Parents Day

[Milo Black]

"And how do you know Milo?" Mom talks to Jessie. When Jessie attacks I can stop her. Head and stomach. Don't have to hit hard. Mom takes one hit. Probably ok. Roach left. Ceiling and walls are sturdy. Not reenforced. Faster than the hallway. Too crowded. Can't protect them all. Can't stop them all. Dad watches Mom. Mom watches Jessie. She's mad. When Mom attacks I can stop her. Untrained, slow, old. Push her down. Restrain. She won't hurt people. They look at me.

"We're friends, right Milo? We hang out sometimes during breaks and sometimes patrol together." Talking to me. Maybe not. The girl makes fire. Too many people to get them all out. Too crowded. Half are burned. Some die. Radio alert. Thieves are getting away. Northwest Steel Canyon. I can't leave yet. They're still looking. Answer.

"Yeah."

"Well that's good to hear, isn't it Margaret?" Dad talks to Mom. Some training a long time ago. Slow, old. Same as Mom when he attacks. Hall ceilings are high enough to fly. Attacks from outside use the entrances. Many doors. More people outside. Can't hear the fight. Roach left. He eats cookies. He's happy. Joking. Coming Sunday. "Milo's a very good friend. You always know you're safe when you're with him." Jessie talks to Mom. Mom talks to Jessie. "He's always been a very protective boy. Of everyone but himself." She's still mad.

Moving to the library. Dad likes libraries. Take the front. People move. Watch me. Watch them. I can stop them when they attack Mom and Jessie. Dad is behind. He takes one hit. Probably ok. The boy does magic. Nothing looks different. Probably not casting magic now. He attacks me first. Hit his head then break his hands. Stop the casting. Jessie can hurt him when he stops me.

Crowded outside. Unprotected. I can carry Mom and Dad. Jessie can make them fast. The attack comes from above. One blast hurts many people. Panic. Half die. Maybe more. Radio alert. Kidnapping in King's Row. I can't leave yet. They wear disguises. Blend in with people. Spread out then attack. Stop them here then in the bunker then in the classrooms. Bunker is too easy to defend. Put the people in the bunker. Out of the way. Too many people.

Three entrances. Windows above. Brick and stone walls. I can get out. "This is the library. Computers are upstairs."

[Roach Copeland]

Roach wasn’t surprised at the thoughts coming from Brook’s parents as they sat across the tabled from him and their daughter. Mr. Taylor was a goofy man who was prone to goofy thoughts, often wondering if Roach was hearing ‘this’ and then wondering if Roach could hear ‘that’. Mrs. Taylor, on the other hand, was more calculated. More precise with her mind. Analytical.

And her current analytics concerned Roach. And then they weren’t as she tried to focus on something else.

Roach would have thought it was funny if he didn’t want them to like him. Roach was used to people like the Taylors. They were good people but just.. nervous around people like him. Always wondering what he was getting, always wondering if he was going to expose something deep down that Roach didn’t know. It made folks nervous on good days. It made them angry and dismissive on the bad ones.

“Yo, Loser,” Brook’s voice came from her drone as she clumsily wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him into a noogie. Roach let out a yelp, squirming a bit as he tried to fight back. He pulled away, adjusted his cap, and tossed a garlic knot towards the drone. It bounced off it’s head harmlessly.

Brook clearly didn’t feel a thing.

“Cassandra emailed me. Her dad got stuck in traffic. They’ll be here in ten so we can just order. Cheese pizza is fine,” the drone - Brook (it was Brook)- added.

“Not a problem, Kiddo. Gives us more time with Roach here,” Mr. Taylor said as he leaned forward on the table and narrowed his eyes. Silence followed for a moment before Brook let out a groan.

“Dad, stop trying to send him thoughts! We talked about this in the car.”

Roach forced a grin and just rolled his shoulders a bit. He was used to such antics. Of course he didn’t take the time to explain to Mr. Taylor that he didn’t actually hear the thought but more of the memory of Mr. Taylor thinking the thought. That always just added more confusion to the mix. So, Roach just said, “I’ve been a perfect gentleman, sir.”

“Dad!”

Mrs. Taylor swatted her husband on the shoulder, offering him a mock glare before turning her attention back towards Roach. “So, Roach- It... it is okay to call you that, right?”

“It’s fine, ma’am.”

She nodded her head, continuing, “Brook tells me that you and Diya have been taking her around quite a bit. Though, she keeps what you do a bit of a mystery...” She let herself trail off, a slender eyebrow of hers raising subtly.

“Orgies, mom,” Brook said causing Mrs. Taylor to blink and Mr. Taylor to erupt into laughter. “Tons of them! Some involving animals.”

“Brooklyn,” Mrs. Taylor spoke but Roach could tell she was amused. Her voice, her relaxed shoulders, and her thoughts just spoke that. Brooklyn just picked up a garlic knot and tossed it across the table towards her father.

“Mostly, we just go bowlin’ or play the arcades. Sometimes, we just hang out. You know, teenage stuff,” Roach added.

Mr. Taylor was in the process of using his plate as a shield as he tossed his own garlic knots towards Brook. Mrs Taylor did her best to keep both her husband and her child from erupting into all out garlic-y war while she spoke.

“That’s very good, Roach. You know, we’ve been wanting to do one of those old fashion trips to Yellowstone next year and you’re more than welcome to come along,” she spoke before finally grabbing the basket of garlic knots from the middle of the table and setting it away from the rest. “You and Diya are practically all Brook talks about these days so we feel like we already-”

“I can’t,” Roach spat out quicker and more tense than he intended. Brook’s drone swivelled her head to look at him while all the other eyes at the table stopped on him. Definitely more tense than he meant. He cleared his throat, forcing another smile before adding, “Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. I don’t want to impose on family stuff.”

“Impose? You’d be saving Brook’s life,” Mr. Taylor chimed in with a grin.

“You and Diya should come, Roach. We-”

“I’m going back home,” Roach said, cutting her off. A second or two went by before he added, “Next year, I’m goin’ to be headin’ back home.”

Another pause.

“You want to go back to the Isles?” Mr. Taylor finally asked. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.

Roach tightened his jaw, delaying himself before just flickering a glance towards Brook. Plastic eyes. Plastic face. Plastic everything. However, she was silent. Just watching. And that spoke volumes more.

Finally she asked, “You’re going back... in a year?”

It was... not a whisper. Nor was it a mumble. It was just a question that was quiet and filled with a lot of things. Worry, confusion, and a plethora of other things that lingered on misbelief and hurt feelings. True, Brook and him had thought he would be held back a year due to his lack of prior education. But... what could he say? He had pulled through enough for the school to feel he was ready to continue onward... if he wanted to.

And he had decided he wanted to.

He just hadn’t told Brook that yet.

“Hi, guys,” Cassandra Finch said as she stepped up to the table with her dad in tow. And that quickly sparked greetings and handshakes and idle conversation. Yet Roach could still feel Brook’s eyes on him. Plastic. Unblinking.

And part of him felt that they had found a way to show hurt.

(Thanks Brook for all the help! And Thank you Cassandra for catching my mistake )