A/N: Hey all! Scree here. It is with great pleasure I present to you Breaking Science. c: After writing Love and its Byproducts, I wanted to write something a little more serious and well... Night Vale-y. The first few chapters will focus on Carlos and his job and family outside of Night Vale.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy. More chapters to come! Over and out.
"Carlos? Carlos, are you listening?"
Snap snap.
"Huh?" Carlos blinked. Aurora rolled her eyes.
"Look down, idiota."
"O-oh," he stuttered. She had taken all of his food and moved it to her side of the table. "Was I out that bad..?"
"Obviously," she replied. "What's up with you lately? Is it your classes?"
Carlos rubbed his temples and sighed.
"No, my classes are fine. Biochemistry has always been fine; it's very easy to teach. My research is a different story. I want to be able to teach my students something… new. Some great new discovery. But I'm stuck." Aurora nodded as she passed him back his food.
"You always have that look on your face when you're upset, hermano." She took a bite of the grilled chicken that littered her salad. "You've always been distracted, Carlito, but Mamá will know the difference."
"I know," Carlos sighed and looked down at his soup that had yet to be touched.
"Is the soup not to your liking, sir?" a friendly voice inquired. Carlos blinked, and drew his head up. A smiling waiter looked down at him.
"Oh, no, I mean, yes, I uh-"
"The soup is fine, dear. Carlos here has been so busy talking, he hasn't touched it yet." Aurora interjected.
"Yes," Carlos added, rather awkwardly.
"Oh, sure," the young man said good naturedly. "Can I get you anything?"
"We're good for now, thank you," Aurora smiled. The waiter took his leave. Carlos quickly dipped his spoon into the broccoli and cheese soup and led the utensil to his mouth. The soup hit his tongue; it was rich and creamy, packed with the tang of salt, and not yet lukewarm. He dropped his spoon back into the soup, and it greeted the porcelain surface of the bowl with a friendly 'tink!'
"Sorry, Aurora. I'll get my act together before we visit Mamá, I promise." Aurora shook her head and smiled.
"Its all right, Carlos. Maybe talking to Mamá will help. It always used to." That, Carlos knew, was true. Mamá always knew what to say. When Carlos was in school, and he returned home upset, or when he was stuck on his homework. The day Papá died. The day a prestigious school in Massachusetts decided to interest themselves in his future, and offer him a place in their ranks. The day before he left, even. Lately, he'd found himself wanting to call his Mamá even though he'd been living on his own for nearly 15 years. But whenever he thought to call her, it was very late. Even with the time difference of three hours, he'd have still woken her back in California.
In one of those particular dark morning hours, he'd received a phone call from Emilio, who'd been in hysterics. Mamá's in trouble, he kept saying. Carlos had never heard his unshakeable older brother sound so vulnerable. After Carlos calmed him down a bit, the news came that Mamá had been rushed to the hospital after experiencing a heart attack.
From what he could understand from Emilio, she knew what was happening and dialed 911, but stopped talking after a few seconds. Javier, who lived closest to Mamá, had received a phone call when she was admitted.
That whole thing had happened about two months ago. Mamá was doing well now, and she was back at home. There were assisted living employees at her house day and night, and for that Carlos was thankful. He continued to eat the lush soup gratefully. He hadn't eaten since breakfast on the plane ride in, and he hadn't realized how hungry he was until the flavour of the cheese lingered on his tongue.
Carlos was excited to be back in California; the warm weather was fresh and familiar. When he followed Aurora out of the restaurant, the air smelled like home.
"Well Carlito, if you haven't reserved a hotel room yet, you're welcome to stay at Javier's with the rest of us." Carlos chuckled.
"How nice of you to invite me into Javier's home," he smiled goodnaturedly. "Is there any room?"
"Certainly more room than Mamá's will have. Especially with all of our little rascals running around." It had been a while since Carlos had seen his nieces and nephews. He was sure they were all much more mature by now then he'd expect. Javier's oldest turned fifteen about four months ago.
"Speaking of rascals, are you EVER going to make any?" Aurora joked. Carlos rolled his eyes.
"You know how I feel about children." Aurora smiled.
"Yeah, something about being creeped out by cell mitosis."
"Close. What 'creeps me out' is the fact that when a male gamete perforates a female gamete, an entire, tiny and helpless human being is created from those two simple little cells. In a very simple way too; it is only slightly different from the way your body normally produces cells. If making a child is not playing God, I don't know what is." Aurora shook her head, and her black curls bounced around her sharply angled face. They walked to her small red Buick.
"You've always been a strange one," She winked. "Don't tell Mamá." she added, giggling.
"Yeah, yeah," Carlos smiled warmly. He was fairly sure Mamá knew where he stood; he had refused to hold Maya when he was presented with her only a few days after she was born. He had explained that he was concerned he would break the tiny human. Babies… weren't really his thing.
Once they were both seated and strapped in, Aurora started the car. It sputtered once, then hummed to life.
"You ready to go see the family?" She asked?
"Most definitely," Carlos replied.
"Tio Carlos!" Maya squealed. Carlos felt a sudden heaviness on his legs.
"Hello there, Maya," He laughed and picked the six year old up off of the kitchen floor. He moved aside for Aurora who came in the door behind him.
Maya had her mother's curly hair, but it was strawberry blonde like her father's. She had the Ortega family's chocolate brown eyes.
"Mama said she was going to get you and I've been waiting forever and I thought you got lost!" She said, her eyes widening.
"Oh, silly Maya. Mama knows her way around. I was feeding Tío Carlos so that he wouldn't eat you." Maya eyed Carlos warily.
"You're not still hungry, are you, Tío Carlos?"
"Well… Maybe just for a snack. Maya is the perfect size for a snack!" He opened his mouth wide and she squealed in delight, wiggling down from his grasp and running to her father. Her noise attracted her cousins, who filtered into the kitchen to greet him.
"Uncle Carlos, I'm so glad you're here!" greeted Kaitlynn, Javier's oldest.
"Hello Kaitee! I'm glad I could make it as well. You're a freshman this year, aren't you?" She nodded proudly, her ashen blonde curls coiled around her face.
"What's your favorite subject?"
"I like algebra," she replied.
"That's good to hear," he laughed, remembering how much Javier hated math.
"What's algebra?" asked her little brother, Gabriel.
"Math," she replied, and he wrinkled his nose.
"I like reading better," he said. If Carlos remembered correctly, he was in fifth grade this year.
"What kind of books do you like?" Asked Carlos.
"I like books about animals. I just got done reading Varjak Paw. That one is about a cat who runs away to save his family from a strange man and his icky black cats." Carlos smiled. He'd have to remember the title of that book so he could send it to him for his next birthday.
"Where are your other cousins?" Asked Carlos, curious as to the whereabouts of Emilio's three children.
"They're out back," Emilio piped up from the table, sipping a bottle of Coke.
"Hola, Emilio. How's life?"
"Never better," Emilio grinned. "I just got promoted."
"That's great!" Carlos grinned. Emilio was an electrician who generally worked with a team of other electricians. Carlos wondered if this meant he lead the group now.
"Now we just have to somehow save the extra money he makes," said Melanie (his wife) who sat next to him. She planted a kiss on his bearded cheek. She also stole his liter of Coke while kissing him, and Carlos couldn't help but grin.
"Hermano!" He heard Javier greet warmly from the living room. Carlos walked over to him.
"Hola Javier," His oldest brother wrapped him in a strong hug.
"How are you, Carlito? How's the job as a professor treating you?"
"I'm a bit stuck in my research right now, but I'm sure it's nothing a little break can't solve." Javier pointed at his temples.
"Ahh, you're greying early," he smiled.
"I don't know anything about early; I am thirty-two" Carlos replied, logically. Javier grinned.
"I see Kaitee and Gabe are here," Carlos said. "I assume their mother isn't coming to see Mamá?"
Javier's grin faltered slightly.
"Well, I fought a bit too hard for custody of my kids to let her near them," He replied honestly, watching his daughter as she sat at the kitchen table to help Maya colour. Carlos nodded.
"Perfectly understandable." Javier glanced over at Gabe, who was talking with his other uncle, Zane. Zane was Aurora's husband; he taught junior high English.
"Ah, Carlito," Javier said, suddenly. "Would you mind sleeping on a couch tonight?" Carlos shook his head.
"I'll sleep on the floor if need be. Just give me a blanket and a pillow, and I'd be comfortable anywhere." This wasn't true at all, but he knew Javier had enough on his mind and didn't need to worry about his comfort on top of it all. Javier nodded.
"Its good to have you back."
"It's good to be back home." Carlos replied. "Would you like help making dinner?" He added, glancing at his watch. It was nearly 5, and he was fairly certain Aurora had taken him out because she was hungry as well.
"Sí, I was having trouble deciding what to make with all these mouths to feed." Carlos thought for a moment.
"Do you have hamburger meat and refrigerator rolls?"
"I'm pretty sure I do."
"Taco rings," Carlos smiled.
"Ah, muy bien. I also have some red peppers and corn."
"Perfect," Carlos replied. "Let's start."
Later that night, the family was putting the kids to bed. Emilio's three sons put up a fuss, but as soon as Melanie stepped in, they got the general idea. Carlos glanced down at his watch, careful not to wake Maya, who fell asleep in his lap while he was talking with Zane. No Wonder; it was 10:30.
"Dios mio, that late already?" Asked Aurora from behind him, clicking her tongue.
"So it seems" replied Carlos. She stepped around the couch and scooped up Maya who instantly fell back asleep as soon her her head hit her mother's shoulder.
"It's off to bed for me and the little wonder here." She said, smiling softly.
"Buenas noches," Carlos whispered. Zane followed his wife past Carlos and down the hall. The room was empty after just a few minutes, save for Carlos and Nighttime, Gabe's young cat. Javier joined them shortly with a downy blanket and a few pillows.
"Buenas noches, Carlito," Said Javier, his voice hushed in the quiet house.
"Buenas noches. What time will we leave tomorrow for Mamá's?"
"Probably 9:30, so we can get all of the kids ready." Carlos nodded. Javier walked down the hall.
"Just knock on the door at the end of the hall if you need anything," he called softly. Nighttime batted around a mouse toy; he seemed to be glad all the people flooding his space were finally gone. The tiny bell on his collar let out delicate peals of laughter. The sound was not as annoying as Carlos anticipated it to be; it was even quite comforting.
He got to his feet and stretched, yawning as he did so. Nighttime batted the toy around his sock clad feet. He leaned down to pet the kitten, then slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. He shuffled to the bathroom, taking care to be quiet. 'I might as well take a shower now,' Carlos thought. 'Everyone's going to be running around in the morning.' Unbuttoning his plaid shirt, he yawned again as his fingers nimbly undid the black buttons. He double and triple checked that he had, in fact, locked the door, then fully undressed and stepped into the shower. The hot water hit his face and chest and came as a great sigh of relief. The past few days had been exhausting, and the rolling water seemed to help him exhale all the tension in his rumbling mind. The droplets took a while to soak through Carlos's thick seal brown hair, and his scalp tingled and warmed with the contact.
"I need a haircut," he muttered, and ran his broad fingers through the wet, deep brown mop. His lip curled in distaste. Carlos had never liked his hair, it was one of those insecurities that made him wish he was born a different way. Everyone else's hair was beautiful and glossy, lustrous. His was gross and dense and did nothing but curl around and around, tangle, and act impossible. He dared not keep it any longer than a few inches. He reached for his duffel bag atop the toilet and rummaged around, eventually locating his shampoo and soap. He washed his hair, then moved on to his body.
He propped his forehead on the shower wall, and looked down to think, really think. A certain molecular structure kept dancing behind his eyes; the 2D structure of heme, the oxygen that carries protein in blood. He slowly added the key parts that would turn heme into hemoglobin. The tiny lined pentagons and hexagons littered his mind, and the lines and letters fell into place. Fe in the middle; iron. The ring of nitrogen around the iron. Around that, the ring of carbon and hydrocarbon. Added onto that: CH2 and CH3. The little branches of O and O- on top of the chart always reminded Carlos of leaves on trees. Heme was a molecular formula that he could draw from memory. It was the very first one he memorized, actually. Carlos thought back to where he first learned the structure. AP Chem class his Junior year of high school. He remembered the frightened look on Mr. Lawrence's face every time he raised his hand. After a few days, the poor man had taken to giving him textbooks to seek answers in. Carlos was always hungry to learn, if his brain was a cup, he wanted it to overflow, to become a fountain. 'Maybe that's why I became a teacher,' he speculated. His students had taught him many things in his 7 years of being an educator. While most of the lessons he learned involved social interaction, a lot of them involved Biology and different ways to look at concepts. Ways that he had never thought of. The diversity of human brain function astounded him.
He shut off the water, and his wet skin chilled very quickly. Stepping lightly, he dried himself off, then slipped into his pajamas. The mirror caught his attention. His own amber brown eyes stared back at him from the reflective surface. He ran a finger along the stubble on his chin, and mentally reminded himself to shave sometime tomorrow. He always forgot to and ended up looking scraggly. Sighing, he took off his glasses and cleaned them. Carlos shambled back to the couch; Nighttime had taken post on his pillow.
"Hey kitty." Nighttime bumped his head against Carlos's extended hand, a purr rumbling deep within his tiny body. "Make room." The cushions moved as Carlos sat, and the young cat bounded atop the back of the couch. He placed his glasses on the coffee table and ran his fingers through his hair. They got caught halfway through. He rolled his eyes and heaved a great sigh. After a while of staring at the blurred ceiling and trying not to drown in his own thoughts, Carlos finally slipped from the waking world.