Glass Pomegranate: Volume I

Chapter Ten: Roly-Polies

The waves rolled into shore, calm and soft against the sand. Angel closed his eyes to feel the world turn. The earth ignited in a new way. The air hummed with a vibration that even his sensitive hearing had not been able to detect previously. It was warm against his skin like the sun in midsummer.

Even the driftwood log he sat on teemed with life. The wood itself had long since faded, but the bugs currently using it for shelter were like tiny embers scuttling about.

It was because of this very beach and a similar log that he had been given the nickname 'Grub.' He had come here frequently as a kid to skip stones or play games with the triplets. Once a particularly gnarly and rotted log had washed up. They were nine years old at the time. It was fresh on its driftwood journey, not yet made hard and smooth by the waves. Instead, it was still rotten and soft. Nyx kicked it, cracking the wood open to expose a haven of roly-polies. The little gray creatures scattered, escaping the light.

Alistair plucked one up. The roly-poly curled into a ball in his palm.

"I dare you to eat it," he teased Angel.

Angel poked the pill-bug with a finger. It curled up tighter. His stomach churned. "Ok, I'll do it."

"Aw man, not seriously," said Alistair. "That's gross dude. Let's put it back. Maybe we can build a sandcastle to fill up with crabs instead."

Nyx stopped kicking the log and joined them. "You're seriously gonna eat that dirty ol' bug?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not?" It was a genuine question. He couldn't think of a reason not to, and the expressions of disgust and horror as well as intrigued excitement on his friends' faces spurned him forward. Angel plucked the roly-poly out of Alistair's hand.

"I was only kidding," said Alistair. His eyes shone, greedy with anticipation.

Angel dangled the curled-up roly-poly between his fingers, closed his eyes and popped it in his mouth. His friends squealed in disgust and delight.

"You're nuts Grub. I bet that guy had a family," said Alistair. 

Alistair called him 'Grub' for the rest of the afternoon, and it caught on from there. 

Angel couldn't explain why he ate the roly-poly.

To make them laugh? To gross them out? Who knows.

When he opened his eyes and looked at his hands, a faint blue aura lined the contours of his body. He shook his hand as if to get dirt away. The light disappeared.

I should have moved in with Nyx. I shouldn't have fought Carl. Then none of this would have happened. 

"Hey! I thought I'd find you here."

He looked toward the familiar voice to see Nyx climbing down the rocks concealing this small patch from the rest of the beach. She placed her feet with well practiced caution, holding her arms out for balance. The wind pushed her pink hair to the side. She wore his shirt again - this time a black t-shirt. Remnants of last night's makeup still stained rings around her eyes.

"I thought you were at work, so I went to the dock to look for you. I figured this was the next best bet." Nyx hopped off the bottom rock onto the sand.

"I can't hide from you," he said and moved over to make room.

"Then why do you try?" she asked, and sat next to him. "How are you?"

"How do you think I am?" he sighed. "I can't stop thinking about it. I wish I could dip my brain in bleach so I can forget about it. You remember when Ivy came to the island that time? When she nearly killed June and actually sucked up Bill?"