After a thousand years, October had finally arrived.
Correction–Cesar’s 10th birthday had arrived.
Sort of. Kind of.
Look, it wasn’t quite here yet. It just so happened to land on a Sunday, and Ma was utterly convinced that hosting a party on a school night was a bad idea. Whatever. It was Cesar’s birthday weekend, he supposed, which was better than just celebrating for one day. All that really mattered was getting some sweet gifts and having a totally awesome time.
The house had been cleaned and decorated that morning, some birthday decorations placed here and there within the living room and kitchen. Cesar had been forced to clean up his room as well, but he had already made up his mind that none of the other kids would be going in there. Besides, they had plenty of space to play outside, especially with how warm it still was for fall. The back patio alone had plenty of stuff sitting there already, there was no reason to be grabbing any of Cesar’s stuff. He would make sure of it.
The party started off pretty strong, though. When noon came around, the first of Cesar’s classmates finally started showing up to the house. As the next hour or so went on, the house slowly but surely became overrun by a small gang of boys excitedly chattering and running around. Ma, and a few other parents that had decided to stay for a bit, made a few short comments about “knocking it off” or “keeping it down”, but nobody got into any real trouble. Thank god. Cesar was not about to have his day ruined by some idiots who didn’t know how to sit down and shut up when they needed to. He especially didn’t need to be getting in trouble for the oh-so terrible crime of keeping them in check himself.
Cesar’s patience was definitely getting tested, though.
"C’mon, please?"
“No. We already decided on tag.”
“I thought we were playing with frisbees?”
“Jason–when did anyone mention frisbees?”
“...I thought you did.”
“Guys, why can’t we just play basketball?”
Cesar bit at his thumb as the other boys around him argued amongst themselves. It had been several minutes at best and they were still going, coming to absolutely no agreement or decision in the meantime. If he had to hear Brandon mention basketball one more time–
“Cesar, what do you think?”
He looked up at the other boys, who were all looking expectantly at him in turn. Great. He sighed and got up from the patio table, saying, “Well, we’re definitely not playing basketball, first of all.”
“What? Why?” Brandon whined yet again.
“How do you think we’re supposed to play with everyone’s cars out there? Are you dumb?”
Brandon’s face flushed as he looked down, visibly flustered and annoyed, as he grumbled, “...We could always move the hoop.”
“Move the hoop?”
“Yeah, that’s what my family does when we need room.”
“Brandon, nobody else wants to play basketball.”
Another boy suddenly chimed in. “Actually, I’d be down to play basketball.”
Yet another piped up, “Me too! What, scared to move the hoop, Torres?”
Cesar grinded his teeth as the discussion devolved into a cacophony of overlapping voices yet again. Was basketball really this serious? Couldn’t they just wait until they went home? Why were they asking him if they weren’t even going to listen to him? Why was nobody listening to him?
“Fine!” Cesar finally snapped, the other boys shutting up and looking back at him. “We’ll move the stupid hoop. We can push it off to the side or push it further down the driveway or something. Happy?”
There was a moment of silence.
“Yes,” Brandon responded.
The group of boys began to walk towards the front yard, along the side of the house. Cesar gave one look back towards the other kids in the backyard. When none of them looked like they were in the process of breaking anything, he just sighed and continued leading the group to the driveway. He found himself a bit lost in thought for a few moments, trying to figure out how to best do this whole thing. The hoop’s height and weight made him a little nervous, but he hoped that he and the others would be enough to move it themselves. He was going to look stupid if he had to ask the adults for help.
That’s when he heard it.
Cesar stopped. The other boys followed suit, also freezing in place.
There was the distinct sound of another car pulling up the driveway.
Cesar and the others looked at each other for a brief moment. It was evident that nobody knew who it could have been, especially this late in the day. Even with his invitation technically being open for anyone in the class, the other kids who were already there at least had the sense to say they were coming. Cesar had counted and kept a mental list of guests in his head. Nobody was unaccounted for, everyone who said they would be there was there. So, who was this?
The boys collectively scampered up to the front corner of the house. Cesar peered out from around the corner, looking out into the driveway. Behind the parked cars, some generic brown and tan car had pulled up. He heard one car door open and shut, and saw the figure of some kid, obscured by the other vehicles, stepping out into the yard. Nobody else had emerged.
“...Be safe, be good,” an older man’s voice echoed from the strange car. “Don’t cause any problems for these people, got it?”
“Yes sir,” the unknown kid murmured, just barely audible from where Cesar was standing.
The car then began to back out of the driveway again. Cesar could hear a few faint “love you”s from the vehicle as it left, but that was it. The only other noise he could hear was the engine as it pulled out onto the road and drove away. Then, silence.
“No way…” one of the other boys whispered, laughing a bit. “You don’t think…?”
“Oh my god, you might be right.”
Cesar looked back towards the others as they began to snicker and mutter amongst themselves. What were they talking about?
Suddenly, one of them looked up and past Cesar, yelping, “Scatter!”
Next thing he knew, Cesar was standing alone by the front of the house, the other boys running back off into the backyard. He looked back over to the driveway, trying to figure out what they had even seen. Another boy was meeting his gaze.
The kid didn’t seem to be anything special. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin. Cesar could have described half of the kids in his class the same way. Really, the only thing of note was what the other boy was wearing. Unless he didn’t get the memo on how hot it would be, he had no reason to be wearing a black sweatshirt, especially when he was already wearing shorts and sneakers, clothes way better fitting of the weather. But, ultimately, he rang no bells in Cesar’s memory.
“Ex…Excuse me?” The other boy called out, shuffling nervously on the steps leading up to the front porch. “Is this Cesar Torres’s house?”
“...Yeah?” Cesar slowly answered as he emerged from the side of the house.
“Is…uhm…is there any specific way to enter, or…?”
“Just the front door–right there. Why?”
The other boy suddenly looked down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know if things were weird because of the party, or…”
Oh. He was here for the party, after all. Odd, considering that neither he or Cesar seemed to recognize each other.
“I don’t see why they would be,” Cesar stated, walking up to the other boy. “What kind of party do you think this is?”
“...A birthday party, right? I’m pretty sure Cesar invited the whole class for his birthday today.”
The other boy just stared down at his feet as he spoke, squirming uncomfortably. His hands were fit squarely in his one sweatshirt pocket, seemingly fiddling around with something inside. He was avoiding Cesar’s eyes entirely now.
“Who are you?” Cesar finally asked. “I don’t know you.”
“Oh, sorry. I’m Mark. Mark Heathcliff. I’m from Cesar’s class.”
Mark Heathcliff. Where had Cesar heard that name before…
Mark’s head slowly rose up from the ground, making eye contact with Cesar once again before stuttering, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I know you, either. What’s your name?”
“Cesar Torres.”
In a second, Mark’s eyes widened and his head fell right back towards the ground. He leaned away from Cesar as he began to ramble, “I-oh, um, I-uh, I didn’t…I didn’t know–”
“Clearly,” Cesar sighed. “Are you just going to stand around out here? My mom’s gonna throw a fit if she sees you overheating out here.”
Mark fell silent. Still keeping a few feet away from Cesar, he stood up straight, glancing up at Cesar for a second before his eyes fell yet again to the ground. He nodded, and, again, stated, “Sorry.”
—
The next several minutes were…awkward, if nothing else.
Cesar had ended up accompanying Mark through the front door, back inside to where the adults and some of the other kids were hanging out. Ma seemed a little surprised at the sight of another boy, all things considered, and the other parents didn’t seem any less confused than she was. Mark introduced himself with as few words as possible, shaking Ma’s hand and asking where to set the birthday card he had brought. After he was told, he nodded and walked further into the living room without another word.
“Mijo, did he come here all by himself?” Ma would ask Cesar in a hushed tone.
“His parents dropped him off, I think. I dunno, they never got out of the car,” was all really Cesar could tell her. She looked a little concerned, but she didn’t ask him anything else.
Cesar eventually got back to hanging out with the other boys in the backyard, who looked to have abandoned the idea of playing basketball all together. A few of them were playing tag, like they had brought up before. Others were sitting on the patio table, whispering amongst themselves, still laughing like they were talking about the funniest thing in the world. As Cesar walked up to the table, they stopped and looked towards him.
“Cesar, dude, I am so sorry,” one of them said, his face and tone utterly dripping with disbelief.
“What for?” Cesar asked.
Another boy gestured over to the patio door. Cesar glanced over, spotting a glimpse of Mark sitting on one of the chairs in the living room.
“Mark?” was all Cesar added as he looked back at the other boys.
“Heathcliff, yeah. What, did nobody tell you?”
Cesar shook his head. “Tell me what?”
The others just seemed to grumble incoherently amongst themselves for a minute, taking a few moments to find their words, before one of them simply stated, “He’s an absolute freak, dude. Absolutely insane.”
“Nobody warned you about him?” another questioned. “We shoulda said something before you invited him over.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Cesar butted in. “I didn’t invite him personally. Ma made me invite the entire class, not my fault that he decided to just show up!”
“And it ain’t our fault you’re a mama’s boy, Torres! You gonna just let some absolute weirdo ruin your birthday just because your mommy told you to?”
For a split second, Cesar opened his mouth before shutting it again. He grinded his jaw and let his nails dig into his palms as he balled up his hands. His head lowered as he heard one of them laugh again. God, he was so stupid.
“Look,” the voice of yet another boy chimed in. “All we’re sayin’ is to ignore him. Just do a better job of invitin’ next year, yeah?”
Cesar nodded. “Sounds good.”
—
Ignoring Mark was surprisingly easy, all things considered. The guy kept to himself for pretty much the entire afternoon. Only annoying thing was that he seemed to have claimed one corner of the living room for himself. Lunch? Sat in the chair there while having a few slices of pizza. Presents? Also sat there watching as Cesar unwrapped and unboxed everything. Cake and ice cream? Take a wild guess. Ultimately, though, that just meant that all Cesar and the others had to do was go literally anywhere else and they’d be fine.
“Hey, Cesar?”
Cesar looked up from his spot on the couch, where he was fiddling with one of his new action figures. One of the boys was standing there, looking expectantly at him.
The boy continued, “You mentioned, like, some really cool rocks and stuff in the woods, yeah?”
“You lookin’ to go back there?” Cesar asked in turn, sitting up.
“Well…me and Aaron were talking, and we thought it’d be super cool to play hide and seek back there or something. But I’m also good with just looking, too!”
Cesar hummed, taking a moment to think. Within only a few seconds, though, he replied, “Sure, why not? We can play back there before you guys leave.”
Within a matter of minutes, practically every kid in the house was clamoring to get ready for the woods. Cesar was a little surprised that everyone was so eager to get out there, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t been bragging about the place at school. Besides, a game of hide and seek there did, in fact, sound pretty awesome. Of course, the adults told them every variation of “be safe” under the sun on their way out, as if they didn’t say it for everything else they did. But soon enough, the boys were darting through the backyard to the treeline lining the Torres property.
The sun had started to set, the sky a pale orange and yellow. It was a bit chillier now, and every boy with a jacket had grabbed theirs to wear. There would still be plenty of light to play for at least another hour or so, though. Sure, the woods were a bit dark, but with the leaves falling, it wasn’t nearly as dark as it had been that summer. Not like the dark would have mattered much to Cesar, anyway, but having some additional sun would make things a little easier for hide and seek if nothing else.
The woods were just as Cesar had stated, too. Multiple boulders and rocks were strewn about amongst the trees, serving as both animal dens and climbing hills. A little creek ran through a little further back, lined by a wall of bramble bushes on the side opposite of the house. The ground was an uneven mess, even without the rocks to deal with, but everybody agreed that it would make hide and seek way more exciting. Truly, there was no better place for such a game to take place.
Cesar, of course, was made the seeker. At least at first, anyway. It didn’t take long for all the other boys to start complaining about him cheating somehow, or about him having some unfair advantage by knowing the woods better.
“Not my fault you all suck at this,” Cesar had retorted once the first round had ended. Of course, nobody else agreed that they just sucked at hiding. So, next round, Cesar was relegated to being one of the hiders.
Cesar’s hiding spot of choice was a patch of bushes near the creek. Specifically, he was hiding in a cluster of bramble bushes. Yeah, yeah, the thorns sucked, anybody with half a brain could tell him that. But, ultimately, they were just thorns. Not ticks, spiders, poison ivy, or ghosts. Just thorns. You could deal pretty easily with thorns if you knew what you were doing, and Cesar was pretty sure he knew what he was doing.
Time crept on by as he laid still in the bushes. The annoyed shouts of found boys reverberated through the trees, as well as the sound of dead leaves being crushed underfoot by who knows who. The seeker, and occasionally one of the others, would wander past the creek, scanning for anybody hiding in the area. The visits to the creek slowly but surely became more frequent, and eventually the seeker could be heard muttering something about Cesar in particular whenever he strolled by. But Cesar wasn’t one to lose. He had no problem waiting in the brambles until Ma called for them to come back to the house.
He probably would have, too, if he hadn’t heard an odd noise coming from somewhere behind him.
At first, Cesar just assumed it was some animal scurrying through the underbrush. Maybe some squirrel looking for some food before the winter. But, then he started to hear breathing as well, very human breathing. Was the seeker getting that desperate? If that was him, why did it sound like he was crying?
“No, no, no…” a familiar voice cracked out from a few feet away. Mark Heathcliff. “C’mon, no–it can’t…it can’t…!”
Cesar could hear him whimpering as he dug through the nearby bushes. The rustling got steadily closer, and Cesar could hear Mark let out some pathetic whine as he went along. What the hell was he doing? He was going to ruin Cesar’s hiding streak if he kept this up!
The branches next to Cesar’s face suddenly parted, and he heard Mark yelp, followed by a sudden thud. Cesar poked his head out ever-so-slightly, watching as Mark slowly sat up from falling on his back. Mark’s face was red with watery eyes, his lips quivering as he looked back at Cesar. Yep, he had definitely been crying.
“Dude, I’m trying to hide here!” Cesar hissed.
“Sorry!” Mark cried as he wiped at his face, burying it behind his one hand. “I-I was just…”
Cesar just watched as Mark tried and failed to collect himself. He could hold himself together for a few seconds before letting out another small sob and bringing his knees to his chest, curling in on himself. It wasn’t long before he was full-on crying again.
“I’m sure you didn’t hurt yourself that badly,” Cesar grumbled. “My mom isn’t going to kill you if you need a bandage or–”
Mark suddenly shook his head. “Not hurt.”
Cesar furrowed his brow. “Then what are you crying about?”
“...It’s stupid.”
“If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, and we both get caught out here, I’m pushing you into the creek.”
It was a dumb threat, Cesar could do worse if he wanted to, but it got Mark to finally shut up. For a few seconds, it seemed like Cesar would, in fact, have to drag the other boy over to the bank of the creek and shove him into the shallow end. But, Mark eventually responded, “I don’t know where my rosary is.”
Cesar blinked. “Your rosary?”
Mark nodded.
“Like…the church rosary?”
Mark nodded again.
Cesar just stared at him. Who brings a rosary to a birthday party?
“I’m sorry,” Mark apologized yet again. “I bring it everywhere. It’s stupid, I know. But I don’t lose it. I don’t lose it often, I mean. I mean…” He trailed off, whimpering and curling even further in on himself somehow. Suddenly, he cried out, “...Daddy’s gonna kill me!”
Oh god, he was sobbing again. Cesar glanced around, as if there were anyone else here to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, it was just the two of them. Getting caught by the seeker at this point would be better than dealing with the discomfort weighing on him right now. What was he supposed to do? The other boys had made it clear that talking to this guy was an awful decision–the type of thing you only did if you wanted to make everybody else think you were an idiot. But, god, Ma would be on Cesar’s ass if he came back to the house with a sobbing kid, especially if she knew he just straight up ignored him. But, he wasn’t a mama’s boy, he wasn’t. But, Ma would be disappointed in him…
Cesar crawled carefully out from the bushes, pulling himself onto the dirt in front of him with only a few thorns in his hands and clothes. Plucking out some of the thorns, he looked over at Mark, who hadn’t looked up once. Cesar sighed, and said, “Look, I’ll keep an eye-out for it.”
Mark, still crying a little, poked his head up, his bloodshot eyes peeking out from over the sleeves of his sweatshirt. “...You will?”
“I live here, nobody knows this place better than me. I’ve got time. I can drop it off at school if I find it.”
Mark sniffled. “You sure?”
“Ain’t gonna bother me,” Cesar responded with a nod. He stared back at Mark, taking note of his hands. Sure enough, he had scratches for days along his knuckles, and the blood to show it, too. Cesar crawled towards Mark, grumbling, “Ma’s also gonna kill me if we don’t get those patched up, either. You gotta be careful around these brambles, they’re pretty rough.”
“...Sorry,” Mark whispered.
Cesar stood up and stretched. He looked back towards the direction of the house, then back down to Mark. He held out a hand, saying, “C’mon, it’s getting late and Ma’s gonna be calling us any second now.”
Mark grabbed Cesar’s hand, hoisting himself up to his feet. He wiped at his face with the back of his sleeve, probably in some vain attempt to clean himself up a little. His eyes were locked firmly on the ground. Cesar sighed, mentally preparing himself for what the other boys would probably say seeing the two of them walking back together.
It’s only for today, Cesar thought. If you find the rosary, you find it. Don’t worry about it.
Carefully watching the forest floor, Cesar led them back towards the house. The other boys had already gathered near the property line, where they watched the duo emerge from the trees. Some looked annoyed, some looked amused, and some just looked plain tired. No one explicitly said anything about Mark, though, so that was a win in Cesar’s book. They all just collectively made their way back inside.
As the others got ready to leave, Cesar led Mark to the bathroom. Mark quietly washed the blood off his hands, and Cesar set out some bandages and neosporin on the sink counter before going back out into the living room to tell his other guests goodbye. The kids whose parents had stayed the entire time left almost immediately, with the others waiting patiently for their own parents to pick them up. Cesar just sat back on the couch and watched as the others talked amongst themselves, ready to finally have some alone time.
Time passed, and people’s rides came and went. While the house began to clear out, Ma would call for Cesar to help her with a few things here and there. It was just small stuff, like putting away unclaimed leftovers or helping move some things in the kitchen. Bigger things, like moving his gifts to his room, would probably be saved for tomorrow. He had just finished helping pack up the tablecloth used for the party when one of the last few boys motioned him over.
“What’d he do?” the boy asked, gesturing over to Mark, who had long since finished cleaning up and moved back to his corner of the living room.
“Brambles got him,” Cesar replied.
“Brambles? Why was he in the brambles?”
“Lost something, apparently. He was losing his mind over it.”
The other boy chuckled. “Of course he was. He’s a big crybaby when it comes to stuff like that. Stupid, too, considering how much he must have busted up his hands.”
Cesar didn’t say anything.
“Look, Cesar, let me keep it real with you–worrying about Heathcliff is a waste of time. He already worries enough by himself. Let him be delusional in peace, got it?”
“...Delusional?”
The boy waved his hand. “Let’s just say he’s had some interesting stories.”
Before Cesar could pry further, the front door opened again, with another pair of adults walking inside.
“Ah, there’s my ride!” The other boy exclaimed, standing up. Just before bounding over to his parents, he turned back to Cesar, and said, “Always a pleasure hanging out. We can talk more Monday, got it?”
Cesar just nodded absentmindedly, then walked back over to the couch as he waved the boy goodbye. As he sat back down, he looked over at Mark, who was staring down at his freshly-bandaged hands. Sighing, Cesar looked back up towards the nearby clock. If it were to be believed, it was 6:30pm. He couldn’t wait to have the house to himself, and Ma, again.
The clock’s hands ticked on. It was eventually 7:30pm. Everybody else had gone–except for Mark. Cesar had gone back to playing with his toys, hoping to pass the time until the Heathcliffs came back. Mark was still sitting in the corner, looking a little nervous now.
“Sweetheart, are you doing okay?” Ma had asked Mark at some point.
“Yeah,” Mark responded, still sitting.
"I’m guessing your parents were rather busy tonight, huh?”
Mark took a moment to respond. “I guess, yeah.” He then added, “Do you need help cleaning up?”
“No, but I appreciate the offer.”
The clock’s hands kept moving. It was now 8:30pm. Cesar was getting a little bored of just sitting on the floor by himself. He had taken occasional glances over at Mark, who seemed to grow more and more agitated as time passed.
“Do you…uh, wanna play?” Cesar offered stiffly, holding out one of the action figures he had set up an hour earlier.
Mark shook his head as he picked at his bandages. “I’m okay.”
Cesar frowned. He glanced back up at Ma, who was standing between the living room and kitchen. Concern was written all over her face as she looked over at Mark. Not like Cesar could blame her. Where the hell were the Heathcliffs?
9:30pm–that was the time the clock now showed. Mark’s parents were absolutely nowhere in sight.
“Honey, do you know your parents’ number?” Ma asked. She had walked over to where Mark was sitting.
“...Yeah,” Mark muttered. He wouldn’t look Ma in the eyes, staring down at the floor as he was curled up on the chair. Cesar watched as Mark gave Ma the number, with Ma jotting it down on a notepad that she carried back into the kitchen with her. The distinct sound of the home phone keypad echoed out through the house, followed by a fainter dial tone.
Ma would eventually speak into the phone, but she was obviously just leaving a voicemail. It was the expected stuff–introducing herself, asking about what they were up to, saying that Mark was doing fine, to call her back as soon as possible…
She went on to attempt the number five more times throughout the next hour.
It was 10:30pm and pitch dark outside. It was well after Cesar’s bedtime, and probably Ma’s, too. But, the ceiling lights for the kitchen and living room were still on. Ma was still pacing around the kitchen. Mark Heathcliff was still curled up on the chair in the corner of the living room, looking ashamed and mortified. His parents still hadn’t shown up or called.
Cesar had climbed back up onto the couch, staring over at Mark. He had abandoned his toys a while ago now, having put them back in their bags and boxes surrounding the one end table. This whole situation made him feel agitated. He couldn’t help but worry a bit about what the hell could have happened to the Heathcliffs. He could only imagine how Mark must have felt.
Ma eventually emerged again from the kitchen, gently walking back over to Mark.
“Sweetheart, are you alright?” is all Ma asked.
Mark’s voice cracked as he mumbled out, “...I don’t know. I’m sorry.” He curled up into himself again, trembling a bit.
“There’s no need to apologize,” Ma attempted to reassure him.
“...I messed up,” Mark whimpered. “I must have gotten something wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m bothering you. I shouldn’t be bothering you. It’s my fault. I probably told them the wrong information. They’d be here otherwise.”
“Honey–”
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry…”
Mark was shaking like a leaf now. His hands were digging into his head, his knees obscuring his whole face. He looked like he was ready to dissolve into a sobbing mess again any second now.
“Mark,” Cesar spoke up. “You’re not bothering us. You’re gonna be fine.”
Mark looked up and over towards Cesar, and asked pointedly, “How do you know?”
Cesar shrugged. “How do you know you’re not?”
For a second, Mark seemed like he was about ready to say something. But, with a quick glance over to Ma, he froze up. He just stared back at Cesar.
With a stretch, Cesar got up off the couch. “You want any of the food? Got lots of leftovers.”
“I don’t wanna take from you guys.”
“It ain’t taking if I’m offering, stu–” Cesar faltered for a moment as Ma glared at him. “--Mark.”
For a second, nothing really happened. Then, slowly, Mark unfurled and stood up, walking past Ma and towards Cesar. He muttered, “What all do you have?”
—
It took some time for Mark to decide what he wanted. Cesar, as well as Ma, had to do some additional coaxing for him to finally express interest in some more of the birthday cake. In any other situation, Cesar would have vehemently refused. Hell, he was still annoyed now that somebody else wanted his cake. But, really, having Heathcliff cry all night while dealing with an upset Ma sounded way more unbearable. So, Cesar supposed he could manage for tonight.
It wasn’t long before the boys were sprawled out on the living room floor, eating leftover dessert and watching the tail-end of the nightly broadcast before it signed off an hour later. Ma sat by on the couch the whole time, reading through one of her many magazines. Admittedly, it was kind of nice. Mark didn’t talk much, but Cesar preferred it that way. He didn’t need to be bothered by annoying small talk or whatever. Just relaxing in the living room under the warm light of the table lamps was fine enough.
Eventually, the TV broadcast signed off, and the remaining cake was put back in the fridge.
“Alright boys,” Ma announced with a yawn. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for bed.”
Mark frowned. “Bed? I’m sleeping over?”
“Obviously,” Cesar stated. “I don’t think Ma wants to leave you all alone at your house.”
“Are you sure my parents aren’t home?”
“Who cares where your parents are? They can come get you if they want you that badly.”
Ma looked annoyed at Cesar’s response, but Mark simply nodded in agreement, saying, “Okay. Where am I sleeping?”
“You boys can sleep out in the living room if you’d like,” Ma said as she did one last sweep around the room. “We have some spare blankets and pillows you can use.”
Mark didn’t look very satisfied with that response. He grimaced a bit with a small shudder, glancing around the room. He muttered, “I don’t know. It’s…not very private.”
Ma raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if I know what you mean, sweetheart.”
“I…” Mark trailed off. He furrowed his brow as he looked to the floor, looking like he was struggling to find the words he wanted to use.
“I’m not entirely sure where else you boys would be, admittedly,” Ma added. “We don’t really have a whole lot of spare space, unless you wanted to sleep in the basement.”
Almost immediately, Mark rapidly shook his head at the last comment. “No thank you, I’m good!”
Cesar was a little confused. In his opinion, the basement wasn’t that bad, but nobody else shared that opinion, so he wasn’t entirely surprised by Mark’s refusal. But the living room? The living room not being “private”? What was he on about?
“Well, where do you wanna sleep?” Cesar asked.
“I’m…not sure,” Mark admitted. “I like my bedroom back home, but that’s obviously not here, so…”
Cesar couldn’t be sure what made him ask, but the next few words tumbled out of his mouth: “Would you feel comfortable sleeping in my room?”
Mark lifted his head up and looked at Cesar. “Really? Are you sure?”
No, actually, Cesar thought to himself. He didn’t like other people in his room. It was his room, dangit! Maybe it was Mark’s unease at the thought of sleeping in the living room, or maybe it was Cesar just wanting to avoid having him throw a fit all night, but suggesting his own bedroom felt like a safe enough option. So, Cesar just replied, “Yeah, I’m sure.”
And thus, the decision was made.
The two boys gathered pillows and blankets out of the hallway closet, with Ma fetching an old sleeping bag for Mark to sleep in. Cesar didn’t exactly have a spare bed in his room, so it would have to do. Not like Mark seemed to really care regardless. He just looked relieved to be sleeping somewhere that wasn’t the living room.
“Goodnight, boys. I’ll see you in the morning,” Ma called out.
“Goodnight!” Mark and Cesar replied in unison. Mark was busy with the sleeping bag, laying in the middle of Cesar’s floor as he arranged his chosen blankets and pillows. Cesar was just leaving the bathroom, having finished brushing his teeth and the like.
Before Cesar could walk back into his room, Ma whispered, “Mijo, real quick?”
“Yeah?” Cesar responded, quickly walking over to her.
Ma smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. “Feliz cumpleaños. I love you. Sleep well, okay?”
“Muchas gracias. Will do.” Cesar gave Ma another kiss back before scampering back to his room. As Ma flicked off the hall lights, both bedroom doors were closed, putting a bookend to the night.
For the first few minutes, neither of the boys really said anything to each other. They were both busy getting comfortable before falling asleep, shuffling their pillows and blankets and generally making sure they were all situated. Cesar had left his bedroom lamp on for Mark, that way he wouldn’t be stumbling around and making a mess of things. But as soon as Cesar got comfy under his covers, he reached for the lamp’s switch.
“Hold on,” Mark piped up. “Aren’t you gonna lock the door?”
“...Lock the door?” Cesar slowly asked, looking down at where Mark was on the floor.
“Yeah, don’t you do that?”
“No? Why would I lock the door?”
Mark went quiet. He looked around the room a little bit before muttering, “Sorry, dumb question.”
When he didn’t elaborate any further, Cesar sighed and flicked the switch off. “Goodnight. See ya tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow…”
—
One thing to know about Cesar was that it took him a while to fall asleep. Apparently, even after such an eventful day as this one, he still didn’t get tired as easily as everyone else did. He wasn’t sure why it was such a big deal. Sure, he got that Ma didn’t want to hear him stomping around the house at odd hours of the morning, but he still slept. He just didn’t sleep as much as everyone else did. Why Ma was so worried about him getting enough sleep was beyond him. He got plenty of sleep. He just didn’t need that much. It frustrated him that none of the adults he spoke to seemed to understand that.
So, for the last who-knows-how-long, Cesar had been staring wide-eyed up at his ceiling. He had counted the glow-in-the-dark stars he placed up there over a hundred times now, and he was starting to get bored. He would have hoped the boredom would have lulled him to sleep by now, but apparently not. Quietly, he rolled over and looked back down at where Mark was. The other boy had fallen fast asleep ages ago. His breathing was the only other sound accompanying the wind outside.
Cesar was starting to get annoyed again. If it weren’t for Mark, he’d be playing with his toys or something to pass the time, not laying like a plank of wood under bed sheets that were starting to get a little too hot for comfort now. Cesar made some incoherent grumbling noises under his breath. What even was this birthday weekend at this point? Just his luck he was forced to host an impromptu sleepover for the weird kid…
I’m thirsty, Cesar suddenly thought, as if making some sort of declaration to himself. He quickly sat up, swinging his legs around to hop off his bed. For a moment, he was worried the sudden ‘thud’ that reverberated through the room would wake Mark up. There did seem to be a few seconds where Mark shuffled around a bit more than usual. But, ultimately, he fell still again, still just as asleep as he had been.
Cesar tiptoed around the other boy and made his way to his door. Softly, he turned the knob and opened it, now being greeted by the darkness of the hallway. Still taking his time, he took a few careful steps out into the rest of the house, praying that none of the floorboards would squeak as he did so. When nothing happened, he continued his slow trek through the living room and kitchen. There was hardly any light coming from the windows. Either it was a new moon or just cloudy. Regardless, it meant that navigating through the empty rooms would be more of a pain than it needed to be. The furniture wasn’t typically that hard to see at all, but there would always be at least one chair or one table that blended in a bit too well with the shadows.
Getting a drink was about the same level of easy-but-annoying. Cesar could make out everything just fine, but he could never reach the cupboards where the cups were all by himself. That meant he had to carefully drag a chair over, use it as a step, grab the cup he wanted without knocking any other cups over, put the chair back, and then finally pour himself some water. By the time he finished his glass, Cesar was finally starting to feel a little tuckered out. He also felt stupid, considering how much effort he had to give for some water. He sighed and set the glass as far back on the counter as he could. Maybe he could finally sleep now.
Cesar began to tiptoe back towards his room. Rounding the corner into the living room, though, he stopped.
The basement door was open. No, scratch that, there was light coming from the basement.
Cesar curiously wandered up to the door, looking down the steps. He was confident the door had been closed when he first walked into the kitchen. It would have been hard to miss, especially with how dark the basement could be compared to the rest of the house, even this late at night. But he knew for sure that no lights were on earlier. Even as he continued staring down the steps, he couldn’t hear anybody. If Ma or Mark had gone down for whatever reason, he would have heard them. There was nothing but the standard noises of the house, though–a ticking clock, the faint hum of the fridge, the faint buzzing of the lone lightbulb illuminating the basement…
Cesar began to walk down. Leaving the light on wasn’t a good idea. Ma would think he had wandered down there for whatever reason, and he wouldn’t be able to convince her otherwise. Not only that, she’d probably make some comment about the power bill or electricity bill or whatever they had to pay for the lights around here. It was better to go down and turn it off now.
Their basement, frankly, was a mess. It was a decent size for what it was, there was plenty of space to store things. The problem was that the stuff stored down there hadn’t been organized since they moved here. Wood pallets were shoved into corners, boxes had been placed haphazardly onto metal shelves, old furniture they hadn’t gotten around to throwing away yet just sat out in the open. They even had a perfectly good set of cellar doors leading out to the backyard that they hadn’t had a chance to use yet on the opposite side of the cement floor. Really, there was enough space for Ma to do laundry and that was it. Otherwise, you’d be stepping around a bunch of junk while trying to get around.
Thankfully, though, the one lone lightbulb down there was out of the way of most of the mess. It hung down from the ceiling, only a few feet away from the stairs. It was never that bright, regardless of what bulbs Ma used. Even now, the far end of the basement was cast in deep shadow, with everything else being bathed in the weakest, palest light anyone would have the displeasure of laying their eyes on. Maybe the wires were finally starting to go. It would explain why it had suddenly turned on by itself.
Cesar looked up at the bulb, squinting. It had a pull chain for a switch, but even that liked to hang just out of his reach most days. Grumbling, he began stretching his arm upwards, trying in vain to grab the chain. He even got up on his toes, growling as his fingers just barely brushed by the metal. God, he really needed to convince Ma to get a regular lightswitch down here or something. With a final huff, he bent down, his body hunched over as he placed his hands on his knees. He was getting absolutely nowhere with this. He’d have to look for yet another thing to climb on. Great.
Looking around, it was clear there wasn’t much to work with. It wasn’t like Cesar was still in the kitchen, where there were plenty of chairs he could use. Most of the stuff down here was heavy, fragile, glued to the floor, or some variation of those three things. Not to mention most of it would make an awful sound dragging across the cement floor, which would absolutely wake Ma up, maybe even Mark. Maybe Ma had left something by the washing–
Wait.
Cesar's eyes had gotten stuck on something atop the dryer. He couldn’t tell what it was from here, but it didn’t look like anything that Ma would leave down here. He carefully wandered over to the laundry corner of the room, trying not to slide on any cardboard or dirty socks on the floor. His eyes never once broke away from the strange object. However, once he was right in front of the dryer, it was obvious what it was.
It was a wooden rosary.
Cesar gently took it in his hands. It was made up of beads painted a dull reddish-brown, with a cross painted with a slightly brighter red. He could make out the tan string holding everything together, sitting beneath the beads. Really, it was the plainest-looking rosary he’d ever seen. There didn’t seem to be intricate patterns or even a little figure on the cross representing Jesus Christ. It was just some simple beads strung together.
The light vanished.
Cesar whipped around. The entire basement was pitch black. Only the faintest of light spilled down from the stairs, otherwise, he could hardly see much of anything. Clearly, the lightbulb must have burnt out by itself. Maybe his theory about the wires was correct. But the last time something like this happened…
The faint sound of shuffling reverberated through the basement ceiling. Cesar looked up. Was somebody waiting for him upstairs? He quickly darted over to the stairs, trying his best to climb up them as quietly as possible without losing pace. Once he emerged back into the living room, he looked around. He didn’t see anyone. All the doors were still closed, nothing really looked out of place. But he could still hear that weird shuffling noise…and the faint hiss of static emanating from the back hallway.
Cesar poked his head around the corner, staring back towards the bathroom and bedrooms. Still nothing to see. He crept slowly down the hall, sliding the rosary into the pocket of his pajama pants. The shuffling gradually got louder as he got closer to his bedroom, the static ever-present background noise. Feelings of anxiety and excitement sat uncomfortably in his chest. Who was waiting for him now?
But, then there was the faint sound of whimpering. Cesar froze up again, trying to figure out where it was coming from. A small cry echoed out of Cesar’s open bedroom door.
Mark.
Cesar darted over to the doorframe. Looking inside, he could see Mark writhing in his sleep. He kept clutching at his face, his face contorted in fear. Every so often, he’d make some unintelligible noise under his breath as he moved.
“Go away…!” Mark yelped weakly.
Cesar darted over to him. He knelt down by the sleeping back, whispering, “Hey, hey–Mark. Wake up.” When Mark didn’t respond, he went to grab him by the shoulder.
As soon as Cesar’s hand touched him, Mark’s eyes flew open. He sat straight up, his head whipping around to stare directly at Cesar. He was still shaking. His eyes were full of nothing but fear.
After a moment of silence, Cesar finally continued, “...It’s me. It’s me, Mark.”
Mark blinked. He then let out a sigh as he slumped over, still holding one of his blankets to his chest. He never once stopped trembling. The only thing he choked out was, “Close the door.”
“What–”
“Close the door, please,” Mark whimpered yet again.
Not sure what else to do, Cesar simply followed Mark’s request. He stood up, went over to his door, and closed it. He stared down at the doorknob for a minute.
Aren’t you gonna lock the door?
Cesar turned the lock. Giving the doorknob a quick test, he then turned back around to look at Mark. The other boy was still hunched over, burying his face in the blanket he was clutching. He didn’t move. Cesar just decided to walk back and sit on the ground next to the sleeping bag.
“...I’m sorry,” Mark said for the umpteenth time as Cesar took his seat on the floor.
“You don’t have to apologize,” Cesar groaned, rubbing his face with his hand. “I don’t even know what you’re apologizing for. What, you think I’m mad you had a nightmare?”
Mark shook his head. “I shouldn’t tell you what to do. That was wrong of me.”
“Telling me to close the door? I was gonna do that, anyway.”
Mark fell silent again. He finally sat up straight again, bringing the blanket down to his stomach as he looked back towards Cesar. His eyes were bloodshot, looking like he hadn’t got an ounce of rest since he had laid down. He whispered, “I don’t mean to bother you. I shouldn’t be annoying, I’m working on it, I promise.”
Cesar groaned, “I just don’t get why you keep apologizing for weird stuff. That’s, like, the main way you’re being annoying.”
“Wouldn’t it be rude to not apologize?”
“I–dude, no, that’s not what I’m saying. I mean you keep apologizing for weird stuff. You aren’t being rude at all.”
Mark looked confused. “But…I ruined your birthday.”
The room went still again.
“...Huh?” is the only thing Cesar managed to utter in response.
“You don’t have to lie to me. You didn’t want me here at all. It was my fault for mentioning your party to my parents,” Mark continued, looking down in shame. “I’m not sure why I mentioned it. We don’t really speak much at all. I didn’t even recognize you when I first got here. I…” He trailed off for a second before continuing, “It’s my fault. And I’m sorry for that.”
Cesar just stared at him for a moment, grinding his teeth together as he tried to figure out how to even respond. Eventually, he just asked, “Did you want to be here?”
It was Mark’s turn to think for a little before speaking. “...I don’t know.”
Cesar frowned. “...Did your parents make you?”
Mark shrugged.
The two of them proceeded to sit there. Neither of them continued the conversation. Cesar stared up at his ceiling, eyes combing over his glow-in-the-dark stars yet again. Outside, the wind whistled through the yard, lightly shaking his bedroom window. The dark didn’t feel as comfortable as it usually was. It just felt…sad, maybe. Not horrible, just sad. Whatever that meant.
Cesar wasn’t sure how long they sat there for. Maybe a half hour, maybe a full hour. It was still dark though when he finally went to stand up.
“You heading back to bed?” Mark asked.
“Think so,” Cesar responded. “Not like I have much else to do.”
Mark nodded before going to lay back down in the sleeping bag.
“You need the lamp light on?”
Mark looked back up at Cesar. “Um…I don’t know…”
“It’s a yes-or-no question.”
“...Yes.”
Cesar flicked the lamp switch on as he slid the rosary on top of the nightstand and hopped back into bed, casting the room in soft yellow light yet again. He shuffled underneath the covers, pleased to find that they had cooled to a more bearable temperature since he last got up. As he reorganized his pillows, he commented, “Door’s locked, by the way.”
Another pause in the conversation. “Thank you.”
—
It didn’t take much for Cesar to decide he didn’t like Mark’s parents.
The two of them had woken up earlier that morning, just a little after Ma had. When she asked them how they slept, both of them just said they slept fine. Neither of them were really sure how to discuss what happened during the night. Luckily, Ma didn’t prod them much at all, instead offering to make the two of them breakfast if they wanted. Cesar said “yes” for both of them, largely because Mark was still hesitant to take anything Ma offered and because Cesar knew she hardly ever offered to make breakfast for anyone.
Breakfast itself wasn’t too crazy. Ma just settled on pancakes and eggs, something that both boys would eat. Kind of underwhelming to Cesar, but it was clear that Mark was more than happy with what was being offered.
“Where did you find it?” Mark had asked suddenly between bites of his eggs.
“What?” Cesar asked back. They were sitting next to each other at the kitchen table, with Ma sitting across from them as she ate her own breakfast.
Mark buried one of his hands in his sweatshirt pocket, then pulled it out to reveal the wooden rosary from last night. “My rosary! It was sitting on your night stand when I got up this morning. Where did you find it?”
Oh. Cesar had completely forgotten about that. “Found it under the kitchen table. I had to go get some water last night and saw it there.”
“Are you sure you weren’t pulling an all-nighter again?” Ma asked from across the table.
“No,” Cesar responded just a little too quickly. “I fell asleep just fine, thank you!”
“Uh-huh…” Ma murmured, eyebrow raised with a completely unconvinced expression.
Mark just stared down at his rosary before continuing, “Really? I don’t remember losing it in here…” He hummed, then looked right back up at Cesar, exclaiming, “Thank you, though! I’m just glad to have it!”
“Anytime,” Cesar said with a nod, before going to take another bite of his pancakes.
There’s a knock at the front door.
All three of them stopped and looked over simultaneously. Cesar and Ma exchanged glances. She looked just about as unsure as he felt. Even though they couldn’t be sure, Cesar had his suspicions about who was at the house.
When another knock rattled the door, Ma quickly got up and walked over. As she opened it, one man and one woman were revealed to be standing on the other side. From where he sat, Cesar could make out the most basic of their features. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin. He felt his throat tighten a bit.
“Hello?” Ma asks.
“Hello, ma’am,” the man responded. “I was wondering if our son was here?”
“Your son?” Ma looked back over at the boys, with the other two adults looking over as well.
“Yep, that one right there,” the man confirmed, pointing a finger directly at Mark.
“Ah, of course,” was all Ma said in turn.
Cesar watched as Mark froze up. His expression was completely unreadable as he slowly slid off the kitchen chair.
“Hi, Dad. Hi, Mom,” Mark said meekly, giving his parents a small wave. His mom gave him a small smile and wave in turn, but his dad didn't react.
Instead, Mr. Heathcliff turned back to Ma, asking, “He wasn’t any trouble, was he?”
Ma shook her head. “No sir, he wasn’t any trouble at all.”
Mr. Heathcliff raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’ll be honest, you’ve got me a little confused, Miss…”
“Torres.”
“Miss Torres, of course. You’ve got me a little confused, Miss Torres, because I’m pretty sure you left me one or two voicemails last night.”
The air seemed to grow cold as Cesar watched his mother’s expression tighten a bit. “Ah, well, I was just curious about where you were last night. It was getting a bit late, and the other kids–”
“So it wasn’t a sleepover?”
“...No, sir.”
Mr. Heathcliff didn’t respond right away. There was a few seconds of silence before he let out a quiet, obviously forced laugh. He cleared his throat, saying, “Oh, I see. My boy must have got some things mixed up is all.” He looked back towards Mark, and Cesar could see the other boy shrink a little under his father’s gaze. Mr. Heathcliff continued, “I’m sorry to have troubled you. We’ll be on our way here in a minute.”
“Hold on, sir,” Ma suddenly spoke up. “I’m a little confused.”
“What about?”
Ma glanced over at the boys for a split second. “Can we talk outside for a moment?”
Mr. Heathcliff scoffed. “Miss Torres, I’m sure that we can–”
“I insist,” Ma stated, her tone as dry and plain as it could possibly be.
The Heathcliffs looked at each other, then looked back at Ma. Mr. Heathcliff nodded, and all three of them walked out into the front yard, Ma closing the door behind her.
As soon as the door shut, Mark darted out of the kitchen. Cesar watched as he rounded the corner down the hallway before deciding to follow suit. He soon found himself in the doorway of his bedroom, with Mark pacing around frantically inside.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god…” Mark kept repeating over and over again, fingers digging into his scalp as he held his head in his hands.
“Hey, hey,” Cesar tried to interject. “Calm down. I’m sure–”
“How?!” Mark yelled right back at him. Cesar staggered back as Mark continued to ramble, “He’s gonna kill me. He’s gonna fight with your mom and he’s gonna kill me. Why did I say anything, why did I say anything, why did I say anything…”
Cesar suddenly grabbed him by the collar.
“Let go!” Mark yelped.
“Could you calm down and listen to me?!” Cesar snapped back. “Nobody’s killing anybody! Nobody!”
Mark continued to squirm against Cesar’s grip. “Let go, please!”
“Settle!”
“You’re hurting me!”
Cesar suddenly let go. Mark stumbled back into the nearby wall, hyperventilating as he hugged himself. Cesar staggered back as well. They both just stared at each other, neither breaking eye contact with the other once.
“...I’m sorry,” Cesar muttered.
Mark just replied, “I’m scared, Cesar. I don’t wanna go home.”
Cesar nodded, keeping his distance as Mark slid down the wall and sat down on the floor. He just watched, trying to push back the heavy feeling weighing down on his chest. He asked blankly, “Is there anything I can do?”
Mark shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“But it sucks to see you upset.”
“It’s nothing new…”
Cesar took a breath. “Hey, you can always come back if you’d like.”
Mark looked back up at him. “You’re not just saying that, are you?”
“...I don’t think so.”
“You ‘don’t think so’?” Mark asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Whatever,” Cesar waved his hands. “Just…come back if you’d like. Ma’d love to have you back, I think. You’re not too bad.”
Mark let out a dry laugh. “Sure.”
The click of the front door echoed down the hallway.
“Mark! We’re leaving!” Mr. Heathcliff yelled.
Mark hopped to his feet, starting over to the bedroom door. Cesar grabbed him by the shoulder.
“What?” Mark asked.
“...I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?” Cesar proposed.
There’s a pause.
“Mark!” Mr. Heathcliff called again.
“Ah, coming!” Mark called back. He looked back to Cesar. “Happy birthday. Have a good day!”
With that, Mark ran out of the room. Cesar poked his head out of the doorframe, watching as Mark ran to the door where his father was waiting. Mr. Heathcliff grasped his shoulder real quick, whispering something into Mark’s ear before letting him continue outside. Before the man turned around himself, he took a glance over at Cesar. Cesar just stared back. After a little bit, Mr. Heathcliff pulled himself away and walked out the door.
Cesar walked up to the front door and out onto the front porch. The brown and tan car from yesterday was parked in the driveway, with Mr. and Mrs. Heathcliff visible through the windshield. Even though he couldn’t see him, Cesar couldn’t help but give a short wave to Mark as the car backed down the driveway and onto the highway once again. As it finally drove off, Ma walked up onto the porch.
“...I don’t like them,” Cesar said bluntly.
Ma sighed, muttering, “I’m not sure I like them, either, mijo.”
—
It was Cesar’s first day back to school as a 10-year-old. Hell yeah.
Granted, though, it was still a Monday at school, so it wasn’t really anything to write home about. The only remotely exciting thing was the additional birthday wishes he received from teachers and a few other students. Otherwise, it was just work, work, and more work.
Recess couldn’t have come soon enough. They were even allowed outside that day, which meant that they could play out in the field near the school. The entire class was running about, climbing over the structures at the playground and playing war in the grass. Cesar wasn’t sure if he was in the mood for any of that, though. Today, he was content to sit up on the hill at the edge of the field.
Humming, Cesar plucked a dandelion out of the ground. He rolled it around in his hand, plucking at the petals and digging his nails into the stem. He tried to focus on the flower, or even the cloudy sky overhead, but he was struggling. Yesterday was nice for what it was, Ma had made a nice dinner and the two of them just hung out around the house. Honestly, though? It was hard not to think about everything else that happened over the weekend.
Cesar heard leaves being crunched. Somebody was walking over. Half-expecting it to be a teacher ready to tell him off for sitting near the woods, he got ready to argue back as he looked up. It wasn’t a teacher, though. Well, unless Mark had forgotten to tell him something.
“Oh, hey,” Cesar greeted him, waving at him with the beat-up dandelion tucked between his fingers.
“Hi,” Mark replied. He pointed down. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
Cesar nodded, and Mark took his seat. The two of them silently watched the other kids run around for a little bit. The silence was nice, admittedly. It was a good break from everything else at school. However, Cesar had a promise to keep. He turned over to Mark, asking, “You okay?”
Mark shrugged. “Yeah.”
“...You sure?”
“Yep.”
Well, this conversation wasn’t going anywhere. Cesar cleared his throat, and said, “You know, Ma was curious about how you were doing, too. I meant it when I said she’d love to have you back some time.”
“I’m glad,” Mark responded, picking at his fingers. The bandages from Saturday were still wrapped along his hands, looking a little worn and ready to be replaced. “I’m not sure if my parents want me to come back over anytime soon, though.”
“Wow, your parents are lame.”
“Well…I don’t think they had a very nice talk with your mom yesterday…”
Cesar scoffed. “Well, your parents can go eat shit, then.”
Mark froze up, looking over at him with an utterly scandalized look. “I don’t think you’re allowed to say that.”
“It’s true, though!”
“N-no, I meant the part where you said–”
“Shit?”
“...Yeah. That one.”
Cesar laughed a little as Mark looked at him with nothing but concern in his eyes. “Alright, alright. Calm down, would ya? All I’m saying is that you’re always welcome to stop by, regardless of what your parents think.”
Mark nodded. “Thanks.”
There was another round of silence. A nice breeze ran through the trees as the sun finally poked out from behind the clouds. Cesar was getting invested watching some kids roleplaying on the other side of the field when Mark started to speak again.
“Are you sure I didn’t ruin anything this weekend?” was what Mark asked.
“...Positive,” Cesar responded. “You weren’t anywhere close to the most annoying guy at my house.”
“You sure?”
“You weren’t repeatedly insisting on playing basketball every ten minutes, so yeah.”
“...Okay, then.”
The conversation continued on-and-off until recess concluded, and everybody had to go back inside. Mark would give Cesar a quick wave goodbye as he disappeared into the sea of kids going through the school doors. Cesar would wave back in turn before mentally preparing himself for the rest of the school day. As he dug next class’s books out of his homeroom desk, he came to the conclusion that Mark’s company wasn’t half-bad. He was more bearable than half of the kids at this school, if Cesar was being honest with himself. Yeah, he was weird, but he wasn’t that bad. Delusional or not, he was at least nice. Cesar could at least see something good coming out of talking to Mark.
Maybe Cesar’s 10th birthday weekend wasn’t that bad, after all.