The Select in 1983-1984

by Kiss Queen Love Kiss

Set in Calgary, 1983, the Select lead normal lives. Daria lives with her siblings and dad, Aly with her brother and parents, Marco with his family, Cass with his sister and aunt and uncle, Jack with his parents, and Randall with his grandparents. Please review. Past tense for Randall, Cass, and Aly, present for Daria, Marco and Jack. A bit slow at first. Foreshadowing important.

14. Chapter 14

Daria

Christmas, 1983

"This one's for Daria!" Frada shouts out loud. She's still holding the Barbie doll I bought for her in one hand, and my gift by the ribbons in the other. The silver wrapping glints in the light as I take it and read the note attached to it. It feels very light, so it must not be too expensive.

For Daria

From Dad

Dad. Huh.

I unwrap the gift and take the lid off. Very, very slowly, I pull it out. It's a 7-inch vinyl copy of David Bowie's single "Without You." My eyes widen, and I nearly drop the vinyl.

Dad got me a David Bowie record? I did not see that coming, I kid you not.

I'm so amped Dad got me this. Quickly, I set the vinyl back in the box and run into the kitchen while Frada starts shouting my name out loud, where I see Dad about to smooch with Nirvana.

"Dad!" I shout. Nirvana and Dad immediately look away from each other and at me. Everything I start saying comes out in Arabic, just like I planned it to be.

"Thank you thank you thank you so much for the record!" I jump right in between Dad and Nirvana and wrap my arms around Dad as tightly as possible. "I love you, Dad. I'm so glad you got me that single."

"I-I-I am very glad," Dad says, as he holds me, He's speaking very slowly in Arabic, and normally, he doesn't speak very slowly.

"Now I see you love him," Nico says in English, ruffling my hair and chuckling. Where did he come from?

"Say what?" I unwrap my arms from Dad's grip, but he's still holding onto me. Nirvana is leaning against the wall, smiling. Her black lipstick runs onto her teeth, and it's easy to tell, even from a distance.

"You love him. You're even sitting in his lap." Nico grins with a gleam in his eye. It's the first time he's made eye contact with me since came back. He came back a few days ago, and he looks very different from what he did before. He looks really droopy, and he has dark circles under his red eyes. His breath smells as though he hasn't brushed it in days, and he avoids eye contact a lot.

Am I? Because if I am, I don't know how I got there.

"You love it, kid?" Dad says, placing a kiss on my cheek.

"Yes," I say. "I do."