Winter Seperation

[Gravwarp]

Bryan stood behind Nennya in the cafeteria line, around them kids were talking about their plans for the Christmas break. The young cat girl in front of him was chatting eagerly with a short girl ahead of them about the class they shared before lunch. As the pair came up to the counter, Nennya turned back to her boyfriend; he was staring off into space. “Earth to Bryan!” she said as she waved a hand in front of his face.

He snapped back to attention, “Oh… sorry,” he replied as he placed a serving of beaded fish fillet on his tray. “Something on your mind?” Nennya asked, but her acute senses already told her that something was bothering the boy.

Bryan was prepared to give his standard response and just brush away the question with a simple, “Nothing,” but he knew that she was already aware of his feelings. It had been a something he had gotten used to while being with her, there was no point in lying to Nennya. She could always tell.

“I talked to my Mom this morning and my folks are going on another cruise for the holiday. So, I’m spending Christmas at Saint Joe’s,” Bryan replied to her inquiry. “What about you?” he asked in return. “Are you going home for the break?”

She looked at him quietly for only a moment and answered. “Yes, I’m flying back home. I actually wanted to ask you if you would mind driving with me to the airport. That way, you can bring my car back and it won’t have to sit unguarded in the long term parking.” She smiled at him as he nodded.

“Sure. That’s no problem,” he answered.

She smiled softly back at him, “Over the break, feel free to use the car too. Having a little mobility should offset the fact that you’re stuck at school.”

“I’m just surprised that you think that leaving your pride an joy in my hands is safer than leaving it unattended,” Bryan added with a chuckle.

[Persiflage]

"Miss? Miss?" There was an insistent tapping on her shoulder. She perked up her ears, gave a mighty stretch, and opened her eyes, bleary from sleep. She smelled recycled air and saw the blue suit of a flight attendant.

"We'll be landing shortly. Please lower your leg rest and raise your seatback."

Nennya sighed and did as she was told as the plane's cabin lights slowly came up. She fumbled around with the blanket and seatbelt, fatigued with sleep and engine roar.

To her left, the man in the seat next to her gave her a nasty look and made a dramatic performance of using a mini lint-roller on his shirtlseeves and pants. She smelled the air; his sleeves and the back of his fingertips smelled faintly of cigarettes; he was irritable after ten hours of plane travel. No matter. He would get his fix soon.

She removed her muffler and light coat as she walked the terminal to customs; it was hot, and damp as a shower room. With little fanfare, she was stamped through.

I hear you, said a little voice in her head, shy, mind like a gentle caress in hers.

Little Brother, she said. I will find you.

Bag over her shoulder, she walked out of the airport into the sweet, hot streets of Buenos Aires.

"There you are," she said, wrapping an arm around her brother. "Dalit. I have missed you." He hugged back, offered her a sip of sherbert. It was cool and slushy against her tongue, tasting of strawberries. He was as tall, taller than her. He cuddled against her briefly, then took her bag. "You look like Drix," she said, surprised with herself. Tears pricked her eyes. He held her tighter. Drix looks like me, he said, hugging her again. He rubbed his cheek against hers. I am me. I love you, Nennya, thank you for coming to see me off.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Why can't you just go to a nice school in France or something?" she said. "You have to go to the wild, make me worry."

"People," Dalit snorted. "People. You and Drix and your people. I want to see bugs and mold and plants, thank you very much. We'll see if bromiliads or superheroes prove most interesting."

"If you get back."

"There is that. I believe I can walk all the way from here to Tijuana in six months. Avoiding people. People are dangerous."

"I'll drink to that," she said, slurping down the dregs of his drink.

[Gravwarp]

Bryan kneeled in the cold January air, his knees feeling the hard jab of the pavement that made up the Carwash parking lot. Hunched down on the cold pavement, with the car’s door open, Bryan leaned into the back seat and balled up a wad of napkins that laid on the upholstered floor.

“Jeez, guys…” Bryan said to himself as he stuffed the trash into an awaiting bag, On Monday night, he had taken up Nennya offer of using her car. Somehow they had managed to cram six people into the tiny two-door. He had mentioned to Sam about possibly driving over to the theater, but it snowballed quickly. The pair had seen Ves and Artie in the Cafeteria on their way to the dorms. They agreed to come along too. Then the group had run across Ekat and the new kid, Cody on their way to the car.

Soon the gang was packed in. With Bryan driving, Sam in the passenger seat, and the rest sitting practically on top of one another in the back seat. It had been loud and uncomfortable but they all had a blast.

It had been fun but they group had left the little Saab a mess. Bryan wanted to clean the car up before Nennya got back. Her return flight was supposed to be back on Saturday The holiday break had been fun but he was still disappointed that he didn’t get to spend it with Nennya.

As he stood up and dropped fifty cents into the unwieldy vacuum, Bryan thought back to last winter. They had been inseparable after they shared their first kiss but lately they had both been so busy with their own stuff that they spent precious little time together.

Bryan ran the vacuum over the interior, making sure to pick up any crumbs sitting in the seats stitching. As he pushed the passenger seat upright, he picked up a pair of sunglasses lying on the floor mat as he continued to vacuum. The money hungry machine shut off with a snap, the loud sound of its suction slowly faded away. The boy stood up once again, and without a thought opened up the glove compartment to put away the errant sunglasses.

Papers poured out onto the newly cleaned carpet, as the he opened the compartment. With a muttered curse, Bryan started cleaning up the new mess. “What is all this stuff?” Bryan asked to no one in particular. He saw that the battered maps from their cross-country trip were still balled up in the little space; they had pushed out the other papers. He glanced at a few of them as he made a neat stack; car registration, insurance information, a few pages of different set of directions to unknown places, and a small collection of receipts.

Bryan dropped the papers back on the floor of the car as his eyes went wide. In his hands he held a computer printed sheet, it was the confirmation of a flight booked a few weeks ago. Bryan was speechless as here stared at the bold black letters printed under the heading “Destination”…

Buenos Aires

A look of confusion and hurt passed over Bryan’s face as he sat on that frigid black top, reading over the sheet again and again and again.

[Gravwarp]

Bryan stood at the shuttle station waiting for her. He still wore his letterman’s jacket even though the weather was unseasonably warm for a winter Saturday in New England. He joked before about the wool and leather coat being his “armor” but in truth he did find it comforting. The familiar weight on his shoulders reminded him of how different his life was from the year ago when he first came to Rhode Island. The jacket was reassuring and gave him the nerve he needed to be the new Bryan and not the timid boy in glasses that he once was.

The boy sighed; today he needed all the courage he could muster. The past week had been difficult to get through; he had only talked to one person about the paper he had found in Nennya’s car. Really, he had hoped that the talk would help quell the annoying little voice that was harping in the back of his mind. Even though it was nice to talk about his fears, the talk had done nothing to quiet the worry or stop his imagination from running away with him.

Absently, he checked his watch and wiped away a smudge on the glass face. This stop for the terminal shuttle had been where he dropped her off before, at the time she explained it was easier than him dropping her off at the terminal. It had made sense to him then but now, it just confirmed his suspicion that she had lied to him for some reason.

A low roar caught his attention; the sound was the shuttle bus, rumbling it’s way through the parking lot. Bryan stood up tall and tried his hardest to put on a pleasant façade. He tried but could not see her through the dark tinted glass windows that ran the length of the vehicle. With a loud hiss, the sliding doors opened.

Passengers made their way off the shuttle; an older couple exited first, followed by a tall businessman in a long wool coat, then a young woman and a baby, the father struggled to get their oversized stroller out of the rear door. Bryan made his way over to the man and helped get the large wheels untangled from the door. With a sincere “Thank you,” the couple went on their way and Bryan looked back to the front door of the bus.

There she stood. He smiled despite the emotions that raged in the back of his mind. Nennya was smiling back at him sweetly, her suitcase clutched in hand. “You know… Drix is right, you really are a boy scout.” He could tell from her grin that it was meant as a joke but the mere mention of her brother threatened to break through the front he had put up.

Bryan chuckled as she ran over to him; she practically pounced on the boy as she grabbed him in an embrace. At that moment, while he held this girl that had meant so much to him, he wanted to cry. The boy fought the urge and he swallowed that creeping sadness. He felt the hard knot form in his stomach, but the discomfort of pushing down those emotions seemed to make his heart grow a little colder. Bryan did not like the feeling.

As they slowly pulled away from one another, Bryan smiled to her and she returned the smirk. He bent over and hoisted her suitcase as she made the motion to pick it up herself. The pair walked into the lot, with the boy motioning to where the car was parked.
As the made their way, Bryan smiled wide and asked the questioned he had been dreading…

“How was Switzerland?”

[Persiflage]

And Drix was there, immaculate. He took her hand and they walked out from the school gates.

They said nothing for a while, taking long strides, putting distance between themselves and known space. They went to the Botannical Gardens, which Drix had confessed an interest in seeing. And they sat in the Tropicals Room, the steam heat dampening their clothes, the smell of fungal earth in the air.

"Dalit must be in Costa Rica by now," Nennya said, peering down deep into the belly of a wasp-shaped orchid. "He is seeing things like this. He'll be tasting things, bringing back samples."

"I know. I hope he goes slowly and makes no ties. I'm eager to see him again."

Drix's voice was bitter and she looked at him, in the face.

I know you have suffered a blow, he said to her, mind to mind, the prickles of the guard hairs on her knuckles piercing his palm. You know I am sorry for it. I am sorry.

They embraced then. Nennya couldn't cry about it, and that was strange. The feeling of losing Bryan was natural. The pain of it was like a stone thrown in deep water. She knew with everything in her that losing Bryan was nothing to the pain of even the idea of losing her brothers, her sister. She clutched him hard, the prickles on her knuckles drawing blood. He startled back, and sucked on the dotted wounds ruefully.

"You're unhappy," Nennya said primly. "I can tell." And why isn't it the same for you? Losing these temporary boys hurts more for you than losing Bryan hurts for me. Why is that?

"Because I'm the odd one out," he said aloud, voice slurred by the heel of his hand. "Dalit, Nalen, Yovela, you. We're five, not six. You're here for me now because I need you, but Dalit will need you more than I do when he sees you again."

Teach us both, she said, giving him a playful shove, laughing. Aren't you the oldest? Aren't you in charge?

He laughed back and shook his head. I'm not the oldest. Just the first. But you're right. When our brother comes back from his journey, we'll both have many things to teach him. And he'll have things to teach us. June. Midsummer. We'll see what changes then. He squeezed her with his injured hand.

"Can we go get ice-cream? With strawberries?" He stood up, pulled her to her feet.

"Yes. What flavor ice-cream?"

"Cheesecake," he said, very definitely. "And then I will walk you back, and then I have someone to meet in Faultline."

"Who?" she said, suspiciously, dropping a few dollars in the donation box by the door.

"I have a date," he said, winking mischievously at her.