The Mindless Man's Paradise

Chaptery thirty

“What day is it?” I asked as Cyrus showed me how to melt down the cheese.

  It was harder than you’d think.

  Beforehand, I had figured you only had to plop a chunk into a hot pot and wait until it melted. But it seemed that just like everything else, cheese burned.

  Instead, you had to do something called “double boiling”. Double boiling is when you put water in a pot, boil it, and then stick another pot with whatever you want to melt into the second pot. Cyrus added some olive oil to the bottom of the pan for some reason, and in no time, we had a pot full of creamy cheese.

  “Um, well we got here on a Wednesday… so that makes today Friday.” he informed.

  I had yet to tell Cyrus about my brother. I didn’t know how I would bring it up, or how to explain anything to him.

  “Why do you ask?”

  Now was as good as a time as ever.

  “We’ll be having a guest tomorrow.” I said shyly.

  “Oh.”

  His reaction surprised me. Together, we brought the pot of previously cooked pasta over, and poured the smaller pot of cheese into it. Cyrus cut off a chunk of butter and stirred it in. After doing most of it, he allowed me to take the wooden ladle and begin to stir.

  “It is my brother. On the way here, I saw him. He kind of invited himself.” I said, with a tone of apology in my voice.

  “Well that’s good to hear. I’m glad you’ve reinstated old relationships, Aspen.”

  A very subconscious part of me was trying to detect any sarcasm in his voice, and when there was none, I was pleasantly surprised.

  “He was my best friend when I was little. I haven’t seen him since I was nine.” I began to babble. “He looks so… old. Like a man.”

  I felt like I was talking to myself, but Cyrus chimed in. “That’s what happens after six years.”

  We laughed at his comment before pulling two bowls from one of the upper cabinets, and serving ourselves our favorite dish; mac-n-cheese.

  We sat at the overly large dinner table and began to consume our lunch.

  “Have you looked at your schedule yet?” Cyrus asked.

  I shook my head, unable to reply, for my mouth was full.

  “Well I took a look at it this morning and starting on Monday we’re supposed to undergo some sort of bonding activities.” he laughed to himself, and once my mouth was empty, I scoffed as well.

  “Don’t they think these insane Journeys are enough?” I mocked.

  Cyrus shrugged. “Obviously not.”

  We fell into silence as we ate again, but Cyrus broke it rather quickly. “Speaking of, have you brushed up on that dumb packet at all?”

  I shook my head once more.

  “Me neither. Maybe on Sunday we can be study buddies.”

  “Most definitely.” I pledged.

  Over the course of the past few days, I had made a horrible habit of staring blankly into Cyrus’s eyes. It was almost hypnotic; once you started looking at them, you didn’t want to look away. Ever.

  So, I continued to stare into them, not even finishing my mac-n-cheese.

  Cyrus, who had begun to stop questioning it, took my bowl to the sink to wash it.