Almost Back to Normal

I took my time finishing breakfast. The one bad thing about Juliet's otherworldly cooking was that it commanded near- complete focus, and I had a lot to think about. 

Apparently, though, the time for contemplation had passed as far as Beck was concerned. I was shocked to find our positions reversed in record time- her plate was cleared when I still had some of everything left. Except bacon. Bacon's too good to just leave it there.

"You should finish your breakfast," Beck said, smiling. "You're skin and bones, and you're going to be Reading, aren't you?"

Ugh. She was right. "I don't know if that'll help, really. I feel like if I tried to do anything now, I would puke."

"Why?"

"Well, I've only done three things with this, with the Text, and two of them made me feel sick and dizzy. The fire was okay, I didn't really feel anything, but teleporting home laid me out. I don't know how these guys manage not to kill themselves."

Beck wore the same enthralled expression as she had whenever I talked about Conclave-related things. It made me uncomfortable. "Have you thought about trying any other spells?"

"Ugh."

"What?"

"Nothing, it just... this is going to sound silly, but calling them 'spells' just seems weird. Like I'm Harry Potter or something."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, so what would you call it, then?"

"Something less fantasy-ish. I don't know. Something scientific. Or at least not 'magic'."

"Applied Pseudo-Physics?"

I blinked at her. "What?"

"Ha, you could call them 'Apps' for short! Like with a smart phone."

"Somehow that seems even more silly."

"Whatever you say, iTyler."

I laughed out loud, sincerely, for the first time since last night. Huh. "I'm sure Lee will shoot down whatever I come up with. There's probably a word for it already. Something overblown and important-sounding."

Her eyes glazed over for a second at the mention of Lee. I'd mentioned her on purpose, of course, I'm not an idiot. So this weirdness really was about another woman. An insulting, manipulative, and vocally anti-Trick woman, but another woman all the same. Something to keep in mind.

The moment passed almost before it began. "Yeah," Beck said, sounding casual, "they really do think a lot of themselves." She grinned. "Although I suppose I would, too. Saving the world and all."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask- how did they get in touch with you in the first place?" The Text had found its way to me by a comical coincidence, and I was curious as to how the Conclave usually did their recruiting.

"It's a whole thing," she said, looking pleased to be involved. "They keep their ears to the ground for exceptional people. They're watching Ivy-League school applications, professional sports, all the places where the supposed best and brightest make themselves known. NASA, too. They pay a lot of attention to NASA."

"Why?"

She laughed. "Two reasons. First, because there are more washout astronauts than you'd think. People in peak physical condition, with the best educational and professional backgrounds you could imagine. They're ideal recruits for the Conclave, and whenever one of them is deemed unfit for space travel or whatever, they're usually offered a Text."

"That makes sense. What's the other reason?"

"The Moon."

"What?" 

"I don't know exactly what he meant, but Dolan told me... well, that the Conclave lives on the Moon." She blushed. "I don't know if he was joking or what, but that's what he said. So I figure if it's true, they have people making sure the... moon base doesn't get spotted. I'm just guessing, really."

"The Moon."

"That's what Dolan said."

"Well, Buck will be jealous if it's true. He loves being spaced out- wait a minute, how the hell am I supposed to get to the Moon?" I had a sudden mental image of a space shuttle parked behind my apartment, Miss Dean watching it for signs of foreign treachery.

"Teleport there, I guess. Maybe there's an App for that." She giggled.

"Ugh."

"Keep grunting, I think it's cute. Better than 'stuff that happens when I read other stuff', isn't it?"

"Just barely."

We laughed together and I decided I was done with breakfast. I knew I'd be hungry in a few hours, especially if I did any Reading, but I still couldn't make myself eat much more. There was the faintest hint of a disturbance in my stomach, the remnant of my teleporting sickness. Not to mention going to bed hungry.

I really wasn't treating myself very well, I realized. 

"So," Beck said, when we'd paid Juliet and walked back outside, "Your place or mine?"

I stared for a moment before I realized what she was inferring. "Well, seeing as it's after noon on a weekday, mine, I guess. Aren't your parents home?"

"On vacation. They go up to Nahamston for a few weeks in the fall every year. Didn't you come with us, one year?"

"Yeah, I have family there."

"And my parents wouldn't let you sleep in the same room with me-"

"-So we went to my Aunt's house. Yeah. Good times."

"How is she, by the way?"

I grimaced. "Bad. A couple years ago, my older cousin and her boyfriend were killed, and my younger cousin went missing. I guess it was pretty fucked up. Nobody has any idea where she went."

"God."

"Yeah. We don't visit up there much anymore. Which is probably the opposite of what a good family would do, but there you go. You know how family can be."

I realized I was stalling. In a particularly morbid fashion, too. "Listen, Beck-"

"You can talk to me about these things, if you need to." 

"I was going to say, I would love to spend some time with you, but I have work soon, and I want to get washed up and stuff."

"Oh." Her face fell. We started walking a little slower.

"But maybe tonight, when I get out. Is midnight too late?"

"No, not at all!"

I smiled at her. "Cool. I can't wait."

We stopped, since her house was now the opposite direction from my apartment, and hugged goodbye. Or started to. I tried to shift around so she wouldn't feel the Text in my coat, but I could feel it pressing against her breast. She flinched but tried to pass it off as a shiver. "I didn't realize you'd brought it."

"Yeah... it seems like I should keep it with me, you know?"

She was quiet for a moment. "Makes sense."

We held each other for another moment. It occurred to me that the book had now literally come between us. I hate it when a metaphor interrupts a nice hug.

"I'll see you soon," I said, after a long pause. I bent to kiss her. It was probably more chaste of a kiss than she was hoping for.

"Okay." She bit her lip. "Is it too soon to say 'I love-"

"I don't know."

"Okay."

We used the mechanics of the hug to avoid looking at each other for a minute. Then I said, "Text me. I'll be bored at work."

And then I walked home by myself. 

Should I have felt bad, for feeling better?

Reviews

[Ness]

Good chapter, I expected it to be called Chaptah lol. I'm really curious as to what he will do about Beck, he seems very hesitant

[UponATyme]

1. Your chapter is still named CHAPTAH.
2. I feel like you are walking a very thin line. The Moon thing is right between being humorous and being ridiculous. Work with it; Don't teeter the wrong way.
3. I still can't tell if Beck is up to something or not, but I'm suspicious as hell. God, I hate that b***h =P

[EarthExile]

I should probably have combined this chapter and the last one into one Superchapter, but I want to keep these segments reasonably short for easy reading. When the book is finished, I'm going to be rearranging the chapter breaks.