Across the room Selene surveyed the room with a blank expression. She hadn't wanted to come to the party tonight, but Madam Luseer had insisted, and usually when Madam Luseer insisted on something, it was for a good reason. Selene was trying to figure out that reason when a boy stepped up to her. "Hi," he said. She looked over at him but remained silent. "I'm Jack," he said, holding out a hand. Selene glanced down at it, then back up at him. "What's your name?" Jack asked.
Selene reached out and tentatively shook his hand. "Selene," she said quietly. Jack smiled as Selene crossed her arms behind her back. "That's a nice name," he said. Selene looked at the floor. She wasn't good around people and Madam Luseer constantly told her that she should learn to get better. Selene could learn a language in a month, but it would take her years to become the social butterfly Darya was. "Selene?" Selene looked up.
"Pardon moi?" she asked.
She quickly bit her tongue and winced. Jack laughed. "I didn't realize I was speaking to une belle fille," he replied, his blue eyes sparkling. Selene was surprised; she didn't expect anyone in New York to know French and she sure didn't expect them to be able to speak it. "So how 'bout it, you want to get something to eat?" Jack asked again. Selene shrugged. "Alright," she replied softly.
Jack led her across the room to the buffet where a long line was forming. Selene hugged her arms, feeling exposed in her floor length, sleeveless, forest green dress. Jack picked up a plate and handed it to her before getting his own. "What do you like to eat?" he asked. Selene shrugged as she balanced the plate on her hand. "I don't eat much," she replied. Jack rolled his eyes. "I'd never know," he said. Selene looked at him and he tripped over his words as he replied, "Sorry. I didn't mean it to come out like that. I just mean that, that you're small, so it looks like you don't eat a lot." Selene shrugged. "Don't be sorry, I wasn't angry or anything," she replied.
Jack laughed nervously. "I'm a vegetarian," he said. Selene nodded. "Is this conversation getting awkward?" Jack asked. Selene looked at the floor. "It is isn't it?" Jack pressed.
"It's actually one of the most interesting I've had with another person," Selene mumbled. She looked up at Jack, who had one eyebrow raised. "What do you mean 'with another person'?" he asked slowly. Selene bit her lip. "I talk to myself a lot," she admitted.
She expected Jack to be scared and leave or to call her crazy and leave, but what he did instead astounded her: he burst out laughing. He doubled over and had to put his plate down on the table. Selene could see tears on his cheeks as he clutched his stomach. "Um… Jack… Are you… are you ok?" she asked timidly. He held up a finger, asking for a minute to compose himself. A couple seconds later, when he had finally wiped the tears from his eyes, he faced her and beamed. "You talk to yourself? Really? That's all?" he asked. Selene's eyes widened in surprise and she nodded. "Aren't you… aren't you freaked out?" she asked. Jack laughed again and shook his head, picking up his plate. "Why would I be?" he asked. Selene looked around, keeping her gaze low. "Most people are," she told him.
Jack shook his head. "Well I don't know about the rest of the world, but I talk to myself as well. The way you looked before you said it, I thought you were going to say that you talked to ghosts or something," he said. Selene looked up at him through her eyelashes and saw that he was giving her a kind smile.
They took a couple steps forward in line and Jack changed the conversation. "Do you live around here?" he asked. Selene nodded. "We just moved in," she said.
"Oh?" Jack asked. Selene tried to remember their street name. "We live in an apartment on… Master's Street, around the corner from Webster," she told him. Jack whistled through his teeth. "Damn," he said. "Who are your parents?" Selene shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Madam Luseer. She's our adoptive mother," she replied.
"Oh wow, I mean, I didn't know, I thought-" Selene looked at him, puzzled, and Jack stopped midsentence. "You think I'm offended at the slightest things," she said. "That's not true. No one should be that easy to upset. Being adopted is nothing to be ashamed of."
"No, no, of course not. I just didn't know how you were with it. There aren't many adoptive kids around so I'm not sure how someone would react to telling a stranger about…" Jack trailed off and looked at his feet. Selene could tell that he was blushing. She warily reached out and touched his shoulder. "Jack, it's alright," she said. "There's no need to get worked up." He glanced up at her and Selene smiled. "Madam Luseer is really nice," she said. "and so are my siblings."
Jack straightened and moved forward in line. "Your siblings?" he asked. Selene looked around the room to see if she could find them. Naturally, they were hard to spot and after a couple seconds she gave up looking. Sighing she turned back to Jack. "Yeah. There are Asher, Genevieve, Darya and Dimitri, and myself," she said. Jack's eyes widened in surprised. "Whoa," he said. "Five kids and an apartment on Master's. What does your mom do?" Selene coughed to give her time to figure out an answer. "She works for the government," she told him, feeling that that was a suitable answer. Jack nodded in understanding. "Well then," he said. Selene waited for him to finish the sentence but he didn't. Silence crept between the two of them and Selene started to feel uncomfortable again. She looked around the room and scuffed the floor with her shoe, trying to figure out what to do. Only languages poured into her head and she had a hard time pushing them away. She wanted to be in the moment, she wanted to talk to Jack, not be swept into a daze.
"Do you go to Webster?" she asked after several minutes. Jack nodded. "Yeah. Most of the people you'll meet at this party do," he replied. Selene stared down at the white dust mark on the front of her black shoe. She hated when conversation went nowhere. She hated conversations period but with Jack they seemed simple. "Are all of you going?" Jack asked. Selene looked up. "Pardon me?" she asked.
"Are all of your going to Webster? You and your siblings?" Jack rephrased. Selene nodded. "Genevieve's really excited," she told him. Jack laughed quietly. "And why is that?" he asked.
"She likes to learn things," she replied. She ran her thumb around the edge of the plate. "What kind of things?" Jack asked, a teasing tone in his voice.
"Secret things," Selene replied. Every muscle in her body went rigid and her hands flew to her mouth, letting her plate fall to the floor. Jack took a step back as the plate hit the floor and smashed. Selene retreated backwards, thinking of nothing but the secret she had just told him. Jack looked up at her, confusion and shock prominent in his features. "Selene! Wait!" he called. He reached out a hand for her as she turned and ran into the crowd.