Chapter 10
"So, Nya, what's your story?" The voice of Jay's mom was bouncy and friendly, as her eyes flickered to the rearview mirror. "Can I ask that?"
"Nothing much to say," Nya said, a smile seemingly a permanent part of her features. Jay sat on the back seat beside her, watching the way her eyes shone with joy. "I work a bit at the mall, boring stuff. I'm in school too, but I still don't really know what I want to do."
"Pft, that's okay. You're a baby! No offense or anything. I mean that in a good way." Jay's mom laughed. "You've got plenty of time to try and decide on whatever you want to do. Can I be honest? I still don't actually know what I want to do myself. Yes, I have a job and all, but is it what I want? My ultimate goal before I leave this life behind? Don't know!"
The random bursts of somewhat incontrollable energy in his mother's voice reminded Jay of himself. He remained quiet for the most part, for once simply content with watching things develop.
In his silence, He began to pinpoint the differences between this Nya, and the one in his own dimension. They shared plenty of basic traits, but there were smaller sprinkles here and there, that made each one of them unique. The Nya sitting beside him now seemed a bit more unwound, ready to jump at the sight of any sort of adventure, as opposed to the Nya in his own world, who acted at a slower pace, making sure to think through any issue before stepping up to it.
"I suppose that's true. It's just so scary, thinking about the future, and knowing you have no idea what you want to do, you know?" Nya's words flowed easily. There was another difference. The Nya from Jay's own dimension was far, far more reserved. "I've had some ideas. I do love tinkering with things. Maybe I could be a mechanic. Or start as a mechanic, learn the basics of building, and then create stuff on my own."
Jay found himself smiling. Nya's easy-going nature was relaxing, and the anxiety had long since faded away. "That sounds amazing! I love building things myself. We could totally work together on something, sometime."
"Wait, wait, wait." Jay's mom said. "You like mechanics, Jay? Wow. Who are you and what have you done with my son?"
His mother laughed, but the words felt like a blow to the chest.
"Since when? Why, I've never seen you near a tool in my life!"
"Just. . ." Jay forced himself to chuckle. "Just, you know, I picked it up as a small hobby, and I'm actually really enjoying it."
It couldn't be a total lie. He did remember seeing some stray books on mechanics in this Jay's room.
"A secret hobby, huh? Well okay. I'll play along. I'll pretend I have absolutely no idea."
Jay went back to being silent after that, reminding himself that it was better to keep quiet than to try and pretend to be someone he didn't know. His mother and Nya kept up the conversation on their own, bouncing ideas back and forth for Nya's future.
Once they arrived, they promised Jay's mom to meet back in two hours. Then she sped off, singing along to the radio's upbeat music. Jay watched her drive away, then turned to face Nya.
"You know, since I didn't actually plan to hike, I realize maybe I didn't wear the most appropriate attire. And also, we didn't bring any bug spray. Why am I thinking of all these things once my mom is gone?"
Nya shrugged. "Oh well. It's just two hours! We won't die."
"You have no idea how much mosquitos like me," Jay shook his head, then walked forward, following Nya as she skipped towards one of the trails. "But you're right. We won't die. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully."
"You're so silly!" Nya shouted back at Jay, when she noticed how far behind he'd lagged. "C'mon."
"I am, I am." Jay ran forward. His eyes kept examining everything, wondering if there would be differences between this world and his hidden in nature. "So, You've met my mom. And you probably know a lot about my dad. But I still know nothing about your family. Why don't you tell me about that?"
"Ah." Nya shrugged. "Well. Basic, boring family. Mom, Dad, Older brother."
Jay's eyes widened. "Parents!"
"Uh. . . Yes?" She laughed at the astonished look on Jay's face. "What?"
"Nothing! Sorry. Of course parents, everyone has parents. Duh." Jay shook his head, looking down to try and hide the blush across his cheeks. In his own world, Nya's parents had passed away, so the reaction had been somewhat incontrollable. "So then . . . How are your parents."
"Boring?" Nya shook her head. "Compared to yours at least . But they're nice. Mom doesn't work, and Dad works at a business of some sort. Nothing too mind blowing. He did own a restaurant at one point, when him and mom were younger. But then they had my little brother, and they had to switch up their lives."
"And your brother?"
"I barely know anything about him anymore. But he was a terrible bully growing up."
Jay was surprised at the resentment hidden in her words. He thought of the strong connection Kai and Nya shared in his own world. It was disturbing to see that this wasn't the reality everywhere. He knew, of course, that things were bound to be different. Seeing it all first hand was a bit more troubling than simply thinking about it.
"He leads his own life, and doesn't talk about it. Sticks around long enough to act all overprotective, as if he wasn't a big jerk. But that's about it."
They walked on in silence for a while, focused on the path before them.
"So is it my turn to ask a question yet?" Nya finally asked.
"Sure,"
"What kind of people do you hang out with? Tell me about your friends. And tell me how you met them! It's always weird to see the line between celebrities and us commoners blur."
"I'm not a celebrity." Jay said. "And either way, we're still just people."
"Uh huh, yeah, but you move in different circles. So are your friends all high class, rich human beings?"
He thought of Harumi, the only friend he was positive he had in this dimension. But he knew next to nothing about her, and trying to spin some random story would be a mistake. After all, what if this Harumi girl was famous, and his information contradicted whatever things Nya might already know?
Yet he had to say something. Unless he wanted to say he was a lonely loser who never interacted with anyone.
"Well, I'm not super popular. I can honestly say I only have one good friend. But he's the best." Jay spoke slowly, surprised by the warmth that had suddenly enveloped him, but not at all surprised by the now familiar feeling of guilt. "My best friend. His name is Cole."
"Oh?" Nya said, moving a bit closer, and waiting for Jay to elaborate.
"We met. . . We met in school." Jay said. "We sort of just. . . Well, we automatically clicked with each other. There's just something about him. You would like him. He's really, really nice. Always willing to listen to anything. Super, super wise. Like, really. I've never had any problem that he couldn't solve. And he's. . . I don't know. I can be all over the place sometimes, but he just kind of keeps me steady. . ."
"Uh-huh." There was small frown on Nya's features.
"But that's about it," Jay cleared his throat. "Wh-what, um, what about you?"
"Well, I have my co-workers, and I guess they're nice, but I'm honestly pretty short on the friend department." Nya said nonchalantly. "Like I said when we first met, I'm pretty much nobody."
"But you're so nice!" Jay scowled. "How can people not be your friends? And that's not me just throwing random flattery around. It's true. The way you talked with my mom? The way you talk with me? You make things so easy."
Nya smiled. "You mean that?"
"Trust me, I do. I'm horrible with people. I like them just fine, but I freak out, and overthink, and. . . gah! I probably end up looking like an idiot half the time. With you though, I mean I was a little fidgety, but I got comfortable pretty quick. You're fun to talk to, Nya."
"Thanks. . . Like really. Thanks. Sometimes I do wonder if I'm just absolutely unlikeable. So that means a lot."
"Glad to be of service." Jay gave a small salute. Then he cringed at his own movements. "Was that too weird? Sorry."
Nya nudged his side. "Relax. I don't mind weird."
"Nya's right Cole. You need to tell him."
Cole stood before the mirror, making eye contact with himself. Nya had left only a couple of moments ago, but she had left him with a very clear, and very overpowering sentence.
You should tell him.
And Cole would. Yes. He only needed to find a good time to do so. Or at least, a time to do so. Was there even such a thing as a good time for that? Cole doubted it. Either way, once he did. . . Well, he didn't allow himself to get tangled up in uncertain possibilities. Whatever happened, would happen.
"He's your best friend." Cole reminded himself. "Regardless of how he feels, he isn't just going to toss you aside. You know him. You know he's a good guy. A bit weird. A bit confused. A bit irrational. But good."
His phone began to ring, jolting Cole away from his conversation. He looked down at the phone, slightly surprised to see it was Jay's mom.
"Hello?"
Oh hi sweetie. Don't mean to bother you two, Jay did tell me you would be busy, but it's getting a little late, and I was wondering if you'll be home any time soon? Jay isn't answering
"I-" Cole frowned, his mind going through Edna's words. For whatever reason, Jay had decided to lie to his parents about his whereabouts. No, thought Cole, Not for whatever reason. There's only one reason.
Jay had gone on to other dimensions again. Cole barely managed to stop himself from sighing. "Don't worry ma'am, we're good. I. . . Maybe we'll stay out a bit more. But I'll bring him home safe."
Okay, thank you. You both be careful. This weather is really something else.
"We will,"
With quick goodbyes exchanged, Cole hung up, putting down the phone and looking back up at himself. "So. You lied. For Jay. Why?"
He couldn't answer his own question. It had been more of a reflex than a properly thought out choice. Besides. . . He trusted Jay. His friend had promised not to go overboard it all, not to forget which life he truly belonged in.
"Jay can take care of himself." Cole muttered, pushing the words in order to convince himself. "He can make his own decisions. You have to trust him."
Cole gave a small nod.
"Yeah. I trust him."
"So. . . How was it?"
Jay looked at his mom, the joy in his eyes hinting at the answer. They had only dropped off Nya back at the mall, per her request, moments ago. Jay tried to give a nonchalant shrug, but he couldn't mask his excitement.
"It was good, it was good."
"Oh c'mon," The eyes of Jay's mom flickered over to him briefly, before settling back on the road. She gave a him a small nudge. "Don't answer with such small words! I want details and I think you know it. How is she? She seems really nice. Where did you meet her again?"
"Just. . . around." Jay shrugged. "And she is nice. And funny. And . . . pretty energetic. I have to be honest, I'm exhausted. But she seemed to have enough energy to go on for hours."
His mom chuckled. "Atta girl. I like her. I really, really do! What does Harumi think?"
"I uh. . . haven't asked."
"Well there's a new one. You guys aren't fighting or anything, are you?"
"No, no. I just. . . Well I don't want to go. . . babbling about it all yet."
"I understand." Jay's mom nodded, then she shook her head. "No, I'm kidding, I don't. When I met you dad, even when we'd only shared one conversation, I could not shut up about it. Now that I think of it, it was probably extremely obnoxious. So . . . Yeah maybe waiting a bit to talk about the person you like is alright. But don't be worried about being obnoxious with me. I can take it."
Jay gave his mom a smile. "Are you sure? I can be pretty annoying, mom."
"Oh you can't be more annoying than me." She scowled. "I've been annoying since before you were born I've got years of experience on you."
"Game on, then."
They arrived at home, and Jay quickly hurried to his room, before his father could rope him in and begin to ask questions as well. He'd already stayed here longer than he'd intended, and his parents would wind up trying to call him sooner or later. Worse even, they'd call Cole, and everything would fall apart.
To be fair with himself, it was nearly impossible to keep track of time when everything was going beyond amazing. He fell back onto the bed. A sigh escaped him as he looked around the room,already looking forward to the next time he would be here.
With reluctant movements, Jay lifted the bracelet, punching in the numbers for home.
The first thing Jay checked when he had returned was his phone.
Three missed calls.
No messages, or voicemails. Jay supposed that was progress. He looked through the call log. Cole and his mom. As he'd only been hanging out in the junkyard, his mom would know he was alright soon enough. Jay began to walk, dialing Cole's number as he did so.
There you are. Lying to your parents, are you?
"Ah. . . So they called you. I figured they would. Am I in trouble?"
No, I covered for you, but you owe me. There was a span of silence. Dimension hopping I'm guessing?
"Just to one! I lost track of time. But yes, yes I won't forget what we talked about. Thanks for covering for me. I just didn't want my parents to worry."
You could just tell them where you actually are. Why's it have to be a big secret? They already know about the invention.
"Because. . ." Jay cleared his throat, trying to think of a plausible answer. He couldn't find any. "I don't know."
Maybe, Just maybe, deep down you know whatever you're doing isn't exactly on the right side of the morality spectrum, so you automatically choose to hide it from your parents?
"No!" Jay bit his lip, then lowered his voice. "No it isn't that. I just. . . Don't want to hear a mess of questions is all. You know how they are."
Yeah I know, They're just like you.
"Whatever!"
So, doing anything in particular for the weekend?
"Uh. . . Well no, nothing in particular. Just rest up I guess."
Oh. . . Okay. Yes that's fair I'll, I'll do the same. Still home alone here, if you want to drop by anytime.
"Thanks Cole," Jay said. "So I'll. . . see you when I see you."
See ya
Jay hung up the phone, staring at the screen long after it had grown dark.
Hearing Cole's voice again had quickly reawakened the mess of feelings he still didn't quite know what to do with. Jay sighed, his fatigued mind refusing to make sense of anything.
"Cole's your friend, Jay." He whispered to himself. "That's it. Whatever that other dimension was. . . It was just that. Another dimension. It doesn't mean he likes you here. And it doesn't mean you like him. This is about Nya."
Jay gave a small, forceful nod.
Nya made sense.
Nya was a fact.
And Cole was. . .
Jay couldn't settle on the right answer.