Healing Myself

6 boys

Few hours before the meeting at Mr. Blackbourne's

Kota

Kota had just picked up Jess from home and was driving her to her best friend's. He couldn't stop thinking about Sang. He had thought about her as he went back home. He thought of her as he left Max in his room because the dog didn't have his own room. Not yet, anyway; he'd have one once they finally made the move to Sunnyvale. A move he was now very eager to make. He was also thinking about some other moves, but that would have to wait.

The rock music in the car changed to pop. He kept his eyes on the road ahead and his mind on Sang. Jessica turned toward him as much as she could with her seatbelt on.

"What's up with you?" She asked. "Me? Nothing." Kota lied. He never liked to lie, at least not with everything he already had to lie about, but he supposed this was something a teenage boy was allowed to lie about.

"Usually, when you're driving, you have this concentrated look on your face."

"You think I'm not paying attention to the road?"

"You are. But today you look, I dunno, thrilled? Animated? What's the word?"

Kota smiled at his little sister's trivial frustration. It was better this way. She, or his mother, didn't need to be troubled by everything he did for the Academy.

Like always, he gave her the correct answer. "You are simply using complex variations of the word excited."

"Right. Excited. Whatever. Now why do you look like this?" Her eyes were suspicious as she asked the question.

"It's really nothing." It's everything. "I went to take a look at our new neighborhood with Max." Not a lie. He did go to Sunnyvale to do exactly this.

Jess brightened up. "Really?" Then her demeanor dulled. "Why didn't you take me?"

Kota got a little confused. "You said you wanted it to be a surprise."

"Yeah, that." Jess waved it away like it was nothing. "Still, I need to know a little bit. A surprise doesn't mean you can't give me a hint."

"It's a good place. The neighborhood is nice and quiet. They have a big park nearby. You know Uncle's also going to be opening a diner there, and Nate's moving too."

"I don't want to be the new student but I'm really excited to move and see my new room."

"Me too, Jess."

*****

North and Silas

They were still at the old church. They had taken all the measurements and noted down all the details around 15 minutes ago. Now they were just hanging and resting here for a while before they left. Both of their phones buzzed, but it was only North who took his phone out.

After taking a look at the text message, he turned towards the pew Silas was once again laying down on. "We have a meeting at Mr. Blackbourne's tonight."

Silas was lost in his own thoughts. Thoughts about an Aggele who could understand his mother language. He suddenly sat up on the pew and finally looked toward North. "Do you think Aggele has a boyfriend?" He asked the brother he was closest to.

North's answer was instant. "No, Sang baby doesn't have a boyfriend."

Silas raises an eyebrow. "Sang baby?"

"Didn't you see how small she looked in front of us? Like-like a baby." North gets out. Not the most valid reasoning, but it made sense. And frankly, he didn't know why he'd called her that in the first place, but now that he had, it seemed to fit.