Life is Stranger

Trash and Treasure

Author's note: This chapter contains some content from episode IV of Life is Strange: Before the Storm.

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"Chloe, we're supposed to be cleaning the room, and so far all we've done is play dress-up with the clothes we're meant to be sorting for trash."

"Yeah? So? I mean, what kind of mom is it that makes their kid clean their room on their birthday? Besides, I'm glad we did. You make a really cute pirate, Caulfield...I bet Ann Bonny and Mary Read would have liked to, ahem, 'swash your buckle' when you grew up."

"What? What the heck is all that garbage supposed to mean?"

"I thought you knew your pirates, Maxo. Some people say that Anne and Mary were...erm...used to...you know...kiss each other and stuff..."

"Eh? Two women? Doing...things? To each other? No way Chloe! Why the hell would they want to...did they really?"

"I dunno. Bonny did marry a couple of dudes and ended up having a baby. So who knows? Mebbe they did. Mebbe they didn't."

"I'm gonna go with they didn't. Seems real strange to me."

"Duh. Yeah. We're just kids. I'm a terrific twelve and you're a tiny ten. What do we know about grown-ups and their sloppy squelching?"

"Ew! 'Squelching'? You always manage to make things sound so totally gross...hey, what's your dad's camera doing in here?" said Max, eager to change the subject.

"He said I could bring it up here for you to use. He's tired of watching you drool all over yourself every time he uses it...his words, not mine."

"Your dad is the best."

"Sure. Just don't ever tell him that. We need to keep him on his toes."

"Imma gonna tell him you said that."

"We both know that you won't, dork."

"I might."

"Really? Who do you love more? Me or my dad?"

"Not fair!"

"Who says I play fair? I play dirty. Winners make their own rules, Caulfield."

"That's just another way to describe cheating."

"It's all relative."

"If you say so. What about this for the trash? Seems like a good candidate."

"Are you insane? That's my entire magic collection. Do you know how many weeks of allowance this cost?"

"You haven't touched this for so long that it wouldn't surprise me if mice are living in it."

"The only reason I haven't bothered with it is because my assistant turned out to be a total wuss who gets squeamish at the sight of fake blood."

"At least you didn't saw me in half. How are you planning to clean this place if you won't throw away anything?"

"A magician never reveals her secrets. Put it back."

"Fine. That's it. I'm calling off the search. If you want more trash, you'll have to find it yourself."

"Well, it wasn't exactly the purge Mom was hoping for. But at least we tried, right?"

"Ahem. I tried. You...well, you were just extremely Chloe about the whole endeavour."

"You mean cool, casual and chilled out? Yeah, I know. I am awesome, right?"