Being Gene Belcher: Step One: Questioning All You Know

Chapter Two

  As Gene continued to play his keyboard, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he invited.

  The door creaked open and Louise stood in the doorway. "Hey, finished cleaning the kitchen," she declared. "Wanna go out on the fire escape and talk?"

  Gene chuckled. "You aren't mad, are you?"

  "Nah," Louise said. "This is the first time you've won in awhile." She smirked at him. "I'll get you tomorrow."

  "Alright then," Gene said. "We'll talk on the fire escape!" 

  Gene got up from his bed and made his way out to the fire escape with his sister.

                                                                                                     ***

   As Gene and Louise talked, they looked out over the quiet town of Seymour's Bay. It was busy and bustling during the day, but the nights were always tranquil and silent as it seemed the town itself drifted off to sleep. 

  "So... how's school going?" Gene asked after an awkward silence.

  Louise chuckled at him. "Couldn't ask me anything else, huh?"

  "Heh, sorry," Gene said. "It feels like our whole lives are school right now."

 Louise nodded. "They are. School and work." She shifted her weight on the railing. "School is fine. My grades suck as usual, but I've been hanging out with Rudy and Jess." 

   "Good!"

  "Uh-huh." She paused as she overlooked the town in thought. "So... you got it on with Courtney Wheeler, huh?"

   Gene was shocked. "Ahhhhhhh! How do you know that?!" 

  "I heard everything you said to Tina when I came upstairs to ask you if you wanted to hang out on the fire escape," Louise told him. 

  Gene sighed as he realized he hadn't been keeping his voice down while chatting with his sister. Now, he knew what people meant when they talked about his lack of an "indoor voice". 

  "Yeah... I did," Gene admitted.

   "And I take it... you're not interested in anything more than being friends?"

  "Yeah, Tina says I can't string her along," he told her. "But I'm afraid it will ruin our relationship."

  "Yeah... that's rough," said Louise.

 "What do I do?" Gene asked.

  "You're asking me?" Louise said, a subtle hint of surprise to her voice.

  "Why not?"

  Louise thought for a moment before answering, "I would just... tell it to her straight-up. That's all you can do, really."

  Gene sighed. "Yeah, true." 

  The siblings fell silent another time. Gene got lost in his thoughts as Louise tuned hers out to take in the night sky, though the twinkling stars were stifled by the harsh light emitting from the street lamps. 

  "Do you think I'm broken?" Gene finally wondered.

  "Why would I think that?"

  "Just... well, you heard what I was saying to Tina about how I can't feel love right."

  "What do you think is 'feeling love right'?" Louise asked him.

  "You know... blushing and heart racing and maybe even wanting to sleep with them," Gene replied.