Decemberland

Chapter 43: Apocalyptica

Nico sat down on the bench and checked her shiny new watch. He was late.

“Ooh, you got a new watch, Nico? It looks so pretty.” Clarity walked up beside her. They had just come back from the dorm. Nico was just about done hanging out with her for the day. There could be only so much they were able to talk about before her dull stupidity started to kick in.

“Uh… yeah. New watch. Just, er, bought it today.” Her voice got caught on the word ‘bought.’ It wasn’t a part of her every day vocabulary.

“Hey guys,” said Trust as he came down the walkway.

“Finally!” Nico exclaimed with a sigh of relief, “Do you have any idea what time it is?” She pointed at her watch and shot him an accusatory look.

“Do you?” Trust smirked.

“W-Well, yeah! My new watch says it right here! It’s, uh… ‘V’ o’clock.”

“That’s Ancient Braumish for ‘five.’ I didn’t know you knew Ancient Braumish.” He winked at her. She grimaced back.

“… I don’t.”

“Eh, then you might want to go return it.”

“I might. For double the retail price, maybe.”

Trust’s eyes looked over to Clarity, who kept to herself. She furrowed her eyebrows, crossed her arms, puffed her cheeks and looked away.

“Nice to see you too, kiddo.”

“At any rate,” Nico piped up, “How about we all go to the park today?”

“I thought we were here to help Clarity study.”

Nico’s lips thinned and her eyes narrowed. “Unfortunately we already tried to a bit.”

“And?”

“My brain is fried and hers is missing.”

“Hey!” Clarity shouted. “Why do you have to be so mean about it?”

“I’m just poking fun,” said Nico, shoving Clarity lightly and trying to hide a smirk. “But seriously. I need a break and my head needs air.”

“That’s a shame; I’m all hyped and ready to go. I just got done reviewing your planetary science text. I was reading the unit on gravity. Interesting stuff.”

“Ah, whatever. Toss that thing aside. We’re shooting the breeze.”

Without hesitation, Trust very nonchalantly threw the book right over his shoulder with a simple nod and a grin.

Nico raised an eyebrow. She didn’t think he would actually do it. She couldn’t help but giggle.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re weird, that’s what,” she said with a smile.

She skipped ahead of the both of them joyously. “It’s weird how we’ve all been hanging out together so much lately. I suppose I should thank Claire for suddenly being able to use magic.”

Trust sighed. “If that’s what it is.”

“Well, it’s some kind of magic. I can feel it just as much as she can.”

“I bet,” muttered Trust.

Nico socked him in the arm. “I’m just saying, I kinda get how humans are about this community bonds stuff now. I like it. I kind of… I don’t want it to end.”

“Well, I’m a bit surprised you’d find a friend in me, honestly,” said Trust.

“So am I,” interjected Clarity.