Chapter 3: Dinner with the Cosays

Family dinner was a foreign experience for Lake.

Once the food was delivered, the Cosay family gathered around the kitchen table. The food was passed around and everyone put a little of each dish on their plate.

When Lake has been attached to Tulip, she had experienced pieces of these family meals while reflected in a fork or a spoon. She remembered hearing a lot of arguing from Tulip's parents when she was younger, and after the separation, dinner had gotten a lot quieter in Tulip's household.

This family dinner was very different.

The Cosay family chatted happily together. Mr. and Mrs. Cosay asked Jesse more questions about the train and Jesse excitedly told them about his and Lake's adventures together. Lake interjected with her own details as Jesse narrated the story. His parents seemed horrified by the more dangerous aspects of the train, but his younger brother was fascinated. She and Jesse both talked affectionately about their friend, Alan Dracula.

"So, how did you get into our world, Lake?" Jesse's father asked after Jesse had just finished telling a story of how they were able to evade the Flecs. "Jesse just told us that Tulip was a passenger on the train."

Jesse looked over at her curiously, and Lake realized that she had never actually told him how she got free.

"Yeah," she said. "On the train, Tulip ran into the Chrome Car, which is sort of like a gateway to the mirror world. To get through the car, you and your reflection have to cross the barrier into each other's words, with Tulip in the mirror world and me in the prime world. Then I had to open the door in the prime world with Tulip doing the same as my reflection." Lake noticed Jesse's parents staring at her in confusion. "Yeah, some of the train cars had weird rules. I told Tulip that I wanted to be free and I was sick of living in the mirror world. She's smart, and she was able to figure out a way that we could both escape. However, once I tried to escape the Flecs came after me." Lake shrugged. "And they've chased me ever since."

Mr. Cosay frowned. "That was nice of her to help you like that," he said, but his tone was dubious, like he didn't quite believe her. "It couldn't have been easy to escape the car, or I'm sure more reflections would have been able to do the same thing."

Lake shrugged again and looked down to avoid his scrutinizing gaze. "Yeah, it wasn't easy," she said softly. She had left out the part about trying to trick Tulip into taking her place in the mirror world. Could Jesse's dad tell she was lying? It wasn't lying exactly, she was just leaving out an important detail, but she felt guilty about it all the same. It's not like she could tell them the full truth. What would they think of her if they knew she tried to trick Tulip into being trapped in the mirror world forever? What would Jesse think?

Jesse's parents eventually moved on to asking her questions about the mirror world and Lake patiently answered them to the best of her ability. Thankfully, Jesse quickly seemed to catch on that she was feeling uncomfortable and changed the subject for her.

Near the end of dinner, Jesse asked her what happened after he left the train. She talked about her daring escape with Alan Dracula, what the wasteland was like, and how the passengers were processed.

She left out her fight with Mace and how she had to kill him to survive. She was already trying her best to block that part out, and Jesse was such a sweet, goodhearted person, she was afraid of what he would think of her if he found out what she had done. Sieve had mentioned that she killed Mace in front of Jesse, but Jesse never confronted her about it. Lake figured Jesse either hadn't heard him, assumed it was an accident or assumed Sieve was lying. If Jesse knew the truth, how she had killed him on purpose (even though it was in self-defense) there was no way he would still want her around, let alone invite her to stay at his house.

"So, what did you think of the Thai food?" Jesse asked as the meal ended. "What did you like and what didn't you like? Be honest, we have to figure out your tastes."

Lake was feeling more comfortable at this point as she looked over the cartons of mostly eaten food dishes the family had picked apart. Jesse's family curiously awaited her answer, but she didn't feel put on the spot. The family had a sweet, wholesome vibe to it, with the occasional teasing between family members. She felt surprisingly comfortable in the homey atmosphere.

"I think I liked everything," Lake said honestly. "Except for one thing." Lake used her fork to pick up a long, slightly translucent piece of food still left on her plate. "Whatever this is, I didn't like it."

Jesse squinted at it. "I think that's an onion," he said. "I guess you don't like onions?"

Lake's eyes widened. She must have not recognized it when paired with all the other foreign Tai foods. "Oh, that makes sense," she said mostly to herself.

Jesse cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Lake shook her head. "It's not important." And it wasn't. Whatever Tulip liked or didn't like wasn't important anymore. This was about what she liked.

"Okay kids," Jesse's mom said, standing up. "It's been a long day for all of us, and I think it's time for us to get ready for an early bedtime. Lake, I'm going to make up the guest room for you."

Lake opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off.

"No, no excuses, young lady," Jesse's mother said firmly. "You are staying here with us until further notice and that's final. We will just have to get you some pajamas to wear… I don't think you'll fit into anything of mine."

"I have some sweats she can wear," Jesse volunteered. He turned to Lake with a smile. "I have plenty of extra clothes you can have."

Jesse's mother nodded. "I guess that will do for now until we can buy you your own wardrobe."

"You don't have to do that, Mrs. Cosay," Lake said.

"Dear, please call me Whittney, and yes I do. You can't just use Jesse's old clothes. You need your own."

Lake decided it wasn't worth arguing with her. Jesse's mother was nice, but once she made up her mind, Lake had a feeling she was very stubborn

"Have you contacted your friends yet, son?" Jesse's father asked. "They've been really worried about you since you disappeared, especially your friend Troy. I'm sure they'll be excited to hear that you're back."

"Oh yeah, I should-'' Jesse reached into his pocket and then stopped suddenly. "Shoot, right." He sheepishly looked up at his parents. "I don't exactly have my phone anymore."

Lake's stomach lurched. "Sorry, that's my fault," she admitted. "I sort of destroyed and spray painted Jesse's phone. I was paranoid of the Flecs coming after me through the phone's reflection and I didn't trust him back then… sorry."

Jesse's parents exchanged looks, but then his dad shook his head and started chuckling. "Honestly, after everything Jesse told us about the train, I would have been surprised if his phone made it through that unscathed. It's okay, both you and Jesse made it out safe and that's what matters. Besides, he was due for a new phone anyway."

"Really?" Jesse asked. "Can I get the new one that just came out?"

"We'll talk about it later," Jesse's father said diplomatically.

"Right, Jesse, why don't you get Lake a change of clothes so you can all get ready for bed," his mother suggested.

Jesse grabbed her hand and led her to his room.

Overall, his room was pretty normal. He had a bed with a blue comforter, a laptop sitting on the foot of his bed, and a messy desk piled with textbooks and loose pieces of paper. He also had a bookshelf that was full of more comics than books, and a shelf above his bed with trophies and swimming metals from local competitions. On his wall hung a sappy motivational poster and another poster from a band Lake didn't recognize.

"Here we are!" Jesse said. "What do you think?"

"It's not about being the best, it's about being better than you were yesterday," Lake read off the poster. The picture that accompanied the words were of swimmers in the middle of a race. Lake raised an eyebrow at him.

Jesse shrugged. "Well it's true," he said. "I like inspiring posters. Most people think they're lame, but I like having them."

Lake rolled her eyes teasingly. "You would."

Despite her teasing, she liked his room. She liked how it was uncompromisingly Jesse.

"Okay, let me find some clothes for you." Jesse walked over to his dresser and began rummaging through the bottom drawer. Lake leaned against the edge of his bed and waited.

After a few seconds, Jesse turned around and handed her a pile of clothes that included grey sweats and a slightly over-sized black t-shirt.

"Here you go! Tomorrow we can go through my closet and you can pick out clothes that you want. I have a lot of clothes that I don't wear, so I don't mind sharing."

"Thanks," Lake said as she accepted the clothes. She felt sort of bad about using Jesse's clothes, but Lake knew him well enough by now to know that he really didn't mind. Suddenly, a thought came to her head. "Could I borrow a pair of socks too?"

"Oh yeah, sure!" Jesse said as he pulled out a pair of white socks for her. "The bathroom is down the hall if you want to take a shower. There are towels in the cabinet and you can use the soap in the shower."

Lake nodded. Taking a shower was a good idea. Although she didn't sweat like humans did, after spending months going from train car to train car her skin was getting dingy and there were a few dark smudges on her legs.

She found the towels easily and turned on the shower. As a reflection, she had been reflected many times in bath water, but never in a shower. She wasn't sure what temperature to turn the water to. She could feel temperature; she knew the difference between hot and cold, but things never felt too hot or too cold. Humans felt pain when their skin was burned or shivered in the cold, but she didn't.

She decided to turn the temperature to cold and stepped into the shower. The water felt refreshing on her skin, and Lake realized that this was the first time she was actually able to relax in water and not have to worry about the Flecs jumping out after her.

Lake scrubbed the grime off of her skin with the help of the body soap in the shower. She probably took longer than she needed to, but it was nice to relax by herself for a few minutes. Being around Jesse's family was a little overwhelming, even though they were a lot more accepting than she expected.

Finally, Lake exited the shower and dried herself off with the towel. She put on the sweats Jesse gave her. They were a little a little long on her, but comfy. The black shirt was a band shirt but she didn't recognize the name. The last thing she did was pull on the socks. She made sure the mirror that she was reflecting out of, the mirror from Tulip's multi-tool, was tucked safely against her ankle and under the sock.

Jesse's sweats covered her ankles, so she wasn't sure why she had wanted the socks, but it just made her feel better knowing that the mirror from the multi-tool was tucked away.

She grabbed her old clothes and headed back to Jesse's room. His door was open and he was lying on his bed looking at his computer screen.

"Dumpty Humpty?" Lake asked him, motioning to the shirt he had given her.

He looked up, and once he saw her, he grinned. "Yeah! They're a really cool band! Have you heard of them?"

Lake shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Oh man, you have to listen to them! I bet you would like them."

Jesse typed a few words on his computer and the room filled with the sound of an alternate rock band.

Lake had to admit, they sounded pretty good. Lake carefully sat on Jesse's bed (it protested her weight, but seemed to hold) as he played song after song for her.

They had moved on from alternative rock to older rock songs. Lake was very fond of Bon Jovi's 'It's My Life'.

"I can't believe you haven't heard these songs before," Jesse said. "They're classics."

"It's not that I've never listened to music," Lake defended. "But when you don't get to control when or what you listen to, it makes it hard to pay much attention. And I guess Tulip's music tastes are really different from mine."

Lake frowned. She was starting to get annoyed at how often she brought up Tulip in conversation. It made sense why, since Tulip was her only experience with the Prime world, but it was still annoying how hard it was to leave Tulip's life behind even now that she was trying to live her own.

"Hey, it's okay," Jesse said, obviously noticing her shift in mood. "Now you have all the time in the world to build up your music library with all the stuff you like. See? I already started making a playlist of everything you liked so far." He turned his computer around to show her.

"Thanks Jesse. Have I told you that you're the best?"

"Not once," he said with a grin. "So I think you better start."

Lake laughed. "Well, you're the best."

"Alright kids," Mrs. Cosay said as she appeared in the doorway. "Nate's already asleep so I think it's best we all get some rest. Jesse, don't keep Lake up, I'm sure she's exhausted."

"I won't, mom," Jesse promised.

His mom entered the room and pulled Jesse into a hug. He leaned over from his position on the bed and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back tightly.

"I'm so glad you're back home, Jesse," she said. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, mom," Jesse said, but his voice was muffled into her nightgown. Mrs. Cosay kissed the top of his head.

Lake looked down at her hands awkwardly, feeling like she was an intruder in this private moment.

"Lake, sweetie," Mrs. Cosay said, causing Lake to look up at her. She was standing in front of her with a warm smile on her face. "Earlier I hugged you and I didn't ask if that was okay. Is it okay if I give you a hug now?"

Lake felt herself blush as she scratched the side of her head. "S-sure, if you want to. I don't mind, but I'm not the most comfortable person to hug..."

Mrs. Cosay tisked and pulled her into another soft hug. "Nonsense, you're perfectly fine to hug."

This time, because she was expecting it, Lake was able to relax into the hug. She even put her arm around Mrs. Cosay and gave her a small, timid hug back.

"I'm glad you're here, Lake," Mrs. Cosay said softly, and those few, simple words caused Lake's eyes to prick with moisture. Besides Jesse and Alan Dracula, no one had ever wanted her around before. "Now, try and get a good night's rest."

Mrs. Cosay wished them a final goodnight and headed to her room. Jesse showed her to her own temporary bedroom. It had a queen sized bed, a set of drawers, a night stand, white curtains, and tan walls that were mostly empty aside for a landscape painting of a forest hanging above the bed. Compared to the rest of the house, which was clean but full of personality, this room was fairly boring.

"Don't worry, you can change the room however you want. We can get you some decorations to make it look less like a hotel room and more like your own bedroom."

Lake turned around to face Jesse. "You make it sound like I've decided to stay here," she challenged, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jesse shrugged. "You want to be the one to tell my mom you're going to live in the woods instead? Even though you're not her kid, she'll probably attempt to ground you just to get you to stay."

Lake rolled her eyes. "I'll stay for a while," Lake reasoned. "Until I get my bearings and figure out what I'm going to do next."

"Okay," Jesse said. "But that doesn't mean you still can't decorate your room in the meantime, right? I mean, whether you stay for a few days or a few months, that doesn't mean you can't be comfortable."

"I guess," Lake relented. "But nothing too big! I don't want to inconvenience your parents too much. They've already been really nice."

"Sure, sure, just a poster or something. Maybe you'll find a poster from a band or a movie that you like. I also think I have a few more motivational posters in my closet- ow!" He rubbed his forehead where Lake had flicked him.

"No sappy motivational posters. I'm not a third grade elementary school teacher."

Jesse laughed. "Fine, fine, no awesome motivational posters. We'll find something else later, but for now we should probably go to bed. I'm exhausted."

"Me too," Lake admitted.

"Well then, I guess I'll see you in the morning." Jesse took a step back toward the door, but then hesitated. Lake understood the feeling. They had slept in the same train car watching each other's backs for weeks. It felt strange to now go and sleep in separate rooms.

However, they didn't have much of a choice. Jesse's parents may have been more understanding than Lake ever hoped, but they would definitely jump to conclusions if she and Jesse slept in the same room together.

"Lake," Jesse said at last. "I don't think I said it, but I'm really glad you're staying with us, even if you only decide to stay for a little while. And I'm really, really glad you're off the train."

Lake smiled. "Me too. This all sort of feels like a dream... I can hardly believe it."

"Don't worry, it's real," Jesse assured her. "I'll see you in the morning, okay? And we can start your first real day off the train."

Lake grinned. "That sounds really good. Goodnight, Jesse."

"Goodnight, Lake."

Lake closed her bedroom door and jumped. She took a step backwards, sudden panic gripping her heart, as saw herself staring back. A large mirror hung on the back of the door, like a big, gaping hole.

It's okay... it's okay… She told herself over and over again. She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. It's just a mirror, the Flecs can't come out of it anymore, you're safe.

But she didn't feel safe. The mirror hung ominously on the door and her mind was screaming at her, telling her that this was a portal back into her old life, and any second the Flecs would reach out of it and pull her in. But that was impossible. The only time the Flecs could get out of the mirror world was on the train, and she was no longer on the train.

Lake forced herself to turn away from the mirror (leaving her back exposed to the mirror was almost physically impossible, but she managed it) and climbed onto the soft queen sized bed. The bed frame was made out of metal so it creaked less under her weight than Jesse's bed did.

Lake didn't realize how tired she was until she pulled the covers around her. She barely remembered turning off the light before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

You get 10 cool points if you know where the band Dumpty Humpty comes from.

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