Prologue of Chapter 26 (Sorry Amitie)

Sil remembered the market is a thing again. Time to get some special spices for her curry, basic groceries, non-basic groceries and invest a little in novelty items for herself and for props in the circus.

She's surprised how little familiar faces she encountered this time. Oh. Spoke too soon. There was a pretty blonde woman that looked like she grabbed the most boring choices she saw in her closet. She was having an argument with a seller.

"Can't you *yawn* just *yawn, continued* lemme have it?" The woman was clearly tired.

"Aye, sorry lass. Ye jest, 'appen to 'ave 5 Credits short."

'A lot of weird accents present on the market.'

"Just let me have it, *still yawning*. I really need it, and I'll be magnetically attracted to my couch if get some *plus one yawn* more cash."

"Sorry."

"Hi, Mrs. Am's Mom."

"Aaaaaaaaaawwwwwhh." The woman yawned while smiling. "Sil, been a long Wh*elongated yawn*ile."

Sil smiled too.

"Hey, mister." The clown addressed the merchant. "How much?"

"Yo*Twenty second long yawn*u'd help me pay for me?" Mrs. Amitie's Mom was taken back by the clown's generosity.

"No."
"You tease…"
"I'm paying for you."
"What! You'd do that?"
"Eh, It's nothing."

Sil opened her purse. "Just taking advantage of my entertainment monopoly while I still can."

"255 Credits."

"Here." Sil handed over 260. "Keep the change."

The merchant, pleased ever smelling the money handed over the mother's tennis racket and her money.

"Tha*tried to curb yawn, but failed*nk you, so much~. It's so nice to finally have a professional one. Ho*Y. A. W. N. YAWN!~*w can I repay you?"

Sil thought long and hard about it. "Nothing that's feasible to get… These bags look heavy, want help? Got nothing better to do."

"Which bags?" Mrs. Rose smirked.

"Huh."

"Come on, don't tell me you didn't get that?"

"No…"

"I'm talking about these bags." She fluttered her eyes to point attention to bags underneath.

"Oooooh! My, uh, my mask's a little crooked." She lied, readjusting it. Ignoring the third option she just thought of, for the sake of good taste. "Want my help with the other bags?"

"But you have heavy bags too."

Sil feigned shock in response. "You have X-Ray vision?"

Mrs. Rose liked how she turned it around on her.

"Shut up. You know what I mean *Been a while since the last yawn*."
"Yes, Mrs. Am's Mom."
"What did I tell you to call me, missy?"
"Sorry, Melody."
"Can you even carry it while carrying your own?"
"It's no sweat."

One spell later and Sil's bags were gone.

"What did you do?"

"I sent them home."

"Can you sent mine home?"

"Sure, if you want to pick them up at my caravan on the other side of town. It's a 'Go home' spell." Sil took a bag of off Mrs. Rose.

"Sounds nifty. Can y*yawn town*ou teach me?"

"Ooo. It's high-level spell." Sil winched for the tired senior.

"Pffft. Nice one, Sil. Can you teach me?"
"I wasn't joking, Mel."
"What? But that's such a simple concept for a spell?"
"How many people have you seen use it?"
"Um… Only one, that I'm sure of. And… Fiddlesticks! Please tell me…"
"No."
"Meanie."
"Critic."

They joked.

"I envy your magical ability. Mine's below average…"

'You shouldn't, I shouldn't have this much…' "How bad is it?"

"Oh, don't worry, I can cast them. They're just not long lasting or effective… At all. Lemme show you." *Yawny ahem*

"BAYOEEEEEEEEN!" Like daughter, like mother, (like Arle, like Silvana,) in the way she cast it.

Sil wasn't impressed. Sucking air through her teeth.

"Oh, how honest do you want me to be, Mel?"
"Brutally."
"Lackluster, I'm distracted a woman your age did it, not because you casted it. The most impressive part of that Bayoen is that you didn't yawn through it."
"See? I'm not that magically gifted. My husband isn't much better… Don't tell anyone but I envy him because he isn't that bothered by it."
"Must've been nice to have a daughter that was more magically gifted."

Sil tried changing the subject to something to be more happy.

Suddenly Melody looked so nostalgic. "We're so proud when she casted her first spell. Proud and jealous. Proud, jealous and just a li'l scared at first." She didn't change her nostalgic tone.

'Amitie… You're so lucky…'

"Say, this conversation is keeping me awake. I lost some sleep I pulled an all-nighter. Mind staying for a little bit?" *Yawny wink*

"Of course, but only if I get a sneak peak at *dang it, I caught the yawns* your novel."

"No promises~."


'This was a big mistake…' Sil mused.

There's no telling when his aura will take toll on her physical and mental state. The comfort of Arms' huggability, a shower, and a good night's sleep could do only so much. Her nightmares had often taken the shape of this beast. What didn't help is that he was reading the tome of Jr.'s agony. She had her hat pulled over her eyes.

It made Sil laugh, feel confused and pity her friend for having the dark lord of uncomfortability as her father. Sitting next to him on his multiple person throne!

"…and thanks Raffine's wardrobe malfunction accident is when Ammy discovered she was bi."

"DAD!" Amitie muffled through her hat's fabric.

"Be careful, wouldn't want to tear the elastics, Kiddo."

Sil averted her eyes from the photo album and the awkward picture of Amitie lying on top and Raffine in mid-slap.

"Raffine hated Ammy's guts for months afterwards. So, how's your love life, Pierrot?"

*Choke on tea after avoiding spitting it out* "Wh-*cough* where did that *couch* from?"

"Just curious, you're just above her age, you got to have someone, right?"

"No offence, Mr. Amitie's Dad. But that's none of your business." Sil blushed.

'Melody… Stop napping behind that typewriter.'
'Save me, mommy!'

Mr. Amitie's Dad was jumping all over the place in the book. There's no chronological progression at all.

"Oh Ho! This is a good one."

"A copy of Am's birth certificate? Am Jr." Sil scratched her head. "Why's that part crossed out?" Sil didn't point at her friend's name here.

"What part?" Amitie asked while peeking.

"Well. Uh. You see…" For once the source of all embarrassment was embarrassed, he seemed a bit reluctant to tell, this was gonna be a force to be reckoned with. "The doctors, Melody and me were somehow under the impression you were a boy, kiddo."

"Whaaaaa?"

"That's why we named you Amitie. Boy, lemme tell you how awkward your mother felt at the baby shower. I had apologize for months." Mr. Amitie Dad's turn to feel nostalgic.

"Oh, come on…" And Amitie played ostrich in her hat again.

'At least I can see the family resemblance.' Sil's comment on the parts she understood. After she was done praying for Amitie that is.

"This photo of Amitie and Melody hugging I made when we were going through our divorce." He said like it was nothing. Amitie tightened.

"What's a divorce?"

"It's when a married couple split up, Pierrot." Mr. Amitie's Dad explained casually, not really smiling about it. Though everyone conscious was surprised she didn't know that word meant.

Sil wouldn't know what to think about it, what must've Amitie gone through? Seeing her suffer this much already, she decided to ask her a different time.

"Good to see you two are married again."

"Oh no, we're still divorced, it's just Mr. Rose and Ms. Nadja."

'Nadja?'

"And of course li'l Miss Rose here." The father ruffled his daughter's hair roughly through her hat with a loving grin.

"Please stop…"

"Why did you get back together with Mommy, Dad?"

"Oh, did we never tell you, Kiddo?"

"No. Guess I was just happy you two got back together to notice~." Amitie hugged her father.

"Just like your mother, Kiddo. And honestly, we don't remember why we were divorced. Though I blame myself."

Sil just stared. Keeping the question she had at the back of her mind.

"Why're firefighters at your house in this picture?"

"Sil! No!"

"That's when Kiddo set fire to the toolshed with an ice spell. She was featured in several magazines afterwards."

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

"I'm sorry I asked." Sil glanced aside.

"Oh, it's no problem, look here's a page."

"MMMMMMMMM!"

"Uh… What about this picture? The one where… Am's… really… really… down?…" 'I shouldn't have gone to the market today… Sorry, Am. This hurts me as much as it does you!'

"Oh, that was when we discovered she had autism. You were bummed out for a week weren't you, Kid… do?" They didn't know how she escaped, but they did hear her room door slam upstairs.

"Oh, dear. Did I go too far, Pierrot?"

Sil gave a quick nod.

"We told her to let me know when I go too far…" The father lamented. Looking at his resting wife, and then at Sil.

"I'll go get her." *Knock knock knock* "Am? It's Sil. Can I come in?" No answer. Sil pushed the door, the door pushed back.

"I'm coming in."
"No, you won't!"
"I'm already in."
"No, you're not!"
"Behind you. Boo!"
"Eeee!"

Amitie pressed herself against the door, making escape impossible.

"Look, Am. I don't know what autism is, but it can't be that bad."
"It isn't, I figured that one out when the Professor let it slip most of the class is autistic."
"So tell me why you're upset? Is it the obvious? I tried changing to the subject several times."
"You did?"
"Yeah, and believe me. I feel embarrassed for you too. I'll find a way to make it up."
"Nah, I'll stomach it, this time I'll pick the pictures. Let's go back down~."
'That was stupid easy… I expected a bit more from you, Am.'

That was one of the worst things she had to ever endure even after Amitie took the helm of the picture book…

"The reason for the blanket's so I could imitate a sorceress' mantle!~"

…Yet, pondering on it on her way home…

Silvana envied the whole ordeal.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to TheBlackKid for letting me use his name for Ammy's mom. I see it a trade. I let him use my headcanon first name for Ms. Accord. I bet he didn't expect it to appear in this story, and he started having suspicions at the words: "Mrs. Amitie's Mom."

I adapted her personality and interests as well. I feel like there's enough contrast between these two.

Based on several families of friends I had, whether they actually were autistic or not. Except I'm not as good as a friend to them. But that's mostly because I didn't know how to handle their situation. I remember this one situation where a friend thought his parents were embarrassing him in front of me, when in reality I was really nonplussed by the whole, having casual chats his family. He ran to his room crying, making the situation worse for himself. Whether I did something about it, or he accepted my words I don't remember. Probably not, since I don't remember his name or face. I probably wasn't the bestest friend in that situation.

Just noticed Mr. Amitie's Dad's acronym is MAD.

Imagine this: New Puyo game, you fight the new male adult character: Amitie Sr.. I hope you figured that out before I just pointed that out. I've been holding that in for months.

I swear this isn't an Ami/Sil romance.

Also no more talks about autism in this fic. Neither is talk of someone's sexual orientation using the proper term. They are solely used so MAD can embarrass his daughter.

To be continued…