Page 67 of A Dead Man's B-Side
When Alexei made it into the kitchen, where he found Cassius leaning against the island counter, head hunched over a shuffle of papers, he couldn’t keep the words inside him for longer, “I made a friend today.”
Cassius lifted his head, his square glasses, the ones Alexei had once joked were fake, sat atop the bridge of his nose.
The concentrated look that only a moment ago overtook his face slipped away into an easy smile. “Really?”
Alexei dropped his backpack on the floor before shoving off his coat and hanging it around the back of the chair. “Yeah. We’re paired for a project in English, and we just… I don’t know, we got along. He asked to sit with me during lunch.”
Cassius removed his glasses with one hand, closing the file in front of him with the other. The only words Alexei caught wereEldridgeandBlackwood.
Or perhaps they were a place. Alexei didn’t bother pondering.
He still hadn’t figured out what Cassius did for a living. The older man evaded any questions that may give even the tiniest of hints as to what earned him such a cushy lifestyle.
“What’s his name–no, wait, let me guess. Is it…”
“You’re not going to guess it.”
“Oh? What makes you so sure?” Cassius teased, picking at the fruit bowl between them and aiming a grape for Alexei’s forehead.
“It’s very… serendipitous.” Perhaps Alexei hadn’t learned to use the word properly, since he’d only recently read it in one of Cassius’ books, but he felt proud once it was out. The green grape, Alexei’s favorite, tapped against his forehead and fell to the counter where he picked it up and popped it into his mouth, grinning. “You just won’t.”
“Hmm,” Cassius hummed and turned away to pull something out of the fridge, his large and shiny appliance brimming with food that would put Alexei to shame if he had any, thankfully, he didn’t. “Winston?”
“No.”
“Alistaire?”
“Nope.”
“Huh… Magnus?”
“... No, I–... What? What is up with these names? I’m notexactly friends with King Arthur’s court.”
Cassius slid what looked to be a very mouth-watering pasta salad over to Alexei, and the boy had to close his mouth to stop any drool from coming out without his say-so.
Cassius chuckled and shrugged, eyes meeting his. “How would I know what you people call each other here?”
Alexei straightened and threw an accusing finger at him. “See? Again with the non-American talk. Just tell me where you’re from.”
This time, Cassius laughed. “I can’t hand you just about every piece of information about me. Where’s the mystery?”
The younger boy deadpanned, “Some might call that thinking a step in your plan to kidnap me. I’m still a minor; in case you forgot.”
Cassius raised an amused brow. “You come here after school almost every day out of your own free will. You also eat all my food and take up the entire couch. If anyone’s accusing anyone of kidnapping, it should be me, of my house. House napping.”
Alexei stuck his tongue out in a child-like manner before scarfing down a spoonful of pasta. Once he’d swallowed it down and Cassius’ words settled into his mind properly, he grinned smugly. “That’s not a word.”
Cassius rolled his eyes and reached over to ruffle his hair. “Alright, smartass. Pull out your homework since you’re so clever.”
The young boy’s eyes rolled upwards before he groaned and threw his head back, reaching down to pull out his notebook and flipped to the last used page. A single question was scrawled hastily in the first line.
“So… what subject is it today?”
Alexei curled his lip. “History. We have to write a whole page to answer this question: Why are peaceful actions better for maintaining the rights and freedoms of citizens?”
Cassius paused his nodding with a grape just about near his lips. “Your teacher assigned it?”
Alexei hummed.
