Basil's Hope

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Kel didn't press Basil any further. He awkwardly comforted him in the best way he could, then said his goodbyes. Basil didn't need to go to his locker so he walked home.

When he opened the door, Polly turned from the stove in delight. "Hi sweetie, how was your day?" she asked politely.

Basil stifled a groan. "Good." He took off his shoes and put them neatly in their place on the shoe rack. Beside his was a pair of his mom's heels, along with a few of his dad's business shoes. He shot his head at Polly sharply. "Are they home?"

Polly smiled awkwardly at him and shook her head. "I just put out the shoes to make the house look livelier." She turned to her cooking. "In case you brought home those friends of yours."

Basil took a deep breath, and marched to his room. Along the way, he noticed a sad looking ivy plant hanging from the wall. He touched the leaf, then the soil, attempting to diagnose the problem.

Quickly, he dashed to his room to place his backpack under his bed, where it always sat. He carefully hung the photo from Kel on the wall from the string where his other Polaroids displayed themselves. Then he grabbed his watering can from its spot near the door, and rushed back to heal the sad ivy.

After done with the ivy, Basil went around checking on his home garden, pruning and watering where needed. Technically, it was Polly's job to care for the plants. She did a very poor job, so Basil fixed it up, however he suspected she did this on purpose to give him something to do with himself. He bit his lip in concentration.

What felt like a moment later, Polly peeked her head into the hall and let Basil know that dinner was ready. He nodded and put his tools away.

Basil picked at his food at the dinner table, while Polly tried to make conversation. "Do you like your classes?" she asked, making small conversation. Which Basil hated.

"Yeah they're alright." He responded. He reminisced on the events of today, remembering his dream about Sunny, the look on Aubrey's face, and Kel's photo. All of it made his blood boil. "I'm going to the restroom," he snapped.

Polly probably looked shocked or concerned, but Basil didn't look or care. He closed the restroom door and leaned against it, his chest heaving. Thoughts filled his head. Anger at Sunny for leaving him again, guilt at Aubrey's state, fear that he will lose Kel, his only true friend.

He found himself sitting on the floor with his arms around his legs. Basil sat and cried for a while, and soon he noticed he was shaking. He remembered that Polly was waiting at the table and would demand answers.

Basil rubbed his eyes and straightened himself up. He wiped his face and stared into the mirror. A guilty teenager stared back at him. There was no flower in his hair.

Back at the dinner table, Polly poked at him, asking more questions. Basil nodded, ignoring her, then dumped the rest of his dinner in the trash. Mashed potatoes splashed back at him as they fell. He put his plate in the sink and went to his room.

Basil considered going on his phone but resisted the urge. He found himself thinking about Sunny, but he wasn't sure why. He hasn't called or texted. He doesn't want to talk to me, and I don't want to talk to him, he thought furiously.

Instead, he decided to dust his room. Basil liked
to keep things neat and clean. He also loved caring for his plants. It made him feel useful. It made him feel as if he was wanted. Needed.

During his cleaning, he found himself flipping through the books in his bookcase. This reminded him of the book he was reading earlier between classes (and maybe a little during classes), so he grabbed it and curled up in his bed to read.

The book was a fiction story about a boy who discovered that he possessed magical powers. Basil didn't care so much about the magic, he simply enjoyed being transported to another world. A better one. One without Sunny or Aubrey, without the past, or fear of the future. One with a good ending.

Partway in, as he read about the boy exploring a forest full of fairies, his phone buzzed. At first he tried to ignore it, but it buzzed again, making him itch inside. He placed the bookmark between the pages and grabbed his phone.

Hey, it read. It was a text from an unknown contact. It's been a while, read the second text. This frustrated Basil. Why couldn't they just introduce themselves?

Annoyed, Basil responded, Who?

After a moment, the person on the other end began typing, then stopped. This annoyed Basil even further. Starting to feel anxious, he decided to get some water from the sink in the washroom.

While he sipped the water, his screen flashed and he peered at the new text.

It's Sunny. Remember me?

Fear ran through Basil. He looked away from his phone and into the mirror. He hated how scared he looked. Slamming the door, Basil ran his hands through his hair.

How could this be? he thought frantically. A whole month later he decides to bother me? On this day of all days? More thoughts raced through his head. He stopped cold. How do I respond?

Time must have went by, because Basil noticed his phone flash again. Slowly, he reached for his phone and checked the message.

I'm sorry I didn't message sooner, the text read.

Sorry? Basil thought venomously. He's sorry?

Basil knew it might not have been fair to let his anger out on Sunny, since he apologized. But in the moment, he didn't really care.

What else? Basil texted him back.