“Oh, yes! Here sh…he is, ma'am!” Handing Fortissimo his nametag, the teenaged speaker could finally rejoin his siblings on the bench along with his mother, who looked over the quartet of performers, ensuring everything was in place.
Particularly eyeing Cadence and Suite carefully, she motioned towards the viola the child in the purple-checked skirt held. "You, play me Follin’s Symphony in A, first movement.“ Picking up their instrument, the child played to their mother’s satisfaction, each note perfect. "So you are Cadence. Good, the last thing I needed today was you and Suite switching clothes again and embarrassing me as well!” Shooting another cold glance at Fortissimo, who shrank in his seat next to his twin sister Fermata, Viola sighed in both relief and anguish. "Now, I expect the four of you to play the pieces you’ve rehearsed to perfection. If I don’t see four blue ribbons when I return to retrieve you…“
Viola didn’t even need to finish her statement, as her children knew exactly what awaited them if they didn’t win, as usual. Well, three of the four did, anyway – Suite was simply excited to be there, finally able to join his older siblings in the annual Cyber City Youth Solo Competition, in the ages-10-to-15 group. Though his mother insisted the stakes were high, just being away from home, at a public school gymnasium temporarily converted for the purpose rather than a high-profile stage and filled with other Darkners his own age, was a rare treat, and the little speaker bounced energetically in his seat, taking the new experience in.
Of course, as Viola left, Suite nudged Cadence’s arm, giggling. "I still can’t wait for you to teach me to play your viola. Then we’ll really mess with Mother!”
“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll get her…” They mischievously laughed to themselves, and got some smirks from Fermata and Fortissimo as well, the twins proud to pass along their penchant for schemes to the younger duo.
But, as the speakers eagerly waited for their turns to perform for the judges, Suite again fidgeted anxiously, watching the groups of other children as they sat around the waiting area, chatting and practicing amongst themselves. It was the only chance he’d get, until the next year’s competition. "Hey, guys, um, I’ll be right back!“
"Suite, wait!” Cadence tried to catch her brother but it was too late, he’d already jumped up and dashed to the nearest group.
At first as he approached none of the other kids seemed to notice, too distracted by one of their number, a radio-based Darkner, plucking an unfamiliar tune on his own violin, and Suite spoke up as the short melody subsided. “Hey, that was pretty good! But, I think you missed a B-flat there, you played a B instead!” Instantly, all the other kids turned to give Suite a sudden sneer, making him take a step back but not dulling his enthusiasm in the least. "Um, anyway, my name’s Suite! Can I hang out with you until they call my name?“
"We know who you are,” a different child, this one an Addison, hissed at him, pointing to the nametag attached to Suite’s purple sweater. "You’re the new Concerto kid. And no, you can’t hang out with us!“
"Yeah, go back to your own kind,” a Pluggirl shouted, prompting her friends to laugh.
“My own…kind?” Suite stared at them, confused. And…yeah, My name’s Suite Concerto. Do you know my brothers and sisters?“
"Know ‘em?!” The Pluggirl stood on her toes, trying to tower over Suite even though, as small as he was, she still couldn’t quite match him. "You guys are the worst! You and the others get first place in every category every single year! We never get a break!“
"Yeah, a lot of us even learned violin this year so we might have a chance! And then here comes Suite Concerto,” the radio with the violin added, pointing to the violin case in Suite’s hands.
“I…” Suite wasn’t sure how to even respond to the accusations. This was only his first year competing, after all, and the first real time he’d ever had any other Darkner kids to talk to! "I just…wanted to be friends…“
"Well, we don’t! Not with you!” They shooed Suite away, laughing, and he trudged back to the bench where his siblings sat, on their own, far away from all the other kids who’d undoubtedly done the same to them in previous years, as Suite saw in their expressions.
Cadence patted the spot next to her for Suite to climb onto again, and no sonner had he done so than she pulled her little brother into a tight hug, with the twins soon joining her.
“We’re not…that bad, are we?” Suite asked, stifling a sob, and the others all shook their heads.
“Other kids are just mean sometimes,” Fermata explained, “but your family will always have your back. And maybe, someday, you’ll find someone else who cares about you just as much as we do. Right guys?” Fortissimo and Cadence agreed, with the latter holding Suite’s hand for much of the rest of the afternoon, until they returned home and delivered their four first-place ribbons to Viola.
Someone else who cared about him, just as much as his family…and aside from his parents, Suite’s family were his favorite people in the entire Dark World. They were his only people in the entire Dark World. He couldn’t wait for the day he had more.
—
It was just hard to watch, but Cecil’s parents held firm, staying on the sidelines so as not to embarrass their son. It wasn’t like he needed any more of it.
Of all the opening lines, he had to pick “So, you come here often?”
“I work here,” the Addison cashier at the ticket counter flatly responded, and Cecil’s face flushed bright blue instantly. But he didn’t give up so easily, paying for the movie tickets using the Dark Dollars his mom had given him and giving her a strained smile.
“Y-You know, I can’t wait to see this one. I’ve read all the books!” Technically. He was still halfway through the last one, wanting to see the ending on the big screen before reading it in print. It was a long series, but his dad had pulled copies of each one off the library shelf to save for him, as his excitement for the film adaptation of The King of the Things made it the only thing Cecil even talked about anymore…though, it made the young boombox’s first few attempts to flirt that much more pitiful.
The cashier tried to look past Cecil, motioning for the next person in line to approach, and he got desperate. "Hey, maybe if it’s good, I can get another pair of tickets and we could see it together?“
"I’ve already seen the movie.” The cashier gave him a look of disdain. "The hot elf dies.“
With the tickets in hand, Cecil sadly stepped over to his parents to hand them off, shuddering. ”…The elf doesn’t die, right Dad? She had to be kiddin’ around about that, right?“
Edward just pulled at his collar uncomfortably, not daring to say a word either way about the spoiler.
The three found an empty spot in the movie theater lobby to wait until showtime, close to the noisy arcade machines tucked into one corner, but Cecil didn’t bolt for one of them like usual, just staring at the floor tiles after his rejection. Quietly, behind his back, his parents played a quick round of rock-paper-scissors to see who’d get to reassure him this time.
Scissors beat paper, and Anna gently laid her arm across Cecil’s shoulders, squeezing him close to her despite his protests. "Honey, you were so excited to see this movie, up until you talked to her. Now it’s like everything’s acid rainclouds and sadness. You wanna talk to me about it?”
“Mom…” Blushing again, and glancing around to make sure no one saw them, Cecil tried to pull away, but his mother held on tight. Cecil had to get his stubbornness from somewhere, after all. "…I’m really gonna be the only boy in my grade without a girlfriend, aren’t I?“
Anna blinked at the question. Both she and her husband knew their son was growing up fast, the way he’d started getting embarrassed whenever they hugged him in public, and the way he’d begged them for prescription sunglasses despite there not being any sunlight in the Dark World just so he would look like the characters in his favorite teen movies, and the way he’d started very uncomfortably taking his first steps into the world of romance.
"I’m sure you’re not the only one without one, Cessie!”
“I am,” Cecil shot back, cupping his head in shame. To him, it seemed like overnight that the age-old rivalry between the boys and the girls in his class had come to a ceasefire, with the two sides mingling on the playground and during study hall. Two by two, everyone seemed to pair off, the different cliques switching around, leaving Cecil behind like always. "Every single boy’s got a girlfriend already except me! Well, and the two guys who are with each other. But I can’t even get a girl to talk to me, much less date me!“
"Do you want a girlfriend, Honey?”
“No! I mean, yes. I mean…” He groaned, sinking to the floor and gripping his knees. "I just want everyone to stop makin’ fun of me. It’s bad enough I wear glasses, and read books, and…“ He folded his hands, instinctively hiding them from view.
But, Anna took one of them, gripping it and weaving her fingers in between his as she knelt next to him and smiled. "I’m sure you’re not the only boy your age who doesn’t have a girlfriend,” she repeated. "Some of the kids in your class might only be doing it for the same reason you are, they don’t want to get left out. But someday, Honey, I know you’re gonna find someone really special, who loves you just as much as your dad and I do.“
Edward tapped her on the shoulder, pointing out the time. "Hey, we better go find our seats before all the good ones get taken!”
Sniffing, and glad his sunglasses hid his watery eyes from view, Cecil jumped up, following his parents into the theater, his excitement slowly returning with his mother’s words. Tonight, it was all about the movie again, with dating and finding that special someone at the very back of his CPU, and tomorrow…he couldn’t wait.
—
“Honk, honk!” The tiny green CD player rolled their tiny green toy car across the back of the playground bench, until it went right off the side and down the armrest, to race across the seat as well. But, that of course meant Cakes needed to stand out of the way, and so did the aide on duty that day.
She was relatively new to the job, having only been with the orphanage a few months, but Cakes had already taken to her, the green Addison’s pixels making them feel an instant connection. And so, on the childrens’ first outing to the nearby playground with her in charge, Cakes and their toy car stuck to her like glue, seeming to not even notice all the others playing together elsewhere.
They pushed the car forward, threatening to bump into the aide’s thigh as she failed to get up in time, but Cakes blinked and cocked their head curiously as it simply phased through her instead – evidently, they were still too young to understand what a hologram was. But, she retrieved the car and, with a smile, passed it back to the little robot, who’d already shifted their focus onto a nearby dent in the metallic ground nearby, which would serve as an excellent ramp.
“Cakes,” she addressed them, as the car made a perfect landing, “don’t you have any friends who might like to play cars with you, too?”
They looked up at her, confused. Of course they didn’t. Why would they need anyone else in order to play?
The aide looked around, studying the playground, and then gripped Cakes by the shoulder, gently nudging them towards a yellow Addison child playing nearby, who they’d never seen before.
“Cakes, do you see that little boy over there? He’s playing all by himself, so why don’t you go and ask if he wants to play with you and your car, and be your friend?”
They hesitated at first, trying to resist. Cakes was fine by themself, they were having plenty of fun just playing pretend on their bench racetrack! But, clutching their car to their chest and steeling themself, Cakes trudged across the playground to where the aide had pointed.
They gave the boy a big smile – if nothing else, they could always make a good first impression. "Hi, my name’s Cakes. Do you wanna be my friend?“
The boy stared at them, giving Cakes an odd look that they couldn’t quite parse, then glanced down at the toy in their hands, and finally gave a smug smile.
"Sure. Let’s play.”
The Addison had a few dolls spread out on the metallic ground in front of them, plastic and wearing different outfits, one of which happened to resemble a mechanic which he pointed out went quite well with Cakes’ car. He spun up a story of the doll being the car’s owner, fixing it up after it’d broken down, which Cakes went along with even if it meant it couldn’t drive anymore – it gave them a chance to examine the other dolls, and the colorful dresses and suits they all wore. Another one was dressed as a ballerina, and Cakes had fun twirling them around in the air, with its owner’s permission of course, and as they played they kept glancing towards their car, wondering when the repairs would be complete and they and their new friend could drive it across the playground.
But, it sadly didn’t come to pass, as soon the boy’s mother called to him to pick up his toys and get ready to leave.
“Okay, one sec mom!” He scooped up all of the dolls in his arms, including the ballerina and the mechanic, and including Cakes’ car, which made them yelp in surprise.
“Wait a second, that one’s mine!”
The boy just winked. "We’re friends now, right? And friends always share their toys, that’s what my mom said!“
"They do?” Cakes had heard that they had to share toys with the other kids at the orphanage, since they only had so many to go around, but this was the first time they’d heard the same for friends. "I don’t have a mom. But, that’s my favorite car. Maybe I can share a different toy with you?“
"I’ll just bring it next time my mom takes me here, and you can have it back then!” His mother called again, sounding more impatient, and the Addison waved goodbye as best he could with all his toys in his hands, leaving Cakes standing there with nothing.
“Cakes, there you are!” They finally noticed the older Addison aide calling for the rest of the children as well, to lead them back to the orphanage before it got late. "How’d it go, did you two have fun?“
"Yeah!” They remembered the fun they’d had with the ballerina doll. "Do you think I can learn to do ballet dancing someday?“
"Um…sure. Someday. But, Cakes, where’d your car go? Didn’t you have it earlier?”
“He said friends share toys, so I shared it with him! And he took it home when he left.” They grinned, proud at how good a friend they’d been, even without a mom to tell them how to do so, but the aide didn’t seem to share their excitement, actually opening her eyes in shock.
“Cakes…” Kneeling down, she gripped the little CD player’s shoulders. "It’s nice to share your toys when you’re playing, but when you’re done you need to make sure you get them back!“
"He said he’ll bring it back so we can share it again!”
“Oh, Cakes…” She sighed deeply; they just didn’t seem to understand. "I don’t think he’ll bring it back, honey. I’m not even sure if you’ll ever see him again. He might’ve…done something very mean, by taking your car away.“
Cakes’ expression dropped. "So…he isn’t really my friend?”
“No.” She sighed deeply, struggling to change the topic. "But, if you try really hard, someday you’ll have lots of friends who you can share all your toys with, and they’ll care about them just as much as they care about you!“
"Really?!” The possibility made Cakes almost forget about the boy they’d played with. They didn’t need friends…but they’d had fun that day. They couldn’t wait for more friends to have fun with, even if they had to share their toys.
As Cakes smiled, so did the aide, taking the CD player’s hand. "Come on, Cakes. You can help me round everyone up!“
