ALL NOVEL 20. Not Exciting (Tess)
Amy sighed again as she leaned against me. She'd been practically cuddled up against my side ever since the four of us got here, not that I was complaining.
She spoke softly as she explained, "I really thought mom was coming around? I thought her and dad were going to say they believed me, that they accepted me. She even started asking those questions, right? If I was happy. And I literally just told her, I said I'd rather die than go back to what I was. And the very next thing she said was she wanted me to replace the pictures of the old me, she wanted me and everyone else to see that and be reminded of what I just told her was worse than death."
"You know that's not what she was trying to say," Hailey replied after swallowing a mouthful of steak. "I get what you're saying, that's how it came across? And yeah it was pretty thoughtless and heartless of her. But she wasn't telling you she'd rather have a depressed or suicidal son than a happy daughter."
We were sitting in a booth at a restaurant not too far from the Price's home. Hailey had some words with her folks then suggested the four of us go out and grab dinner together, since their parents weren't ready to deal with Amy just yet.
The place was a sort of high-end steak-house. It was nice, but I was worried about Amy yet again. She basically ordered an appetizer for her dinner and so far she'd barely touched it. Out of a half dozen chicken wings she'd eaten exactly one of them then spent the rest of the meal sipping a glass of water and staring at the table.
Hailey meanwhile was enjoying a ten-ounce sirloin and fries, Alex had an eight-ounce steak filet and roast potato, and I was enjoying a pretty decent piece of prime rib.
The birthday girl was the only one who was drinking with dinner. I gathered Alex agreed to drive so Hailey could indulge, Amy was just sipping water, and I was sticking to cola incase I had to drive for Amy. She seemed too emotional and fragile, and I was worried she hadn't been eating again.
The conversation tapered off while we all just ate quietly. Or three of us ate quietly, Amy continued staring at the table for now.
Eventually Hailey spoke up again as she looked to her friend and asked, "So what did you think of that demonstration? Pretty wild right?"
The physics major grinned, she looked excited as she replied "Wild doesn't begin to cover it. It was a miracle, it was amazing. I have about a half million questions I'd love to ask, but I know this isn't the time for that. But yeah, I'm really glad I got to witness it."
Amy frowned and looked across the table at the tall brunette. She sounded confused as she asked, "You weren't scared? Why am I the only one who sees how terrifying all this really is?"
Alex shrugged, "Sure it's scary. Knowing there's someone who can toss a half-billion joules of power around with a thought, that's really impressive. And Hailey told me about the stuff at her place, changing her sofa and chair, and changing her hair? That's pretty impressive too. The furniture thing would have been changing molecular structures in inorganic material, while the thing to your sister's hair is doing the same but in living organic tissue. Maybe even changing her DNA on the fly?"
Hailey sounded excited as she added, "I did one of those home DNA kits a couple years ago? I'm going to do another one, and compare the results to see if anything's changed. I know there's a few SNPs that seem to regulate hair colour and stuff like that, so I have a good idea where to look and what to look for. Actually you should do one too sis, it'd be cool seeing if your DNA shows anything unusual. There's several SNPs that regulate eye colour, I'l love to know what purple eyes mean at a genetic level."
I could tell Amy was getting more freaked out by the direction the conversation had gone. She was still leaning against me and her muscles were growing more and more tense as her sister and her sister's date were talking.
She shook her head and said quietly, "You two are going on like it's some kind of high-school science experiment. This isn't some abstract thing you're doing in a test-tube or on a frog or mouse or something!"
"Sorry sis," Hailey sighed. "Me and Alex get a little carried away sometimes, and this is all just really exciting."
Amy shook her head again and finally stopped leaning against me as she slumped back and into the corner of the booth. "Not exciting. Terrifying. What if I say or think the wrong thing and accidentally hurt someone? I didn't mean to do the thing with the pictures, that was an accident. Who knows what else I could do by mistake?"
She sounded guilty, and that led me to wonder if something like that had already happened. I wouldn't ask her in front of the others, but I figured maybe when the two of us were in private I'd try and talk to her about it.
For now I decided to change the subject. I asked the other two, "So Hailey, Alex, are you two just friends? Or are you a couple?"
The two exchanged a glance and Hailey's cheeks coloured slightly, but Alex didn't seem embarrassed. She replied with a smirk, "Friends with benefits. We've toyed with the idea of getting more serious together, but so far it hasn't happened. I don't think either of us would mind if it did? We haven't clicked romantically, but we enjoy spending time together in other ways."
"That's nice," I said. "I mean, it's nice having friends you know and trust that well."
Both of them nodded, then Alex asked me "How about you two? I know Hailey keeps saying you're girlfriends, but the two of you looked a little unsure about it?"
"Yeah," I blushed slightly and glanced at Amy before I replied "I don't think either Amy or I are sure yet? We only just met on Saturday, and I think we need to talk it over between the two of us before discussing it with anyone else. But mostly we need to sort out what all this has done to her and the rest of her life first."
"I'm sorry Amy, Tess," Hailey said as she looked at the two of us. "I made some big assumptions on Sunday and I've been teasing and having a little fun with it since then, but I hope I haven't added to your stress. I wasn't trying to upset anyone. And for what it's worth, I think you two would make a really cute couple. If things were to go that route."
Amy finally sat up again as she replied, "Thanks sis. I know you weren't trying to upset us. It's just, all this has really been a lot, you know? And even if I did secretly want this and I'm happier being Amethyst than I ever was as... As who I used to be, the thing is all this stuff happened without any warning? We still don't know how I got pulled into it, and there's a hundred other questions we don't have answers for. It's been completely overwhelming, and knowing I can't rely on mom and dad isn't helping."
I moved my arm around her shoulders and she leaned against me again.
"Thanks Tess," Amy said to me in a soft voice. "I wasn't exaggerating when I said you were the only thing keeping me sane. I don't know what I'd have done without you."
"You're welcome Amy," I replied just as quietly. "And I'm also worried about your physical health too ok? So please eat. If you don't want the wings, order something else. I don't care if you just get dessert, but please eat something."
She grimaced, "I'll try. It's hard to eat when I've got no appetite. The stress pretty much kills any interest in food."
To placate me she picked up one of the little veggie sticks that came with the wings, and started nibbling on that. Meanwhile Hailey and Alex had both just about finished their meals, and I ate a few more bites of my prime rib.
When I glanced across the table at the other two, I caught Hailey looking at me and Amy with a bit of a knowing smile. I had a feeling despite what Amy and I just told her she was still shipping us.
At one point the waitress came by to check on us and Hailey got another beer, Alex and I got refills on our cola, and she topped up Amy's water.
Then after she left Hailey asked "Hey Amy, are you still working at that household discount mart?"
"No," she shook her head. She'd finished the carrot stick and was nibbling at a little piece of celery now, but paused as she elaborated "I didn't show up yesterday and they never called or anything? I don't know if the job was somehow erased when I changed, or maybe people just quit so often they don't even bother chasing folks when they disappear."
"So what are you going to do?" her sister asked.
Amy shrugged, "I haven't decided yet. I guess I'll start looking for another job soon."
Alex pointed out, "Maybe you could tap into that magic again? Get yourself a job you actually like? Or fix things so you don't need one."
Hailey added, "Or maybe look into going back to school? Are there any courses you're interested in?"
"I don't know," Amy said with a sigh.
She sounded like she was getting stressed again so I suggested, "I know that stuff's important, but I think it can maybe wait a few days. Or till next week. Right now let's just take things one step at a time, and focus on tackling some easier problems."
Amy looked at me like she was wondering which problems were easy, and I sort of looked towards her uneaten food.
"Right," she grimaced. "I'm still working on that."
While Amethyst slowly picked at her wings the rest of us finished our meals. Alex and Hailey both had dessert, and the latter had an Irish coffee as well, while Alex and I both opted for the normal kind.
By around nine o'clock it felt like there wasn't much left for us to talk about. There was a little argument over who'd pay the bill, Amy tried to pay for everyone but we all argued that on the grounds that she was unemployed now. In the end, Alex paid for Hailey's and her meals because she insisted the birthday girl deserved a free meal, while Amy insisted on paying for hers and mine on the grounds that she invited me and it would be wrong to let me pay.
After that was all taken care of, the next topic of debate involved who was going home with whom. The other side of the table resolved that discussion fairly quickly, Alex was the designated driver and the two of them would be spending the night at Hailey's place.
Amy said she'd drive me home then head back to her own place, but I didn't feel good letting her drive off alone at night like that. Not when she was so emotional, and as far as I'd been able to determine all she ate today was two glasses of water, five wings, and a tiny carrot and piece of celery.
My mind was made up when I asked what she had to eat yesterday and all she could name was the left-overs she had for breakfast before she left my place.
The four of us all said our goodbyes in the parking-lot, Amy and Hailey hugged each other and we bid Hailey happy birthday again. Then Hailey and Alex got into Hailey's car, and I made Amy surrender her keys so I could drive her back to my apartment.
She slumped into the passenger seat, and while I was adjusting the drivers seat she complained quietly "I didn't bring anything to wear, no overnight bag. I wasn't planning on staying the night."
"That's fine Amy," I replied as I checked the mirrors. "I can loan you something for tonight. We'll worry about the other details in the morning."
She was quiet for a few moments as we pulled out from the parking lot and I started heading us north.
Eventually she asked, "Don't you have to work tomorrow morning?"
"I can take a personal day," I replied. "Or call in sick or something. And before you try and make a fuss, I'm old enough to make those decisions and take responsibility for my actions. Right now you're more important to me than a summer job. And if you made yourself sick, or worse if something happened to you because I was screwing around with magic last week, I'd never forgive myself."
That left her quiet once more, and out of the corner of my eye I caught her discreetly wiping a few tears from her eyes.
A few moments later she said in a quiet voice, "Thanks Tess."
