The City That We Loved

The Cynic

The next morning Enjolras woke up. He felt quite disgusting. He sat up in bed and ran his tongue over his teeth. He ran a hand through his hair and his hand got caught.

He tugged it out. He got out of bed went to his bathroom. He hopped in the shower. He tied a towel around his waist and brushed his teeth long and hard--with a new brush from under the sink. He stopped mid brush to lift up the hair that flopped in his face. He took off the bandage and sighed. He had a jagged bloody cut.

"Great, I'm the French Harry Potter," he muttered. He tore the rest of the bandage off and threw it out. He finished brushing his teeth. He ran a hairbrush through his hair and then returned to his bedroom. He changed into fresh clothes, throwing his towel into the laundry basket in the corner.

He followed his nose to the smell of scrambled eggs. He found the family cook, Agnes, in the kitchen at the stove. Enjolras smiled and snuck into the kitchen. He walked right past her without her noticing. He grabbed three apples from the bowl nearby and began to juggle them.

"Bonjour, Madame," Enjolras said. Agnes jumped and turned around.

"Petit Gabriel!" Agnes exclaimed. "You frightened me!" Enjolras tossed the apples into the air and they landed in the bowl. "Well...I guess you aren't so petit anymore, are you?"

"It's good to see you, again, Agnes," Enjolras said. "Eggs smell good."

"I didn't know you returned home," Agnes said. "Is this a permanent thing?" Enjolras laughed. "I'll take that as a no." Agnes returned to cooking. "You know, your father doesn't like you being in the kitchen."

"That's why I'm here," Enjolras said. He went to the sink and started washing the dishes. "How's the family?"

"They're good," Agnes said. "My daughter misses you." Enjolras chuckled.

"How old is Odette again?"

"Thirteen since last week," Agnes said. "I remember when you'd sneak over and the two of you would run behind the fields of my house. You were fifteen but you acted like you were ten like her."

Enjolras picked three glasses out of the sink and began to juggle those.

"Gabriel, your father will kill me if you break those," Agnes said.

"He'll have to go through me first," Enjolras said. He dropped one of the glasses. Agnes gasped but Enjolras grabbed it last minute.

The other two fell and he caught those as well.

"You're a jerk," Agnes said. But she was smiling. Enjolras managed to finish washing the dishes when his father called him.

He washed his hands on the dish towel as he waited for his father to find him. M. Enjolras came through the door.

"Bonjour, Gabriel," he said. It was a warm greeting but the voice used was angry. "Care to come to the dining room? You don't belong in here."

"Don't tell me where I belong," Enjolras said. He picked the glasses out of the drying rack. Agnes looked at him and shook her head.

He grinned.

He flipped the glasses into the air.

"See, Dad, I'm not worthless," Enjolras said as he juggled the glasses. "I can join the circus. That's ought to be more fun than being a lawyer. I mean I have a friend who plans to be in law school for eleven years. That's gotta be boring. Now if I join the circus I don't have to go to school at all. It'll be fun. I'll get my own train car."

"Don't be ridiculous," M. Enjolras said. "Now stop that before you break something." Enjolras started to juggle faster and he smiled at his father.