Democracy is Dead

Chapter Twenty Six

Athena had been right - her parents really didn't mind Dyo coming to stay. Once she'd convinced them that lectures had been cancelled for the day, they were too excited about the prospect of seeing her to care about anything else. Athena felt a pang of guilt when she ended the call; she needed to make more of an effort.

But the assurance that he was welcome didn't help Dyo to feel any more relaxed.

"Are you okay?" Athena asked him for what must have been the tenth time since they'd boarded the train.

"Yes. Of course. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're talking like a robot and you won't stop fidgeting!"

"Sorry," he said, meaning it. "I'm not good with family stuff." His own experience of family was... dysfunctional, to say the least, and he wasn't sure what to expect when they reached Hastings.

"Well stop panicking. They were so excited when I told them on the phone and they love having guests to stay - Hastings is a bit boring compared to New London, to be honest, so please don't get your hopes up for an exciting weekend. But you definitely don't need to worry about my parents because they are going to love you!" Athena froze as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She hadn't meant to say 'love'. Love was a bit intense. She could feel her cheeks beginning to colour and tried to hide her blush by looking out of the window at the countryside rushing past. She could only hope that Dyo would pass it off as a figure of speech.

When, a few minutes later, he still hadn't said anything in reply, Athena risked a glance over at him. But instead of panicking over her choice of words, his eyes were closed and his breathing regular. He slept for the rest of the journey.

***

Waiting in the doorway of the house were a middle-aged couple. The woman had Athena's hair, while the man had the same grey eyes. Both were wearing pink tops which Athena noticed still had that 'just left the shop' smell when she hugged them.

"Mum and Dad, this is Dyo. Dyo, these are my parents."

"It's lovely to meet you, Dyo," Athena's mother said, smiling.

"Thank you for having me." Dyo was uncomfortable. He wasn't used to parents. Especially not nice ones.

As he led them through into the front room, Athena's father asked, "So you're studying at NLUP too?"

"Yes, I'm in my first year, like Athena," Dyo replied, glossing over the lack of actual studying he'd done so far.

Athena laughed as she hung her coat in the hallway.

"Oh," Athena's mother exclaimed as Athena entered the room seconds later. "Has the pop colour changed, honey? You didn't tell us." Now that Athena had taken her coat off, her mother was looking at her with a puzzled expression. In faded jeans and a green hoodie which belonged to Dyo, Athena wasn't wearing a single item in pink. She wasn't even sure when she'd last done so. Instead, it was her parents, who never bothered with pop trends, were wearing the latest colour. If pink still was the latest colour. Shouldn't there have been another vote by now?

Her parents must have been trying to make a good impression. Athena smiled at them fondly, loving their commitment to making her happy. She wasn't sure it would be prudent to tell them quite what she'd been doing since she'd last seen them, but she didn't know how to explain her sudden aversion to pink either.

Luckily, Dyo stepped in for her. "There was a new pop vote last week. It's now 'wear cold colours'. Blue, greens, purples... Anything goes really, so long as it's not too summery."

Athena's mother laughed. "These trends are impossible to keep up with! I quite like that one though, you look lovely in greens and purples, darling."