tuesday afternoon

[deepest_magic]

Elizabeth's house is within walking distance. Bella goes over to it the following day, after lunch, carrying two extra clumsily-frosted but perfectly baked cupcakes in her hands and notebooks in her backpack.

Comments

[neverbeatme]

"People still do lots of the other thing, though."

[deepest_magic]

"My parents both say they believe in religions. But they don't do much about them and Renée keeps changing which one."

[neverbeatme]

"Yeah, that happens."

[deepest_magic]

"Renée treats it like a hobby and not like a fact. It's not my hobby but I think that's pretty harmless. I think Charlie just doesn't want to deal with the hassle of coming up with a way to be that doesn't have anything written on that line in the metaphorical paperwork."

[neverbeatme]

"Not a problem I've ever had, but a lot of people do, I've noticed."

[deepest_magic]

"I don't have that problem either. Although it could make it frustrating to talk about myself, for some things. It's nice to be able to label stuff."

Bella looks at another fairy tale, and proceeds to rip its internal logic to shreds and do her best to "sensify it".

By the time it has been sensified: "Now it's completely different. It reminds me of a supposedly true story Charlie told me one time. When he was like our age there was this rich family that lived in that huge abandoned house by the edge of town, do you know it? And they had a kid who was about Charlie's age. And the kid totally vanished one day and was never found or attempted to be ransomed or anything at all and eventually the parents moved away and nobody knows what happened to the kid."

[neverbeatme]

"Well, that's creepy," says Elizabeth. "What do you mean, 'supposedly' true?"

[deepest_magic]

"Well, for one thing I wasn't there, and for another it was a long time ago and Charlie might've forgotten details. And the kid has to have gone somewhere."

[neverbeatme]

"There's lots of things that could've happened to him that nobody would've found him if they did," she says. "I don't know the abandoned house, where is it?"

[deepest_magic]

"It's sort of north-west of town. If you go right instead of left like you're going to the reservation."

[neverbeatme]

"Huh. Yeah, I don't think I've ever been there. How abandoned is the house? I guess nobody lives there, that's implied by 'abandoned', but is anybody taking care of it?"

[deepest_magic]

"I don't think so? Charlie warns off people who are throwing rocks at it or whatever sometimes, so I don't think whoever's taking care of it can be a very good job if there's anyone."

[neverbeatme]

"Hmm. Okay," she says. "Probably not very practically useful information, but thanks. You never know."

[deepest_magic]

"You're welcome."

[neverbeatme]

She smiles.