Salix

Chapter 3.5

9 years ago

Xander gave his parents a tour of the camp but kept his grip on my hand tight. His parents walked a few paces behind us and nodded when necessary. They didn't speak much. Anything they said was whispered to each other and out of our hearing.

They must not have known about Xander's enhanced senses.

Eventually, we made it to Xander's cabin. It was a single, with no roommate. I sometimes stayed in there with him and we shared the bed.

"And this is where I sleep." Xander finished, turning towards his parents with a smile. Noticing his attention on them, they stood ramrod straight and dropped the side conversation they were having.

Xander's mother smiled politely.

"It's a very nice cabin," she said. Xander's father nodded in assent. Xander opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Counselor Jacques running towards us. He stopped in front of our little party, huffing and puffing.

"Xander! Come with me quick! Two of the older boys are fighting and I can't stop them!" Counselor Jacques ran off and Xander was quick to follow, sensing his urgency.

I was left alone with Xander's parents.

"So... would you like to come inside and sit down?" I asked, making my way to the cabin door. I turned the knob and it swung open easily, the lock already keyed to my biometrics. Since I spent so much time with Xander in his cabin he got Counselor Jacques to give me access to it.

Now I could enter whenever I wanted.

I entered the cabin without checking to see if they had followed me. Luckily, they had. Xander's mother gingerly shut the door behind her, and then stood awkwardly with her husband in the middle of the cabin. I gestured towards the couch.

"Please, take a seat. Xander will be back soon."

As they sat down on the brown leather couch I made my way to the tiny kitchenette located in the corner of the cabin.

As much as I loved Xander's company, I loved his cabin more. It was much larger than mine and contained all the works. I asked Xander about it once and he muttered something about his skill level granting him access to more luxuries than regular supers.

I looked briefly at Xander's parents and noticed how stiff they held themselves in the seats. Their backs weren't even resting on the couch. Xander's father had his hands on his knees with his head down. His mother's legs were crossed, and her arms were wrapped around her body, creasing her pretty blouse.

"Do you guys want some tea or something?"

They nodded once, and I flicked on the kettle. A few moments later I had the tea prepared and placed on a tray fit for my small hands. I carried it over to them, taking care not spill a single drop. I grabbed my cup of herbal tea and sat in the adjoining love seat. Slowly, they each reached out and wrapped a hand around their teacups.

They didn't drink.

Silence permeated the room, and I couldn't hold back what I wanted to say.

"Why are you guys afraid of Xander?" I accused.

Xander's mother jolted back and spilt her tea on her skirt and blouse. She hissed in pain and I jumped up immediately and ran to the kitchen to grab some napkins.

"I'm sorry..." I said, giving the napkins to her and Xander's father, who had placed his cup down on a coaster on the coffee table. They immediately began dabbing at the cooling liquid.

We sat for a little like that for little until Xander's mother spoke.

"You probably think we're horrible parents." Her voice was sad, but also sharp, as though daring me to argue.

I quickly shook my head.

"I don't think you're horrible parents. I just don't understand."

Xander's mother shook her head but remained silent.

In the end, it was Xander's father who spoke.

"Xander is... special. From the moment he was born we knew that he would grow up to do great things. And we still believe that. It's just, after a while, we started noticing something... off about him." He paused the collect his words as I listened raptly, my tea clutched in my hands and basically forgotten.

"I don't want to scare you, and I can't really say much, but... there was an incident. And... it's great that you're friends with Xander, but we think that you should be careful."

With that, he picked up his teacup and took a sip. The conversation was clearly over.

I was curious about the incident, but at the same time, a part of me didn't want to know. Judging by the visible fear permeating from Xander's parents I could already glean what had happened. Many times I had noticed a cold look in Xander's eyes, a sharpness that belied his age. 

We finished our tea in silence with unspoken words hung in the air around us.