009 // 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐑

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 3 : 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎

"it's hard to be anywhere these days when all i want is you."

◇─◇──◇─────◇──◇─◇

All of them stood in Rink-O-Mania as paramedics attended to Angela. Nina and El sat in a booth, trying to collect their thoughts. Jonathan and Argyle had come to pick them up, and when they did, the first thing they saw was Angela bleeding from her nose and El and Nina away from the scene. They instantly put two and two together.

-

"I know this may be, like, upsetting and shit, but that future prom queen is gonna be fine," Argyle said. "I mean, it's just, like, rubber wheels."

"Plastic," Jonathan corrected.
"Oh."

"Not like hard plastic. Just... Just the soft kind."

"Totally. But you ever wonder why the wheels aren't wood, man? Or metal? So people don't get hurt when they get schmacked."
"Oh."

"Yeah. Because it happens more than you think, man. Roller-skate attacks."

"Man. Hey, at least it wasn't an ice skate."

"That nose would've been sliced clean off, man."
"Oh!"

"It could've been so much worse."

"So much worse. In the grand scheme of things, it's just a little blip."

"That's a funny word, man."

They kept saying the word blip over and over until they got home. When they did, they saw a man in the kitchen, cooking dinner.

"Well, well! Aren't you lot a sight for sore eyes, huh?"

"Hi, Murray," Jonathan smiled and waved.

"You kids like risotto?"

-

They sat awkwardly at the dinner table. Nina, Argyle, and Jonathan were on one side while Mike, El, and Will were on the other. Murray and Joyce were on the ends. Murray was telling the story of how he got to California.

"Small world, isn't it? It's a small world," Joyce smiled.

"So I thought, 'Hey, you know what? Why don't I drop in, say hello to my old friends?'"

"So sweet of you."

"Sweeter of you to let me stay."
"And he cooks."