Four: The Night Before Move-in
The next seven days flew by for Elaina as move in weekend came rushing closer. She'd packed most of the stuff on the recommended list, save for the bathroom supplies. "I told you we'll go to Bed, Bath and Beldum when we get there." Her mom's voice called out from the kitchen, where she was packing her some light dishware and other kitchen pieces. "Are you sure you're allowed to have the electric stove plate?"
Elaina looked up from her packing in her loft and shouted down "Is it the induction one, if so, yes!" She'd finished packing her suitcase and brought it downstairs. She stuck it next to her plastic bins and joined her mother in the kitchen. As the last bin was filled and stacked by the door, her mom sighed. "You sure you want to go?"
Her daughter chuckled. "I'm not unpacking all that." She turned and saw a tear in her mom's eye. "Aww, mom. I'm not dying." Her mom pulled her into a hug. "I know, sweetie, but it's a long time before you'll be home for Snowflake Day. I'll miss you." Elaina returned her mother's hug, and then pulled away. "I am really proud of you, mom. Archer used to joke that you were so uncomfortable letting me out of your sight that you should just homeschool me." Her mother's lips curled into a melancholic smile.
"Archer's kind of an asshole, even in regard to where he works." Her mom was interrupted by Elaina's phone ringing. As Rotom jumped out of her pocket, she looked to her mom. "It's Silver!" She answered the phone with a hearty "Sup, Monstah?"
Silver paused, then put on his best robotic voice. "The party you've dialed has requested three hundred and fifty Poké to continue this call. Please remit payment to the Lake of Rage monster." Before promptly bursting into a fit of laughter.
"So, you're off to school tomorrow, huh, Kit?" He gave a smile into his camera as he spoke. "Proud of ya and thought I should let ya know." He relaxed into his couch and Elaina went to do the same.
"How's Mahogany Town?" She asked as she found comfortable on the couch. Their mom smiled and said hello to Silver before darting off into her room. /
"Ended up not working out in Mahogany. Kris and I ended up in Blackthorn. I got in with Claire at the gym if you can believe it." He smiled as a door opened behind him. "Is that my Kris?" The woman sat next to him and kissed his cheek. "Hey there, Elaina."
"Hey, Kris. Glad to see you."
"Hey, Kit. We're going to make dinner so we've gotta bounce. Congrats on the academy. I'm unironically really proud of you. Also, get effed!" He chuckled as he hung up the phone. Elaina chuckled as Rotom put her phone back in her pocket. "My brother is still incorrigible, mom, but at least he and Kris are happy." She said over her shoulder. Her mother had come back into the room, her face holding that inscrutable look that it always held when Silver was involved. "Do Silver and I have different bio moms?" She asked her mother, point blank.
"Yes." Was her mother's response as she sat next to Elaina. "Silver's bio mom is a woman out of Veridian City. I've never met her, but your dad got custody when Silver was really small. She's not been in the picture since."
"What news to get right before bed on the night before moving day…" Elaina tried to find something interesting in the patterns of her socks. Eventually the silence grew too tense, and Elaina stood up and made her way back to her loft. "Goodnight mom. I'm going to try to sleep." She said as she headed up the stairs. Her mom said her goodnights and eventually found her way to her bedroom. As Elaina fell over onto her bed and began taking off her socks, she thought of Nemona. "It's been like a week and she's barely even texted. Maybe she wasn't putting out the vibe I thought she was." She tugged her shirt from her body, undid her bra and kicked off her leggings. "Ah, well. It's not like the school won't be full of cute, gay women." She rolled over, turned out her light, and fell asleep.