"Oh, I can't wait!" Cass squealed into the phone as she tossed chicken wings on a skillet. The smell of spicy buffalo tickled her nose, making her want to sneeze. Of course, she promised Hiro she'd make them for dinner, after Tadashi said he'd take Hiro to visit the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology- SFIT for short, since, in her opinion, the name was quite a mouthful.
"Okay, yeah! See you in the morning- you guys can come straight here!" Cass went on, acutely aware of the front door opening and losing. Eyeing the staircase, she carefully placed the pan of wings on the burner, moving away from the stove, the phone in her hand. She waited a second before telling the other line.
"Oh, hold on a sec," she said, then with a yell, "Hiro? Is that you?"
No answer. She shrugged, returning to her conversation.
"Sorry- my nephew was just taking a tour of his soon- to be- new school!" Cass wiggled her fingers, imitating fireworks, even though she knew she couldn't see them- her friend, Helen Parr. Noddin, she roused on her cooking, unaware of said nephew sneaking up the stairs, a large white marshmallow-looking robot following behind.
"Wheee!" Cass heard someone say in a possibly drnken state, turning to find Hiro waiting next to the stairs that lead up to his room. He smiled wide, drumming his fingers on the railing.
"Hey, Aunt Cass!" he said somewhat nervously, resting his chin in his hand as he leaned on the edge of the railing. Cass grinned, speaking into the phone:
"Yeah, sorry, he just got home, give me a minute," she said, then to Hiro, "I thought it was you! Hey, how about wings for dinner!"
A nervous laugh, "Yeah, sure!" As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a loud hiss, followed by a crash. Hiro jumped out of his skin, Cass merely cocking her head like a lost puppy.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Oh, just Mochi," Hiro replied quickly, "that…. darned cat!' He snapped his fingers as Cass shrugged, turning around to put some wings on a plate for her nephew. He took it, nodding his head, "Thanks, I'm gonna take this upstairs- bye!" Before she could get anything out, Hiro had disappeared upstairs, slamming the door to his bedroom loudly.
"Yeah, sorry about that- Hiro got home just now," Cass nodded as she spoke into the receiver, "Tadashi? he's doing well- always with his science-y friends, you know?" She waited a minute before saying, "Okay, well, we'd love to have you- and definitely come for Hiro's showcase!" After filling Helen in, they both agreed the family would come for moral support, and with that, hung up.
Cass sighed- Helen was her oldest friend (ever since her sister and brother in law's deaths). Of course, Helen had a family of her now, with three beautiful kids. She shook her head- they probably didn't remember her, nor Hiro and Tadashi, since it was so long since they hd last visited. There was a creak as the door opened again, and seconds later, Hiro's brother, Tadashi clambered up the stairs.
"Hey Aunt Cass!" the college student greeted her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, "Ooh! Wings tonight, huh?" Cass nodded, nodding towards the stairs.
"Yeah- get ready to have your faces melted!" she replied, "Oh- Hiro just got back, he's upstairs-"
"Cool, be down later!" Tadashi said, and was up the stairs in no time, leaving Cass to the cooking. Sighing, she went back to watching the wings fry in the pan. Sometimes she envied her friend- she always thought kids were cute, but she was never able to get a good grip on parenthood. Raising two kids for a decade was definitely difficult, but three? Nope. Out of the question.
A few minutes later, Tadashi and Hiro were back downstairs, Tadashi grabbing his brown satchel and slipping git over his shoulder. Hiro smirked at his brother, taking a seat with Cass at the table as Tadashi waved goodbye.
"Gotta get back to the lab, Aunt Cass," Tadashi called to her, and she nodded, blowing him a kiss as he clomped hurriedly down the stairs. She slid a plate of fresh wings across the table to Hiro, despite having given him a plate a few minutes earlier. Nevertheless, the boy chowed down, barbecue sauce slathered all over his face.
"What's got your brother in such a hurry?" Cass asked Hiro, sitting herself down across from him.
"Said he was heaping his friends with some projects or something," Hiro said nonchalantly between bites of chicken. A piece of the meat was stuck in the gap between his teeth, sticking out like driftwood in a lake. Cass crossed her arms, the wooden table rubbing hard against her elbows.
"Well, I'll tell him later then-"
"Tell him what?" Hiro interrupted, giving her a questioning look.
"My friend called today- her family used to visit when you and Tadashi were younger- but she and her family are coming to visit for your showcase!" Cass was nearly shrieking as she threw her hands up in excitement. Hiro grinned, dropping his food on his plate. Hot barbecue sauce splattered on the table a bit as the chicken met the porcelain dish.
"Really? Cool!" he exclaimed, "I can show them my robots?!"
Cass nodded, "She has a son- his name is Dash- you two can hang out! Won't that be fun?" Hiro shrugged- he was excited, but he didn't want to show it too much. It'd be nice to finally have someone other than Tadashi and Mochi to hang out with, though. And it'd be a kid his own age!
"Alright, well, when you're done with dinner, wash up and go to bed, okay?" Cass pinched Hiro's cheek as she collected her own dish, dumping it in the sink. It landed with a loud clang, sliding around until it settled next to the drain. Nodding, hire scarfed down his food, shoving his plate at his aunt when he was done to bound up the stairs.
He'd finally be able to hang out with people his own age. Starting tomorrow, he'd be able to reconnect with someone he and apparently known years ago- and that was pretty sweet.
