CIMORELLI : All Powered Up

TWENTY THREE : A Turn in the Tide

"Yeah, but then what happens to the cat if you leave it in the box?" Amy asked, well deep into a conversation with Bee and I about Schrödinger's experiment.

"It's dead and alive at the same time..." Bee said, "It's like a kitty purgatory in there."

"Geez, poor cat..."Lisa said, contemplating on the fate of the half dead, half living cat. Thinking of her own cat, Charles back at home.

It was a lazy, rainy day at the Figueroa house, and we were just chilling in the music room, having finished all the paperwork for Renegade and Amoroa and also our final drafts for some new songs have been tucked away, we had a pretty free afternoon.

The weather was cozy, we had a heated pitcher of hot chocolate and some giant marshmallows to keep us warm and the pleasure of each other's company to pass the time.

"I'd pay ten dollars to whoever would jump in the pool right now..." Bee said to no one in particular.

"Haha, if the boys were here, they'd take you up on that deal in no time..." I told her, imagining Nick running off and coming back in soaking wet to claim the ten dollars.

"Christina, pass me the ReddiWhip will you?" Dani asked, sitting on the other side of the table from me with a mug of hot chocolate waiting to be whipped. I took the can of whip cream and tossed it over.

"Aaaaaarghccck!" I looked over, and saw, Bee stretching, her arms extended way over her head, her wooly sweater slipped off one shoulder and I saw a massive purplish bruise wrapped around the side of her arm.

"Bee! What happened to your arm?" I asked, the mother hen in me emerging.

She hastily replaced the sweater over it and shrugged it off, but we all saw it, "Oh, I think it was from our paddle boarding session a few days ago... I wiped out pretty bad and hit the board with my arm."

"Ouchie..." Lauren said, "It's pretty huge, man. Are you not in pain?"

Bee gave a so-so hand gesture, "I'm used to it, I bruise really easily, see?" and she lifted the legs of her pajama pants to show much smaller bruises on her knees and legs, "and I used to do BMX biking, so I'll be fine, don't worry..."

Somehow I wasn't convinced but I let it go all the same. Soon enough we forgot all about it, because Dani found some old board games under the piano seat and we started playing Monopoly.

"Hey! That house wasn't there before, you cheater!" Lisa said, flicking away Amy's little red house on Piccadilly Square as she placed her thimble on it.

"OKAY, WHOEVER HID MY RACECAR, STOP BEING A CHILD AND GIVE IT BACK TO ME." Screeched Dani

"Lauren! You keep forgetting to pay me when I pass Go! Just let me be the banker!" Screamed Amy.

"Guys, come on, just trade me the Electric Company please!" Katherine begged.

It was complete and utter chaos.

The game finally came to an end close to nine in the evening with me winning and bankrupting everyone and them hating me, like every good game of Monopoly.

"Wow, this rain isn't letting up..." Lisa remarked, refilling her mug with hot chocolate that the kitchen staff keep on bringing.

"I know," Bee said, "it's like Noah's Ark all over ag--"

The door slammed open, we all looked to see who it was,

"Beatrix. Come with me to the study please." He said in a very stern voice.

It was Luca, and he wasn't his usual chipper self, harsh lines showed on his weathered face, he was looking at Bee with such intensity that his eyes were a crackling blue color, when normally they're much darker. I imagine if my grandfather looked at me like that, I'd probably had done something really bad.