Rising Shards

It wasn't a long drive from our apartment to a local mall, but Zeta needed some extra adjustment time for the delay in driving lessons. If we didn't say anything, she'd slow down to about five miles an hour, which was an issue when someone honked at her and had her screaming with anger, fear, and embarrassment all at the same time. Once we calmed her down from that, she was determined to keep going out of spite, not letting us take over.

"Just keep at this speed, this is perfect," I said.

"Alright..." Zeta said. "That guy was such a jerk, though. And his stupid horn sounded dumb."

"Sure did," Stella said.

Zeta started slowing down again already.

"Foot on the pedal, girliepop," Stella said.

"Maybe it'd help distract you if we talk?" I suggested. "Like...casual conversation, make this feel less intense."

"Sure...uh..." Zeta strummed the steering wheel for a second. "How was your trip? I mean, I asked that already, but uh. More? About that?"

It had been a week since we got back, but Stella and I went right back to work so we hadn't had much alone time to talk to Zeta about it.

"It was exhausting," I said. "I got great sediment samples though."

"I know that part, you called when you were getting those," Zeta said.

I had a good time on the trip, it was nice to just let loose a bit with Stella and the others, but it did make me feel like a homebody, my social battery was drained by the end of it.

"Next time we go on a trip it's just gonna be the family," Stella said, sounding like she read my mind without even looking my way. "I love Pips, happy for her and everything, and Mahina's cool, but they can be a lot."

"Yeah, I still can't believe you went with Kalei's mom," Zeta said. "Kalei still doesn't believe that she actually went with, by the way."

"I know!" I said. "I showed her a picture of the trip when she tried to start an argument with me after class. She said I edited it."

"And it wasn't super weird going with Ms. Corinani?" Zeta asked.

"Well." Stella said, the word landing with a thud that said a lot.

I obviously did not want to tell Zeta about Alix announcing to us that she and Pippi slept together, but that last conversation at the hotel where she kept mentioning how they had sex kept replaying in my head, an annoying thought to swat away. I of course also thought about the nicer moments, too. Not that Alix and Pippi getting laid was bad or anything, just not something Zeta ever needed to hear about.

"OK, she's not as bad as I thought," I said. "She's just..."

"Got some social difficulties?" Stella said. "Is that rude to say? It's probably rude to say. Don't tell her we said that."

"I guess we're friends now, though, so that's nice," I said.

"Good! Stella doesn't hang out with enough people," Zeta said.

"Wow," Stella said as Zeta let out that Faleur gut laugh. "Roast Stella day, huh?"

"I guess so," Zeta said.

Parking was a bit of a hassle for Zeta still, but we eventually found a spot very far out in the mall's lot.

"Great job!" Stella said. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it? Now you can say you've gone all the way home to the mall."

"Heh," Zeta said.

"Whatever stores you want to go to, it's your call!" Stella said.

I was ready for a nice, chill family day at the mall, so I was unprepared to hear someone call for us just about the second we stepped through the glass doors.

"Wow, fancy meeting you here!"

It was Pippi, with Alix right beside her.

"Feels a bit sitcom-y, huh?" Alix said. "Like I can't get rid of you guys! And, uh, hi...you're from my class..."

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