on pulling myself up.
"There's no time, you're needed."
Stomach over the branch now, I looked back down at him again. "Could you give me a second, please?"
"You have a job to do."
"Trying not to fall to my death, could you let me concentrate on that for just a minute?" I managed to get a leg over the branch and he remained thankfully silent while I situated myself. I turned and sat facing him, legs hanging off the same side of the branch instead of straddling, using my tail to stay balanced. I stared down at him, wondering again, why me? "Yes?"
"Quite finished then?"
"What do you want?"
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to interrupt." I just glared down at him. He cleared his throat and pointed down the street. "Your services are required down by Sutter and Mission Street."
I sighed. "A Kafra?"
"They are the enemy."
"Fine, whatever, just lemme climb down--"
"You can jump."
I froze in the middle of beginning to crawl along the branch. "What?"
"Transform, you can jump."
"...Seriously?"
"Yes, just do it." He seemed exasperated.
"Like...how far can I jump?"
"About three stories, she's causing a bit of property damage, you could hurry up a bit."
The prospect of being able to jump three stories was pretty exciting, actually, but I was wary of trying to do it here and now. "Can you do it too?"
"Just jump."
"Like seriously? You're not just yanking my tail?"
"I don't want you to die, Cowboy, I just want you down here so you can do your job."
"You know what I'm gonna just climb." I could try the jumping thing when I wasn't already two stories off the ground. I could hear him sigh, but my mother is fond of saying better safe than sorry, and I do think those are words to live by. I continued crawling along the branch and made my way down the trunk. I managed to be fairly quick about it, at least, because after spending the majority of your childhood in Payon, you learn how to climb a tree or two.
I had to call my mom again and let her know I was spending the night. The call went something like this:
"With you being in trouble at school right now, I don't think I should let you--"
"Mom, please, it's a Saturday night, you know exactly where he lives--"
"I'd like for you to be home."
"I really, really don't think I can make it home right now, Mom--"
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Are you sick? What happened?"
"No--no I'm fine! Just--just something happened that really freaked me out and I'm...too scared to walk home by myself."
"I could come pick you up--"
"Mom, just let me spend the night, please."
"Honey..."
"Pleeeease?"
And finally with a sigh she had relented, but requested to be handed over to one of Chris's parents so she could confirm that I was indeed staying at his house and this wasn't some elaborate teenage sitcom scheme to sneak away and cause trouble. The good thing about my mom is that if I beg or pout enough I'll eventually get whatever I'm asking for. It was one benefit to being an only child, the fact that the only real limit on what I could get away with was the same as the amount of dignity I was willing to sacrifice.
With my mother taken care of, all that was left was telling Chris what had transpired.
He seemed enraptured by it. "Dude, Lacy Greaves? Seriously?"
"Actually I'm a little more concerned about the wailing--"
"But dude come on, Lacy's pretty hot, you gotta admit--"
"The stairway's haunted?" Danny, whining from his bed. "Chris what if it comes to get us?"
"But dude, Lacy Greaves--"
"Chris, your brother is genuinely upset about this, maybe you should forget the part about Lacy for just a second."
"Dan," with a sigh he turned his head to look at his little brother, "the ghost isn't gonna come get you."
"But I'm scared!" He was curled up against his headboard, blanket wrapped tightly around himself, pouting in that special manner that upset eight-year-olds have mastered.
"Why don't you just go sleep with Mom and Dad?"
"They don't let me anymore!"
"If anything happens you got me an' G over here to protect you."
"...Yeah." But I was hesitant. I was just as scared as Danny was, but more fifteen-year-old scared about it and less whiny eight-year-old scared. "I'll--" I didn't want to sleep on the floor, because the dark emptiness under a bed can be pretty scary, and I didn't want to think about that tonight. "If you're really that scared, I'll sleep with you tonight, Danny."
"Really?" Danny has this way of giving you perfect puppy dog eyes. It's heartwrenching, but very disconcerting at the same time.
I would never, ever admit it, but if my mom had actually convinced me to come home, this was one of those nights I'd spend in her bed for the sake of security. If Danny needed me for security, I could use him for it too. There's something about just having somebody next to you that makes the threat of nightmares, darkness, or ghosts seem more distant. Maybe it's a strength in numbers kind of a feeling. I just knew that I didn't want to sleep alone tonight, and Danny would probably spend all night crying and/or whining if we tried to make him, so it was a nice solution to both problems. "Yeah, really."
He seemed so relieved to have this answer that, for a moment, it made me feel a little better about the whole situation.
* * *
I had dreams of Garm and locked doors and the feeling that I was running from something that I couldn't see and getting caught meant something worse than death but I could never run fast enough to escape it. I woke up terrified at an hour that was simultaneously too early to be up and too late to try to fall back asleep. I just lay on my back staring up at the ceiling, listening to Danny breathe next to me and thinking about Lacy and that feeling of cold absence when she'd left my side.
After breakfast I called Mom and asked if she could come pick me up, and then I waited for her to appear at the door. It was the middle of the morning, sure, but I'd rather have her there just in case anything decided to happen in the stairwell again.
I left with Mom and was very thankful for the uneventful trip down the stairs. I held her hand the whole way down and stayed close by her side, and this seemed to concern her because when we got to the car, she asked if I was alright. I told her that I was fine, just a little shook up by something I'd seen the night before.
"It reminded me of Payon," I said, which I didn't quite realize it had until I'd said it. Payon was an old city with a lot of ghosts. I'd never actually seen one there, but everyone talked about them. The cave was haunted, nobody lived near it but the archers, everyone was terrified of climbing the hill to it. When you're seven the last time you see a city famous for its ghosts, the ghost stories are the things that stick with you.
She told me that she understood, but there was nothing to be afraid of about ghosts, and she doubted Chris's apartments were haunted like Payon was haunted. I didn't bother to correct her; I didn't want to talk about it.
It did lead to a conversation about how much we both missed Payon sometimes, though. Despite the ghosts, it had been a nice city. I already know I want to move back there someday, I'm actually thinking of applying to Greenwood Lake University once I graduate high school. Whenever I mention this though, Mom just gives me a sad kind of smile and says, "That's wonderful, honey," so I didn't mention it today.
When we got home I went straight to my room and worked on finishing up my English paper for Wednesday.
For the five-hundred word essay on the WNC I wrote, "It isn't fair to make somebody write an essay on something that is a major stressful part of her life," and wrote my name at the top. If I was going to be in trouble for this, I decided, I was going to earn it, whether or not Mom's wrath would be invoked in the process. (For a girl.)
The next day at school I noticed that Lacy and Esperanza didn't seem to be talking to each other, which made me wonder if they'd gotten into a fight. The exchange with Lacy on Saturday made me wonder if it had been a fight about me, which was a very mind-boggling thing to consider. For the sake of my own mental health, I decided that it had to have been about something completely different and could not possibly have involved me. It just would have been too world-shattering a reality to consider.
After school was the parent-teacher conference with Miss Jones. Mom seemed kind of annoyed about it, because, she'd said, she had to miss a business meeting to be here. That kind of worked out for me because she projected that annoyance at Miss Jones. Every argument Miss Jones tried to make against me, Mom took my side on, and the conference eventually ended in Mom telling her to find better things to do with her teaching career than pick on students for standing up for what they think is right.
Of course, the minute we were in the car, she said, "I can't believe you did that."
"Huh?"
"Turned in a paper like that. You made a dangerous enemy, Guido."
"E-enemy?" It was just an angry English teacher and one thrown away assignment...
"I know how these things work. You questioned her authority, now she's going to power struggle with you to prove she's boss."
I didn't know what to say. I just stared out the window at the buildings rushing by.
"I don't want to see you throw away your grade, Guido, and if you engage any teacher in a power struggle, that is what will happen. It's the only method they have to control you, they will use it."
"Mom, I'm not--"
"It might feel like losing, but if you don't give her any reason to dock you on anything, you're really using the system against her to win."
"It's not--it isn't a turf war, Mom."
"Oh, but it is. Turf wars are my expertise, honey, I know what I'm talking about."
I sighed and remained silent, hoping the subject would drop. Thankfully it did, and the rest of the ride home was spent in a thoughtful silence.
* * *
There's a tree right outside my window and sometimes I like to sit out in the branches and contemplate the mysteries of the universe. I know, more racial stereotypes, but the solitude is nice and it really helps me think. There might be a reason cats like to hang out in trees, I think they've really got something there.
Today it was at dusk that I pulled open my window and reached for the branch that I use to get to my usual spot. There were a few things in my life that needed some deep contemplation right now and it was as good a time as any to just sit down and think about them.
It was still warm out, but, as tends to happen near nightfall, the temperature was starting to drop off so I'd replaced my usual vest with a coat before heading out onto the branch. The boots had turned out more comfortable than I'd anticipated when I'd first been handed them, and so I was wearing those as well.
"Guido."
I think I squeaked. It's not a proud noise, but it is a very dismayed noise, and one that accurately displayed my surprise at being startled. It would have been something a little more manly sounding than a squeak, except I was so startled by the sudden calling of my name that I almost slipped out of the tree and just barely managed to catch myself. If you've ever seen a cat hanging from a limb by just its front paws, that would be a fairly accurate image of where I ended up.
"You could pick a better time!" A quick glance downward revealed him, the guy, the guy in the tux, standing in the shadows of the yard below. I decided to ignore him while I worked on pulling myself up.
"There's no time, you're needed."
Stomach over the branch now, I looked back down at him again. "Could you give me a second, please?"
"You have a job to do."
"Trying not to fall to my death, could you let me concentrate on that for just a minute?" I managed to get a leg over the branch and he remained thankfully silent while I situated myself. I turned and sat facing him, legs hanging off the same side of the branch instead of straddling, using my tail to stay balanced. I stared down at him, wondering again, why me? "Yes?"
"Quite finished then?"
"What do you want?"
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to interrupt." I just glared down at him. He cleared his throat and pointed down the street. "Your services are required down by Sutter and Mission Street."
I sighed. "A Kafra?"
"They are the enemy."
"Fine, whatever, just lemme climb down--"
"You can jump."
I froze in the middle of beginning to crawl along the branch. "What?"
"Transform, you can jump."
"...Seriously?"
"Yes, just do it." He seemed exasperated.
"Like...how far can I jump?"
"About three stories, she's causing a bit of property damage, you could hurry up a bit."
The prospect of being able to jump three stories was pretty exciting, actually, but I was wary of trying to do it here and now. "Can you do it too?"
"Just jump."
"Like seriously? You're not just yanking my tail?"
"I don't want you to die, Cowboy, I just want you down here so you can do your job."
"You know what I'm gonna just climb." I could try the jumping thing when I wasn't already two stories off the ground. I could hear him sigh, but my mother is fond of saying better safe than sorry, and I do think those are words to live by. I continued crawling along the branch and made my way down the trunk. I managed to be fairly quick about it, at least, because after spending the majority of your childhood in Payon, you learn how to climb a tree or two.