The thing about having a boyfriend in high school was that there was homework to deal with. Oftentimes when Mai came home Joey had his schoolwork spread out all over her coffee table because she'd made the kitchen table off limits. Little of the table top could be seen when Joey had his junk strewn about while he was scratching his head over an English packet. Mai made sure work got done, much to Joey's dismay and slight confusion.
"Why does it matter so much to you, Mai?" he'd asked her once, crossing his arms and slumping in his seat when she'd denied him a makeout session until he got all his current homework out of the way.
Mai had rolled her eyes so hard, it was a wonder they hadn't fallen out. "So you can at the very least graduate high school."
"Babe," Joey said imploringly, holding his arms open, inviting her to come over and sit in his lap. "C'mon."
Mai simply smiled at him and kissed his forehead, promising him he'd get what he wanted after he finished his homework.
And ever since then Joey had diligently completed his work so Mai couldn't bother him about it. Which was just as well, Mai mused, opening her refrigerator door and pulling out a pitcher of lemonade Joey had made yesterday. Joey looked up from his homework and grinned as she poured herself a glass, obviously pleased that she was finally giving his lemonade a try.
Mai gave Joey a smile and lifted the glass up, inspecting the yellowish liquid. Everything seemed normal. Mai ventured a taste, and her lips immediately puckered.
"Like it, Mai?" Joey asked, eyes cast back down onto his homework.
At that moment Mai decided that all of the sidestepping would have to come to an end, now that Joey was living with her. She'd convinced him to move in with her not long after they'd gotten together because of his deplorable home life. It didn't take much to get him agree since they both knew his dad would not notice Joey's absence or simply not care if he did.
They saw so much of each other because they lived under the same roof and shared a bed, and maybe that was why things were so awkward right now. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if maybe things would be different if they didn't live together. Mai knew that there would be a lot less tiptoeing around if that were the case, as the situation had not been ideal after Mai had returned. There was still a hint of uneasiness around them, like perfume that had been sprayed some time ago still lingering in the air, and seeing so much of each other only exacerbated the problem.
But still, Mai reminded herself, everything must come to an end, and they should not have to keep up this stupid charade.
"Could use a little more sugar, doll," Mai replied, placing the pitcher and the glass back in the fridge.
Joey nodded and looked back down at his homework, frowning at the halfway completed piece of paper. "Hey, Mai? Can you help me out?"
"Homework?"
"Yeah. Short story."
Mai sat down on the floor next to Joey and waited as he pulled out his cumbersome text book. He dropped it onto the glass tabletop, causing the coffee table to shake and squeal under its new burden. Mai arched an eyebrow and took note of the unnecessary volume as her boyfriend flipped the book open.
"That thing must weigh more than a newborn child," she muttered dryly while Joey flipped through the pages until he found the story.
Mai tried to help Joey when he pointed out the first question that was giving him difficulty, so she tried reading through the short story. But as time wore on, while Joey occasionally leaned over to scan the passages with her, Mai's apprehension grew and her mind started to wander. As time went on, Mai's train of thought kept returning to two images, both very different but equally unsettling: first she thought of one of those stupid fifteen year old fantasies of a bouncy, inappropriately dressed teacher sitting on her student's desk while helping him with his homework, ample breasts near enough to send the kid into a cold sweat; then she thought of a graying housewife bringing her twelve year old son a plate of warm cookies for them to snack on while she helped him with his pre-algebra homework.
Mai blanched. She slowly got to her feet. "You know, Joey?" she asked, trying to maintain her composure. "There's nothing wrong with taking a break once in a while. Especially when you have to work with that. It'd give anyone a headache. I sure have one now."
With her excuse out of the way, Mai escaped to her bathroom and settled in for a long bath.
"Okay," Parker said, gently closing his book and setting it down on the table. "Time to check the monitor."
"Really?" Kevin asked, surprised at Parker's apparent change in attitude. "Now you're doing your job?"
Parker slowly turned to look at his co-worker. He blinked. "Getting bold now, huh?" Saucy little shit. Parker thought bitterly, but kept it to himself.
"I thought you said we didn't have to pay attention."
"Generally, we don't," Parker replied, checking their client's brain activity levels, noticing that some attention was required. "But it doesn't hurt to check. That's just common sense. And since you're so eager to do something, I'm giving you a chance to show me what you know, Kev."
Under Parker's instruction, Kevin turned knobs and dials on the control panel which, unbeknownst to Parker and Kevin, caused Valon's eyelids to slide open a few millimeters.
"Mai."
"Hmm?"
"Are you happy?"
Mai finally looked at Valon, a first in several hours. There they were on his couch, pretending to watch some movie on TV, an event that would at most take an hour and a half, but now stretched over three hours thanks to commercials. Three hours of silence between the two. It was all right, though. Silence was a lot more manageable when there was a distraction.
Mai had a velvet blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her legs were across his lap, which was as close as to any kind of intimacy they'd had in a while. Her face was as blank as a fresh sheet of paper, and the nature of his question did nothing to change that.Happy? Valon asked himself. That was not the face of a person content with her life.
"Why do you ask?"
Valon shrugged. "Just wondering," he murmured, looking back at the TV screen, understanding that Mai's lack of an answer was her answer. She wasn't happy. Fuck. Valon thought to himself. Am I happy?
The room started to crumble and dissolve, but both Valon and Mai stayed seated.
"Why did you stay with me?" Valon, of his own free will, whispered.
"What do you mean?" Mai—although it wasn't really her, just a part of his imagination, he supposed—asked.
"I mean," Valon replied, looking at her, "why did you waste all this time with me when all you wanted was Wheeler?"
Mai swallowed. "Listen, Valon," she said murmured, removing her legs from his lap so she could sit up. "I really did care for you."
"Cared for me," Valon repeated, watching his living room succumb to the darkness. He looked at Mai, who stared at him ruefully. "Right. But it wasn't enough."