I woke up early alone in my bed, and found, surprise, Edith playing Animal Crossing in the living room, already dressed for school. Wait, school?

Yesterday was Saturday, so today is Sunday, no? Darn, no, the non-landed club was Saturday. I slept over at Marge's place, and now, after another night, I need to get to school.

I salute Edith, half awake, and realize that she is half awake too.

After emptying my bladder, I get to the kitchen, where my mom joins me, also nude and half-awake, a few minutes later, while I am eating my cereals.

None of us are actually talking. My mom is soon enough with her cup of coffee, and I am about to leave to get dressed when my father leaves the bedroom in a superb mood, also nude.

"Well, look at that. All three of my women are already awake"

"Your women?" says my mom.

"My lovely wife and my two perfectly imperfect daughters. What more can a man ask for in life?", he says, coming next to me and kissing me on the top of my head, and then, going to kiss my mom on the top of her head and serving himself a cup of coffee.

"If you want a kiss on the head, Edith, you'll need to get close, as I need my coffee."

"No, thanks. I could take some pancakes," she says.

"Woah. That was yesterday..."

"So?"

"Don't you have school this morning?"

"In, like, 2 hours?", she says.

I look at the microwave, and remember that my dad had not set the clock from our previous power failure, so I check the oven, and Edith is right. It's super early.

"Wait, did I wake you guys up?", I said.

"No, we had an alarm clock. We have a big day ahead of us and needed to take care of some accounting at home before going to one of our warehouses," says my mom.

"Which one?", I asked.

"You haven't been to that one yet, and never will," he says, teasing.

"Why?"

"It's one we are closing today. It's mostly older stuff, and it costs a lot. Some of the things we will never sell, and we found a wholesaler to take them on the cheap side, but the rest will be at our main one," says my father.

"With the camper?", I ask.

"With the camper. There is still a lot of space available, and we are tired of having so many places. It used to make sense when we had clients in those places, but not anymore."

My father ended up making pancakes while my mom went downstairs to handle the paperwork. He did bring her some.

Edith sat at the table but was mostly silent.

"Did you even manage to sleep?", I asked her.

"I did. Until about 2. I woke up from a nightmare, and what felt like a full bladder, but then, after peeing, I realized it was from the nightmare too. I played Animal Crossing a little, went back to my bed, slept about 2 hours, and woke up around 5."

"Geez, that's not a lot of sleep"

"I did oversleep Saturday evening"

"She woke up past 10!" says my dad.

"Well, good"

We soon were on the bus, but when we got out, Mindy was waiting for us on the curb.

"We broke up," she managed to say, between her crying.

We sat on a bench. It was still 15 minutes to class, and Marge soon joined us but actually quickly got the general mood and just sat next to Edith in silence. I don't know actually when she joined, as I was busy with Mindy.

"What happened?"

"I don't know! We are talking about school, and I just casually mentioned how private schools felt elitist, and he sort of exploded?"

"What do you mean, exploded?" I said. After learning what Edith's father did to her, I was worried.

"He was so insulted, saying that it's like every other school, just better funded, and that it's not his father's fault that our school is so shitty. That he still pays the school tax or whatever, and that if my parents had more money, they would have sent me too"

"That's rather mean," I said. Edith added, "Not just mean, almost cruel"

"I know! And I yelled at him that it's unfair"

"Good," said Edith

"In what way is that good?", asked Mindy.

"You didn't let him walk all over you."

"Sure, but then he added more, that it wasn't fair I still had my mom, and he didn't."

"Yikes. That's not nice at all," I said.

"I know, so I asked him to get the fuck out of my room. That if he couldn't say something nice, he should just shut the fuck up."

"What did he say?", I asked.

"Nothing. He grabbed his clothes, got dressed right in front of me, and then, left my room."

"That's cold," I said.

"His father was staying at a cabin nearby. I decided to go out to talk to him"

"I am not sure if it was a good idea," I say.

"Well, I told him, you don't just leave your girlfriend's room like that without saying a word"

"So?"

"He replied, 'I didn't. I left my ex's room'."

"Ouch," said Edith.

"Are you okay?", said Marge, but like I said, I don't know when she arrived.

"What do you think?", says Mindy, sarcastically.

"I don't know. It's why I am asking," says Marge, calm.

"Oh, right. I don't know how I am feeling. I am furious. At him and at me. And lonely."

"Well, you have us," I said.

Soon, it was time for class, sadly, but at lunch, it was mostly more rehashing of what happened, but with some pause for me to talk about the possible dyspraxia idea, with little emphasis on Olivia.

This is something that I have a hard time understanding even today from when I was that age.

Olivia was becoming a good friend. We will get even closer when older. I was close to Mindy, closer even to Marge, and even closer differently to Edith. And yet, I didn't want Olivia and my other 3 friends (or 2 friends and a sister), to cross paths with her.

Sure, she was a textile girl, and my two friends became naturists, and my sister became more secure around naturists.

But somehow, I doubt that this is it.

And it's not because Olivia knows my issues. Marge helped me too, and I was honest with Edith and could be honest with Mindy if we had stayed close. She did know that lunchtime about the dyspraxia, we just didn't talk math together.

No, something else was bothering me. Could it be that I felt that Olivia was better than I was and would be friends with my friends more than with me? I don't think so.

Could it be that I was ashamed of my friends, with one being too superficial, another being autistic, and the other badly damaged? No, of course not, because I loved all of them in their own way.

Could it be that she was a backend gang if my friend group collapsed?

That's the conclusion I came up with, but it's flawed. Because hindsight is a bitch. You can't think easily about the past without paying attention to what has happened since.

That evening, I had too much homework, and my parents were not back yet. They did call me and Edith (she answered first), and apologized that it was taking too long, but it did mean I couldn't see anyone other than my sister.

Well, not that it's bad, we ended up at the kitchen table, me nude, her dressed. She did change into her pajamas to have a sort of pajama party. I reminded her that I didn't wear one, but she insisted, "It's about wearing what you are sleeping in."

I found that funny for some reason.

We did our homework, but I had no math at all, so I continued some of Olivia's exercises. I couldn't check if I was right, but I would go see her soon, one way or another.

Our parents came home with Chinese takeout, which Edith loved and I enjoyed. They both not only undressed but also insisted on showering (together) before eating, as they were covered in dust.

They rushed as they were famished and came back after Edith and I set up the table, opened the containers, and were still on our first serving.

It was a nice meal, in which we talked about Mindy and Billy breaking up.

"There is something I don't like about James," said my father, out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?", asked our mom.

"I can't put my finger on it. Like, I feel like he is a volcano on the verge of exploding instead of being stable as a rock. Like he is boiling under the surface."

"Do you think it affected Billy?", I asked.

"I don't see how it wouldn't.", said Edith. "My parents added countless emotions deep in me that I am trying to sort out so I can have my own, and not my parents'."

"Yeah," I said, but I couldn't know. And to be honest? Even today? I don't. Because the empathy, patience, and love that my parents put inside me, well, I don't want them out of me.

Soon after supper, I decided to call Mindy. She was out swimming at the pool, and I was worried because it was rather cold outside. Not freezing, but certainly not swimming nude in a warm pool.

She called me back a few minutes later.

"Wasn't it too cold to swim?" I asked her after saying hellos.

"Hell yeah, it was. It certainly calmed my anger."

"For real?"

"In the winter, I often take a snow bath with my parents. We make angels nude and, well, play in the snow, and get right into a hot tub waiting for us."

"You don't have a hot tub"

She laughed.

"We have a tub. We just put hot water in it"

"Ah, we have a hot tub now, but it sucks"

"I heard. Jealous."

"Any news from Billy?"

"None, but I won't call him. I spoke to my parents, and they agree that he must have been in a bad mood, and he should apologize."

"Fair enough"

"Ooh," she says.

"What?"

"Well, I have cramps. I think the water was too cold"

"Well d'uh"

"No, I am used to that. It's weird. I feel better, by the way. Less angry."

"Well, if you want to get back with him, call him. If you don't, screw him."

"I don't know if I want to get back with him. I mean, he was angry for nothing."

"Maybe not nothing"

She laughs. "School pride is nothing"

"He wanted to be in junior varsity. Maybe it's important to him," I say.

"Hey, don't take his side"

"I am not. He is a jerk for leaving for that, I just mean, for him, it's not nothing, maybe."

"Maybe. Shit, I am still wet from the bath"

"It happens"

"Fuck, I'm bleeding"

"What?"

"Mom! Mom! I'm bleeding!"

"What?", I hear Clara in the background.

"My towel is full of blood, shit, and my thighs. Where did I cut myself?", she says to herself.

Clara starts to laugh.

"What's so funny? Get the Band-Aids or something."

"You are not bleeding, Mindy. You are having your first period. Let me get you a pad. And maybe hang up the phone with Julie?"

"Wait, seriously?" I say.

"I guess. I did have cramps, and I was moody. Shit, I am a woman now. Shit. I am a woman. Gotta go, I have to put on panties or something."

"Want me over?"

"Hell no. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure"

I hang up. Edith says. "She got her period before me?"

"I guess so?"

"Who has her periods?", says our mom, who visibly heard but was out of context.

"Mindy"

"Wow. I'll call Clara in an hour. It's a big day for her. Both of you, be very patient with her."

Edith and I ended up talking a little, but we then played Mario Kart for about 20 minutes alone, but were soon joined by our dad, who smoked us completely.

But the time we stopped, still having a lot of fun, I could hear my mom talking on the phone, from my parents's bedroom. Some laughing let me believe the call was going well.

My dad eventually read a story to Edith, and then, to me, but we each slept in our own room.

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