Same
Faith
NGL, this whole exchange makes me so happy I am an only child.
Cindy
Same
Laurel
I can’t believe you guys don’t think this is unreasonable.
Margot
You will discover that Cindy says “Same ” to anything and everything she can.
Unreasonable or irrational. That’s all I’m seeing up there.
The group chat continues on and I watch as Cindy tries to defend herself for a minute, Laurel gives up trying to convince them to be on my sisters’ side, and Jess sends me a private message demanding, again, to be told exactly where I am. I close out completely and set the phone on something that won’t amplify the vibrations.
“Kissu has offered to eat it if it annoys you.”
“Pretty sure it would give you a tummy ache.” I kiss the top of his head and rub his ears the way I found out he likes it. “And I would rather be mildly inconvenienced than have to clean up zurgle vomit.”
I swear he laughs.
“He is laughing.” Arc looks back at me from where he stands at the window. “He has an interesting sense of humor.”
Kissu follows me when I go to stand next to Arc and look out at the snow… “How long is that thing going to be on fire?”
“According to the manufacturer it could be another month.”
“That’s shitty.”
“They’re working on a plan to get some staff out of here so they can put the remnants in a carbon recycling facility, but that could take weeks all on its own.”
I think of the ship on the Oregon coast they tried to burn a bunch of oil out of and then the whale they blew up in the seventies andthenthe hagfish spill.
Arc’s brow twists, looking down at me, “What is Napalm?”
“It’s a type of incendiary goo. Which is a term I knowonlybecause a history teacher at my high school was obsessed with the term.”
“I know what a whale is because of the nature documentaries Kimba likes to get us together to watch?—”
“And you go?”
“Kimba doesn’t take no for an answer, and she has even more weight to throw around lately. I sit in the back so no one thinks about me… it’s kind of amusing when they get confused or grossed out.” His brow is still furrowed. “What is a hagfish?”
“It’s a fish that basically secretes a super slippery oozy mucus? It might only be when they’re out of the water or maybe just when they’re dead. I’m not sure.”
And a truck load of them had crashed, covering the whole highway and a few cars.
“Why were they transporting them?”
“I honestly have no clue.”
Beside me, leaning against my leg, Kissu makes little chomping noises.
