Somehow we made it back just in time for warmups to start. I felt like a complete idiot standing in the middle of a crowded gym, wearing an orange and maroon wrestling singlet, but at least everyone on my team was wearing the same thing. Seriously though, wrestling singlets are so unflattering an uncomfortable. I was grateful, however, that I wasn't on the swim team. Their uniform was an orange speedo brief. That was infinitely worse than the wrestling uniform.
Warmups passed by pretty quickly. It was same warmup routine we did at the start of each practice, so we all had it memorized and were able to run through it efficiently. We moved onto stretches, which we also did during every practice, so it passed with similar ease.
We finished just in time for the next team to take the mat for their warm-ups, and headed back to our school's assigned area. I grabbed my sweatshirt and sweatpants and quickly pulled them on over my singlet. The gym was very hot, due to the sheer about of people in the space, but I wasn't about to walk around without something covering me. I saw that Dudley had had a similar idea, but had decided to forego the sweatshirt. I tried to think of anything I could do or say to delay meeting the Dursley's any longer, but my mind was blank. I took a deep breathe.
Okay, it would all be okay.
Logically, I knew that I was being unreasonable and overdramatic. Like, seriously, what does it matter if his parents don't like me? It's not like this is the first time I've ever been introduced to a friends parents. Or the first time I've had an actual friend outside of the orphanage.
Oh.
So maybe my overreaction made a bit of sense, but that didn't change the fact that I needed to pull myself together unless I wanted to cause problems. A small part of me was irrationally worried about blowing up another water fountain, even though anyone with any sense knew that the explosion couldn't have possibly been my fault.
I really couldn't put off this meeting any longer without being rude, and I might be overly sarcastic, but being straight-up rude was where I drew the line. Dudley looked over at me with an expectant stare, and raised his eyebrows when he saw me grimace slightly.
"Percy, I know the boys freaked out with the stories about my parents, but they are still my parents, you could try to look a little less like you're about to walk to your death."
I nodded sheepishly. I internally cursed the fact that Dudley had improved his ability to express his emotions using words since we first met. Well, not really, I was kinda proud of the kid, but the point is he was 100% right about the fact that I was being rather close-minded about this whole situation.
"And anyways," Dudley continued, "You definitely should get it over with before you compete, you know, to get it off your chest."
Yet another good point. I said so out loud, and Dudley rolled his eyes while a smile crept onto his face.
"Yeah yeah, come on, you scrawny git. Let's go."
I followed him as he lead the way through the crowded gymnasium, down a few hallways and finally back into the entrance hall, lightheartedly protesting the way he called me scrawny. We scanned the somewhat-smaller crowd for Piers, but he found us before we found him. We both jumped slightly when a voice from behind us shouted,
"Big D, Percy! Warmups are done?"
Dudley and I both nodded, and Piers grabbed each of our shoulders and forcefully pivoted all three of us around and marched us back down the hallway we had just come from, past the open gym doors and further down the opposite way..
"Your mom and dad and I have all been waiting over here. Your dad was asking all sorts of questions about Percy, I don't know what kind of answers he was looking for, but I think I answered him okay, because he doesn't seem as pissed off as he did when they first showed up." Piers was talking to Dudley, but I was listening intently too. I was about to interrupt and ask just how anger Dudley's father was at the current moment, but then we had reached the destination that Pier's was leading us to.
There was a space where the hallway opened up a bit, turning the hallway into a kind of antechamber. The event organizers had dragged in a couple of cafeteria tables in order ot provide guests with a place to sit. At one of the tables sat a couple who, based on the way they looked up when the three of us walked in, must have been Dudley's parents.
Dudley's father looked a lot like him. They had similar facial structures, with the same nose and eyes, and if I had to guess, I'd say they have the same lips as well, but Mr. Dursleys lips were covered by a very impressive looking mustache. He had broad shoulders and a round belly, and a bit taller than I had expected. He kind of had the look of someone who had done sports in their younger years, but had grown out of shape as time went on. I was surprised by how kind and normal he looked. Sure, the way he was glaring at me was a tad off-putting, but overall he looked like a very chill dude. He really just had a classic, dad-like look about him, although admittedly I might not be the most well-versed in that area of expertise.
Dudley's mom looked almost nothing like him, except for the fact that they had matching blonde hair, although hers had a slightly more reddish tint to it. She couldn't have been older than 35, yet her face had an aged look about it. Her neck was almost unnaturally long, but I was pretty sure that that was from the way she seemed to be holding her posture with her shoulders forced down. She made eye-contact with me and, unlike her husband, smiled kindly. She had a pretty nice smile.
"You must be Percy! Dudders has told us so much about you, I'm so glad we finally get to meet you! Vernon, stand up and say hello to Dudley's friend." She had already gotten to her feet and made her way over to us, with her husband following with a grumble. I appreciated the attempt at a warm welcome, but I could tell she was only doing it to be polite by the way she looked me up and down with a slight waver in her smile. I decided to ignore this, though, and greeted her with an enthusiastic,
"Yup! I am he! It's great to meet you two too, I hope Dudley's only been saying good things about me." I tried to inject as much light-hearted humor into my tone as I could, not wanting to betray the fact that I was actually quite nervous about what sort of things Dudley's parents had heard about me. Mrs. Dursley's smile became a little less obviously fake and she started to respond, when Mr. Dursley cut her off,
"He says you're an orphan."
There was a beat of silence as everyone froze for a moment. Like, sure okay it's not like my lack of parents was shocking knowledge for anyone there but did the man really have to say it so bluntly? I blinked, shot a quick side glance to Dudley and Piers, who both looked like they were dying inside, and then pulled my face into a somewhat tense smile.
"Ahaha, yeah! No parents for me!" I was worried that I would be expected to elaborate further, but Mr. Dursley saved me from that by asking the ever-so polite question of:
"How the hell are you able to attend Smeltings then?" This time I couldn't help but let out a shocked laugh. Okay, so maybe he wasn't mad at me for having the audacity to not have parents (like it was my fault or something), but rather just confused and frustrated about how some strange little orphan was able to afford the cost of Smeltings' tuition. Fair enough, I guess. I mean, still a tad offensive, but better than hating me for having no parents (seriously wtf man??).
"You know what, that's a fair question. I have an education fund thing-y that my dad set up before dropping me at the orphanage, I guess. Thats what our orphanage manager says." I smiled a bit hesitantly as I gave my answer. A grunt, and then,
"I don't get it. Why would anyone who cares enough about education drop their kid at an orphanage?"
Okay, ouch. I was really starting to understand where Dudley had gotten his attitude from, and was only now stopping to fully appreciate how much he had changed in the few months I had known him. That feeling of appreciation only doubled when Dudley stepped closer to his father and, with his voice low, said,
"Dad, please. Why would you say that?" The man just looked at his son, and replied,
"I just asked a question, now, I want to hear his answer." Then he turned to me and raised his eyebrows. Dudley also turned to look at me, and I could see the apology clear in his eyes. It was obvious that this was not how he was hoping this encounter would go. Luckily for him, however, all of my overdramatic panicking earlier had prepared me for this. This was somehow actually a better scenario than most of what I was imagining. Questions about life as an orphan, as invasive as they are, are loads better than the scenario in which Mr. and Mrs. Dursley both took one look at me, start chanting gregorian-style, before pulling out a huge butcher knife and offering me as a human sacrifice to the Gods of Wrestling so they could ensure Dudley would win today's tournament.
Some might say I have an overactive imagination. I just say I want to be prepared for the worst.
Without acknowledging Dudley's apologetic stare, I took and deep breath and responded to Mr. Dursley
"Well, sir, if I knew, I would tell you, but I can hardly understand the actions of a man that I've never met. If you ever run into him though, feel free to ask and please let me know what he says, 'cause I've wondered the exact same thing."
It was a bit of a sassy response, but to be fair, it was an invasive question. Piers had to turn away in order to stop himself from laughing, and Dudley was staring at me with a mix of exasperation, embarrassment and relief. Mr. Dursley just stared at me blankly for a few seconds, almost like he was trying to process what I had said. Once he had sorted it out, he furrowed his brow, but still didn't say anything. His wife sniffed tensely as the silence stretched on, and I just continued to stand there awkwardly. After what must have been a lifetime of standing around silently, Mr. Dursley turned sharply to his wife, set a hand on her lower back, and ushered her a few meters away from where Dudley, Piers, and I were standing. The adults started having a harsh, whispered conversation, clearly led my an angry Mr. Dursley. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but from the way they kept shooting looks over at me made it obvious what the topic of their conversation was.
Guess who's back! It me. This chapter is at 1965 words. Hope everyone is doing well, thank you to everybody who is still reading this story. Expect a more updates within the next few days!