Living with Dillon

Chapter 4| Dancing with the Insane

     I stumbled down the stairs, still dazed at what I had recently witnessed. I couldn't comprehend how I had mislead myself to believe Dillon was a guy. I knew that we hung out when were kids by what I was told by my parents but could my memory be that awful to completely forget her gender?

     As I stepped down on the floor I could hear the sound of music blasting from the opposite side of the hallway. Like the living room, the hallway was a complete disaster. I constantly tripped and fell into heaps of clothes as I followed the music.

     Somehow, in the process of locating the music, I stumbled into the kitchen. I was surprised to see how tidy it was compared to rest of the house, only a few dirty dishes were stacked in the sink. The counter held an iPhone, which I presumed was the cause of the music. To the left of the countertop was the dinner table, with one chair at either end. But that's not what had interested me, what interested me was Aunt Clarisse, who stood in the middle of the table. She held a hairbrush up to her lips as she sung along to the music.

     "I KNOW YOU LIE, 'CAUSE YOUR LIPS ARE MOVING!" She sung as sweat poured down her chin. "TELL ME DO YOU THINK I'M DUMB?"

     I'm not going to lie, as I stared at her in astonishment I thought she had an incredible voice.

"I MIGHT BE YOUNG, BUT I AIN'T STUPID." She snapped her fingers to the beat. The divorce must have been harder than I had thought.

When she spun around and saw me at the entrance of the kitchen, she happily waved and continued her performance.

     "Aunt Clarisse!" I called.

     She was either ignoring me or shouldn't hear from the obviously loud music. Either way, she didn't respond and continued to dance around the table. She stroked her hair with one hand and used the other to hold her hairbrush, or in her mind, her microphone.

"Aunt Clarisse!" I said a little louder.

     Still she continued to sing.

     "AUNT CLARISSE!" I screamed.

     She looked down at me and welcomed me with an extended arm, motioning me to take it.

     I walked towards her, to which she eagerly clasped her hand against mine, pulling me upwards onto the table. The table wobbled with the extra weight. Worrying for my safety seemed pretty reasonable at the time.

"Aunt Clarisse, this doesn't seem safe!" I nervously yelled.

"What? You want me to pay?" She shouted back laughing.

"No! This doesn't seem safe!" I repeated.

"I know right! This is great!" Aunt Clarrise threw the hair brush to the ground as she took me by the hands and spun me around.

Is she always like this, I wondered.

"Aunt Clarisse, I've got a question."

"Shoot!" She giggled.

     Oh, now she hears me, I thought.

     "How long has," I nervously gulped down fresh air. "How long has Dillon been female?" My face warmed with embarrassed. The image of Dillon in her room flashed across my eyes which only made the heat of embarrassment intensify.

Aunt Clarisse laughed. "All fifteen years of her life."

"B-but isn't Dillon a boys name?" I asked

"So is Alex but we don't judge." The woman made sense.

     Aunt Clarrise dropped my hands and leaped off table. She took a minute to catch her breath, then walked up to the counter to turn off the music.

    I followed her down and made my way to the wall. I leaned my back against it and ran my fingers through my already damp hair, inhaling deeply.

     "Why are you asking me? You should know she's a girl since you've met her before, " Aunt Clarisse informed me as she made her way to fridge.

      "Oh, y-yeah right, right," I stuttered. Why could everyone remember my interactions with Dillon, but not myself?

I stayed against the wall, my eyes closed as I tried to control my rapidly beating heart. My mind wouldn't rest at replaying my encounter with Dillon.

"Here." I opened my eyes, it was Aunt Clarisse. She was offering me a pink popsicle. One was already in her mouth.

"Oh, thank you," I said surprised.

"You're welcome," she replied with a smile.

I popped it into my mouth, savoring the coolness that came with it. It tasted like lemonade.

"There's a room already set up for you," Aunt Clarisse called out while walking out the kitchen. "It's the only door in the hallway. You have a bed and a drawer to place your things. But!" she yelled as she stomped her way up the stairs. "There's no bathroom, so you'll have to share with Dillon."

     I groaned and slammed my hand against my forehand. It was just my luck, I would be sharing the bathroom with her.

      I plodded toward my new room. It was average size and like she said, a bed and small drawer. There was a small window across the room overlooking the backyard, but I didn't care about that. The sun has already started to set so I kicked off my sneakers and pulled off my t-shirt. The bed wasn't like mine from home, but I jumped in anyways. It was cool and smelled of lavender. I pressed my face against the white pillow and tugged out the red covered sheets from beneath me.

     As my body relaxed, my eyelids began to drop. Before dozing off I mumbled "Goodnight Scarlet and Banshee."

That was my first night with Aunt Clarisse. It was a wild and eventful day, and as my mind raced and swirled recounting the craziness that had ensured, I knew it wouldn't be my last.