ChaoticConcertina:????????
Don’t be mean to me.
I only get little pieces of the slang when I call every night, it’s not every other word!
It’s not like this.
It’s not skibidi, whatever the fuck that is.
PinksPosies&Pearls:OMG??
Fear not, rizzly bear.
I gotchu.
I’d going to send you some pics of a cheat sheet my school gave us??
You’ll be speaking her language in no time.
This is so mindful of you, your vibes are max.
VERY sigma, and you can’t shoot higher than that. That’s elite.
Pinky to the rescue. Ranar grinned down at his phone screen, squinting at the screenshot she’d sent.Ohio?He wondered what she thought of kids, if she had any, if she wanted them.Why would that matter? Are you just embracing the delusion with both arms now, giving up on reality altogether?
It had been nearly two weeks since the morning he’d run into Sumi, and they’d still not found time to even share a single cup of coffee. He understood. Moving was chaos, and he’d contributed equally. They’d had an especially bad week with his father, the incident from the day his parents had met his sister for lunch snowballed into several days of extreme agitation and lashing out that Ranar knew would only get worse.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” Nisa had begged him days after the fact. “I had no idea my patient was going to go into labor. What do you want me todo, Ranar?”
“Helpme!“ he’d exclaimed, furious that his sister needed to ask, that it needed to be voiced at all. “Help me with them just the tiniest bit. I really don’t think that’s so much to ask.”
He didn’t know how it was that his sister was still able to quell any undesirable situation with her tears, the same as she’d always done growing up, but as soon he heard her sniffles, his anger faded, protective big brother instinct kicking on as it always had.
“I hate seeing him like this,” she’d whimpered. “I feel like we already have to say our goodbyes and I just can’t deal with it.”
Ranar had closed his eyes, irritated that somehow he was meant to be unaffected by the same situation. “I know, Nisa. How do you thinkIfeel every day? I’m the one here, watching it happen.”
He and Sumi had traded numbers and promised that they’d get together as soon as their schedules permitted it, but it had yet to happen and he’d given up the expectation that it ever would.Sorry, Gracie. She probably found the orcs. Or the orcs found her.
He idly wondered what Sumi would think of their accommodative vehicle as Ruma curled into the passenger space, wondering if he wouldeverhave the chance to have her ride in his. In place of a standard running board on a generic human SUV, his kicked down, forming a miniature ramp, easily manipulated with his tail, and a comfortable, open interior instead of seats. Hand levers for the brake and accelerator replaced floor pedals, safety belts on the side arms of the padded head supports.
They were halfway downtown before Ruma spoke, as soon as he braked at a light.
“Does Thatha not remember me because I moved away?”
Ranar was horrified to see the tears in her eyes, her miserable little voice. Her lip quivered, and beside her, the tip of her violet tail twitched.
“Baby, no. Of course not.” He would have given anything for some of her nonsensical slang at that moment, anything to have saved them from havingthisconversation. He was never going to get a break from having this same conversation, Ranar realized, over and over, with everyone he loved.Maybe you should start drinking. “That doesn’t have anything to do with it, Ruma, and I don’t want you to ever think that. Thatha is sick. It’s only going to get worse as the years go on. You living here or not doesn’t matter. Sometimes he calls me the wrong name too, and he’s with me all the time.”
“I don’t want him to forget who I am.” The tears fell then, the weight of her misery dropping onto the already insurmountable load on his back with a thud.
How’s your dad doing? You’re all in our thoughts. I’m just glad my mom’s heart gave out on her before her mind went.Every day was a new well-wisher, and Ranar sometimes wondered if his face might freeze into the rictus smile he adopted every time a well-meaning neighbor shook their head sadly and then walked off with an air of relief that it was him and not them on the other side of the counter.
“I know, baby. Neither do I. But here’s the important part, Noodle. That name he was calling you tonight? Neja? That was his little sister. She died a long, long time ago, but they were close, everyone tells me. So he might’ve called you the wrong name, but he remembered the important part — that you’re someone he loves, very much.”
They were both quiet for the rest of the short ride, but the lively atmosphere of the coffee shop brightened her instantly. He had no idea how the pink, athleisure hoodie she’d put on over awhite t-shirt was considered preppy and his mouth had opened to comment on her bag, what they’d called fanny packs in his day, but he’d had the good sense to abort the thought when she dropped it over her head, wearing it like a purse.Maybe Pinky’s cheat sheet covers clothes.
If he had expected his tween to be a novice in the art of coffee ordering, Ranar would’ve been disappointed.It’s a good thing you were taught otherwise. He’d not seen Xavier since the day he’d run into Sumi, his disastrous week subsuming his every waking moment. Neither the ram nor his sister and co-owner Xenna were working that evening, and once their drinks were delivered to the side counter, Ruma asked if they could stroll around downtown.
