Kerry left the cafe and walked into his room. Macy wasn't in his. Of course it was empty. Macy was probably out with Ryan or trying to get some girls to look at him. He fell face-down onto the bed, letting his arms flop down
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Patsy lingered in the doorway and knocked, announcing her arrival.
"Umm...hello. I just wanted to let you know that the Mall Rats aren't always like that. So quiet and akward. We really are friendly people..."
Really friendly people? Smooth, Patsy. Why was she being such a moron? All she wanted to do was set the record straight. The Mall Rats were nice people.
Kerry sat up quickly when he heard a familiar voice. Patsy.
"Huh? I know. Everyone just seems to have a lot on their mind." He nodded, one of those nods that seemed never-ending. He wiped his palms on his pants and continued nodding. What was his problem.
Patsy wondered why Kerry kept nodding. And nodding some more. Weird. He just must be tired, she thought. After all, he just got here today.
Patsy wondered how old Kerry was. He seemed to be about her age, a little older. And you didn't see many people with red hair. Well, no, you saw plenty of red hair. But Kerry has the kind of red hair that looked like a natural color. Patsy blinked. Why was she noticing his hair? His closeness to her in age? She just came to tell him something, and she'd told him, and yet she was still standing in his doorway. Patsy sighed, dismissing the thought. He was just a boy.
"So..." Patsy said, rocking back on her heels, "You like it here so far? I mean, the actual Mall. Too big? Too small?"
Kerry stood up slowly, slipping his hands into his pockets. He'd finally stopped nodding.
"Well, the Mall is a good place. I mean, I like it better where we were before, but I guess I have to get used to it here." He's just gone back 6 years. He being childish. Patsy was just a girl, just another human. So why did he feel like this??
"Um, how long have you been here? Did you come with anyone?" Did you come with anyone? What kind of a question was THAT.
Patsy sighed and made herself get a grip. She was just tired, obviously.
"I've been here a long time. I mean, I just got back a couple weeks ago, I...I the Chosen had me for a long time, and then I was scared to come back to the city. But, I moved here to the Mall when I was 10. I remember them throwing me a party for my 11th birthday. I came with Cloe, and Salene, and my brother Paul. We lived in the same part of the city, before. I was one of the very first Mall Rats."
Patsy smiled. She was relaxing, clearly. Although she was still confused as to why she had had to relax in the first place.
Kerry grinned. "Wow that's a really long time. How old are you now? 13? 14?"
She didn't even look 13 so why had he suggested it? He was making no sense and starting to get like Macy. He crossed his arms over his chest. This was awkward. He hated being in awkward situations.
He looked back at her. He hated awkward situations a lot.
How old was she? Patsy had to think. It wasn't a question that came up very often anymore. Patsy could barely even remember the month. "I'm almost 15." She came to that conclusion after a couple of minutes.
"And you?" She figured it was the perfect opportunity to ask.
"I just turned 16. I'm the oldest out of all my brothers and sisters. I guess that's how I became like their caretaker, I'm older, a bit wiser, and we're all close." Why was he rambling? She asked for his age, not his whole life story.
He pushed the hair away from his eyes and bit his lower lip before he could choke something out. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Did she have any brothers or sisters? Had she not just mentioned Paul? Not the brightest, this one.
"I...I..sort of. I had an older sister Penny, but she died with all the adults. Then there's my little brother Paul, a year younger. He used to live with us here. He ran away, years ago." Patsy looked down at her shoes and took a deep breath to keep from getting sad. It was a lot easier than it used to be, talking about Paul, but still not easy.
The smile immediately left Kerry's face when Patsy looked upset. He was so stupid! Hadn't she JUST told him that she had a brother? Without thinking, he hugged her. It was what he always did with his little sisters when they were sad and crying and he'd talk to them. His sisters....
He jumped back from Patsy. He didn't want to treat her like a sister. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring back any bad memories."
Patsy blinked. Why did he hug her? He barely knew her. She jumped back a little, but didn't leave. That was....weird.
"No, it's alright. Paul's a smart kid. He's deaf, so he was always smarted than the other kids, so he could keep up. I bet...I bet he's out there somewhere, fine." Patsy nodded, knowing that keeping up this charade of thinking he was alive somewhere was almost unhealthy. But she couldn't help it.
"What about yours? Your siblings, I mean. Where are they?"
A smile crept back onto his face as he thought of his little sister.
"I only have a little sister, Flower. We met Anna while we were hiding and the rest just became our family. I have no idea where they are now, but I think Macy is with Ryan. Tatty and Anna are always together, so they're somewhere around here." His smile grew as he talked about them. They were all so close because similar things had happened to them.
He looked down and gave a small laugh, his hair falling back into his eyes. "When she was younger, Flower used to look up to me, you know, as a father, because I taught her everything and took care of her. But then times weren't so great, you know?"
Oh, so his sister was one of the annoying ones who shot Patsy a dirty look earlier today. Oh well.
"Yeah. I had to look out for Paul, all the time. He could talk, but not well, so I had to translate his signing for everyone."
Patsy smiled. "It was nice. Having someone depend on me. Being there for him. I mean, I mind Brady and Little Bray now, but it's not the same. Flower is lucky. To have you to watch out for her."
He nodded- normally this time. He knew exactly what she meant. It felt good to look out for people, to know that they looked up to you. He laughed again.
"Flower's not lucky to have me. I say it's the other way around. Her and Anna, they kept me down to earth, sane. They helped me let loose. But sometimes it got a little hard. Like, have you ever wanted to just do something of your own, but you couldn't because you had responsibilities?"
He had wanted to say he wanted relationships and to go out with people other than his brothers and sisters, but it didn't seem possible.
Patsy thought, and bit her lip. "Well. Truthfully, when I was with Paul, it was so soon after the virus I was scared to go anywhere, or do anything without him. We were so small. And he only lived in the mall a few months."
Patsy sighed, but not sadly. "Now...I like minding the little kids. I haven't much else to do. I help with laundry, and setting the table and things, but everyone is busy. My best friend, Cloe, she's always and forever with her boyfriend now. But we used to have good times. We still do, sometimes."
"Anna is ALWAYS telling me I need a girlfriend so that I don't feel like I need to watch out for them so much. I mean, we have Ryan again and I don't have to keep looking out for them, so she wants me occupied."
He laughed. "And Macy thinks that Gel is crazy for me, an all the other girls in the city." He shook his head. "He's always going on about girls- what they do, how they look, everything. It gets a bit annoying sometimes."
"Umm...hello. I just wanted to let you know that the Mall Rats aren't always like that. So quiet and akward. We really are friendly people..."
Really friendly people? Smooth, Patsy. Why was she being such a moron? All she wanted to do was set the record straight. The Mall Rats were nice people.
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"Huh? I know. Everyone just seems to have a lot on their mind." He nodded, one of those nods that seemed never-ending. He wiped his palms on his pants and continued nodding. What was his problem.
"Yup."
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Patsy wondered how old Kerry was. He seemed to be about her age, a little older. And you didn't see many people with red hair. Well, no, you saw plenty of red hair. But Kerry has the kind of red hair that looked like a natural color. Patsy blinked. Why was she noticing his hair? His closeness to her in age? She just came to tell him something, and she'd told him, and yet she was still standing in his doorway. Patsy sighed, dismissing the thought. He was just a boy.
"So..." Patsy said, rocking back on her heels, "You like it here so far? I mean, the actual Mall. Too big? Too small?"
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"Well, the Mall is a good place. I mean, I like it better where we were before, but I guess I have to get used to it here." He's just gone back 6 years. He being childish. Patsy was just a girl, just another human. So why did he feel like this??
"Um, how long have you been here? Did you come with anyone?" Did you come with anyone? What kind of a question was THAT.
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"I've been here a long time. I mean, I just got back a couple weeks ago, I...I the Chosen had me for a long time, and then I was scared to come back to the city. But, I moved here to the Mall when I was 10. I remember them throwing me a party for my 11th birthday. I came with Cloe, and Salene, and my brother Paul. We lived in the same part of the city, before. I was one of the very first Mall Rats."
Patsy smiled. She was relaxing, clearly. Although she was still confused as to why she had had to relax in the first place.
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She didn't even look 13 so why had he suggested it? He was making no sense and starting to get like Macy. He crossed his arms over his chest. This was awkward. He hated being in awkward situations.
He looked back at her. He hated awkward situations a lot.
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"And you?" She figured it was the perfect opportunity to ask.
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He pushed the hair away from his eyes and bit his lower lip before he could choke something out. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
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"I...I..sort of. I had an older sister Penny, but she died with all the adults. Then there's my little brother Paul, a year younger. He used to live with us here. He ran away, years ago." Patsy looked down at her shoes and took a deep breath to keep from getting sad. It was a lot easier than it used to be, talking about Paul, but still not easy.
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He jumped back from Patsy. He didn't want to treat her like a sister. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring back any bad memories."
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"No, it's alright. Paul's a smart kid. He's deaf, so he was always smarted than the other kids, so he could keep up. I bet...I bet he's out there somewhere, fine." Patsy nodded, knowing that keeping up this charade of thinking he was alive somewhere was almost unhealthy. But she couldn't help it.
"What about yours? Your siblings, I mean. Where are they?"
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"I only have a little sister, Flower. We met Anna while we were hiding and the rest just became our family. I have no idea where they are now, but I think Macy is with Ryan. Tatty and Anna are always together, so they're somewhere around here." His smile grew as he talked about them. They were all so close because similar things had happened to them.
He looked down and gave a small laugh, his hair falling back into his eyes. "When she was younger, Flower used to look up to me, you know, as a father, because I taught her everything and took care of her. But then times weren't so great, you know?"
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"Yeah. I had to look out for Paul, all the time. He could talk, but not well, so I had to translate his signing for everyone."
Patsy smiled. "It was nice. Having someone depend on me. Being there for him. I mean, I mind Brady and Little Bray now, but it's not the same. Flower is lucky. To have you to watch out for her."
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"Flower's not lucky to have me. I say it's the other way around. Her and Anna, they kept me down to earth, sane. They helped me let loose. But sometimes it got a little hard. Like, have you ever wanted to just do something of your own, but you couldn't because you had responsibilities?"
He had wanted to say he wanted relationships and to go out with people other than his brothers and sisters, but it didn't seem possible.
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Patsy sighed, but not sadly. "Now...I like minding the little kids. I haven't much else to do. I help with laundry, and setting the table and things, but everyone is busy. My best friend, Cloe, she's always and forever with her boyfriend now. But we used to have good times. We still do, sometimes."
Wow. Talk much, Pats?
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He laughed. "And Macy thinks that Gel is crazy for me, an all the other girls in the city." He shook his head. "He's always going on about girls- what they do, how they look, everything. It gets a bit annoying sometimes."
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