Room 502 | Afternoon | Tuesday | August 30

[therewaslife]

Bod was still slightly off balance after his only class of the day. Meeting someone who looked like just the girlfriend he'd said goodbye to a few days ago would do that to a lad. He knew it wasn't her and yet, he'd stared anyway. Talking to her had made the differences even more noticeable but still, he'd had that moment of thinking Kate had come back different and had been worried.

To take his mind off things like that, he'd come back to his room laden down with sweets and a few new books from the library. He figured reading was going to become quite the escape for him as the new semester started. It was an easy outlet to use to forget about his sadness and his broodiness. He didn't like feeling that way but he knew it was natural.

The book he'd picked up today had been touted as a classic and Bod was presently reading it while he paced back and forth across the room. While the writing was enthralling, it was an almost creepy tale in Bod's opinion. There was just something about it that seemed...off.

No matter, he kept reading.

[Both door and post are open]

Comments

[vanillajello]

Kate had spent most of her day doing minor things to babyproof the apartment while Charmaine ranted at her about how hard it sucked not being able to see your own toes. But now, she'd finally managed to escape upstairs, into their room. It still looked way seventies, but it had an air of Kate-and-Bodness (though mostly Kateness) about it, through the addition of some of their stuff and pictures.

On a whim, she took a picture of the room from the door, and sent it off to Bod, before going over to the sofabed (currently in sofa mode) and flopping down on it.

[therewaslife]

It took Bod a moment to realize that his phone was making a noise that meant he'd received some sort of message. He stuck a bookmark in his book and wandered over, flipping his phone open and smiling immediately at the recognizable room.

Hullo there, our room, he sent. And then he tacked on a picture of his smiling face to send also.

[vanillajello]

the room says hullo to you too, Kate sent back. it misses you.

[therewaslife]

I miss it as well. Bod took a seat on his bed and smiled at his phone. I miss you too. Very much.

[vanillajello]

Aww. Kate took a picture of her most adorable smile, and sent that, along with the shortest possible message:

<3

[therewaslife]

Bod spent a few long moments just looking at her face before he was able to send anything back.

How are you today? She looked happy. He didn't see any strain in her eyes or face from that picture.

[vanillajello]

tiiired. bb-proofing house with a yappy pregnant lady is a nightmare.

Her stresses were pretty easy right now, yes.

[therewaslife]

Aww. Tell your aunt I say hullo. I hope she's doing well. He was glad to hear that her life sounded fairly relaxed and easy right now. He thought she needed it. Is she doing well in her pregnancy?

[vanillajello]

seems to be. As far as Kate could tell. She didn't seem to be complaining about anything, at least. how's fandom?

[therewaslife]

It's...interesting.

Honestly, Bod had no idea how she was going to react to being told she now had a lookalike here.

Surprising.

[vanillajello]

That was enough to get Kate to raise an eyebrow. She knew Fandom. If it was 'interesting' or 'surprising' according to someone who'd lived there for a good while, that usually meant something specific had happened.

Instead of texting, she called him.

[therewaslife]

Bod had half expected this and smiled when he saw her name appear on his called ID. He gave it a few rings before he answered.

"Hullo there, Kate," he said, smiling into the phone.

[vanillajello]

"Hullo, boyfriend," Kate replied, momentarily distracted from why she'd called him, just to smile at the ound of his voice. "How are you?"

[endsthegame]

There were people Ender had spoken with with reasonable frequency during his time away, and there were people he hadn't spoken to at all. He hadn't missed them, per se, because he wasn't quite wired that way anymore - but with Ben's favorite racing movie coming up tonight again, he had a feeling he'd need a little more intellectual conversation before the time had come.

All of that led to the bit where he knocked on Bod's door frame and said, "Long time no see, Nobody."

[therewaslife]

Bod looked up at the voice he hadn't heard for a few months now and gave Ender a smile. He shut his book and tossed it onto his desk.

"Hullo there, Ender," he greeted, nodding. "Welcome back. I wasn't sure you'd be back quite yet."

[endsthegame]

"I hadn't really planned to come back for a long time yet, if at all," Ender volunteered, with a brief smile. Bod wasn't Peter or Topher - there was less of a need to obscure all the details. "Mind if I come in? I'm trying to catch up with the people I haven't seen in a while."

[therewaslife]

"Of course, of course," Bod said, gesturing him inside. "It's good to see you. How was your summer? Forgive me if that's not a question you can answer for any reason."

[endsthegame]

"My summer was eventful," Ender answered, walking into the room, "And about four or five months longer than yours was, if you stuck around the island."

[therewaslife]

"I did, for the most part," Bod said, nodding. "The island itself didn't tend to stay in one place and Kate and I took a few trips off island but I didn't spend any extended time off island. How long was it for you total?"

[endsthegame]

"Seven months, I think," Ender said, "Making me newly eighteen, which I'm not sure how I feel about." He glanced around for a good place to sit.

[therewaslife]

Bod pulled his chair away from his desk and offered it to Ender before taking a seat on the edge of his bed. Maybe he'd look into getting more chairs in the future.

"You've hurdled me in age," he said, chuckling. "I won't be eighteen for a few months yet. Does an eventful summer mean it was difficult to come back to something that can become routine?"

[endsthegame]

"I like routine," Ender said, sinking into the chair with a quick, "Thanks." He looked at Bod. "Some quiet and calm'll do me good right now. It's Fandom's whimsy that throws me off sometimes, if you know what I mean." He gave Bod a wry look.

[therewaslife]

"Yes, yes, I definitely know what you mean," Bod said, shaking his head at the mere thought of some of the things Fandom enjoyed spreading around to its residents. "The nests in the rooms yesterday were comparatively minor to some things that happened this summer."

[endsthegame]

Ender looked a little concerned. "You mean the alien rock?" he asked.

[therewaslife]

"Yes, that was..." He shook his head. "Fortunately for me, I happened to be off island at the time so I wasn't affected but Kate knew people who were and it jarred her quite a lot."