Head Space

Chapter 31

"Hey, superstar!!" he laughed as I threw myself at him. My face was smushed against his brown jumper and he probably couldn't breathe with how tight my arms were around him, but I didn't care because I was so stupidly happy to see him.

It was such a relief feeling all the doubt that had crept up in my mind completely vanish the instant I saw him. To be honest, I didn't know what I would have done if he hadn't shown up. Probably cried.

"Why weren't you here earlier, Dad?" I groaned, finally pulling away. His eyes twinkled as he looked back at me

"It's good to see you, Octo. How long has it been? A couple weeks??" he wondered aloud, ruffling my hair.

"A month and then some. Now answer the question." I said, thwarting his attempts to change the subject. He looked away, fingers pulling at the stubble on his jaw.

"I was...dropping your sister off at Jenny's." he said, chewing his words. "Your mom must have mentioned she was having a sleepover?"

"Dad. Jenny lives five minutes away." I said slowly, spelling it out for him. "Philo could have walked there herself."

"Yes, but how safe is that?" he tried. When I didn't reply, he rolled his eyes like an indignant child who'd been caught.. "Fine. I was doing some last minute shopping for you."

I finally noticed the paper bags in his hand. With a deep sigh, I shook my head, a massive grin on my face.

"I missed you so much, Dad."

He smiled and pulled me in for another hug "I missed you too, Octo."

"It better be Gwon Gwon posters in there." I said as we separated, eyeing the bag closest to me. He swung it away, hiding the packages behind his back.

"What, so you'll send me on my way once you've seen your gifts? No sir." he shook his head, looking around the garden. "Now, I think I was promised free food."

Just as he said that, I spied Jerry's lanky form nearing us. Oh, brother

"Good afternoon, sir." he greeted, stretching his hand out for a handshake. Surprisingly, his tone wasn't any more welcoming than when he normally spoke to staff or students. It was the same bored, flat, I-would-rather-be-anywhere-else tone.

"Hi, nice to meet you!" Dad replied in a cheerful tone, shaking his hand but also pointedly ignoring his attitude. "You must be Octo's Caregiver."

For the briefest moment, Jerry looked like he was about to say the words no shit but thankfully he fixed his face, a barely there smile on his lips. "That's right. My name is Jerry. I'll be the one to show you around a bit as well as give you a run down of all your son's progress here so far."

My eyebrows shot up at the last part. I turned to Dad, trying to convey without words how crucial it was that he did not believe a single word out of Jerry's mouth, but he only placed a friendly hand around my shoulder.

"Perfect. Well let's be on our way, then." he said, gesturing for Jerry to lead the way.

I cursed under my breath, following after them. I hoped this day wouldn't be complete shit.

We started down the path which would lead us behind the school and to the picnic area. As we passed by my table, I noticed Rory's hair peeking out from the crook of his arm where his head lay, the piece of rock forgotten beside him. He must have decided to take a nap to pass the time by.

Admittedly, I felt bad for him. He lived so far away, his parents probably wouldn't get here until maybe 4 o'clock, and that's assuming the traffic wasn't terrible today. The odds of him being able to finish the tour and still spend time with them before the day was over were slim. I looked away and sighed.

Dad tilted his head to the side a little. "Something wrong?"

He must be bored out of his skull. I grimaced.

I mulled it over for a second. What if his parents didn't show up at all? What then? I'd never seen what Rory was like when he was really sad and I wasn't about to find out now.

"I have a friend I'd like you to meet." Was all I said. He smiled and hugged me a little tighter.

"I'm so excited!" he whispered. "I hope they like me."

Dad and I shared a large blueberry muffin at one of the tables which were-thankfully-located under a large canopy, shielding us from the sun. He'd been nibbling his side of the muffin from time to time, most of his attention on Jerry who was

I took a large bite of the muffin, placing the leftover on the plastic plate and wiping my hands nervously on my trousers. I wondered how long this little preamble was gonna be, considering we still had a mini tour to get to and the time now read half past two.

Dad pinched another crumb from the muffin and ate it, nodding at Jerry's last words.

"...so yeah we try to incorporate different methods of Caregiving so they can get used to it early on. This is why, for example, we encourage them to start a new pair afresh every new semester. It prevents Littles from getting too comfortable with one style and even teaches the Carers new ways to take care of them. It's produced great results in the past." he finished. Dad dusted his hands off and smiled brightly.

"Wow!" he replied. "I guess you guys really do have it all figured out, then?"

"Of course, sir. That's why we're the best around." Jerry answered flatly, giving him a curt grin. He stood up then, running a hand through his brown hair. "If you're ready, we can head in for the tour."

Dad brushed him off, picking more crumbs and settling comfortably in the plastic white chair. "No rush, Mr. Jerry! My wife sent me plenty of pictures during her tour, so I'm well acquainted." he turned to me, eyebrows raised. "Maybe we can just go straight to your dorm, right?"

I perked up considerably. "Yeah! We can hang the posters up, too."

He clapped once. "Alright. That's settled! Now let me tell you about this book I've been reading."

Jerry pursed his lips, muttering something under his breath and sitting back down. I smiled to myself.