Fallout and Future

Chapter 6: Water Works

Basil woke up early, far more reminiscent of his usual schedule. An orange glow peeked in through his window, signaling the recent sunrise. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, seeing that it was around seven AM. He smiled in approval. He'd have to get back to work with his plants soon; he felt quite guilty about letting Polly handle the workload for him. That familiar guilt and fear still clung to him, even though he hadn't dreamt, but he felt lighter than he usually did. It doesn't matter if you deserve this or not, he reminded himself firmly.

After stretching and letting out a small yawn fitting of his stature, Basil got up and pulled on a loose, lime-green collared shirt (he... had a lot of those), along with a set of beige cargo shorts (he... also had a lot of those) and white socks. Feeling ready for the day, he quietly exited his room and left a note on the fridge for Polly: 'Going to the park. Be back for lunch; won't leave the roads. -Basil'. If Polly knew she could call the neighbors to make sure Basil was safe, she'd feel much more at ease. Now that that was sorted, he grabbed his watering can and got to work on tending to the plants.

However, as he prepared to prune the petunias, he remembered that his gardening shears were gone. Murmuring "Dang," under his breath, Basil reminded himself he couldn't really blame Polly for that one. He tiptoed his way back into the hallway, walking slowly to stop his socked feet from making too much noise. Basil gently opened the door to his grandmother's room, where Polly now slept as a live-in caretaker for him, and poked his head in.

It seemed that Polly had already gotten up, as she was sitting in the armchair, reading a book. "Oh, hello, Basil!" She said cheerily, glancing at him. There seemed to be a small hint of panic at the fact that he'd gotten up without her noticing, but he might've imagined it. "I was just about to make breakfast."

"I-it's alright. I can just make some cereal." He hadn't been eating right for the past few years, so he'd better set up a proper diet now. "I wanted to ask... where are my gardening shears?" Polly's face visibly fell at this, and he felt himself cringe a little.

She looked away from him before answering, "I'll get them for you." in a low voice. Polly took a key from her back pocket, unlocking a drawer, and handed his shears to him. For a moment, Basil thought he still saw fragments of Sunny's eye clinging to it, but it was just his imagination. With shaking fingers and trying to ignore Polly's worried look, he took them and walked back into the living room before realizing she had followed him.

I did bring this on myself, I guess... Basil thought, pruning the petunias as Polly kept watching him concernedly.

After handling the morning gardening and eating breakfast, it was already 8:30 or so. Basil said bye to Polly, promising he'd stay in view of the road and hurried to Faraway Park, though he wasn't sure what he planned to do once he got there. It was far too early to bother Kel or Aubrey, and, besides adults going to work, who would be up by this time? Also, while he was quite sure Aubrey was his friend... he didn't feel good about it, but there was just a lingering sense of mistrust around her.

Basil's rhetorical mental question was answered when he turned the corner to the park and found himself face-to-face with a blue-haired teenage girl. She glanced up at him, having been fiddling with a necklace of seashells. "Oh, hello there!"

"Uh... h-hi?" He answered, avoiding the girl's gaze and looking around for a way to escape this situation. Still, she seemed friendly, and Kel did want him to make new friends...

"My name's Cris!" She responded in an upbeat tone, smiling. To be honest, this Cris figure reminded him a lot of Kel. She held up a finger, squinting at him as though deep in thought. Just as Basil considered running away to avoid the attention, she said, "...Bagel, right? Kel talked about someone like you often. Cute name, by the way!" She resumed her usual grin.