* * *
After everyone got dressed and met up with Thomas and Nick, they headed for Aeryn's home. Even two hours after the "incident," Christopher STILL couldn't look Lara in the eye. He dropped back to the rear of the group, not talking to anyone. Lara dropped back to join him.
"Is everything all right Chris?" He turned to look at her, but couldn't meet her gaze and turned away blushing.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Chris muttered not convincing either Lara or himself.
"This is about what happened back at the pool. Isn't it?" She asked, shaking her head in pity. "Oh Chris, Chris, Chris. You are REALLY too uptight for someone your age. I mean, sure I'm more than a little embarrassed by the whole thing, but that's no reason for you to go sulk off by yourself."
Christopher muttered something back, but even Lara couldn't make it out. "So how are you and Thomas?" He asked, hoping to switch topics.
"We're doing fine." Lara said guardedly. "Why do you want to know?" She asked.
"No reason." He said quickly. "Just wondering." Lara-Su just grinned.
"Okay then. Since we're both 'just wondering,' how are things between you and Aeryn?" Christopher flushed and looked down. "I thought as much." Lara said. "Are you ever planning to tell her how you feel? Or do you just plan to spend the rest of your life moping?"
"You make it sound so easy." Christopher said mournfully.
"Isn't it?" Lara asked. "When Thomas and I met it was love at first sight."
"Well I'm not Thomas and Aeryn isn't you." He snapped, testily. He obviously regretted his words the moment he said them. "Sorry."
"It's all right, I guess I forget that things are different for different people. Still, have you ever tried just being honest and telling her how you feel?"
"Are you crazy?!" He all but shouted. "She'd just laugh in my face."
"No she wouldn't and you know it." Lara retorted. "Maybe she's feeling exactly what you are. Go ahead and talk to her already."
"I--"
"We're here." Aeryn called out. Lara and Christopher turned to look as they approached the Kremlin. Compared to the Royal Palace in Mobotropolis, the Kremlin looked squat, utilitarian, and small. However it DID have the effect of making the capitol seem more 'down to Mobius' than a tall Palace so Lara guessed it balanced out.
A pair of stone-faced guards let them enter the Kremlin Apartments and Aeryn walked them to where she and her family lived. They were greeted at the door by a tall female wolf with mismatched red and blue eyes. She was the very image of Lupe, only a few years younger. This was Mira, Aeryn's mom and Foreign Commissar of the Soviet Union.
"Welcome home Aeryn," she said as she kissed her daughter on the cheek. She turned to her daughter's friends. "Christopher, always a pleasure to have you over. Welcome, all of you. Please come in."
"Thank you, ma'am." Naomi said, polite as ever. Mira grinned as she let them in.
"I cannot remember the last time someone called me 'ma'am,' around here it is either 'comrade' or just plain Mira. In fact, I would prefer it if you just called me Mira."
"Thank you, Mira." Naomi said again. "Thanks for having us."
"Do not thank us yet." Mira said dryly.
"Where's dad?" Aeryn asked.
"It is the last Friday of the month." Mira said by way of an answer.
"Oh." Seeing the confusion on her friend's faces, Aeryn elaborated. "The last Friday night of every month, father goes to see his favorite performance."
"What's that?" Lara asked.
"Les Miserables." Christopher groaned. "Every time he comes back from the theater he hums the show tunes all night. No offense." He said to Aeryn and Mira.
"None taken." They replied in tandem. Mira shook his head.
"Dinner will be ready soon. In the meantime Aeryn, why not show your guests around?"
"Okay mom. Christopher, why don't you show Nick and Thomas the guest room where they'll be sleeping tonight. Naomi, Lara, if you'll follow me I'll show you my room."
As the girls and boys split up, Aeryn showed her friends her room. It wasn't that large or elaborate, but it had a plain and simple look that went along with Aeryn's nature. Lara looked at some of the shelves along the wall. They were crammed full of books, mostly Marxist and leftist literature. "Say Aeryn, you sure have a lot of books. Do you have a favorite?"
"Actually Lara I keep it by my bedside." Aeryn tossed her a small, soft cover book. Lara read the title.
"The Diary of Anne Frank:" She read. "Portrait of a Young Girl. I'm not familiar with it."
"I'm not surprised." Aeryn said. "It's a book from Earth. My father gave it to me."
"Oh. I guess that explains it." Lara said, still amazed that her friend's adopted father was from another world. But then again, who wouldn't be? As if reading her thoughts, Aeryn continued.
"Even I find it hard to believe that my father is from another planet, on top of not being Mobian."
"Does that bother you?" Lara asked before thinking. Aeryn shook her head.
"Nyet. I'll admit it gets confusing at times, but I think that in some ways I'm very lucky. I'm exposed to the best of both worlds and I generally deal with more ideas and cultures in a single day than most people are in their whole lives. Think about it, between my mom and my dad I'm exposed to two very different, and very interesting, value systems, cultures, histories, languages...And the school I go to attracts students from all over Mobius. I've met Germans, Slavs, Italians, Magyars, Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, Jews, Africans, Indians, Afghans, Kurds, Romany, Danes, Scandinavians, and all kinds of peoples; mobians, overlanders, dragons, echidnas, dingoes, mammals, insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians--you get the idea."
"Yeah, I think I do." Naomi said, a bit bowled over by all of this. When she first met Aeryn she felt bad for her since she was adopted. Now she found herself feeling slightly envious of her.
* * *
After everyone got dressed and met up with Thomas and Nick, they headed for Aeryn's home. Even two hours after the "incident," Christopher STILL couldn't look Lara in the eye. He dropped back to the rear of the group, not talking to anyone. Lara dropped back to join him.
"Is everything all right Chris?" He turned to look at her, but couldn't meet her gaze and turned away blushing.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Chris muttered not convincing either Lara or himself.
"This is about what happened back at the pool. Isn't it?" She asked, shaking her head in pity. "Oh Chris, Chris, Chris. You are REALLY too uptight for someone your age. I mean, sure I'm more than a little embarrassed by the whole thing, but that's no reason for you to go sulk off by yourself."
Christopher muttered something back, but even Lara couldn't make it out. "So how are you and Thomas?" He asked, hoping to switch topics.
"We're doing fine." Lara said guardedly. "Why do you want to know?" She asked.
"No reason." He said quickly. "Just wondering." Lara-Su just grinned.
"Okay then. Since we're both 'just wondering,' how are things between you and Aeryn?" Christopher flushed and looked down. "I thought as much." Lara said. "Are you ever planning to tell her how you feel? Or do you just plan to spend the rest of your life moping?"
"You make it sound so easy." Christopher said mournfully.
"Isn't it?" Lara asked. "When Thomas and I met it was love at first sight."
"Well I'm not Thomas and Aeryn isn't you." He snapped, testily. He obviously regretted his words the moment he said them. "Sorry."
"It's all right, I guess I forget that things are different for different people. Still, have you ever tried just being honest and telling her how you feel?"
"Are you crazy?!" He all but shouted. "She'd just laugh in my face."
"No she wouldn't and you know it." Lara retorted. "Maybe she's feeling exactly what you are. Go ahead and talk to her already."
"I--"
"We're here." Aeryn called out. Lara and Christopher turned to look as they approached the Kremlin. Compared to the Royal Palace in Mobotropolis, the Kremlin looked squat, utilitarian, and small. However it DID have the effect of making the capitol seem more 'down to Mobius' than a tall Palace so Lara guessed it balanced out.
A pair of stone-faced guards let them enter the Kremlin Apartments and Aeryn walked them to where she and her family lived. They were greeted at the door by a tall female wolf with mismatched red and blue eyes. She was the very image of Lupe, only a few years younger. This was Mira, Aeryn's mom and Foreign Commissar of the Soviet Union.
"Welcome home Aeryn," she said as she kissed her daughter on the cheek. She turned to her daughter's friends. "Christopher, always a pleasure to have you over. Welcome, all of you. Please come in."
"Thank you, ma'am." Naomi said, polite as ever. Mira grinned as she let them in.
"I cannot remember the last time someone called me 'ma'am,' around here it is either 'comrade' or just plain Mira. In fact, I would prefer it if you just called me Mira."
"Thank you, Mira." Naomi said again. "Thanks for having us."
"Do not thank us yet." Mira said dryly.
"Where's dad?" Aeryn asked.
"It is the last Friday of the month." Mira said by way of an answer.
"Oh." Seeing the confusion on her friend's faces, Aeryn elaborated. "The last Friday night of every month, father goes to see his favorite performance."
"What's that?" Lara asked.
"Les Miserables." Christopher groaned. "Every time he comes back from the theater he hums the show tunes all night. No offense." He said to Aeryn and Mira.
"None taken." They replied in tandem. Mira shook his head.
"Dinner will be ready soon. In the meantime Aeryn, why not show your guests around?"
"Okay mom. Christopher, why don't you show Nick and Thomas the guest room where they'll be sleeping tonight. Naomi, Lara, if you'll follow me I'll show you my room."
As the girls and boys split up, Aeryn showed her friends her room. It wasn't that large or elaborate, but it had a plain and simple look that went along with Aeryn's nature. Lara looked at some of the shelves along the wall. They were crammed full of books, mostly Marxist and leftist literature. "Say Aeryn, you sure have a lot of books. Do you have a favorite?"
"Actually Lara I keep it by my bedside." Aeryn tossed her a small, soft cover book. Lara read the title.
"The Diary of Anne Frank:" She read. "Portrait of a Young Girl. I'm not familiar with it."
"I'm not surprised." Aeryn said. "It's a book from Earth. My father gave it to me."
"Oh. I guess that explains it." Lara said, still amazed that her friend's adopted father was from another world. But then again, who wouldn't be? As if reading her thoughts, Aeryn continued.
"Even I find it hard to believe that my father is from another planet, on top of not being Mobian."
"Does that bother you?" Lara asked before thinking. Aeryn shook her head.
"Nyet. I'll admit it gets confusing at times, but I think that in some ways I'm very lucky. I'm exposed to the best of both worlds and I generally deal with more ideas and cultures in a single day than most people are in their whole lives. Think about it, between my mom and my dad I'm exposed to two very different, and very interesting, value systems, cultures, histories, languages...And the school I go to attracts students from all over Mobius. I've met Germans, Slavs, Italians, Magyars, Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, Jews, Africans, Indians, Afghans, Kurds, Romany, Danes, Scandinavians, and all kinds of peoples; mobians, overlanders, dragons, echidnas, dingoes, mammals, insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians--you get the idea."
"Yeah, I think I do." Naomi said, a bit bowled over by all of this. When she first met Aeryn she felt bad for her since she was adopted. Now she found herself feeling slightly envious of her.
* * *