Four Painful Years

> Contact Luca.

Might as well.

First, you lock the door and bolt it shut. Then you throw a blanket up over the curtain rod, just to eliminate the threat of snipers… you think. Look, you saw it in a movie once and you’re short on ideas.

Finally, you change out of your scrubs and back into your clothes. They’re cleaner than they were when you first put them on, and they smell like butterscotch. You’re gonna have to remember to ask that nurse what detergent he uses.

Okay, now you can call Luca. You plug your busted up phone into the wall and turn it on. Queued up are a text from Raj Parmar, your landlord, and a bunch of social media notifications, most of which are probably concerned relatives who caught the news this morning. You send each of them a quick private message to debunk your untimely demise before moving on to address Raj. How the hell are you going to explain any of this to him without coming across as a total loon?

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[left]LANDY MAN
12:14 PM
[ So how about that floating island?

LOL i bet the look on ur face was priceless just now. Nyway i got the news, don’t worry about your last month’s rent ur going to need it. Just leave my macross artbook in one of the cupboards before u go, i don’t want to go all the way to neo asgard just to get it back haha.
Good luck w everything. If u ever run into a yakshi named kajal, tell her that big brother says hi. She has leg mods w waves painted on, u can’t miss her.
-Raj

Ps. WATCH THE XDRIVE ANIME ALREADY ][/left]

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Jeez, is everyone you know a Flipsider!? Talk about feeling like a stranger in your own neighborhood!

You dial Luca. As the phone rings you attempt to guess what sort of mythological creature she’s supposed to be.

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[left]LUCA: “Hey.”

JULIE: “Harpy.”

LUCA: “... Oh, so it’s like that now?”

JULIE: “Guh! What? No! No, sorry, I-I was thinking, and… I was just thinking out loud and, and I… um...”
JULIE: “... Hi.”

LUCA: “What is it, Mitchells.”

JULIE: “I figured I’d let you in on what’s happening, since you’re like, the one in charge of keeping me safe and stuff.”
JULIE: “I’m attending MSTTE in September!”

LUCA: “Huh. I guess the rumors are true.”
LUCA: “Cottonhelm really will admit anything with a pulse.”

JULIE: “You’re not funny.”

LUCA: “Not tryna be. Whitey’s criteria for accepting new students is so inconsistent it’s basically random, like he picks names out a hat or something. So we end up with fresh Mundanes running around Neo Asgard not knowin’ their charms from their chainswords, n’ shit like that.”
LUCA: “Whatever. Prolly made an exception since you’re so damn priority. They drop you back at your place?”

JULIE: “Yeah.”

LUCA: “Kay. We’re on our way.”

JULIE: “We?”

LUCA: “The Grosvenor assholes wouldn’t stop pestering me 'til I said I’d drive ‘em to see you.”

JULIE: “W-Wait! Don’t come over yet, I haven’t even had the chance to clean up!”

LUCA: “So? You’re moving out tonight, literally no one cares.”
LUCA: “We’ll be there in fifteen. Bye.”

JULIE: “Oh! Luca! I just remembered something important I had to tell you!”

LUCA: “What?”

JULIE: “... Happy National Sandwich Day.”

LUCA: “...”[/left]

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She hangs up. Flawless victory.

You fix yourself a helping of eggs and bacon. It just occurred to you how little you’ve eaten over the past few days. Here come the hunger pains.

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SpoilerShow

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995 Influence

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