They Don't Exactly Cover This Subject In Boarding School

4. Monday, September 8th

Philip pulled off his apron and put it on the hook it was supposed to go on when he wasn't wearing it.

He turned on his heel and walked out of the staff room, glad that his shift was over.

Even though he loved working at the Lewis Cafe, it tended to be rather busy for such a small business. Probably because of how close it was to the dorms, plus the menu items were rather cheap.

It was past 9pm, so the shop had just closed for the night, but Philip could still hear Maria and Eliza's voices as he walked out of the staff room.

"...And that's how Alex and John convinced be to be their surrogate mother for the eighth time." Eliza said, finishing a story Philip hadn't had the chance to hear the first part of.

"Wow, when are you going to get pregnant?" Maria asked, clearly amazed Eliza had given birth to eight children already.

"Well, work at the hospital is a bit busy right now, but once my shift changes I'll probably get pregnant then, so around late October." Eliza answered.

"I don't understand how you are willing to have nine children, all of which you only get shared custody of. I only have one child, and she's hard enough to look after." Maria said, gesturing to Susan Lewis, who was curled up in a corner booth with a book and ignoring their conversation.

Eliza shrugged. "I think mostly it's because Alex has this whole deal with having a legacy, and he thinks that if he has a lot of kids his memory will definitely be carried on."

"That's sounds like an Alex sort of thing to do." Maria said, pulling out a cloth and beginning to wipe down the counter.

"I can do that, Maria." Philip said, reaching for the cloth.

"No, no, I've been doing this for years," Maria said "I'm still young enough to clean. Besides, you should be heading back to your apartment to do homework and such soon."

"She's right, Pip," Eliza said "You should go get your work done so you can get a good night's sleep."

"Since when did I get two Moms?" Philip asked jokingly. Maria turned her head so Philip couldn't see her face.

"Since now." Eliza said, pushing her son gently towards the door.

"Fine. Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Maria." Philip said, leaving the cafe.

He hurried across the street as soon as the road was empty, and into the Fire Escape's courtyard.

"Hey, Philip." Eston called. Philip turned and walked to where he, David, and another guy were sitting in front of David's ground floor apartment.

"This is my boyfriend, Richard." David said before Philip could ask.

Richard was tall, even taller than Eston, and skinny. He looked to be a mixed race kid, and his long curls were tied up in a bun at the back of his head.

"You can call me Dick." He said, winking at Philip.

"He's a bit of a slut." Eston said to Philip.

"Don't slut shame, you limp dick." Dick said, reaching over David and lightly punching Eston's knee.

"You wound me." Eston said, taking a sip of the Sprite can he was holding.

"Why were you out so late?" David asked.

"It's only, like, 9:30." Philip answered.

"On a Monday." David replied.

"I work at the Lewis Cafe, my shift just ended." Philip explained.

"Figures. You smell like coffee." Dick said.

"Thanks for smelling me." Philip said, unbothered.

Eston laughed a little.

"So what are you studying, Dick?" Philip asked.

"Phychology, or why people do dumb shit." Dick answered, leaning against David.

"Cool." Philip said "I'm gonna go now. I've got homework to do, and my sister will get worried if I'm not home on time."

"Ok, see you tomorrow." David said as Philip walked towards the stairs.

"I'm home!" Philip called when he opened his front door.

"Damnit," Georges said "I had dibs on your clothes."

"Nice to know you care more about my stuff than if I was actually dead." Philip said, shutting the door behind him.

"I would care." Will said, but it was clear he was paying more attention to his laptop than the conversation.

"Where's Frances?" Philip asked, walking into their shared room to grab his laptop.

"She and Theodosia went to go see a movie." Georges said.

"Oh." Philip said, sitting down on the couch next to his cousins and beginning to write for his poetry class.

About half an hour later Philip finished his homework and went outside for a bit since he didn't want to go to bed just yet.

He leaned against the railing and let the early night wind play with his hair.

Eston, David, and Dick had left, but a light was on in David's apartment window.

A couple stood in the courtyard, obviously fighting. Philip watched them, ready to intervene, until the girl stomped off. The boy sighed and lit a cigarette, and then headed back to his apartment.

A car pulled up and parked in the parking lot next to the Fire Escape, where most of the college kids with cars parked, and George Eacker stepped out.

Philip waved to him when he entered the courtyard.

George held up a hand in acknowledgement, and climbed the stairs to stand next to Philip.

"Why are you up here all alone?" George asked "Don't you have people to spend time with?"

"I'm not alone, unless I've made you up in my mind and I haven't realized it." Philip answered.

"I'm pretty sure I'm real." George said "But I guess there's no way to be completely sure."

"That's a bit too deep of a conversation for when you barely know me." Philip answered.

A light turned off in an apartment in the left block.

"Maybe," George said "But I don't think either of us is the kind of person who enjoys small talk."

"You're not wrong." Philip said "So if you don't like small talk, what would you rather talk about?"

"Anything, everything." George said.

George's phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the text on the screen.

"I've got to go." George said "My sister is home alone, and she doesn't like being home alone."

"Then I won't delay you." Philip said, pulling a pen out of his pocket "But here's my number if you ever want to talk about anything and everything."

George smiled and let Philip write his number on his arm, and then walked away.

Philip stretched and then walked back inside his apartment.