Fall in May

~25~ The Lunch of the Five Sense's

"I was born in darkness, and so darkness I became."

Friday - September 12th 

It's been a hell of long first week of school, and only five days into my sentence in Hell and it already seems like a lifetime. I have faced down the toughest kid in school, over much of nothing. The Butcher for his part has pretty much taken to our new "cool" relationship in stride. The rest of the Flocks aren't even terribly hostile to me, or particularly cool either.

I also made about fifty bucks gambling on swimming, and apparently in the process setting a new unofficial pool record. By which earning Captain Midnight's undying enmity. Outside of Chad, my classes are not terribly difficult and the teachers seem decent'ish enough. With the glaring exception of course for Or'sir. Who for some strange reason has taken to glaring at me when he thinks I'm not looking ...and sometimes even when I am.

My only saving grace so far is my regular lunch date on Devil May Care Island with the strange girl ...who is no longer a stranger to me. I have come to see lunch in a completely different light than before at my old Seaside life. At Seaside lunch was the only meal I could count on for sustenance. To check-in with the Set and see what if anything was cracking off that day. The fights, surf reports, beach parties ...the what's what that kept things interesting at school. And of course, Grom's daily running tally of whacked-out observations and insights on everything jacked up that happened during the morning. Even though I was sitting right there with him through it all.

I while I miss all my comrades at home, and the familiar insanity of it all, it's becoming slightly cooler here in Hell. Insomuch as I hate to blame May for anything, thanks to her Hell has become almost bearable. For instead of the combative nature of my former learning institution, lunch at San Fall has become a somewhat of a zen-fest for me. A place to just take a moment and chillax, while May and I engage in some much needed academic fencing. Only instead of pencil shanks to make our points, we joust with words and bad ideas. So my former hostility has been replaced by an air of intrigue, and the odd observation on the sad state of all things in San Fall.

So of course, I have to go ahead and screw that up sideways...

The Sinister Sister has come and gone without as much as an hauteur glare today. After dropping off the food, she immediately flys away to sit with her coven of fearleaders to cheerily make someone else's life a living nightmare. Or whatever it is that The Coven of Cheer does when not cheering us up with fear. Jump-hugging each other to death, slut-shaming Séances to fill themselves up with school spirits? Or sacrificing virgins to the football gods in honor of tonight's first football game of the season.

So May and I start up our routine, I share half of what I have. On today's menu leftover BBQ ribs from dinner last night. Then we start catching up the other the ongoings of the day since we parted ways in the morning. We generally talk a little classing, where I usually have an almost interesting Butchy and Or'sir tale to share now. May tells me how she and the Butcher fared in dummy math with Substitute Coach O'Something and some almost amusing sports math analogies. Then we take stock of the flocks and how they are faring in the ongoing struggle to survive high school.

Today there is a minor lull in the conversation, and we finally get to the moment where I am just about to poke the stupid stick at a hornet's nest, just because I can. "Can I ask you a question?" is often times the most dangerous question of all.

"Hey May, can I ask you a personal question?" I start of killing myself slowly.

May must hear the hesitation in my voice. Because her pearlescent smile evaporates once more, back into a familiar frown of consternation behind her nightshades.