A Borrower's Anthology

Fish

Nicholas returns to Darius' room, and they make a small deal over snacks.

...

Music sheets were tossed in various places, some new and some old: the desk, the night table-there were even some on Darius' bed, where he was sitting at the edge of, back turned to the wall. Nicholas hadn't known the last time he'd seen Darius working so hard, but he guessed well into the week that Darius wasn't working hard at his music at all.

He was working hard at drawing him out.

Following the incident, Nicholas had kept his mouth wisely shut. His aunt and uncle didn't so much as ask that day why he'd returned out of breath, assuming him to have gotten spooked by the Henderson's family pet again. Or that he was out of shape, which Nicholas had latched onto with a tired laugh. Any excuse he found rather than telling them the truth was better. If they had known he had not only escaped the human and been seen but had spoken with him, he was sure his guardians would have been disappointed. Not to mention they would all have had to move. Any other time, Nicholas would have agreed, but he liked it where they lived.

Plus, a part of him was intrigued by Darius' reaction itself as well, even though he knew he shouldn't have been thinking along the same lines as Michelle. So far though, Darius debunked everything everyone had thought about the humans. He hadn't even overhead Darius speaking about finding Nick with his siblings or friends over the phone. It had almost made Nick wonder if he'd forgotten about him altogether.

That was until the random music sheet placements, the more constant guitar playing, and the fact all of those sheets had fewer and fewer symbols on them as time progressed. He's baiting me, Nicholas thought time and time again as he would peer out from the wall, only the thinnest crack between the panels showing a glimpse of his eye. Sometimes, Darius would strike a sour chord that made Nicholas' flesh crawl. He had to wonder if that was on purpose too.

The family had already made their rounds the night before for a full week's supplies. Nicholas had no real reason to entertain Darius' fancies, but he also wouldn't have gone missed among the other borrowers either. His aunt was preparing ingredients and storing away cooking leaves; his uncle was making new furniture with the new cardboard pieces. Meanwhile, Michelle and her parents were trying to rearrange her room after a small leak had broken out from the bathroom, the room directly neighboring Philip's. Everyone was busy with something.

Inhaling, deep and long, Nick parted the panel, leaving enough of a gap for him to slide out of. After, he checked with one hand for the pin-needle and hook he kept at his hip while the other hand checked his handmade guitar. What are you doing, Nick...? Nicholas sighed out a nervous breath, stuck his hook into the edge of the headboard, and strapped on his suction tapes.

Getting yourself in trouble, is what.

He was proud of himself for not making any noise loud enough to attract Darius' attention, but he supposed he also had the guitar to thank for that, proving its alliance to him once more. The instrument wasn't as loud as the tinny, brass one his friend Harlem liked to use, but it had its own weight in voice to carry over a borrowers' tinier movements. The notes still played as Nicholas landed onto the desk's surface, giving a tug to the rope and letting his hook disconnect from its higher perch. Next, he ripped the tape off from his shoes, putting them back in the bag.

With his new closer proximity on the desk, and without the burden of Darius' eyes, Nicholas took a moment to peruse the mostly blank sheets of paper. As tradition, a pair of boxes divided into six sections were printed on the paper, followed by thick black circles and other shapes with tails. There were around five pieces of paper in total around the desk, and as Nicholas walked along their lined--though slightly askew--path, he noticed a bowl he hadn't seen when scouting. Approaching it closer, the smell of salt, crackers and strangely cheese twirled through his nose.