Brave (New Earth Saga)

Ch. 24

For the next two weeks things were... weird. Since my hand was still broken it was hard for me to use my e-scooter to get to class, so I had acquired a giant escort in the form of a student who was kind enough to carry me to my classes... Trent Reed. Of course when this arrangement first came up Joe was hesitant, as he kept urging me to let one of his trusted employees from Fuse with "proper training" escort me, but I continued to protest until Joe finally gave in. I had more than enough attention on me from the memes that wouldn't die, the heads that continued to turn, and the news stories that continued to broadcast. The last thing I needed was some stuffy Fuse bodyguard.

The good news for me was I got to spend a lot more time with Trent... and Logan of course. But let's just say that things with Trent and I were the most wonderful part of my life right now. Over the last few weeks we'd gone from surface friends who talked about classes and occasionally flirted to becoming real deal friends who knew little facts about each other, from what our favorite food was, to stories about wetting ourselves in elementary school. I'd learned alot about Trent and Logan's epicly long friendship, and Trent had even shared stories about his family, speaking frequently about his younger sister he clearly adored.

Today I was feeling nervous with the anticipation of my after-school plans sending uneasy flutters through my body. Initially Trent had invited me over to finally meet his family. Apparently Trent's mother insisted that Joe come too, so here I was at home changing clothes before making my way to Trent's house with Joe.

It turned out that I wasn't the only one feeling nervous about tonight's dinner. Joe seemed to be going through his own roller-coaster of emotions. First, he was concerned about me being the only human at a dinner table full of giants. He wasn't sure what human accommodations they'd have, and what utensils of mine he should bring, etc. Then he kept trying to prepare me for the event that Trent's parents already had a negative opinion formed on him due to Fuse. I kept assuring him that his worries were unwarranted, for why would Trent's mother invite someone over she didn't like? From everything I knew about Trent, and from everything I'd heard about his family thus far, it should be quite lovely.

Once we'd finally made it to Trents home, I was examining the quaint, but still gigantic to me, cottage-like house, hidden far behind a forest-filled path that led to the house. Once stood at the door, I was reminded just how huge Joe was compared to other giants. He stood slightly taller than the doorway, and surely would have to duck to enter this home.

"Hello, welcome you two," greeted a male giant who looked like an older, lighter skinned version of Trent. This was Trent's father, Thomas, who had the same long dark hair as Trent, and the same sharp jawline and full lips. Thomas invited Joe and I in, and guided us toward a quaint living room. I was still on Joe's shoulder, which was nice, because I could take everything in from a giant's vantage point, and the living room felt like a time machine to how giants used to live a solid 40 or 50 years ago.

The couch and chairs were all carved out of massive oak trees. You could tell they were hand carved too. The coffee table in front of the oak couch Joe and I sat on was made of silver stone. Additionally, there were numerous human sized staircases that lead to the top of the coffee table that had intricate stone rails that surely would save any human from falling off if sat there. I also noted that the couch was extremely low to the ground for giants, in comparison to the couches Joe and other giants use.

This was when I started to take note of numerous other human-sized accommodations. On the arm rest of the oak couch was a miniature couch carved deep into the wood. There were also staircases leading up to this section similar to the staircase leading up to the coffee table. Hmm. I hope they didn't go through all this trouble for me. Seeing how intricate the design and carving were though, these human accommodations must have been here for quite some time.