lemon's curse h.s.

nine

unedited.

emmalyn.

(second week of october).

"I'm Peppa Pig."

The introduction to the show begins while Arlo and I lie on our fronts, perched on the floor in the small playroom, surrounded by tiny shelves of toys and books. A box of cookies rests between us as the show plays on the tiny screen of my phone.

I'm not even watching this because Arlo wanted to; I genuinely love it. It's one of my comfort shows.

There's something so surreal about the world of sitcoms and children's shows - the way everything is fixed within one small episode and the characters move on without ever having to look back. It gravitates a strange sense of hope, even in moments of sheer hopelessness. It gives the constant reminder that eventually everything will be okay.

With final bite of the cookie, I stand up rubbing my hands slightly. Arlo quickly pauses the episode, twisting his torso to rest on one elbow so it's easier to look up at me. He's waiting for me to say something.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I tell him. "This is the last episode then I gotta leave buddy."

He slowly sits up, pushing his glasses back over his nose as he does so. They're a bit too big for his face but he likes it that way. "Is it bed time already?"

"No, no," I answer, "But it's getting late. I need to be home soon."

"But why?" he moans out in complaint, prolonging the 'why', "You don't even have a curfew."

"I know," I feel myself sigh in disappointment, "But I've got work tomorrow so I have to sleep early."

Arlo looks at me for a few seconds, probably thinking of another rebuttal but I think he knows his efforts will be futile no matter how much he tries because after a few seconds he just exhales loudly, grabbing another cookie before turning around again and resuming the show.

Quietly, I walk out of the room, heading towards the bathroom. I need to find Cynthia too, to let her know I'm leaving.

Once I'm done, I figure I'll just look for her once I'm done, but the plan becomes useless when I walk towards the door of the playroom and see her light silhouette through the small, netted window at the top of door. She seems to be talking with someone taller than her, so definitely not Arlo.

Slowly opening the door, I only peek my head in first, seeing Arlo now standing, crumbs of cookie surrounding the outline of his lips. Beside him is Cynthia and across from him is standing... Harry?

Before I can make my quiet exit, my presence seems to grab Arlo's attention, "Emmalyn, the episode finished. Here you can have your phone back," he runs over towards me at a short pace which matches his tiny legs.

Once he hands my phone, he steps up on his toes, beginning to whisper, "I gave that man one of your cookies," almost as if it's some sort of secret.

"That's perfectly fine," I whisper back in the same tone.

I'm still a bit - quite - baffled that Harry's standing across from me in this room right now. I guess I just didn't expect to see him anywhere outside of the bank, especially not at a place like this. I wonder what he's doing here anyway.

When I look up, I see his eyes are already on me, observing me with a simper which highlighted the prominent dimple on his left cheek. His brows raise for a short second, as if to say 'what a surprise to see you here.' Though I'm not sure if he's intending to be sarcastic or not.