the sharing

[instar]

Trouble is not back at school on Monday. At lunch, Bella sits with Andi who sits with Robin who sits with Ethan.

Comments

[hold_infinity]

"Hi!" says Robin.

[palmofyourhand]

Ethan smiles in an approximately friendly way.

[instar]

"Hi, guys."

[pandion]

"Will you lighten up? It's not like we have to live with him. We could even skip the summer, if you want."

[instar]

"I don't want to skip the summer, I want to not even have it cross my mind that I might want to."

[palmofyourhand]

...Ethan looks at one twin, then the other. He raises his eyebrows.

[hold_infinity]

"What he said," says Robin. "Huh?"

[instar]

"Sorry. Our dad called us last night and I'm still in a bad mood."

[pandion]

"He's in this vaguely culty club thing called the Sharing. He was looking into it sort of casually when we saw him over the summer, but since we left he's been all Sharing all the time."

[palmofyourhand]

"Vaguely culty?" inquires Ethan. "My parents joined up a while back, but I can't say I paid much attention."

[pandion]

"Yours too? Huh. They aren't after you to join it though?"

[palmofyourhand]

"They're not the getting-after type."

[pandion]

"Dad wasn't, but..." Andi shrugs.

[instar]

"I may or may not have gotten through to him last night. I don't know."

[hold_infinity]

"What'd you say?"

[instar]

"I don't remember my exact words, I just made it extremely clear that pushing us about joining his - I don't think I said cult, Andi, did I say cult directly to Charlie?"

[pandion]

"You were thinking about it but you didn't."

[instar]

"Anyway, I made it clear that it was counterproductive."

[hold_infinity]

"If only that worked on all parents," says Robin.

[instar]

"It probably helps that he's not the primary custodial parent. We can avoid him if we want. We'd be in a much less pleasant spot if Renée were doing it. Fortunately, she thinks the Sharing is uninteresting because it fails to be about any specific thing - she'd rather learn crafts and thirty words of sign language and volunteer at the animal shelter."

[hold_infinity]

"Good for her, I s'pose," shrugs Robin.

[palmofyourhand]

"Cults are boring. Well-known fact."

[instar]

"I feel vaguely like I ought to be trying to be glad that Charlie has more to do with himself than he used to, but I don't like how it's changed his behavior."

[palmofyourhand]

"How has it? Maybe it's just him," says Ethan. "Or maybe my parents just know better."

[instar]

"It's subtle. Sometimes it's like nothing happened at all, and then if he has the least breath of an inkling that either of us might listen if he suggests that we join the Sharing..." She shakes her head.