Gen One- Chapter Twenty Eight

I hummed along to the music playing from my phone behind me as I worked. I had learned years ago that it was better to put it on the island counter instead of right next to where I cooked. Eden hadn't been incredibly pleased to find out that one afternoon that I had accidentally knocked half a bottle of vinegar right onto the new phone he had bought me. It took me months doing nothing but chores in order to earn another one. Naturally, I was not keen on repeating the experience. However, my phone was hardly a thought in the back of my mind because I was far more focused on the ingredients before me. Frost adored key lime pies, and since his birthday was tomorrow I had promised him I would bring him the best one he ever tasted. I had looked up several recipes online, and after considering all the variations I had come up with my own recipe. It included things such as a gingersnap crust and just a hint of cinnamon. On paper the recipe seemed strange, but I was confident it would come out well. I know I was certainly pleased with how the pie was progressing when it came time to put it in the oven.

I mucked about upstairs for the longest time while it baked before I forced myself to finish the last little bit of summer homework I had. My junior year of high school had already started and we had just finished the first week, but the book report wasn't due until Monday. I typically wouldn't have put it off for so long, but Allium had proved ridiculously distracting over break, although there had been a tense air between us after the party situation. When the weariness of the drug wore off and the reality of what could have happened sunk in, that was when my anger peaked. I didn't even talk to Allium for a week. He walked on eggshells around me after that. I went ahead and forgave him a month after the incident, but even to this day his behavior was still changed. All I had to say was that I wasn't that into whatever idea he suggested, and he tossed it out the window and over the cliff. In fact, it was more that behavior that was upsetting me now- mostly because since Allium gave in to all my rejections he had stopped trying to bribe me with food. I wasn't getting to coerce the little treats that used to be my part of the deal for doing the things he wanted anymore. I had tried to talk to Allium about it, but the poor thing was still beating himself up about his mistake. It was months later now, and he continued to act as if it had happened yesterday. Part of me wished he would just move on already like I had, but I could sympathize with him as well. I would probably feel just as guilty if I had done what he had done.

But anyway, besides that, everything was fine between us. The reason why Allium had been so distracting over break was because we both grew quite addicted to the fact that the hot temperatures meant we got to see the other in little amounts of clothes often. True, we had come to that agreement that we wouldn't take it all the way, but that didn't mean we would keep our hands off each other entirely. I had grown perhaps a bit too comfortable with Allium's touch. It lowered my defenses when it came to me guaranteeing no one was around when we got into it. Eden, unfortunately, stumbled across one of our more personal make-out sessions. That led to another week where I didn't see Allium, and Eden even followed us for the following few days after that.

It was terribly annoying at the time, but when I went downstairs to begin picking up the mess Button had made with her toys I chuckled to myself. Eden had been awful at being sneaky. Him hiding in the bushes thinking we had no idea he was there was a hilarious memory. And speaking of people hiding in the bushes, I was forced to stop and stare out the window as I bent to put the last toy away since movement outside caught my eye.

It took all my willpower not to laugh. Amaranth was much more coordinated now compared to back when he was nine, but he apparently still couldn't figure out how to sneak through our bushes properly to stop himself from being visible. His head lightly bobbed along as he thought he crept through all the branches and towards the window.

Remembering that incident from so long ago, I went ahead and pretended I hadn't seen what I had seen. I walked away from the window, but remained in the room. Honestly, Amaranth's plan was poorly thought through. All the scratches he was bound to get would mean nothing if I wasn't in my study area. I grabbed a random book from the shelf and began to read- standing directly in line with the window so Amaranth could spot me. Him popping up every now and again to check what I was doing was pretty hard to ignore. It was impossible to stop a creeping smile from spreading on my lips. He began tapping the window and ducking back down to hide. Turning the tables on him, I continued to ignore everything he did even when the tap's grew louder and he stopped cloaking himself.

     "Meadow?" his muffled voice called to me when he stood up normally.

I simply turned to the next page in my book.

     "You're allowed to notice me now." he revealed, as if it wasn't already obvious.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

     "Okay, haha, you're ignoring me past what you should be. Very funny."

Nothing.

     "Meadooow." Amaranth whined.

He repeatedly tapped on the window fast and with conviction. Only when I couldn't stand the noise any longer did I turn to face him.

     "Hi." he said with a wave.
     "Hi." I responded with an amused roll of my eyes.

He was struggling to escape the clutch of the bushes just like he was the last time when I met him outside the back door. I was hit with a heavy dose of nostalgia. Amaranth was even wearing his same old goofy smile.

     "Reliving our glory days?" I asked teasingly.
     "Something like that," Amaranth grinned, "Alright. So, you're not grounded or under orders to stay inside the house, are you?"
     "No."
     "Leaving the yard will do nothing to get us in trouble, right?"
     "Correct, and I appreciate you asking."

I stared at him with light, merry interest.

     "Are you going to ask if I want to go to the beach with you?" I wondered, having spotted a drawstring bag he had on the ground next to his feet.

Amaranth let out a massive sigh and groan.

     "You aren't very good at this. Must you always jump ahead? I was the one who suggested the idea last time. You were supposed to let me suggest it this time too." he joked.
     "Sorry," I laughed, "I suppose you'll have to come again some other day. I'll get everything right then."
     "Make sure that you do." Amaranth responded likewise.

He straightened up, cleared his throat, and looked at me more seriously.

     "Since you are indeed free to leave the house, would you like to come with me to the beach where we can partake in whatever merriment we see fit?" he questioned.
     "I'd love to, although you'll have to forgive me that I'm somewhat curious as to the occasion. Was there anything in particular that prompted this desire?" I questioned back.
     "Not a truly specific thing I can point to," Amaranth shrugged his shoulders, "I simply realized that the two of us haven't spent much time with each other ever since you and Al started dating. I seem to always be with Cocoa when you're free, and you always seem to be with Al when I'm free. I already went ahead and asked Al last night if he might let me borrow you for the day, so here I am."
     "Wouldn't it have made more sense to ask me last night too? What if I was out of the house?"
     "Eh, but that would have taken the fun out of it. And, if you weren't home, I would have crossed that bridge when I got to it. You are here though, so I don't need to stress."

I smiled.

     "Well, alright. Let me go gather up what I need. You can watch the oven since the timer will most likely go off while I'm upstairs." I said.
     "Making something?"
     "Frost's birthday pie. I won't have time to get it done it tomorrow, so I did it now." I explained.

It didn't take me long to slip my bathing suit under my clothes and gather up the rest of what I would need. My friends and I usually continued to head to the beach on the weekends even after school started, so everything was still out and about for me to grab and stuff in a bag. The oven timer went off as I returned downstairs. Amaranth was pulling the pie out when I reached the kitchen.

     "Make sure you don't drool on it." I warned as he stared at it with awe.
     "I'll try, but I can't make any promises. It smells so good." he said longingly.
     "Glad you think so. It's a variation recipe of my own, so it is a bit experimental."
     "I will eat any one of your experiments any day," Amaranth chuckled, "You know, I have had this silly, hypothetical wish for a while that maybe someday I could hire you to be my personal chef. Thinking about it logically, that probably shouldn't ever happen. I would get sooo fat."
     "I haven't let Eden get fat, have I? You work out just like he does. I think you'd be fine."
     "Does that mean you're up for the idea?" Amaranth wondered with exuberant, and sarcastic, joy.
     "We'll see." I giggled.

The walk to the beach was a crazy affair. Amaranth, though he usually had that silly side to him, was acting Allium levels of ridiculous. I didn't mind, but it was peculiar. He kept me laughing and even prompted me to join him in a race to the beach once we got closer. That spur of adrenaline calmed him down afterwards. He was much more like himself once we hit the sand. Me mentioning our "glory days" convinced Amaranth that we needed to stick to the same similar itinerary as last time. Mostly, he just wanted to sit on the dock. The planks were warmed from the summer sun, and we were tall enough to be able dip our feet into the cool water below. It was a comfortable situation. So comfortable, in fact, that I found myself leaning against Amaranth.

     "You still like the horizon?" he asked after we had sat there in mostly silence.
     "Always. I'll never tire of it. You still like your reflection in the water?"
     "Always."

Amaranth grinned widely before raising a brow at me.

     "You're not trying to push me off the edge, are you?"
     "Mayyybe." I teased.

I hadn't been meaning to push him by leaning on him, but if such a thing happened I wouldn't complain.

     "It can be your turn to go in first." I continued.
     "We should jump in together." Amaranth proposed.

After thinking about it for a moment, I agreed.

However, that was because I had something else planned.

The two of us stood up to jump. We prepped, and Amaranth began a countdown. He was so focused on the water that he was oblivious to my mischievous smirk. When the signal to jump came, I didn't jump. Instead, I pushed against Amaranth's back as soon as he was in the air. It sent him flying further than he intended, and his form when he crashed into the water was less than spectacular. As soon as he was under, I jumped in myself. His pout when he surfaced was too perfect. I was giggling like crazy, and I wish I could have taken a picture.

     "How cruel. Allium must really be corrupting you." Amaranth complained with dramatic flair.
     "Nope. It really was only fair that you went in first." I smirked.
     "Fair, huh? Well, you know what else is fair?" he said suspiciously.

I barely had a moment to breathe let alone think or prepare for what Amaranth intended. I half knew it was coming, but I was truly powerless against the waves of water Amaranth sent cascading into my face. There was no escape. If I hid underwater, Amaranth would simply wait until I needed to breathe to restart his attack. If I tried to swim away, he followed. If I tried to retaliate, the bigger splashes he could make drowned mine out. He cackled like a mad idiot while I was caught between laughing and not letting the water get in my mouth. I was beginning to wonder when the onslaught would stop when Amaranth suddenly coughed and groaned.

     "I was splashing the water so hard that I sent a whole bucketful right into my eyes. I really hate the sting of seawater sometimes." he pouted again.

I controlled the temptation to splash him back now that I had the chance. I allowed him to clear his eyes out before we swam a bit more acceptably.

The two of us must have spent at least a good hour in the water. It was near lunchtime by that point, so we took a break to munch on the snacks Amaranth had brought and the food I had swiped from the kitchen. With full tummies and the physical exertion kicking it, the two of us took a relaxing break in the warm sun afterwards. Amaranth pulled out a book from his bag and began to read. Like in so many situations before, I had no idea that asking one little question would be the turning point for my good mood to turn sour.

     "What'cha reading about there?" I asked.
     "An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, it's called."
     "I should have known," I smiled, "Another one of your space books. You've read so many. Doesn't the information repeat itself?"
     "The basic stuff at the beginning is pretty similar, but once you get into them there's a treasure trove to find. This book is the latest edition that most universities use in their classes. Mr. Mosaic from the bookstore is letting me borrow it."
     "Moving up to the college level, huh?"
     "Yeah. I'm okay at math and physics, but I'm definitely not a genius at them. I figure it's better to get as far ahead as I can now so I'm not left behind when once I'm at university. To tell the truth, I've begun to feel the pressure ever since I worked out where I want to go."
     "Oh? And where's that?"
     "Twilight North University."
     "In Twilight City? That's like two hours north of Bayport, isn't it?"
     "About. So, a three or three and a half hour drive altogether. It's not too close, but it's not too far. Their astronomy program is top notch too. They've got some of the most famous astronomers in the country as professors. Honestly, I think I would seriously cry if they rejected me. I don't think they should though. My grades and test scores are at their acceptance levels."
     "I've heard they're quite an expensive school."
     "Blaze is going to have to just suck it up. He promised that if I got a part-time job and saved up as much as I could that he would cover the rest. He's guaranteed to have plenty of money stashed away given how he deposits pretty much all of his paychecks into his savings account. He's probably a millionaire by now, yet he carries on as if we have nothing." Amaranth shook his head.

I just nodded my head. Amaranth complained about Blaze's cheap ways as often as Blaze went on about how expensive the world was. All that could be said about the subject had been said long ago. Amaranth wasn't interested in pressing that topic either, and it was the question he asked next that really sent my mood spiraling down even if I did my best to hide it.

     "Where do you want to go?" he wondered.
     "I don't know. I haven't looked at any schools yet."
     "Really? I would have thought you would be the one to have it all planned out." Amaranth replied in perplexed amazement.
     "I haven't felt like it is something I need to bother with at this point. The school year has only just begun." I shrugged.
     "That's true enough, but it's not something you should put off for long. Time will fly by before you know it. We only have one year of high school left after this, and if you don't prepare your junior year then getting stuff done in your senior year is going to be difficult. A lot of schools have strict deadlines too. Then there's scholarships and grants to look at. You could get so many that you'll probably earn a free ride, but not if you wait until the last minute."
     "I know." I agreed.

I shifted so I wasn't facing Amaranth directly anymore. He had no idea how university and higher education in general was an incredibly sensitive topic for me. I could handle talking about my friends' plans, but once the conversation shifted to my plans I struggled. Thankfully, at least for that brief moment, Amaranth was still looking down at his book for the most part. The change of my expression went momentarily unnoticed.

     "What are you thinking of going into?" he did continue though, and I began to gently curse him in my head.
     "Something. Probably."
     "I don't believe that's a major," Amaranth teased, "But, really, there's has to be one idea you've considered." 
     "Except there hasn't been," I shrugged again, "I haven't considered any schools. I haven't considered any majors. I'll think about it in the future, but I'm still coming down off the summer high. I'd like to enjoy it for as long as I can before I get all stressed about things like continuing my education."

I did my best to speak my words so that it was clear that I wasn't into talking about school anymore and so that my false worlds that I would look into higher education appeared genuine. The only one I was fooling was myself though. I laid on my back, turned my head to the left slightly, and closed my eyes to pretend like I was continuing to suntan, but that wasn't enough to stop Amaranth.

     "Meadow? What's up?" he asked with concern in his voice.
     "Hmm?
     "What's up with you?"
     "What do you mean?"
     "Why are you so indifferent about college? Why do you suddenly look depressed?"
     "I don't."
     "You do." Amaranth said with confidence.

I didn't reply. I hadn't opened my eyes or moved, and it would have stayed that way if Amaranth hadn't reached over to shake my arm until I was force to prop myself up and glance his way again.

     "See? It's that look there," he pointed out, "It makes it seem like you've already given up."
     "No. I just don't care." I revealed the lie so that I wouldn't have to admit that I had indeed given up.
     "What? Why?" Amaranth asked with light horror.
     "Does it matter?" I sighed.
     "Of course it does! This isn't some small issue. This is what can make or break your whole future! I know I backed you up in elementary school when you said you wanted to be a mom, but Mrs. Chamois was right too. Everyone in this day and age needs to be prepared and have a plan on how they're going to support themselves. This is the point where you have to think rationally and make logical decisions." Amaranth prompted.
     "But who says I need to go to college in order to be able to support myself? You're forgetting that I'm smart enough to have already finished college if I had wanted to. Heck, with all the AP classes I'm taking I'll have a third of the credits I'd need for any university. Anything they could teach me I can learn on my own without having to be slowed down by semesters and idiots who only want to get drunk at parties. I can get a college education faster by not going to college."

Amaranth stared at me for the longest time before he looked away.

     "I guess you are right about some things," he admitted, "But there's so much more to college than classes and credits. The whole experience is a way for you to learn about yourself, other people, and the world. It's where you can meet the people who can really help you get on your way- something that's much harder to obtain by simply memorizing information from a computer screen. Then there's all the practical exercises that'll be next to impossible to do on your own. I know you know by now that there are some things that just can't learn until you have a teacher there next to you showing you the way to do it."

He went quiet for a moment again until he moved onto his side and spoke with more optimism.

     "But, hey, if you really don't think college is for you, there are other options. Twilight City has an amazing culinary school, or so I've heard. You could enroll there. Maybe even just take classes on the weekend. You do love to cook. Why not turn your hobby and the talent you clearly have for it into your job? With Sap geared up to take on his parents' businesses, perhaps you and him could open up a restaurant. Sell all those delectable experiments of yours and whatnot. What I'm trying to say- doing something is better than doing nothing."
     "I know," I agreed more genuinely this time, "I really do. I truly am not all that sure about college, but I'll look into that culinary school. It'll be a bit of a drive, but going down there a few times a week seems perfectly doable."
     "Great! And, if you ever need a place to bunk for the night, you can always come crash in my room." Amaranth offered.
     "You mean a tiny dorm room that'll have some other boy I don't know in it too?" I teased.
     "Twilight North has suite style living arraignments as well as normal dorms. The one I'm looking into has a shared living room, kitchen, and bathroom, but separate rooms for four people."
     "Sounds fancy, and, once again, expensive."
     "Oh, it is. But since Blaze is paying for most of it..." Amaranth trailed off with a cheeky grin.

I laughed and was glad that Amaranth let me off the hook for any further talk of plans after our high school graduation.

Both our moods brightened up, and we enjoyed the rest of the time we spent at the beach. Amaranth and I swam some more, built a whole sand village, found several shells, and took a good long walk before cleaning up, cleaning off, and changing back into our normal clothes. The plan was for Amaranth to hang out at my house for a while, but that plan was sent plummeting into the ground before we could even leave the beach. I spotted a very familiar face standing there, and I could not for the life of me remember a time when I had seen Cocoa look anywhere near as angry as she looked in that moment. Amaranth was slower to notice her, and when he did his expression dropped as well. It didn't take much effort to realize that some sort of confrontation was inevitable. I wished Amaranth and I could have snuck around to leave the beach some other way. However, with Cocoa standing there with her arms folded and her foot tapping we were caught in her wrath.

I hesitantly followed Amaranth over to her, feeling guilty even if I was obviously completely innocent in whatever was going on between the other two. Amaranth hadn't shown any signs that there was something wrong with their relationship, but it was beginning to look like there was.

     "Yes?" Amaranth asked calmly to her.
     "Don't 'yes' me! You should be apologizing instead!" Cocoa frowned, her voice higher in pitch and stiff, "What on earth are you doing here of all places? Aren't you aware of where you are supposed to be? Of where we are supposed to be?""
     "Cocoa, please don't tell me you've completely forgotten to bother with your phone again. What's the point of you having one if you don't check it like you're supposed to? I sent you multiple texts and voicemails yesterday letting you know I wouldn't be free. That I was going to hang out with Meadow for the first time in forever." Amaranth replied, still calm.
      "So you just decide by yourself that our plans of meeting up at Zero's should be called off? I was standing out there for hours waiting for you. I looked like an idiot waiting and waiting, but you were here messing around with her instead!"

Amaranth sighed one of the most massive sighs I've ever heard. He looked like he was trying incredibly hard not to lose his patience.

     "Cocoa," he began again, "You know very well that we didn't have concrete plans about going to Zero's. It was something we were going to consider once I found out if Mr. Mosaic needed me to cover that co-worker of mine who got sick. He called me yesterday saying he didn't need me to come in, and that was when I tried calling you multiple times to discuss everything. Since you never responded, I went ahead and made other plans because I wasn't going to fuss with getting a ride all the way out to Zero's if I had no idea if you were going to be there. I gave you all the consideration of knowing what was going on on my end. I can't help it if you didn't give me the same."
     "So you're saying this is my fault?" Cocoa questioned bitterly.
     "I'm just saying that if you want me to be in a certain place in a certain time, then you need to confirm it with me instead of making assumptions." Amaranth responded, very smartly not going ahead and saying that, yeah, Cocoa was at fault for not simply checking her phone.

She frowned deeper.

     "Whatever! But why did you think coming here with her is the best thing you could have otherwise done with your time?" Cocoa accused, pointing a finger at me.
     "You do realize you're pointing at Meadow, right?" Amaranth exhaled deeply as he was losing his patience.
     "Of course!"
     "You're pointing at Meadow. Meadow, who is dating Allium. You know that she and I are just friends. You've never had a problem with me hanging out with her before, so don't turn jealous and act as if we've been here making out all day. It's not fair to her. It's not fair to me."

Amaranth's words did little to sway Cocoa. She was angry and irrational, so all the logic he threw at her did nothing. He wasn't caving to her desires, which made the situation spiral further and further into chaos. I stood there awkwardly, shifting horribly nervously, when Amaranth's calm mask mostly slipped away and he began truly fighting back. Their argument carried on and scared away the other beach-goers to the other side of the lot. It was ten minutes later when I got fed up and started walking away. Cocoa was going on far too much about me being some vixen who was trying to seduce Amaranth for my liking. I was getting angry too, and that was the last thing that was needed. Amaranth grabbed my arm to stop me before I could take three steps, and when I turned back to look at him and Cocoa their expressions suddenly changed. Cocoa's anger was nowhere to be found. She looked worried instead, and Amaranth was staring intently at me too.

     "Meadow, I'm really sorry." Cocoa hurriedly apologized.
     "You were being really rude, you know?" I couldn't help but to snap back.
     "I know. I was just really looking forward to today, and when my own carelessness caused everything to get messed up I let my anger mess me up. It was easier to blame the two of you. I'm seriously so sorry."
     "It's alright." I sighed.

Cocoa had given me next to no problems ever since I had known her, so I was willing to let her off the hook easy this time. However, her expression didn't change at all even with me doing that.

     "Are you alright?" she then asked with a voice full of concern.
     "Yeah?"
     "You sure us fighting didn't scare you or something?"
     "Scare me? Why would I get scared from something like that?" I wondered in confusion.
     "You look really pale all of a sudden." Amaranth explained.

Instantly, I glanced down and gently rubbed at my skin. Had the tense atmosphere of the fighting affected me more than I thought? I wish that would have been the case. The truth that the reason behind the lightening of my skin was the terrifying reason that I had hoped I would never have to deal with again. My heart froze briefly when I realized what was going on.

     "This happened right before you got really sick that one time." Amaranth reminded me with worry.
     "Yeah. I should go home right away."
     "I'll walk you." Amaranth offered.

He began following as I quickly began hurrying up the hill.

     "No, my house is close enough. If it's contagious, I don't want to pass it on." I rejected.

I'm sure I left Amaranth puzzled and confused, but he did thankfully stop following. He and Cocoa were left standing there as I rushed back to my house with determination.

I knew right away that Eden was home when I spotted his bag near the door when I walked inside. He had been at the gym with Blaze, and now he was in the kitchen doing something that I would grumble at him for for the rest of the day.

     "Eden, I-!" I started when I rushed into the room before I froze when I saw him, "What are you doing?"

He froze too and looked at me with wide, confused eyes when he heard the quiet, horrified questioning in my voice.

     "Having some pie?" he replied hesitantly.
     "That's pie you're not supposed to be eating!" I half-yelled at him.
     "You didn't mark it." Eden mumbled guiltily.

We put our names on the stuff in the fridge and cupboards that we didn't want the other to eat. Everything else was fair game.

     "That's because I told you directly that the pie I was going to make was for Frost's birthday!" I stamped my foot.
     "Oh," Eden remembered far too late, "You did tell me that, didn't you?"
     "Eden! I spent hours making that! We're out of most of the ingredients I need to make another too since you've ruined this one!"
     "I'll go get some more. Right away. I'll clean all the dishes too." he promised.
     "Still..." I pouted, sighing again, "But, don't go shopping right away. We have to take care of the real reason as to why I rushed in here first."
     "What's that?" Eden asked curiously.

I stretched out my arms and motioned to me. Eden quickly caught on.

     "Oh, great." he said.

He hurried over, and having him right next to me only helped to show just how pale I had already become.

     "It's happening way faster than it did before," I mumbled as I inspected my hand, "I'll be white by dinnertime at this point."
     "Clearly, we're going to get the injection in you right away. The hypothetical boulder is still rolling down the hill. It hasn't stopped like it did last time. Hopefully, we can give it a strong enough push to get its momentum going fully again before it grinds to a halt."

Eden practically bolted up the stairs after that. I went ahead and downed the slice of pie he swiped before getting a piece of paper, writing my name on it, and attaching it to the plate of the pie before putting the whole thing back into the fridge. That made me feel slightly better about that, as did the fact that the pie did tasting freaking delicious. In a way, I guess it was good I could sample the first product. There were a few things I wanted to tweak, and now I could do that. With how long I was going to have to work on the second pie though, Frost better cry from happiness once it touches his taste buds.

Eden returned with his usual tray that held the disinfecting solution, some gauze pads, and, naturally, the syringe. I had taken the shot less than thirty seconds later, and Eden and I were able to breathe a little easier while we prayed it would kick in right away.

     "This is getting really serious, isn't it?" I wondered, "The injection is wearing off in shorter and shorter amounts of time. We're down to about three months now. How much do you have left? Will I even be able to finish high school as Meadow?"
     "I did a quick bit of calculating while I was upstairs. We can kinda guess at the rate at which the injection length will continue to shorten now. Crunching the numbers with how long it will take for you to graduate as well as how much of the injection I have left, you should be alright to at least graduate. We'll be cutting it close though."
     "You really have that much of it left?"
     "I do. I was smart enough to have rationed it when you were younger. It didn't make sense to give a child the same amount that you would give an adult. That kind of thinking paid off. You stayed perfectly green back then even having only half the amount the records said was necessary. If I hadn't done that, then, yeah, we would be sooo screwed right now." Eden revealed.
     "That's one relief."

Eden started cleaning up, and I kicked miserably at the counter.

     "So, I can only be Meadow until I graduate school in about a year and a half?" I asked softly.
     "Pretty much. Even if nothing problematic happens, we're looking at you staying green for a week, maybe, after the ceremony. The situation is something we're going to have to watch like a hawk." Eden confirmed.
     "College is pointless then." I mumbled.
     "What do you mean?" Eden asked with a frown.
     "That I shouldn't even bother with thinking I'll get to go."
     "Where are you coming from? You've always really looked forward to going to college."
     "I have, and I do want to go- badly. But how can I go to college if Meadow is going to disappear right after high school? We're going to have to go into hiding as soon as Ethereal is here to stay, remember? It's not like The Company is going to give up on finding me the second I turn eighteen."

Eden looked at me sympathetically.

     "I should have just done what my teachers told me and skipped grades. I could be done or almost done with college by now." I pouted.
     "Trust me, you would have hated it. I wouldn't have done it myself if I hadn't been so desperate to get out on my own. Leaving behinds your friends and being a teenager surrounded by a bunch of twenty-somethings who either tease you for being a genius freak or bugging you for help all the time isn't a pleasant experience. It's alienating and rather lonely." Eden explained.

It didn't do much to help my mood.

     "Ethereal, don't give up on college just yet," he continued, "In fact, I fully expect you to look into majors and places where you want to go."
     "Why? What's the point?" I shook my head dismally.
     "You're under the assumption that you can only go if you're Meadow. You're completely forgetting that my friends and I have every intention to set Ethereal free before that point. You can attend college as yourself. Not Meadow."
     "That'd be nice," I mumbled once more, "But I've never been confident as you have that that's guaranteed to happen."
     "Do you trust me?"

The question was asked so scarily similar to how Eden asked it all those years ago that it had me glancing into those green eyes of his like it did back then. Eden smiled at me gently.

     "I do."
     "Then I promise you that it'll happen. It definitely will." Eden encouraged confidently.

That broke through my melancholy haze to get me to smile too. Eden's grin got wider, but it faded after he glanced around.

     "Did you put away the pie?"
     "I did. I marked it as mine too." I replied impishly.
     "What? C'mon, you can't eat that whole thing by yourself." he whined.
     "Sure I can."
     "Ethereal." Eden pouted.
     "If you're a good boy and help me with making the new one, perhaps you can have a slice or two."
     "That I can do." he responded cheerfully.

Letting Eden help with the new pie was the best thing I could do. It took my mind off the consequences of what would happen and what I would be in for if the injection couldn't keep me green. Eden and I made a mess of the kitchen, ended up eating most of the original pie for dinner, and goofed off until it was time for bed. Getting myself to fall asleep was the most difficult thing I had done for a long time. A sore ache and uncomfortable warmth enveloped my entire body. It was an encouraging sign, but it didn't do much to help my consciousness slip away. I would have taken a sleeping aid had I not been terrified it would cause a horrible reaction when mixed with the injection. It was about three in the morning when I did get some light rest. The sound of the birds and Button jumping off the bed woke me up. Though I was shaky on my feet, I got up right away and rushed to the mirror. I exhaled greatly in relief at the sight of Meadow being back in her full glory.

     "I guess you get to stay around for a while longer." I spoke to the mirror.

However, it did feel as if I was speaking directly to her. I touched my face, and it seemed like I was only touching her face. She stared back at me unwaveringly.

     "You know, for as much grief as I've given you," I started reminiscently, "Now that your time is running out, I'm really going to miss you when you're gone. You have done so much for me after all."

My reflection smiled. I laughed lightly.

     "Just make sure you do stick around until the end of senior year. I would like to graduate high school."

We both laughed harder.