Glass Sneakers

19th ♕

19th ♕

"George, are you up?" Mom no. 2 was knocking on my bedroom door.

I groggily opened my eyes and got up from my bed. When I looked at the clock, it was already five in the afternoon. I didn't intend to come home this morning just to sleep, but it appeared to be what I'd ended up doing.

"George?" Mom no. 2 was still asking.

"Yeah?" It must be something urgent. She usually let me sleep in when I didn't answer after a few knocks.

"Can you come out?"

I wondered what was going on. "Sure."

Opening the door, I saw her waiting for me at the dining table. It was only a small one, compared to the one at Winterlace Palace. Sitting on the empty stool across from her, I asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"I don't know what to do." Mom no. 2 looked distressed.

She was fine earlier this morning, so I suddenly became worried. I asked, "What is it?"

"Your dad will come back. For real this time," she broke the news to me. "He just called and told me about it. He seemed pretty upset. You know what he's like whenever he gets let down. I think he finally hit the point of exhaustion with this dream he's been chasing around all his life."

I swallowed.

Mom no. 2 said with a mouthful of sigh, "I guess this is as far as luck will take us."

"We're hitting the end of road." I felt the world slowly coming down on me. Okay, this would come around sooner or later. I shouldn't have been surprised. In fact, if we'd rewind to earlier this summer, my dad finally coming home was supposed to be a good thing.

"How's your college application? I never got the chance to ask."

"After being chosen in the search, T.U. quickly fixed my application, and I'm good to go whenever they said it's convenient for me. Supposedly, it would be after the coronation and the hype."

"What happens now?"

"Whatever happens, my scholarship was approved just the same, so the plan hadn't changed yet."

"That's great. And about your dad, I think we should tell him," Mom no. 2 added. I deliberately nodded.

"He would be back this Friday." Mom no. 2 got up, redoing her hair. She still tied it up in a bun. Like old times.

It was humid, and I could feel the beads of sweat dripping down my neck. The small apartment where we lived didn't have air-conditioning or wasn't even well ventilated to start with. And it was dangerous to leave the windows open with the presence of one or two reporters lurking around. Jack was on the lookout in the car parked outside.

"Great. We'll see him again soon. At least Dad's not up to a surprise visit like last time," I said, trying to sound cheerful.

"When will you be back to the palace?" She got up and placed the empty mugs in the kitchen sink.

"Later. I have a date a little after midnight. Then Art and I would go back together," I told her.

"After midnight? Where?"

"To see a movie. There won't be a crowd during that time," I explained.

"You could just see it at the palace. I'm sure they have a movie room," she replied, turning on the faucet.

"I asked him out for a normal date."

"Have fun," she said. "I hope you will still leave room for a little excitement in your life every now and then."