Bunny - Kenjorine - Transition

Book 2 Chapter 15

"Yeah..." I trail off.

"Is the power out?" Bradley sounds worried.

"It is, and we can't go home cause it's too dangerous outside. We are huddled up in the art room with some candles until morning."

"We?"

"Oh, Kenny is trapped here with me. I'll put you on speaker."

Kenny looks up as I tap the speakerphone button. He hesitates. "Uh, hey."

"Hey!" Bradley says. "You're the one with the orange coat, right?"

"Uh huh."

"I'm Bradley, I'm the one that's usually around Marj, haha."

"Marj..?" Kenny straightens his posture a bit. He looks at the phone in my hand as if it just insulted him.

"Oh, that's just my nickname for her."

"And you chose 'Marj'?"

"Yeah? What's wrong with it?"

Kenny looks at me for the first time since we got stuck inside the school. He looks straight into my eyes with a disappointed look that makes my heart sink a little.

I bring the phone back to my ear after taking it off speaker. "Hey, I should conserve my battery life. Thank you for checking in on me!"

"No problem! Stay warm and I'll call a teacher and see if they can't get a snow plow to the school a little earlier in the morning."

"Thank you, Bradley. Good night."

"Goodnight, Marj!"

I hang up and put my phone face down on the floor. Kenny has taken a seat in the beanbag next to me. He's just staring down at his shoes.

"Kenny? Are you doing okay..?"

"Yep."

"Okay..."

"..."

"..."

"...Are you two dating?"

I flinch. "What?"

"You and that guy. He called you Marj."

"We aren't, he's just the first friend I've made here."

"Ah."

"...are you with that blonde girl? Bebe, I think?"

"No... we just knew each other before college. Karen and Bebe went to summer camp together a long time ago."

I hug my knees. "How is she?"

"Karen?"

"Yeah."

"She's better..."

"But not herself?"

He looks down blankly. "No, not herself."

Kenny and I had talked a lot in our last month together about Karen and her mood swings. She was getting a lot more upset a lot easier. Kenny said he was going to take her to a doctor but we ended thing's before I could get an answer on how it went.

"You took her to the doctor, right? What did they say?"

Kenny gets tense again. "You shouldn't ask about how my family is after walking out on us."

For some reason, this really hit a nerve with me.

"I didn't walk out! I mean- I left because you two needed to sort some things out... I couldn't stand the thought of my presence tearing you and your sister apart."

"So instead you break both our hearts by walking out."

I cock my head to the side. "Kenny..."