The Aberrations of S.I.D.E.

No. 19: Dumbed Down

The Sanchez house was a lot less impressive than it looked.

It was originally a fancy apartment building made in the 1920's, but when the Sanchez family came to New York from Puerto Rico in the 60's, they had it partially renovated and turned into a mansion for themselves. Lots of people who visited, or at least saw it on the street, were blown away by it.

Roman hated it. It just felt like a shrine to how great his family thought they were, and besides, the attempt at recreating some of the art deco stuff just did not work.

"Hello, House Horror," Roman muttered, shouldering his bag.

Remus shrugged. "Hey, look on the bright side. We go in, scarf down our food, tell them how rainbow our brains are, and then we can go officially move into our brand spankin' new apartment."

Roman looked over at his brother. "Could... could you maybe come out first? Just to take the pressure off?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, no biggie," Remus said.

Yes biggie, Roman thought gloomily, trudging up the steps to the front door. Remus ran up next to him and pressed the doorbell multiple times.

A heavy sigh was heard behind the door, followed by the door being opened by a middle-aged butler. "It's good to see that the Academy has not damaged your spirit, Mr. Remus," he said.

"Nice to see you, too, Reggie." Remus clapped him on the shoulder. "No spoilers, but your headache will be gone soon enough. For good."

"Don't believe him," Roman said. "We'll call you."

Reggie rubbed the bridge of his nose as the twins went into the house. "Oh, joy."

"PARENTAL UNITS!" Remus shouted. "YOUR OFFSPRING ARE HERE!"

No answer.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez are waiting for you in the downstairs living room, boys," Reggie told them. "I would suggest that you go greet them. You're about ten minutes late."

"Traffic," Roman said, pulling Remus away. "Sorry about that, Reg."

"What do you want me to do with your bags?" Reggie called.

"Just leave them there! We'll be picking them up later!"

The two of them speedwalked down the hall, slowing down the closer they got to the living room. Roman stared up at the door, swallowing slightly.

"Is it just me, or does it look... bigger?" he whispered.

"That's the anxiety talking," Remus said, elbowing him. "Put on your serious face and get ready for battle."

Roman took a deep breath and opened the door.

Their parents looked up from one of the couches, Francesca setting down her wine glass. Roman resisted the urge to make a run for it.

Xavier stood up and gave them both a curt nod. "Roman. Remus."

"Father," Roman muttered, returning the nod.

Remus waved. "Heyo, Pops."

"Be polite in your greetings, Remus," Francesca instructed, standing up. "How are the two of you?"

Gay, Roman thought. "I'm all right. School's fine. My friends are awesome."

Xavier frowned slightly. "Is Logan still... involved with that little blonde Aberration boy?"

"He is."

Francesca sighed. "Well, he's already half-Aberration, and the Jacobi bloodline's large enough. I suppose it doesn't matter too much."