The Smallest Parallel

Chapter 10

The walls of her bedroom were closing in. She was suffocating in a sea of blankets and open containers of food. Adrien entered, carrying knitting needles and smiling.

            "Here you go Margie, as you requested."

            Marguerite smiled, unsure of what had compelled her to invite him over. She had believed she could take care of herself, hadn't she?

            He sat on the edge of her bed, grabbing her hand and sending a slight chill up her spine. Marguerite still wasn't used to close human contact, even though she and Adrien had been close for months. She watched his dark eyes follow the subtle tapping of her other hand, a strong indication that she was nervous. It had been two days since she had her blood tests at the hospital and three days, thirty minutes, and twenty-two seconds since she had run into Geoffrey.

            Of course, she hadn't said much during their meeting. It had mostly been because she was used to a certain routine, and she was sure that his life had evolved without her. She had attempted to make conversation, bringing up their inside jokes. She wondered if he remembered the fairies. He hadn't reacted to her mentioning them, and it worried her that he may be losing sight of who he used to be.

            The council of fairies had been Marguerite's favor role-playing game as a child. Every time she and Geoffrey disagreed, they would each present their case to the council of fairies. Of course, Geoffrey always assumed that the fairies would side with him, but Marguerite always presented her case in such a way that the fairies understood every word.

            It had been a brief argument when they were nine that had started it all. After being close companions for two years, Geoffrey had become comfortable enough to challenge Marguerite's decisions. She had skipped school earlier that week and Geoffrey had essentially told her that she was ruining her future.

            Of course Geoffrey was being irrational, but he didn't have the adult mindset yet. He didn't understand that one missed day of school was not eternally damning.

            "I'm not calling you dumb Marguerite. I'm just saying that skipping school is for dummies." Geoffrey was never great at stringing a sentence together, and this flaw, certainly didn't improve with age.

            "I skipped school because I had to finish a special project. It was more important than something as useless as English or arithmetic. I'm never going to need anything I learn at school. You understand right?

            Geoff looked at her, and she could tell that he considered every word to be part of some joke she was setting up. She looked him in the eyes and wrapped her small arm around his, guiding him toward the Ellen, their favorite tree. He looked up at Ellen and smiled, forgetting, only briefly, what he and Marguerite had been arguing about.

            "So here we are, Geoffrey," she said. "I hope you're ready to defend your case," she said, smirking. Marguerite had stayed for dinner the other night and had taken time after to watch one and a half episodes of Law & Order with his mother. She now believed she was an expert.

            Marguerite looked at him with a solemn expression, waiting for him to respond. It had been exactly thirty seconds, so she continued herself.

            "I will need you to turn toward the council of fairies and present your case. Only then will they come to a ruling and decide whether school is important or not."

            Geoffrey rolled his eyes slightly. "Marguerite I don't want to play this game right now. I have homework."

            "I see you have already begun your argument Mr. Wallace. Now please tell the council why you believe that your homework must be done. Tell the court how doing your homework will make you a better or smarter person."