What I Expect

The Preface to the End

The night of the double date arrives. We haven't spoken as much since then. Not intimately. There's an unresolved issue hanging around which I can't grasp. I think Akefia realises it but he's holding back too. Several times he's opened his mouth just to hesitate and consciously suppress something. He tends to be able to open up to me after he's drained from too much social interaction so tonight I'll ask him about it.

Akefia walks ahead of the group, away from Yami and Yugi. I follow him of course and look back at them every once in a while. They're stepping in sync. That's actually a psychological tick most people have and unlike assumptions, it isn't anything to do with the relationship you share. You could be walking down the street beside your enemy and if you engage in conversation you'll start stepping in sync. Akefia is silent, we aren't stepping in sync.

I lean into him and whisper. "Inviting Bakura was a great idea. Melvin isn't a fifth wheel now,"

Akefia smiles at me, leaning in close. I can smell his apple-scented shampoo. "I'm not saying I'm trying to get them together, but..." he looks back and snickers. "That's exactly what I'm saying,"

We're stepping in sync now, of course since we started talking. It's easier for me to grab his hand like this, mine on top of his. I never realised how small his hand was. Mine encompasses it.

The museum is as I remember but it's strange how different somewhere can look in the afternoon in comparison to at night. A new aura, the energy of light and business. Children rushing, tourists snapping expensive cameras. Bakura pulls her hood up, glancing at the security guard by the opposite doors. I nod back to her, acknowledging that I've seen him and Akefia does the same. We'll be able to drop our guard once we reach the exhibits and away from the blocked entrances and bustling lounge halls.

We need to pay to see the specialised exhibits. These are kept downstairs away from the general public. A room so tall I'd mistake it for a chapel. It must be tall to house this skeleton. The diplodocus who's neck stretches to the heavens, just a few feet from brushing the ceiling. The titan is held up by drawstrings wrapped around thick, dense bones. I've never seen a diplodocus before and it's unlike the anatomy of any dinosaur I know of. Like a mix between a brontosaurus and an Allosaurus? The height is the most impressive feature unlike what I expected from a type of dinosaur that focuses on length.

"What height is that thing?!" Melvin exclaims loudly, transfixed by each tiny feature of the long appendages. I frown, leaning over the text piece at the bottom of the exhibit.

"Well it doesn't say it's height, but Dippy is 70 feet long," I shrug, standing back.

"Why don't they list the height?"

"I don't know," I shrug.

"They should,"

I'm fascinated by the appearance and structure of most animal skulls. They're often so different from that of a human. The diplodocus skull resembles that of a T-Rex (the same placement of eyes and other holes) but slimmer and more elongated. Long and short rather than tall and bulky.

Akefia moves to stand beside me, staring up at the dinosaur mirroring my position. His mouth is gaping a little with childlike wonder. It's cute to see him impressed like this. "It's got a stupid name. But it looks pretty awesome," he turns to me in amusement. "The dinosaur, not the ceiling - though the ceiling is nice too,"