CHAPTER 106: HANG OUT

It was Saturday, so the school trip was less than one week away, and Kofi understood that preparation was necessary. He walked to the door of Thea’s room, and his steps were quiet on the floor, so he knocked. After a moment, the door opened only a small amount, and Thea was looking out.

"Hey, today we need to go shopping for the trip."

She did not give an answer, and her eyes were looking at a spot on the floor. ’Go out? With other people?’

"Nina and some others are going to meet us at the mall, so we can get you a bag and also some boots."

She looked up at him. "...Okay."

"I will give you a few minutes to get ready."

He walked away from her door. ’This is going to be a long day.’ He went into the kitchen, and he drank a glass of water while he waited for her.

Inside her room, Thea was standing still. ’Shopping.’ The word felt strange to her. She looked at the clothes that were inside her closet, which were the plain shirts and jeans that he had bought. She decided to wear a pair of the jeans, and she also chose the gray shirt that had the small blue jay embroidered on the pocket, so she put it on.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom for only a second, then she walked out of her room. Kofi was waiting for her in the entryway, and he was scrolling on his phone, but he looked up when she came out.

"Are you ready?"

She only gave a small nod. They left the apartment together.

The entrance to the mall was very crowded with people, and Nina was leaning against a pillar, while Ruby was standing quietly next to her. When Nina saw Kofi and Thea approaching, she waved.

"Hey! You finally made it! Operation: Mountain Fun is now a go!"

Jake arrived just a moment after them, and he was out of breath. "I am sorry that I am late, because my mom made me take out the trash."

His eyes looked around and immediately found Ruby, so he froze for a second. He gave a wave that was stiff and awkward. ’Okay, be normal. You just have to be a person. Do not, under any circumstances, talk about bread.’

Ruby saw him wave, so she gave a small smile in return. "Hi, Jake."

Kofi looked at the group that had assembled. Nina was the engine of the group. Jake was a mess of anxiety. Ruby was quiet. Thea was standing a few feet behind him, and she was trying to make herself invisible. ’This is a terrible party. I should just get this over with.’

"Alright, the first stop is the sports store," Kofi announced. "Thea needs to get a bag and some boots."

He began walking toward the store, so the others followed him, but Thea was walking behind everyone else.

The inside of the sports store had the smell of new rubber. Kofi went directly to the section for travel bags, and he found a duffel bag that was plain black, so he took it from the shelf, because it looked sturdy and simple.

He held it up so Thea could see it. "What about this one?"

She walked over to him, and her eyes moved from the bag to the price tag that was hanging from the handle, so she flinched. "...It is fine." The words were so quiet they were almost not there.

"Okay, now we will get the boots."

They moved to the shoe section, and there was a large wall of hiking boots in front of them, and all of them looked expensive. Nina, who had been talking with Ruby about a new manga series, walked over to them to help.

"Ooh, hiking boots. You will need a good pair, Thea, because otherwise your feet will be screaming after only the first hour." She picked up a pair of brown boots that had high supports for the ankle. "These look good, because they will stop you from twisting anything."

Thea looked at the boots, then she looked at Kofi. ’I cannot afford this.’

"You do not need to worry about the price," he said, and his voice was low so only she could hear him. "It has been covered."

She just shook her head, and her gaze went down to the floor, then she took a step back. "No."

Nina saw the entire exchange. ’Ah, so she is proud, and also she is scared. This is difficult.’ She stepped in, and she put a hand on Thea’s arm.

"Hey, you should not even think about it like that. You should think of it as a rental. You can just pay Kofi back later, whenever you are able to. Maybe one dollar a week for the next twenty years, because this is the friend-rental program, and it is very exclusive."

Thea looked at Nina, and then she looked back at Kofi. She did not seem convinced by the explanation, but she seemed too tired to have an argument with two people at the same time, so she only gave a small nod, which was a sign of her defeat.

"Great! Now let’s find your size," Nina said, and she pulled Thea over to a bench so she could sit down.

While Thea was busy trying on the boots with Nina helping her, Jake was executing his new strategy, which was ’stand near Ruby and talk about things that are not weird.’

He walked over to the section where Ruby was looking at water bottles. "So, are you packed for the school trip yet?"

Ruby looked up, and she seemed a little surprised by the question. "Oh. I am almost packed. I just need to find a jacket that is warmer."

"Yes, it gets very cold at night when you are in the mountains. One time, I went on a camping trip with my dad, and I completely forgot to bring a jacket, so I had to wear six t-shirts when I went to sleep."

Ruby laughed, and it was a small and quiet sound. "Did that work?"

"Not really, I was still cold. But at least I looked very puffy."

’Okay. That was a completely normal conversation. And she laughed. This is good progress.’

They finished their shopping at the sports store, and Kofi paid for the duffel bag and the new hiking boots at the register. Thea watched him as he tapped his card on the machine, and her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, but she did not say anything more.

"Alright, I am starving," Nina announced as they walked back into the main area of the mall. "It is time for the food court, and my treat."

Kofi started to say that she did not have to pay, but she just shot him a look. ’I will handle this part.’

They found a table in a corner of the food court, which was a very noisy place. Thea sat down and immediately put the new duffel bag she was holding into her lap, and she was clutching it like a shield.

"Okay, what does everyone want to eat?" Nina asked. "I am getting pizza. Kofi, you are also getting pizza, and there will be no arguments about it."

Jake looked over at Ruby. "What do you feel like eating, Ruby?"

"I think... maybe I will have the noodles?" she said, and she pointed to a small ramen stand nearby.

"That is a cool choice, I will get that too," Jake said immediately.

Nina and Jake went to the different counters to order the food, so Kofi, Ruby, and Thea were left at the table. The silence between them was intense. Kofi looked at Thea.

"You should eat something."

She shook her head. "I am not hungry."

’You are a liar. You probably have not eaten anything all day.’

Ruby, who saw the situation, decided that she would try to help. "Kofi, Nina told me that you draw swords sometimes."

He looked over at her, and he was surprised. "Uh, yes. But I do it badly."

"Can I see your drawings sometime? I think that it is really cool."

"I guess you can, sure."

Nina and Jake returned to the table, and they were carrying trays of food. Nina put a plate that had a large slice of cheese pizza on it in front of Thea.

"You have to eat this," Nina said to her. "It is probably what a doctor would order. Also, it is a scientific fact that pizza makes situations that are awkward better."

Thea looked at the slice of pizza. It smelled good. She looked at the other people who were sitting at the table, and they were all starting to eat their own food. Jake and Ruby were talking about a class assignment. Nina was trying to steal one of Kofi’s french fries. No one was staring at her.

She picked up the slice of pizza. It felt heavy in her hand. She took a small bite, and it was hesitant.

It was only pizza, but in that moment, as she was sitting at that table, it felt like it was something more.

She took another bite.

They stayed at the food court for one hour. Jake and Ruby discovered they had both seen the same strange documentary about cities that were lost, so their conversation became more animated. Nina kept a steady stream of conversation going, and she was teasing Kofi, and she was asking Thea simple questions that did not require complicated answers from her. Thea was quiet, but she ate her entire slice of pizza, and she was watching the others.

When they were finished eating, Nina insisted on one more stop.

"We need snacks. We absolutely must have snacks for the bus ride, because this is the most important part of any school trip."

She led them all to a convenience store that was inside the mall, and she began grabbing bags of chips, and chocolate bars, and sour candies from the shelves with a very focused determination.

"Everyone gets to pick one bus snack," she announced. "This is a rule."

Ruby chose a bag of strawberry-flavored gummies. Jake, after a moment of intense thought, chose a bag of spicy chips. Kofi grabbed a package of biscuits that were covered in chocolate.

Nina looked at Thea. "It is your turn."

Thea looked at the shelves, and she was overwhelmed by all of the choices, because everything looked very bright and sugary. She finally pointed at a small bag of salted pretzels that was simple.

Nina grabbed the bag of pretzels, and she also grabbed a bag of sour apple candies. "You will need a backup snack, because that is also a rule."

They walked out of the mall and into the sun of the late afternoon, and they were all carrying shopping bags.

"Well, this was fun," Nina said. "We should do it again sometime."

Jake nodded eagerly. "Yes, we definitely should." He glanced over at Ruby, who gave a small smile in return.

Thea was quiet, but she was not hiding behind Kofi anymore, so she was standing on her own, and she was holding her new bag. She looked at the group, at these people who had, for a few hours, treated her like she was just one of them.

She looked at Kofi.

"...Thank you," she whispered, and her voice was so quiet that only he could hear it.

He just gave her a small nod. "It is no problem."

They split up at the exit of the mall, so Nina, Jake, and Ruby went one way, while Kofi and Thea went the other way, toward the bus stop that would take them home.

The walk was quiet, and Thea was now walking beside him, not behind him. The silence between them felt different, because it was less heavy.

They sat down on the bench at the bus stop. Thea put her bags down on the bench next to her, and she looked at the new duffel bag, then she looked at her own hands.

"I... I have never had a bag like this before," she said.

"It is a good bag," he replied to her. "It should last for a long time."

"The boots were also expensive."

"You should not worry about it."

"But I should worry about it," she insisted, and she turned to look at him. "It is not right."

’She feels like she owes me something. I need to fix this way of thinking.’

"It is not a transaction, Thea," he said. "I am not keeping a scorecard of what I do. I am just... helping you, because that is what family does."

He used the word. ’Family’. He saw that she flinched when he said it, just a little.

"We are not family," she whispered.

"On paper, we are a family," he said simply. "And maybe... maybe that is enough for right now."

The bus arrived at that moment, and the loud hiss of its air brakes broke the moment between them. They got onto the bus and they found two seats together that were near the back.

Thea looked out the window as the bus pulled away from the curb, and the city was sliding past them.

Kofi took out his phone and his headphones, and he held one of the small white earbuds out to her.

"Do you want to listen to this?"

She looked at the earbud, then she looked at him, and she hesitated for only a second, then she took it from him and put it in her ear.

He pressed the play button on his phone, so a quiet song that was instrumental began to play, and it was a simple melody played on a piano. They did not talk for the rest of the bus ride, and they just sat there side-by-side, sharing the music as the bus carried them back to the apartment.

When they got back to the apartment, Thea took her new things and immediately went to her room, so Kofi heard the door close with a soft click. He stood in the living room for a moment, and the quiet of the apartment was all around him.

He went into the kitchen and he started to put away the snacks that Nina had bought at the mall. He could hear some faint sounds that were coming from Thea’s room, like the rustle of the plastic shopping bags, and the soft thud of a shoe hitting the floor, so he knew that she was unpacking her new things.

A little while later, her door opened, and she walked into the living room. She had changed her clothes, so she was now wearing one of the new t-shirts and a pair of simple shorts.

She stopped in front of the couch where he was sitting.

"I..." she started, and her voice was small. "I put the bag in the closet, and also the boots."

"Okay."

"And the snacks are on my desk now."

"That is fine."

She stood there for another moment, and she was twisting the hem of her new shirt in her hands. "I am going to draw now."

It was not a question from her, but it was a statement of what she intended to do. He saw that she was clutching the new sketchbook in her other hand.

"Okay," he said. "You should have fun."

She gave him a quick nod that was almost not there, then she turned and went back to her room, and she closed the door behind her.

Kofi was left alone in the apartment again. He picked up his manga volume from the coffee table, but he did not open it to read.

He thought about the events of the day, like the awkward conversations, and the pizza at the food court, and the music they shared on the bus.

It was a small and fragile thing, this new reality they were building together, and it was not perfect, and it was not easy.

But it was better than being alone.