The Calling (DrTrollinski & Zhai)

[DrTrollinski]

The 'always' part sort of made him calm down almost instantly. It brought back good memories - they always used to do that when they were younger, ever since they were four or five years old. Carl always did it with the more 'boyish' kind of stuff. Sometimes it was all just fun and games and they didn't really mean it, because it was just a joke that couldn't really go ahead, or it'd all end up being rather stupid. For example, when Carl promised he'd let her use his clothes 'always' (Maybe that happened once or twice on the weekend, but he never asked to wear a dress. Not once) - but then there were nicer ones that kind of brought them together.


The promise meant quite a lot to him, though. He squeezed her gently in his hug and then wiped his eyes on her shoulder, and then took one shaky deep breath.


".. Thanks, sis..." He sniffled to her, and then gently rubbed her back. He pulled away slowly and quickly covered his face and rubbed it for a few minutes. ".. I'm--.. I'm just gonna' head up to the bathroom really quick, okay?" He sniffled and gave her a weak smile, but then gently squeezed her hand. He was happy that this would stay between them, now that he thought of it. He imagined that his father was starting to get irritated with all the fights, and stuff. "I'll be back soon." He said, and then patted her hand and stood up, wiping his eyes once more as he went for a quick stroll up to the restrooms - yep, this restaurant had them upstairs. It was cool - he preferred when they were like that.


When he got there, there were other guys and kids his age in there, mostly using the urinals or washing their hands. He didn't recognize any of them, but in the bathroom, it'd be kind of weird if he stared at them long enough to find out - one of the two stalls were taken, so he went into the second one, put the lid of the toilet down, locked the door, and then sat down and pulled some toilet paper from the dispenser. He wiped his eyes with it and just sat there for a minute so regain himself. He just wanted to think over some things, and then he'd go back to Mia as 'the old Carl' - He did that at home, as well - he first discovered that this worked when, believe it or not, he needed to use the bathroom right after he got really angry (he was about eight at the time). While he was actually sat on the toilet that time at his home (for real, not with the lid down), he had a few minutes to think in silence (obviously), and it actually really helped him out.


After that, he'd always retreat to his room or the bathroom to do some thinking to cool off. He did... other things, sometimes, but I'll spare you the details of that.


The restaurant itself was a nice environment and it had nice music playing. Carl was looking forward to getting back into that atmosphere once he was back to his old self. He heard people coming and going from the bathroom now and again, but it wasn't that often. He wasn't going to be more than five minutes in here.

 

[Zhai]

Even after Carl had disappeared up the staircase, Mia could feel the weight of his hand rubbing her back combined with the friction of her shirt against her skin underneath. When he was gone, she stretched the shoulder of her shirt out far enough to just see enough of the wet spot that developed around the collar area and spread almost entirely on her shoulder. It was almost as damp as if she used it to dip in her water and wipe the table.


Taking a napkin, she covered the damp space and squeezed tightly, coaxing the moisture out of her the fabric and into the napkin. Mia hoped it wasn’t too late to get some of the tears out to help her shirt dry faster. When she went to grab another napkin, the waitress returned to the table, filling Mia’s water and pausing to look at the empty booth across from her. “He’s gone to the restroom. I don’t think he needs a refill yet.” The waitress rolled her eyes, Mia could tell from a mile away, and smacked her gum before swiveling on her heels to the opposite table to fill other glasses.


Contemplating if the waitress could have a tip and how much it would be, Mia glanced out the window on the side of the booth, looking through the wide, barely open blinds. Outside in the parking lot of Nandos, there was that man again; from earlier across the street with the too small jacket and the reflective balding head. He was pacing beside his car so quickly that it looked like he was shuttling back and forth. There was a phone in one hand and the other hand was cutting through the air like he was punching something. Mia could tell his face was scrunched and contorted – either he was extremely angry, frustrated beyond reason, and frantic about something.


Mia continued watching the man for…she didn’t even know how long; she was just sitting there, holding a napkin to her shoulder, head turned towards the window, and eyes leveled perfectly to look through the bulky shades. The spectacle was over once the man’s hand rose high in the air and flung the phone onto the pavement; his foot rose and stomped, rose and stomped, continuously. When it seemed like he felt better, he wrenched over the door of his car, slipped in, and audibly sped off.


Wow. That was something.


Mia looked back at the booth when she heard the ceramic plates hit the tiled table top.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Once Carl was all cool once again, he left the stall and tossed the slightly damn toilet paper into the small trash can and then left the restroom. He felt a lot better now - it was strange how a few minutes of alone time could really help out, wasn't it? He soon came back downstairs and then walked over to the table and sat opposite Mia again, giving a gentle smile.


"I'm back." He said, and then looked down at the plates that had been placed down on the table in front of their seats. He picked up his knife and fork and then forked up one of the fries into his mouth, chewing on it. It was seasoned lightly with a gentle spice, and it was very nice indeed. It was going to go down a treat, indeed. He had overeaten a lot at restaurants a lot when he was younger, and he ended up throwing up later on in the night because of it. Meh.


"This sure does look good." He smiled. "You want half of one of my chicken fillets?" He asked as he nodded down at the burger. "I mean, I'm treating you to dinner and you got a salad." He chuckled a little and then smiled warmly at her. "I can give you some of mine or order some chicken for you, I don't mind." He offered.

 

[Zhai]

"Nah," Mia's forked rack through the thick salad, plucking tomatoes and peppers from the mixture and scooting them to the edge of the plate. "I think after earlier and losing my stomach, probably something light to eat is better, y'know?"


A different waitress shuffled past our table, a heavily stacked tray on her hand; her head barely tilts down to their table before she slows down for a second and then speeds by. Mia watches as she disappears to through a swing door, but immediately comes back with something in her hands; she stops at their table - bright eyed and wide smiled - setting down bread, butter, and filling their glasses before speeding off to another table.


"I like her better than ours." Mia smiles, reaching into the middle of the table and picking a piece of the sliced bread from its basket. No butter, she bit into its warmth and hummed in her mouth.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. Yeah, I suppose." He chuckled and then took a slice of the bread and buttered it, and then took one bite of it before setting it down beside the salad that was on his plate. He picked up the double chicken fillet burger in his hands and then took one large bite into it. It was nice. A tangy spice that wasn't too overpowering, the chicken was succulent, and most importantly, it was nice and hot, but not hot enough to burn his mouth when he chewed it - alongside that, he popped a couple of fries into his mouth and chewed on those, too. He was a lot more hungry than he first realized.


"You got anything planned over the weekend?" He asked softy as he used his fork to shovel some salad into his burger, and then took another bite into it. He chewed it several times, and then swallowed it, followed by taking a quick mouthful of his soda to wash it down with it. Mm. He couldn't wait to have a dessert here, too - if it was half as good as all of this, it was definitely worth having.

 

[Zhai]

"I've got a date." Mia stabbed a pile of salad, watching her fork slide into the colorful salad until she couldn't push the fork down further. Lifting the thick bite, she managed it all in her mouth, listening to the fresh crunch while she chewed slowly. Mia learned to savor her food, from Mother asking her to eat slowly; at first she thought it was because food really should be savored - and some of it should - but then she realized later that it was a dietary rumor. Eating slow, gain less weight.


After all this time, she still chewed slowly and put time between her next bites.


Reaching into the basket again, Mia ate the crust of the bread until all that was left was the soft middle. Knifing a small tip of butter and spreading it, Mia folded the smallish piece and shoved it into her mouth after swallowing the mashed salad.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. A date?" He asked in surprise, his food almost falling from his mouth. He didn't particularly care, nor was he worried... Well, maybe he was. He didn't make that obvious, though. "That's good." He smiled at her. "There's a girl I quite like from my Biology class, I might ask her on a date sometime. I don't know." He shrugged. She was in his biology class, so she knew who he was talking about. There was this one girl that had a desk to the right of him, and he'd speak to her throughout the whole lesson. Her name was Jenna. Jenna Jameson.


"Who's your date with?" He asked as he raised his burger to his mouth and took another two large bites. God, this was amazing. He felt like he could go on and on without stopping. He chewed faster than Mia, and ate more quickly than her, but he didn't ever swallow his food whole, or anything. When he was six years old and in First Grade, he took on the challenge of swallowing half of a small candy bar whole, and ended up throwing up all over the playground when he nearly choked on it.


Yeah, Carl was a daredevil kid. He still kind of was. "Is it someone I know? From school?" He asked.

 

[Zhai]

Mia's eyebrows perk up hearing Carl speak about someone he likes; she couldn't remember the last time he mentioned a romantic interest in anyone. Not since fifth grade when Mia was convinced Carl was in love with one of their teachers. She remembered he brought her so many pieces of fruit - after learning she loved fruit - that their Father began hiding the fruit in the house, suspicious it was the housekeeper stealing it away.


"Well, you should ask her out." She smiled and took another bite of her salad, a small one. "My date is in History and Biology, too." Nodding slowly and gathering scattered salad together in the middle of the plate, Mia reached for her extra dressing and poured the contents of the little cup on the pile.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. I might do, yeah... I just--.. I don't know. I hope things will go alright." He said softly. "I mean, she's kinda' popular, but... She doesn't have hundreds of friends, really. She's only popular in our Biology class. Think I can beat the rest of the competition?" He asked as he shoved the last of the burger into his mouth chewed on it, quickly swallowing it down with some more soda. He picked up half a dozen fries and dipped them into the sweet sauce he had, and then shoved those into his mouth as well.


"What's your date's name? History and Biology doesn't narrow it down much." He chuckled a little and then slowed up on the fries, slowly finishing them off one by one. He didn't really have many to go, so once he'd washed them all down with some soda, he waved off to the waitress. He wanted some dessert menus - he really wanted something sweet tonight.

 

[Zhai]

"I'm sure you won't have trouble, Carl." The last bites of salad were finished and she took a long drink of water, exhaling with satisfaction as the glass left her lips. "You just have to go up to her and ask her out."


A waitress barely slowed from her sped walk as her hand reach onto the table and took Mia's empty plate, the fork barely balancing on the edge while she stalked off with it. "I can't tell you." Mia smiled widely at her brother, her eyes big and her headed tilted slightly.


Reaching for a small menu propped at the end of the booth near the window, Mia flipped through the single sided pages until she got to desserts. There probably hasn't been a time she's gone out where there wasn't dessert, even if the family shared a brownie and ice cream combination, they always did the dessert menu. Today, the menu felt too small for what Mia was looking for and she opted for the usual - ice cream.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Fine." He chuckled a little and then picked up his own menu. He'd already decided what he was going to have. The 'Choc-a-lot' cake. Wonderful stuff. He waited for the waitress to walk over and then smiled up at her, hopefully offering her a bit of a friendly approach, so, in the long run, she might be a little nicer to them as well.


"I'll have the choc-a-lot cake, hot, with vanilla ice cream, please." He said to her with a smile, and then sipped on his soda. He looked across to Mia and waited for her to order - she'd been really simple tonight, so he imagined that she was going to go for something simple for dessert, as well. He wouldn't be surprised - he wished that she'd try something a little more exciting, though.

 

[Zhai]

"I want the ice cream. Vanilla please." It was a cheap and uncomplicated, unlikely to come up later if another one of those weird episodes hits her on the way home or in the middle of the night. The waitress must have thought it was too simple as questioned Mia's choice politely and hesitated writing it on her notepad. Mia nodded confidently, sliding the mini menu stand back to the edge of the booth, and smiling boldly at the waitress. Finally, the woman wrote, but of course not without the wide-eyed self questioning, kind of like she wasn't at peace with Mia's decision.


"Sorry, brother. Girl has got to have her secrets." Mia jived at her big brother, knowing damn well he wanted to know about this 'date' of hers. "But seriously, you should think about that girl from Biology." The image of the girl popped into her focus, thinking of the tallish student and how the pair would look together, hand in hand walking down the halls to class. It made Mia smile, looking over her brother's face and continuing to fast forward the innocent thought into future of marriage and children. She hummed to contain the 'aww' that was about to escape her mouth.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Well, that's a smile if I ever saw one." He said to her, grinning a little as he shoved some of the warm chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream into his mouth. "I know I'm gorgeous and all, but you don't always smile at me like that." He chuckled a little and then sipped on his soda and took a minute to observe the restaurant once again. There were people in here that all seemed to be having a good time - young families, older families - all that sort of stuff.


He didn't know what had her smiling at him out of the blue. If he knew, though, it'd probably send him off on a train of thoughts that would only further convince him to ask the girl out on a date. Maybe to Nandos as the first date - movie dates weren't good, at least not for the first one. They didn't get to know each other that way, not as much as they would over a nice dinner, or something. If Carl had children with the girl he liked, they'd end up with beautiful little dark-haired kids - dark brown, Eric and Mia's natural colors thanks to their parents, and seeing as the girl had the same color hair, one-plus-one is two, obviously, and there it would be.


Heh, a little boy that was a spitting image of Eric, running about the house or wherever they go? Funny thought, isn't it?


"So, what's with the smile?" He asked after a short pause. "I ain't got something on my face, have I?" He asked with a chuckle.

 

[Zhai]

"I wouldn't tell you if you did." The ice cream was already melting around the edges and a creamy mote of vanilla was forming. Mia spooned the soft top layer of the ice cream, looking at the crater in the mound and thinking about where she would pick her next scoop from. "I was just thinking about stuff."


The rest of the single scoop went in quick succession despite initial attempts to savor it, and the ceremonious last-lick-of-the-spoon is amazing. Mia finishes, resting the spoon into the empty bowl and sliding the dish in the middle of the table top. Mia's eyes bounce from table to table, person to person; watching the people from their town that she knew and didn't know. There were college aged kids, or maybe just really old high school students, hip to hip around a rectangular table; their arms looked like they could barely move and they were all fighting were space just to be able to reach for their glasses in the middle of the table.


A table close to theirs' was a complete opposite - four older women, much older, equally spaced around the square and calmly gossiping. One of the women was so focused on reading whatever was on her phone that she pulled her glasses from her nest of permed hair and onto the bridge of her nose, still leaning close to the screen.


Finally, when Mia was just about to look out the window where the man was earlier, the sound of the bowl being dragged from the table snapped her attention back. The woman taped the check to the edge of the booth and wished them a good weekend.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. Ah, that's not too bad." He said softly. "Thirty-five bucks." He added, and then pulled out his wallet and slapped forty dollars onto the tray that the little bill was on. He pulled out a few coins and dropped them onto it as well, so that the waitress had just over five bucks in tips. He pretty much done with his dessert, so he shoved the rest of it into his mouth alongside the ice cream and quickly gulped down his soda. Ah, all good.


"Okay, before we leave, I will be going to the bathroom - for real, this time." He smiled at her and then rubbed his stomach. That meal certainly did hit the spot. ".. It's a bit of a walk home, so if you need to go, break a leg." He said, and then slowly rose to his feet. "Before I go... If you--." He paused and looked around. Maybe now wasn't the best time to offer her a challenge. "Actually, never mind." He said. "We'll wait until we get outside, and then I'll ask you." He winked and then stretched his back, resulting in different parts of his spine giving off faint little clicks.


He wandered off across the restaurant and went back upstairs to the Men's restroom, and then used one of the urinals. Yeah, it sort of occurred to him that he might have had a bit of a weak bladder. Perhaps he'd damaged it with all the times he held it when he was watching a movie, or needing to go at the beginning of a school day, but instead waiting all day until he got home (that was only when he was about seven or eight that he did that).

 

[Zhai]

Before what?! Why does he do that sometimes? - Lead someone into a conversation or give some kind of enticing hint, just to...stop. Stop right before the good part!


Mia fretted in the booth, personally cursing Carl for leaving her mind with only focusing on what he would have said, and thinking what he might say. The waitress stopped by once more, picking up the receipt and thumbing through her tip right in front of Mia. It must have been a reasonable amount because she shrugged, stuffed the folded paper into her apron, and tapped a bust boy on the shoulder and pointed to Mia's table.


That's her signal.


The bust boy picked up a black tote and rag, shuffling over to the booth as Mia was grabbing Carl and her own pack from the seats. They scooted around each other, and Mia caught a whiff of old water and grease; he wasted no time washing the table. Mia stood off to the side of the stairwell, one strap from Carl's pack on her shoulder and one strap from her pack on her shoulder. A woman came down the stairs, still staring into her small mirror and swiping the corners of her lips. Another woman with her three children. A man who not only look relieved but hummed audibly as her tucked his shirt back into his pants.


Okay, Carl. Hurry up! Mia was still trying to dismiss Carl's cliff-hanger, but it was eating at.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Carl was gone for another minute or so, finishing up and washing his hands. He dried them off on a paper hand towel and then made his way back downstairs to find Mia, only to find her standing there with his and her own backpack. He smiled at her and wiped his hands on his jeans just to get the dampness off of his hands, and then went up and took the bag from her.


"Alright, let's head back. Sun's starting to set, and I don't want to walk home in the dark." He chuckled a little as he pushed the door open and held it for her, waiting for her to step out before following her out. "Now, about that question I had for you... Consider it an offer, I guess." He chuckled and then began to lead her off down the street. It had finally cooled down now outside, and it was quite a relaxing temperature.


"If you tell me who you're going on a date with, I'll call up that girl and ask her out as soon as we get home." He smiled. "And you can be there. I promise. I have a number, and you can be there and listen - you can laugh at me if I get rejected, too." He said.

 

[Zhai]

"Hmm.." Mia turns the thought around in her hand, kneading it and letting it rise in her mind, but them smashing it down again to continue tossing it around. "I think I told you who my date was."


Mia laughed and elbowed her brother playfully, elated that he's still interested in her date. "The date is in some of my classes. The date has to be this weekend or else." Her eyebrows rise jump slightly in mystery, tugging at the straps of her pack.


"Beside's you're the bigger brother - the older twin! You're supposed to lead, be the first to do something and then me, the younger one, will follow." Got him there. Carl was a typical older sibling in that way that he felt that he should lead simply because he was older. Mia figured that out early in their childhood, when Carl rushed to be first on everything. First to taste this, first to eat that, first in the door, first to the toys; she learned it wasn't a selfish thing, but rather a older sibling kind of complex. Like how royalty has someone who tastes the food for poison before they eat it. Mia didn't ask for that, but Carl provided it willingly.


"So you could call her...now?" Her tone was suggestive as she beamed and grinned wildly at her brother.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. I could..." He sighed and then pulled out his Galaxy S4 and unlocked it, and then cycled through his contacts until he saw the name of 'Jenna'. He didn't save her as any mopey contact, like 'baby', or anything like that. Even if he did end up going out with her, he'd probably only put a love heart on the end of the contact, or something.


He was debating on calling her, but he could at least text her first. He inched a little closer to Mia and then sent his thumbs across the keypad, quickly texting something to her.


'Hi, Jen. How are you? '





That was the message he sent, and then he looked at Mia and smiled at her. He always sent subtle messages to start off a conversation, because he thought it was better to do things that way. He took a deep breath and then looked at Mia once again, sticking out his pinky finger to her. He hoped that if she went with this, that she'd stick to her word. He'd be really offended if she didn't, especially after all the times he'd been honest with her and helped her out with stuff - you know, being that good big brother that he's always been.


"I'll call and ask her now, as long as you promise me that you'll tell me after. Pinky promise." He said. And then his phone went off.


'I'm fine How are you? xx'

 

[Zhai]

Mia was smiling the entire time. From the moment Carl reached for his phone, Mia couldn't make her smile any smaller. She was expecting him to be more hesitant, maybe even reluctant and decide not to do it in front of her - or even at all. Mia continued watching as Carl's thumb scrolled this way and that across the screen. Any moment now he should be raising the phone to his face, speaking in his phone voice to the lucky lady, but instead she heard key clicks, a chime, and Carl's confirmation look.


"Just a text?"Mia still smiled, smaller, but her shoulders dropped as the build anticipation faded with her brother's mere text. "A call would have been more romantic, but fair is fair."


"My date." Mia smiled wide, laughing like the Prince of England was courting her right that very moment. "Well, my date is from class and my date is due by Monday. Three pages. Single paced." Don't make eye contact! Mia continued looking forward, feeling sheepish that her 'date' was merely her homework and expecting to hear Carl's complaint.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. No, no. I'm going to call her in a minute." He smiled, and then continued to listen to her story. ".. I--.. Jesus, Sis." He sighed. ".. You should have said that. Now you've gone and made me feel bad." He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his head as he went back onto the contact so that he'd be able to call her.


"Tell you what, I know some nice people, I'll try and get you hooked up with someone, huh? Or at least pass you some names." He smiled and winked at her, and then hit the 'dial' button. He placed the phone to his ear and bounced his eyebrows at Mia, and then refocused his eyes to his front so that he could watch where he was walking while talking on the phone. He stayed close to Mia so she could hear the conversation.


"Hello?"





"Hey, Jenna... It's Carl." He said, trying to gulp away the nervousness. He was sweating already. ".. I called you up to... Well, to talk." He said.


"Sure! What are you up to, Carl?"





".. Yeah, I'm out on the town right now. I just went to Nandos with my sister. You know, just to spend some time doing something after school." He said. "What about you?"


"Well... I'm just doing some homework so it's out of the way for the weekend. It's for our Biology teacher, Mister Rayner, so I'm not going to miss that." She was heard laughing. "You going to do his homework?"





"Maybe, yeah... I had something to ask you, though." He gulped.


"Sure, what is it?"





"Well... I was... Uhm--.. I was actually wondering if... Maybe..." He took a quiet deep breath. "If you'd like to go out sometime... Maybe next Friday? I mean--.. It's alright if you say no, I just--.. I talk to you a lot, and I kinda--"


"Carl."





He gulped. ".. Yep...?"


"You don't need to explain yourself... I'd love to. I'll see you next week, okay? See you on Monday, but I need to go! See ya'!" She said, she sounded excited, but she hung up. Carl slowly tucked his phone away and turned to face Mia. God, he really got lucky there. He looked at her, laughed a little, and then opened up his arms in hope for a hug of congratulations. That'd be nice. What just happened really did mean a lot to him.

 

[Zhai]

"Ah! That was awesome!" Mia rushed into her brother, throwing her arms around him, even including the bulk of the baby pack. She squeezed and hopped, elated that her brother just asked a girl on a date - from what she could recall was this being the first time he has done the asking and not been asked first.


This is exciting. Mia couldn't wait to tell their parents. Father would probably invite Carl to a father-son pep talk that featured some kind of 'that's my boy!' underlining meaning and pat Carl on the back. Mother would probably emotionally break down inside, figuring that her son was growing up and becoming of that age she feared the most. It would probably prompt her to speak to Mia, feeling it necessary to spread the 'don't kiss people or you get sick' method she made up years ago to deter her children from kissing people. Telling them if they kiss people, they get sick. Next, she'll say if we kiss people, we have babies!


"Brother, I'm proud of you and everything," Mia pulls out of her brother's arms, centering the pack straps on her shoulders, and sucking in small breath, "But if you ever hook me up with anyone, I'll probably have to kill you." She smiled so sweetly, she could attract bees and bears with it.


Turning her wrist over and squinting to made out the time on the small face of the watch, Mia popped her lips and looked up at Carl. "Mom's going to freak out." It was already getting dark and the street lamps were dim, promising to turn on soon. The number of cars driving by had died down to barely any, and there wasn't a soul around walking so much as a pet. On either side of the street, the number of houses was increasing and wasn't so scattered as they were before near the theater.


They were getting closer to the house, nonetheless it was getting late quickly.


"Well, I'm so proud of you, but we should get home. I've got a date of my own, remember?" Mia patted her brother on the shoulder, and angled her body so she could keep going forward. "We can celebrate at home"


There was a car. Just one small white car that drove past quickly and pulled into a near by drive way. The driver looked like a family man, into business, rushing out of the driver's side and up the pathway. His briefcase was waving behind him and his coat was thickly rolled under his arm. Mia watched him fiddle with his key as she continued walking forward, only turning her head more as she gradually passed. Finally, he was in the door and two children rushed at him right in the frame.


Mia and Carl used to greet their father at the door like he'd been gone for days; and he greeted them the same each time - picking them each up, throwing them over one shoulder each and trucking around the house for a few laps. Mother hated it. The housekeeper relished the relief from the children. Mia and Carl loved it; but with time the greeting changed from being picked up to different options to fit their ages.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Thanks, Sis." He smiled and patted her back as she hugged him. God, now he was thinking about whether or not he was going to end up having kids in later life. Yeah, he'd like that - He was one of the guys that didn't care too much if he had a boy or a girl, but he was really looking forward to maybe having a son - he felt like his humor would go down better that way. He smiled at the thought, having a nice house and a beautiful wife, and a few little children. That would be really great.


Anyway.


"Yeah, let's get home, eh?" He smiled and then continued walking with her, and then looked off to when the children ran and greeted the businessman. Aw. He also remembered that, when they were just young and excitable - they'd hear the key in the front door from all the way upstairs, and they'd have dashed downstairs and running straight into his arms before he was even fully through the door. Sometimes, if they were in the kitchen when dad worked overtime, they'd be eating dinner and waiting for him very anxiously, and they were barely able to sit still - they wouldn't go to bed 'until daddy got back'. God, their mother got angry, but to avoid tears, she usually just went with it.


As soon as he came in on those nights, they'd both run up to him for bedtime hugs - Carl always took him a beer, even though he probably never drank it around that time, anyway. It was still a nice memory. Now that Carl was all hormonal, he was starting to think about having a family of his own and whether or not it was going to happen later on in life - he wanted to experience what that man did, he was certain that it'd be the best feeling ever. Carl was actually really good with children - whenever it came to them ending up babysitting the younger kids at a family get together, he managed to keep them under control and happy.


"Mia, do you want kids when you're older?" He asked her out of nowhere as he buried his hands into his pocket.

 

[Zhai]

"Absolutely not." Mia's confident answer was followed by a small shrug of her shoulders, looking briefly to the pavement and then back straight ahead. Children in the future was supposed to be every girls' dream after spending years wishing for a pony, their favorite actor to propose to them, and avoiding gaining weight. Girls were supposed to wish her a magical first kiss, amazing first time, unforgettable proposal, a timeless wedding, and a beautiful pregnancy. All that was supposed to happen before they turn thirty and are officially deemed 'old' by society.


Mia wanted to finish school, travel the world, eat strange things and have stranger adventures. There wasn't time for love in a life were every year count. At least, she didn't think there was time for her.


"I want to live my life for before I have to take care of another." She deemed her reason acceptable, finding that it was similar to the one she'd told her teacher a few months. The discussion of children arose in class quite often and her teacher frequently questioned if her mind was changed. It wasn't changed and it wasn't going to change. Not any time soon.


If the mood had died, Mia inspired to lighten it by casually joking with Carl again, "Besides, it's okay for you have have children. You will have Dad's amazing job. Eat, sleep, work, pay bills, and eventually die." She smiled softly, bumping her shoulder against Carl's and turning her head to look for cars before stepping onto a crosswalk and following it through to the other side. The house was at the end of a one way street that forced wrong-turners to do a u-turn and go back wince they came.


Mia could tell that everyone was in different rooms; there was a light on upstairs, one downstairs to the left and other on to the right. Mom must be in her study, Father in his, and the housekeeper in the kitchen. Mrs. Greene - the housekeeper that coupled as a Nanny and acted like a Grandmother, was probably cleaning from dinner or organizing. She always shifted the kitchen around.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. I think you'd be a good mom." He said, sighing. ".. Plus, dad does more than just that. Always has." He shrugged a little. He didn't really seem to catch the concept of the joke. Hell, he didn't even realize that it was a joke. He didn't know if he wanted to argue with her, either. They'd had a (reasonably) nice night, and he didn't want to ruin that. But, by not realizing the joke, he probably already threw things under the bridge just a little bit.


I guess he was kind of sensitive about that.


"Plus, after we graduate from high school, you'll get the chance to do everything you want. Living life sounds nice, but... I think sometimes its nice to settle down, do everything you always wanted to do, but with someone else there. Don't you think? Yeah, maybe it'll be a little tougher, but... once the kids get old enough to walk and talk and--.. I don't know, wipe their own ass, I guess? Then... I'd say it wouldn't be too bad." He shrugged as they walked up to the gate - he creaked it open and let her step in first.


"I think you could do with meeting someone nice... I think you deserve that. I wouldn't want my little sister travelling the world alone, after all. Especially on the times that I won't be able to be there." He said playfully, followed by winking at her and doing that cringeworthy brotherly thing he did when they weren't in public.


Ruffling the back of her hair.