MCSKSG Seven point one
Sorry about missing yesterday's update, I was super burnt out.
Chapter 7 begin. 2,951 words.
Wednesday was not a fun time for me. I woke up feeling like a train wreck and barely made it down the stairs for breakfast. When Mom saw me, instead of a good morning I got a, "Oh honey, you look terrible." Which was okay, because honestly, I felt pretty terrible. She insisted that I stay home, which I protested (albeit rather weakly), and so I ended up spending the day wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, drifting in and out of sleep.
The weather had shifted suddenly back to its usual pattern for late February, which meant freezing cold in Prontera. I kind of missed the temperate winters down south in Payon. I guess the dragon had been behind the weather then, and when Mary Contrary had killed it we'd lost the unseasonable warmth that everyone had been panicking about. I missed it already; I probably wouldn't be so sick today if it were still warm out. Some combination of the cold and the wet had done it, I was sure, and that made me really hate this Seductionist job. Sure I got to miss school, but I had the added bonus of being completely miserable while doing it. I should have accepted Mom's offer to skip on Monday just so I could have had one day off where I didn't feel like I was dying.
On the plus side, it did mean getting to watch the morning news with Mom. Don't knock it, we sort of bond over the morning news on weekends. They talked about the broken water main in the square, the ice, and of course somebody had to come on and blame it all on Mary Contrary. She seemed to be the city's scapegoat; anything that went wrong was automatically her fault.
Mom had to leave a couple of hours after lunch; she woke me up to tell me, "Rudy's in trouble, I need to go bail him out. If anything happens, call Para at the school, okay?" I just mumbled an affirmative and closed my eyes again only to wake up two hours later when the phone rang. Mom had left it on the coffee table for me, thankfully, so I didn't have to get up to answer it. "Hello?" It came out barely a whisper.
I expected it to be Mom checking up on me, so I was a little surprised to hear Lydia's voice on the other side. "Uh, Guido?"
"Yeah." Right. She'd said she'd call today. I remembered that.
"Whoa, dude, you sound terrible."
"Sorry."
"You sick?"
"Yeah."
"Ouch. I'm not feeling so hot myself, but you sound like you're dying. You gonna make it?"
"Yeah." I was barely following what she was saying. I was a little too dizzy to deal with her today.
"Anyway so I guess it turns out they had the dragon on the weather so dress warm again."
"Yeah." I'd sort of noticed.
"Yeah."
"Mm."
"Boring today!"
"I'm sick."
"Whatever whatever kitten! Fine, I'll let you go. Get well soon."
"Thanks." I hung up without waiting for her good-bye and fell right back asleep three seconds later. I vaguely recall Mom coming back sometime that night and waking me up for dinner, which consisted of chicken noodle soup, but after that it was just sort of one big fuzzy blur until Saturday morning when I finally woke up without feeling half-dead.
I called Chris that afternoon to ask if he had the homework for me and he said he'd just come over to work on it with me. Chris isn't exactly the best studying companion, but it was better than nothing.
"Man you sound terrible," was the first thing he said to me when I greeted him at the door. I just rolled my eyes and led him up to my room. My voice is always the first thing to go when I get sick and the last thing to come back, he should have been used to that by now. I got sick at least once a winter, twice this year, so it wasn't like he hadn't heard me lose my voice before.
We laid our books out on my floor and he listed off my missed assignments. I was a little impressed because he'd actually gone to the teachers we didn't have in common to get my work for those classes. I was informed that, "Yeah, your mom called on Thursday and asked me to do it for you." I'd have to remember to thank her for that, then.
Once I had the assignments written down, he said, "Man so many folks were absent last three days."
"Mm?" It was my mission to say as little as possible until my voice stopped fading out halfway through a sentence.
"Yeah, guess the sudden temperature drop hit a lot of people pretty hard. Esperanza missed all three days, Orion Black was out Thursday, along with his buddy Justin. Even Kevin Penney was out on Wednesday and you know that geek never misses a class."
"Wow." I didn't know if I was more impressed by the rampant absences, or by the fact that Chris had made it his business to notice and remember them all.
"And Miss jones is still on about the WNC so you didn't miss anything there. I dunno about your crazy smart kid math but I didn't understand a word your teacher said except page and problem numbers, and Miss K started the unit on the settling of Comodo."
"You'll be in algebra two next year."
"Huh?"
I pointed at him, tapped the cover of my algebra II book, and repeated, "Next year."
"Nooo way, bro!" He leaned back, crossing his arms in front of him. "I'm taking statistics, screw algebra two. Geometry is hard enough."
I shrugged. It was his funeral when he went applying for colleges in two years. I flipped open my math book and started in on the first set of problems. He fell silent too, working out of his own geometry book.
Oh, right. I finally managed to remember when he was in my vicinity. "I met Lydia Steele."
I glanced up when he slammed his pencil down on his book. "What?" He stared incredulously back at me.
"I met Lydia Steele."
"Steele Blue Lydia Steele? Are you for real? You can't be serious!"
I nodded.
"No way dude, dude, no way, fucking prove it."
I sighed, because the only way I could think of to prove it was by calling her, and my voice was not cut out for that today. Not to mention I didn't really want to talk to her, ever. "I have her number."
"Her what? Her phone number? No way, you're lying." I shook my head. "Prove it, dude. Prove it. I bet ten zeny you're yanking my chain."
...Hmm, ten zeny in exchange for a phone call. I could handle that. I stood and walked over to my desk, where I kept my phone sitting in the corner. I dug Lydia's number out of the various papers on my desk and dialed.
Chris jumped up to stand beside me, leaning toward the receiver so he could hear the voice on the other line. The person who picked up wasn't Lydia, though. "Hello?"
"Is Lydia there?"
"Huh? Uhhh, yeah...who's this?"
"Guido."
"Guido?"
"Yeah."
There was a silence, some muffled scuffling, and then Lydia's bubbly cheerful voice replaced the unfamiliar one. "Guido! Hey kitten what's up? Feeling better?"
Chris's jaw dropped. I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. A lot."
"Oh wow you still sound horrible. Lost your voice, huh?"
"Every time I get sick."
"Sucks, I'd hate if that happened to me." Well she talked so much, I could see how it would be a travesty for her. "Hey uh you're pretty smart, what rhymes with orange?"
"...Nothing."
"There's gotta be something!"
Chris snatched the phone from me suddenly. "Courage!"
I could just barely hear her reply, "Uhh it's a half-rhyme but I guess. Who--"
I took the phone back. "Chris. My friend, Chris."
"Oh."
Chris looked at me like his entire life was hanging off the edge of a cliff by a very thin thread, and I was the one holding on to it. "He's totally in love with you, owns like five copies of your album. It's kind of creepy actually, he borders on stalker."
Yeah. I just let go of that thread. It felt good. I just smiled back at his fallen expression, covered the receiver with one hand, and said, "Be careful what you say to Esperanza next time."
He shoved me away and snatched the phone again. I almost fell but caught myself against the desk; I was too busy laughing at him to really care anyway.
"I'm not really, he's just being a dick because of something I said to a girl he likes--I'm a big fan but I'm not--not a stalker, I mean, I'm--uh...oh, Chris, Christian--McBride, Christian McBride." He fell silent, listening to whatever she was saying.
They were perfect for each other, really. Never shut up, endlessly obnoxious. With my luck they'd hit it off and double-team me for the rest of my life. It was still funny to hear him flounder like that, though. In front of Lydia of all people.
After a few more lines were exchanged, he silently handed the phone back to me, looking wide-eyed and reverant.
"Hey?"
"Ha ha man you are a dick, that was pretty funny." I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything. "Next time I see you I'll bring an autograph for your friend, okay? Don't tell him."
"Mmhmm." I glanced up at him; he looked like he'd just seen an angel fly by.
"Alright, catch you later kitten!" She hung up.
I hung up too and then held a hand out to Chris. He snapped out of his reverie, looked down at it, looked up at me, and then with a sigh he pulled out his wallet to dig through it and hand me a ten zeny bill.
"I still don't believe it. How the hell do you--you--not only meet Lydia Steele, but get her number?"
"It's the boots."
"The what?"
"The boots."
"Man, I gotta get me some."
"The next time you make me look bad in front of Esperanza," I pointed at the phone meaningfully and trailed off there, though that was mostly because the next words just didn't come through at all. I coughed, covering my mouth with my sleeve, and pulled open my desk drawer to dig through it for some Ricola.
"Man I hate you so fucking much right now."
"Take it. I want my voice back."
"No for Lydia, you dick! Keep your damn cold!"
"She's just a person, Chris, she has a life and friends just like you do."
"Man I did not understand a word of that."
"Mm." I just walked back over to the algebra II book and sat down to resume my math homework.
* * *
My voice still wasn't completely back by Monday, which was really annoying because it was apparently the day every teacher in the school chose to call on me for answers. I had a lifetime supply of Ricola in my backpack and it still wasn't helping except with the cough that persisted after the rest of my symptoms had since vanished.
Monday was an amazing circumstance, though. While I was sitting at the lunch table with Chris, Esperanza and Lacy came over and sat next to us. I nearly choked on my sandwich when they just walked over and sat down.
"Whoa, you okay?" came that angel's voice from across the table.
I nodded, avoiding eye contact with Esperanza. She was sitting next to Chris, and Lacy had taken the spot beside me. Esperanza's voice wasn't going out, even though she'd missed all the same days I had. That wasn't fair at all.
"What's up?" Chris asked, flashing a grin. "No room at your usual table?"
"Just felt like sitting with the hero today."
"I'm not--" My voice faded out before I could finish. I glanced up at Lacy; she looked a little embarrassed.
"What?" Esperanza leaned forward, cocking her head at me. I tried not to stare at her chest, but that left my eyes on her face, which was also distracting, so I ended up just looking down at the table instead.
"I'm not a hero," but I mumbled it and I don't think any of it came out sounding like it should have.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, speak up, G."
Funny. I glared at Chris.
"Did you lose your voice?" Esperanza asked. I just nodded. "Oh, suck. Hope it comes back soon."
"Thanks." Oh man why did she have to come sit here today of all days? So awkward, I couldn't think of anything to say. Even if I could think of something, I couldn't say it.
"Lots of people got sick last week." My eyes flickered back over to Lacy. "Weird how the weather just dropped like that, huh?"
"Yeah, seriously. What was up with that, huh?" Esperanza quickly agreed. "Weather, huh?"
Dragon controlling the weather. That was crazy. What was Kafra up to anyway? Why the weather? Where the hell had they gotten a dragon to do it for them and how had they convinced it? ... Why was Esperanza looking at me like that? I stared back at her, confused, lost, wanting to say something but not wanting to open my mouth to say it.
She chuckled lightly. "Sorry it's just... I mean, you're really pretty. I'm seriously having a hard time believing you're a boy."
"...Mm." Depressing. I should have let the dragon kill me just to spare me from that comment. It was preferrable.
"No, really. You've even got that movie star beauty mark thing going on." She touched her finger to the matching spot on her own face, below the far corner of her left eye.
I self-consciously combed my fingers through my hair, pulling my bangs back down over my eye where they usually hung. Nobody ever commented on that because it was usually hidden under my hair. I preferred it that way.
"His mom's got one too, same spot," Chris said.
"Really? So's Miss K! Only hers is like..." She moved her finger down, pointing now to the corner of her mouth on the same side.
"His mom's dating Miss K, so it works out. Matching birthmarks for everyone!"
"Chris!" It wasn't nearly as threatening as it usually was, and considering how non-threatening the norm is, that was saying a lot.
I heard Lacy giggling lightly beside me, but Esperanza was just staring at me.
"No way. Your mom's lez?"
Chris, why? Why do you do these things to me? Discussing my mother's sex life is my least favourite thing in the world. "Bi. She's--she's bi."
"So what's your dad think of it?"
"She's--they're not--not married..." At least I could blame my voice cracking on being sick this time. I was wrong, talking about my mother's relationship with my father was my least favourite thing.
"Really? Never? Did he just like ditch you guys, deadbeat dad?"
"Can--I don't--can we talk about something else?" The really jacked up thing about losing your voice is that it kind of makes you sound like you're trying not to cry whenever you try to talk. I think that might have worked for me here, because Esperanza fell silent.
She leaned back, raising an eyebrow at me. I shrank back, staring down at the table. It was just a really uncomfortable topic for me, moreso in present company. Dad wasn't a deadbeat, but it was really hard to explain our situation if you weren't already familiar with it. Harder without a voice.
"Uh, anyway." Chris to the rescue. "Who do you think would win in a fight? Dark Lord, or Lord of Death?" Or not.
Esperanza raised her eyebrows at him, remaining silent.
"Dark Lord, totally," Lacy said.
"Man, you're crazy! You and G both!" Chris threw his hands up. "Lord of Death would totally kick Dark Lord's ass! Are you kidding me? Kids these days!"
"I'm older than you." Lacy and I both said it at the same time. We glanced at each other; she glanced away, laughing.
"By like, two months, Guido! So whatever!" Chris shot back.
"When's your birthday?" Lacy asked me.
"April first."
The response Esperanza gave was the one I was waiting for. It was the one I always got. "April Fool's Day? For real? That's gotta suck." I just shrugged. "Do people ever like give you stuff and then be all 'April Fool's!' and take it back?"
I shook my head. People usually did actually manage to take my birthday pretty seriously, considering. Unless those people were Chris, who could never take anything seriously; he had a habit of telling me, "Happy birthday! April Fool's! No wait really happy birthday--not!" It got really annoying really fast.
"Wow, that's way crazy though. April first. I'd hate that, my dad would have a field day with that one, he's a prankster like you wouldn't believe.
"Your dad's just plain crazy, Esper," Lacy said.
"My dad is a great man!" She slammed a hand down on the table, pointing threateningly at Lacy. Chris and I both jumped.
"Great, but nuts."
"...Okay, he is a little nuts," she relented, sitting back.
Chris and I exchanged a glance. I was getting dejavu from their conversation. It sounded exactly like how an exchange between Chris and me would have played out. That was surreal. That was crazy.
Chapter 7 begin. 2,951 words.
Wednesday was not a fun time for me. I woke up feeling like a train wreck and barely made it down the stairs for breakfast. When Mom saw me, instead of a good morning I got a, "Oh honey, you look terrible." Which was okay, because honestly, I felt pretty terrible. She insisted that I stay home, which I protested (albeit rather weakly), and so I ended up spending the day wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, drifting in and out of sleep.
The weather had shifted suddenly back to its usual pattern for late February, which meant freezing cold in Prontera. I kind of missed the temperate winters down south in Payon. I guess the dragon had been behind the weather then, and when Mary Contrary had killed it we'd lost the unseasonable warmth that everyone had been panicking about. I missed it already; I probably wouldn't be so sick today if it were still warm out. Some combination of the cold and the wet had done it, I was sure, and that made me really hate this Seductionist job. Sure I got to miss school, but I had the added bonus of being completely miserable while doing it. I should have accepted Mom's offer to skip on Monday just so I could have had one day off where I didn't feel like I was dying.
On the plus side, it did mean getting to watch the morning news with Mom. Don't knock it, we sort of bond over the morning news on weekends. They talked about the broken water main in the square, the ice, and of course somebody had to come on and blame it all on Mary Contrary. She seemed to be the city's scapegoat; anything that went wrong was automatically her fault.
Mom had to leave a couple of hours after lunch; she woke me up to tell me, "Rudy's in trouble, I need to go bail him out. If anything happens, call Para at the school, okay?" I just mumbled an affirmative and closed my eyes again only to wake up two hours later when the phone rang. Mom had left it on the coffee table for me, thankfully, so I didn't have to get up to answer it. "Hello?" It came out barely a whisper.
I expected it to be Mom checking up on me, so I was a little surprised to hear Lydia's voice on the other side. "Uh, Guido?"
"Yeah." Right. She'd said she'd call today. I remembered that.
"Whoa, dude, you sound terrible."
"Sorry."
"You sick?"
"Yeah."
"Ouch. I'm not feeling so hot myself, but you sound like you're dying. You gonna make it?"
"Yeah." I was barely following what she was saying. I was a little too dizzy to deal with her today.
"Anyway so I guess it turns out they had the dragon on the weather so dress warm again."
"Yeah." I'd sort of noticed.
"Yeah."
"Mm."
"Boring today!"
"I'm sick."
"Whatever whatever kitten! Fine, I'll let you go. Get well soon."
"Thanks." I hung up without waiting for her good-bye and fell right back asleep three seconds later. I vaguely recall Mom coming back sometime that night and waking me up for dinner, which consisted of chicken noodle soup, but after that it was just sort of one big fuzzy blur until Saturday morning when I finally woke up without feeling half-dead.
I called Chris that afternoon to ask if he had the homework for me and he said he'd just come over to work on it with me. Chris isn't exactly the best studying companion, but it was better than nothing.
"Man you sound terrible," was the first thing he said to me when I greeted him at the door. I just rolled my eyes and led him up to my room. My voice is always the first thing to go when I get sick and the last thing to come back, he should have been used to that by now. I got sick at least once a winter, twice this year, so it wasn't like he hadn't heard me lose my voice before.
We laid our books out on my floor and he listed off my missed assignments. I was a little impressed because he'd actually gone to the teachers we didn't have in common to get my work for those classes. I was informed that, "Yeah, your mom called on Thursday and asked me to do it for you." I'd have to remember to thank her for that, then.
Once I had the assignments written down, he said, "Man so many folks were absent last three days."
"Mm?" It was my mission to say as little as possible until my voice stopped fading out halfway through a sentence.
"Yeah, guess the sudden temperature drop hit a lot of people pretty hard. Esperanza missed all three days, Orion Black was out Thursday, along with his buddy Justin. Even Kevin Penney was out on Wednesday and you know that geek never misses a class."
"Wow." I didn't know if I was more impressed by the rampant absences, or by the fact that Chris had made it his business to notice and remember them all.
"And Miss jones is still on about the WNC so you didn't miss anything there. I dunno about your crazy smart kid math but I didn't understand a word your teacher said except page and problem numbers, and Miss K started the unit on the settling of Comodo."
"You'll be in algebra two next year."
"Huh?"
I pointed at him, tapped the cover of my algebra II book, and repeated, "Next year."
"Nooo way, bro!" He leaned back, crossing his arms in front of him. "I'm taking statistics, screw algebra two. Geometry is hard enough."
I shrugged. It was his funeral when he went applying for colleges in two years. I flipped open my math book and started in on the first set of problems. He fell silent too, working out of his own geometry book.
Oh, right. I finally managed to remember when he was in my vicinity. "I met Lydia Steele."
I glanced up when he slammed his pencil down on his book. "What?" He stared incredulously back at me.
"I met Lydia Steele."
"Steele Blue Lydia Steele? Are you for real? You can't be serious!"
I nodded.
"No way dude, dude, no way, fucking prove it."
I sighed, because the only way I could think of to prove it was by calling her, and my voice was not cut out for that today. Not to mention I didn't really want to talk to her, ever. "I have her number."
"Her what? Her phone number? No way, you're lying." I shook my head. "Prove it, dude. Prove it. I bet ten zeny you're yanking my chain."
...Hmm, ten zeny in exchange for a phone call. I could handle that. I stood and walked over to my desk, where I kept my phone sitting in the corner. I dug Lydia's number out of the various papers on my desk and dialed.
Chris jumped up to stand beside me, leaning toward the receiver so he could hear the voice on the other line. The person who picked up wasn't Lydia, though. "Hello?"
"Is Lydia there?"
"Huh? Uhhh, yeah...who's this?"
"Guido."
"Guido?"
"Yeah."
There was a silence, some muffled scuffling, and then Lydia's bubbly cheerful voice replaced the unfamiliar one. "Guido! Hey kitten what's up? Feeling better?"
Chris's jaw dropped. I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. A lot."
"Oh wow you still sound horrible. Lost your voice, huh?"
"Every time I get sick."
"Sucks, I'd hate if that happened to me." Well she talked so much, I could see how it would be a travesty for her. "Hey uh you're pretty smart, what rhymes with orange?"
"...Nothing."
"There's gotta be something!"
Chris snatched the phone from me suddenly. "Courage!"
I could just barely hear her reply, "Uhh it's a half-rhyme but I guess. Who--"
I took the phone back. "Chris. My friend, Chris."
"Oh."
Chris looked at me like his entire life was hanging off the edge of a cliff by a very thin thread, and I was the one holding on to it. "He's totally in love with you, owns like five copies of your album. It's kind of creepy actually, he borders on stalker."
Yeah. I just let go of that thread. It felt good. I just smiled back at his fallen expression, covered the receiver with one hand, and said, "Be careful what you say to Esperanza next time."
He shoved me away and snatched the phone again. I almost fell but caught myself against the desk; I was too busy laughing at him to really care anyway.
"I'm not really, he's just being a dick because of something I said to a girl he likes--I'm a big fan but I'm not--not a stalker, I mean, I'm--uh...oh, Chris, Christian--McBride, Christian McBride." He fell silent, listening to whatever she was saying.
They were perfect for each other, really. Never shut up, endlessly obnoxious. With my luck they'd hit it off and double-team me for the rest of my life. It was still funny to hear him flounder like that, though. In front of Lydia of all people.
After a few more lines were exchanged, he silently handed the phone back to me, looking wide-eyed and reverant.
"Hey?"
"Ha ha man you are a dick, that was pretty funny." I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything. "Next time I see you I'll bring an autograph for your friend, okay? Don't tell him."
"Mmhmm." I glanced up at him; he looked like he'd just seen an angel fly by.
"Alright, catch you later kitten!" She hung up.
I hung up too and then held a hand out to Chris. He snapped out of his reverie, looked down at it, looked up at me, and then with a sigh he pulled out his wallet to dig through it and hand me a ten zeny bill.
"I still don't believe it. How the hell do you--you--not only meet Lydia Steele, but get her number?"
"It's the boots."
"The what?"
"The boots."
"Man, I gotta get me some."
"The next time you make me look bad in front of Esperanza," I pointed at the phone meaningfully and trailed off there, though that was mostly because the next words just didn't come through at all. I coughed, covering my mouth with my sleeve, and pulled open my desk drawer to dig through it for some Ricola.
"Man I hate you so fucking much right now."
"Take it. I want my voice back."
"No for Lydia, you dick! Keep your damn cold!"
"She's just a person, Chris, she has a life and friends just like you do."
"Man I did not understand a word of that."
"Mm." I just walked back over to the algebra II book and sat down to resume my math homework.
* * *
My voice still wasn't completely back by Monday, which was really annoying because it was apparently the day every teacher in the school chose to call on me for answers. I had a lifetime supply of Ricola in my backpack and it still wasn't helping except with the cough that persisted after the rest of my symptoms had since vanished.
Monday was an amazing circumstance, though. While I was sitting at the lunch table with Chris, Esperanza and Lacy came over and sat next to us. I nearly choked on my sandwich when they just walked over and sat down.
"Whoa, you okay?" came that angel's voice from across the table.
I nodded, avoiding eye contact with Esperanza. She was sitting next to Chris, and Lacy had taken the spot beside me. Esperanza's voice wasn't going out, even though she'd missed all the same days I had. That wasn't fair at all.
"What's up?" Chris asked, flashing a grin. "No room at your usual table?"
"Just felt like sitting with the hero today."
"I'm not--" My voice faded out before I could finish. I glanced up at Lacy; she looked a little embarrassed.
"What?" Esperanza leaned forward, cocking her head at me. I tried not to stare at her chest, but that left my eyes on her face, which was also distracting, so I ended up just looking down at the table instead.
"I'm not a hero," but I mumbled it and I don't think any of it came out sounding like it should have.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, speak up, G."
Funny. I glared at Chris.
"Did you lose your voice?" Esperanza asked. I just nodded. "Oh, suck. Hope it comes back soon."
"Thanks." Oh man why did she have to come sit here today of all days? So awkward, I couldn't think of anything to say. Even if I could think of something, I couldn't say it.
"Lots of people got sick last week." My eyes flickered back over to Lacy. "Weird how the weather just dropped like that, huh?"
"Yeah, seriously. What was up with that, huh?" Esperanza quickly agreed. "Weather, huh?"
Dragon controlling the weather. That was crazy. What was Kafra up to anyway? Why the weather? Where the hell had they gotten a dragon to do it for them and how had they convinced it? ... Why was Esperanza looking at me like that? I stared back at her, confused, lost, wanting to say something but not wanting to open my mouth to say it.
She chuckled lightly. "Sorry it's just... I mean, you're really pretty. I'm seriously having a hard time believing you're a boy."
"...Mm." Depressing. I should have let the dragon kill me just to spare me from that comment. It was preferrable.
"No, really. You've even got that movie star beauty mark thing going on." She touched her finger to the matching spot on her own face, below the far corner of her left eye.
I self-consciously combed my fingers through my hair, pulling my bangs back down over my eye where they usually hung. Nobody ever commented on that because it was usually hidden under my hair. I preferred it that way.
"His mom's got one too, same spot," Chris said.
"Really? So's Miss K! Only hers is like..." She moved her finger down, pointing now to the corner of her mouth on the same side.
"His mom's dating Miss K, so it works out. Matching birthmarks for everyone!"
"Chris!" It wasn't nearly as threatening as it usually was, and considering how non-threatening the norm is, that was saying a lot.
I heard Lacy giggling lightly beside me, but Esperanza was just staring at me.
"No way. Your mom's lez?"
Chris, why? Why do you do these things to me? Discussing my mother's sex life is my least favourite thing in the world. "Bi. She's--she's bi."
"So what's your dad think of it?"
"She's--they're not--not married..." At least I could blame my voice cracking on being sick this time. I was wrong, talking about my mother's relationship with my father was my least favourite thing.
"Really? Never? Did he just like ditch you guys, deadbeat dad?"
"Can--I don't--can we talk about something else?" The really jacked up thing about losing your voice is that it kind of makes you sound like you're trying not to cry whenever you try to talk. I think that might have worked for me here, because Esperanza fell silent.
She leaned back, raising an eyebrow at me. I shrank back, staring down at the table. It was just a really uncomfortable topic for me, moreso in present company. Dad wasn't a deadbeat, but it was really hard to explain our situation if you weren't already familiar with it. Harder without a voice.
"Uh, anyway." Chris to the rescue. "Who do you think would win in a fight? Dark Lord, or Lord of Death?" Or not.
Esperanza raised her eyebrows at him, remaining silent.
"Dark Lord, totally," Lacy said.
"Man, you're crazy! You and G both!" Chris threw his hands up. "Lord of Death would totally kick Dark Lord's ass! Are you kidding me? Kids these days!"
"I'm older than you." Lacy and I both said it at the same time. We glanced at each other; she glanced away, laughing.
"By like, two months, Guido! So whatever!" Chris shot back.
"When's your birthday?" Lacy asked me.
"April first."
The response Esperanza gave was the one I was waiting for. It was the one I always got. "April Fool's Day? For real? That's gotta suck." I just shrugged. "Do people ever like give you stuff and then be all 'April Fool's!' and take it back?"
I shook my head. People usually did actually manage to take my birthday pretty seriously, considering. Unless those people were Chris, who could never take anything seriously; he had a habit of telling me, "Happy birthday! April Fool's! No wait really happy birthday--not!" It got really annoying really fast.
"Wow, that's way crazy though. April first. I'd hate that, my dad would have a field day with that one, he's a prankster like you wouldn't believe.
"Your dad's just plain crazy, Esper," Lacy said.
"My dad is a great man!" She slammed a hand down on the table, pointing threateningly at Lacy. Chris and I both jumped.
"Great, but nuts."
"...Okay, he is a little nuts," she relented, sitting back.
Chris and I exchanged a glance. I was getting dejavu from their conversation. It sounded exactly like how an exchange between Chris and me would have played out. That was surreal. That was crazy.