RED PARALLEL

Chapter 56: The Major Error

Song: Broken People, by Rag'n'Bone Man and Logic.

No wise man had passed in front of him until then. He didn't know what wisdom was, but maybe it was something kind of like that. He was not sure. Maybe he would get a clue if he stopped stripping the chair, but the leather was there, softening all the hard meanings and saying in a whisper 'this is fine, don't freak out, just listen'.

Nate and Aaron had calmed down. Eyes and chairs were on check, both standing still as if nothing 3am emotional had happened. Was it his impression or they looked much much older? Feeling like the smallest baby in the room, Traviz tried to live up to his eighteen-year-old, leaving the leather for later.

"But," he spoke, looking deeply at the rug, but then he remembered he was supposed to act mature, and mature people would not stare nervously at the ground, so he raised his head, neck struggling. "You said Gretta's your sister. And that you were born in the West Side. Would you explain it?"

'Would you explain it...' That's ridiculous...

"Sure." G.Klo' nodded, a smile on his face, discreetly saying 'I appreciate your dignified words'. "But I'm afraid we should save if for another day, you need to rest..."

"No, I don't need to rest. I need to know." Well, that sounded dope. Good.

"Fine. So you really wanna know?"

"Yes. Ain't gonna judge you."

I'm dope. Just look at me...

"I know you won't." G.Klo' assented. "Boys, you two. This is gonna take a while, I believe."

"I'm good, dad," Nate responded right away, eyes on Traviz. Some positive face, maybe?

"I'm on it, too," Aaron said.

"So, let's go. Son, you're hurting the leather seat, I don't think it's enjoying it..."

"S-sorry."

"It's alright. So, yes. I'm Gretta's twin brother. I was born in the West, we were in three. Me, Gretta, and Meppo. Before you ask who's Meppo, he's living at the North Side, a dear great man I'd like you to meet, someday."

Twins? Yoo. And Meppo, what a funny name...

"My family ran a real estate agency. We owned several houses and apartments, from the West to the East, including some buildings Downtown."

And now it's my dad... So they were rich. Got it.

"But one day, the business collapsed and we lost a great part of our funds. A crisis hit everybody. Bankruptcy, commercial downfalls, unemployment, and most properties were stuck. No one would sell, no one would buy. The current mayor increased the taxes, and the population was indignant."

So now they were poor?

"Francis, my father, was devastated. I was fifteen at the time. I had to drop private school. I remember I was participating in several educational events, from literature to sports, and now I was out."

Nerd. Wait, sports? Which one of them?

"Which sports, dad?" Traviz asked, milliseconds before realizing that it was not a big deal of a question. "Ah, never mind."

"Baseball, Basketball, and Track and Field, son. Just like you."

"Ah. I didn't do Baseball. I did Soccer."

"Oh. That's great. Anyway, as I was saying. Meppo was twelve. Sick, pneumonia filling his lungs from the pollution, because the inhabitants, with a low budget, opted for consuming goods - like cars - from external sources, second-handed by less poor states. The hospitals were crowded, with few medical support. Health care had failed. My mother, Fiona, was seeking a job all around the city, restlessly. Gretta, my twin sister, would help her at home and take care of Meppo whenever she could."