The Aberrations of S.I.D.E.

No. 19: Dumbed Down

"The boy can't choose," Xavier muttered. "None of Alex's children can."

"Hush, Xavier, he's a family friend," Francesca chided. "Speaking of which, Remus, how's Janus?"

"He's doing better," Remus said vaguely. "Still Janus."

"And Roman, what about that Virgil boy? How is he?"

"He's... um... he's fine," Roman mumbled, forcing down the smile that always came whenever he thought of Virgil.

Xavier checked his watch and let out a dissatisfied grunt. "Dinner should've been ready two minutes ago. Don't the kitchen staff know that it's Thanksgiving?"

"I'm sure it'll be ready soon, darling," Francesca said, resting a hand on his arm. "We did get a very large turkey this year, after all."

I should be back at the Academy right now. I should be watching the Thanksgiving episode of that old TV show that Virgil and his family like. I should be eating pizza and garlic knots and talking with Virgil's grandparents over FaceTime.

"So, what's the plan for tonight?" Remus asked, leaning against the wall. "Dinner and then small talk afterwards?"

"I had one of the maids prepare your rooms, in case you wanted to spend the night," Francesca told him. "Didn't you bring anything?"

"We brought luggage so we could take some stuff back to the Academy."

Smooth, Roman thought, giving Remus a discreet thumbs-up.

One of the maids walked in, doing a little curtsy. "Dinner is served, Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez."

Francesca smiled. "Lovely. Thank you, Mavis."

"Oh, you're actually bothering to know the names of the maids now?" Remus asked. "This a new development?"

Roman elbowed him silent.

Xavier pursed his lips. "Don't be disrespectful to your mother, Remus. Take a page out of your brother's book."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to mess with his sketchbook."

"He means figuratively, knucklehead, shut up," Roman said in an undertone.

...............

"So, boys, how's school?" Francesca asked, pushing her now-empty plate away. "Learned anything new?"

"Well, we learned that our friend Patton's really, really good at fighting," Roman answered. "Hard to believe for someone his size."

"Hey, Janus is even smaller, and he's amazing," Remus said, shoveling a forkful of turkey into his mouth. "I mean, he's got shapeshifting on his side, but still."

"No talking with your mouth full, Remus," Xavier told him. "How did you find that out?"

The twins exchanged a look.

"Did... did you not hear about what happened?" Roman asked.

Francesca looked up. "About what?"

"The Divinity Circle attack? Our crew helped fend them off?"

Xavier frowned. "I was under the impression that every student was evacuated."

"Well, Janus, Virgil, and Patton were the targets, and they wanted to have a fighting chance," Roman said. "And Logan wanted to protect Patton, and me and Remus... well, we wanted to help our friends."

We wanted to make sure our boyfriends were okay.

Remus wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "I think I'm done."