Holiday Cheer
kreska ido & karek
cylinder station 12
kreska ido & karek
cylinder station 12
"Your aunt tells me you don't want to be in the pageant this year."
"I'm not going to be in the pageant," Kreska corrected, continuing to stare at a spot on the wall as he moved a light in front of her eyes. "They can't make me if I don't want to."
Li smiled faintly. "No, they can't," he agreed. "I'm just making sure nothing's wrong. Follow the light." He started to move it in figure-eights, and she adjusted her focus accordingly.
"I'm fine," she said, a stubborn set to her jaw. "I just don't want to do it anymore."
"You're really good at it, though," he pointed out.
"That doesn't mean I like it."
"No," he agreed, shutting off the light embedded in his index finger, "it doesn't. I'm just wondering what happened."
"Nothing happened," she said, blinking away the stars in her eyes.
"You used to like it."
"I never liked it."
He raised an eyebrow, moving his coat out of the way as he tucked his hands in his pockets. "I used to ask you if you liked it," he reminded her, "and you said yes." She shrugged. "Were you lying then, or are you lying now?"
"I don't know." She had more patience for him than she did for most people, but the line of questioning was still making her irritable. "I didn't think it was an option."
"Not liking things?"
"I guess."
He sighed, and it had to be deliberate when he didn't have lungs. "I wish you would have said something."
"I'm saying something now."
He got that look on his face that he did sometimes, that made her think he was going to try and tousle her hair. He never did. Maybe braids just didn't invite tousling. She'd been thinking about cutting them off. She hadn't decided, yet.
"Better late than never," he said finally. "I thought you would have liked the singing, though."
"I like singing," she shrugged. "I sing plenty."
"Yeah?" He smiled, leaning back against the sink behind him. "What do you like to sing?"
Her mouth twitched, slightly rueful. She thought that she probably shouldn't. She felt strangely self-conscious about it. She sort of wanted to see if he'd get The Look, though.
"Good morning, good mor-ning! We've talked the whole night through…"
Li went very still, like he'd had a glitch or thrown an error. It was, she supposed, very similar to The Look. She stopped, something sadder than a smile twisting her mouth. "Sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't mean to–"
"It's fine," she said with a shrug. "Everyone does it."
That seemed to surprise him. "Everyone?"
"Everyone who used to watch the logs," she said, looking down at her hands as she fidgeted. "I don't do it as much, anymore. It made Aunt Diane cry."
He ran a hand through his hair. "He did used to… sing that. A lot. I don't even know if he… it was in the public domain, was why. He couldn't sing anything still under copyright."
"Teraka always hated it, too," she admitted, and she didn't miss the way he flinched when she called her mother by her first name. "I don't know why I still do it."
"Probably because she hated it," he said, and she snorted. "So I don't have to be worried about this pageant thing?"
"Jobari don't even celebrate Christmas," she said, frustrated. "It's… I mean, it's a literal song and dance."
"Yeah," he sighed again.
"I didn't even know what I was singing, the first time. They waited until the pageant was over to start teaching me to read."
Li rubbed a hand over his face, so she couldn't see his expression. When he dropped it, it was to change the subject. "Speaking of reading," he began, and Kreska scowled.
"Don't," she warned.
"I'm just wondering if there's anything you'd like to tell me."
"No," she said firmly.
"Are you sure?" he prodded.
"I can read, okay? I'm not stupid."
"That literally could not be further from what I'm suggesting," he said, and she flushed dark green, crossing her arms and curling in on herself. "That is almost impressive, how wrong that is."
"Whatever," she said. "You don't have to worry about it, anyway. I read fine."
"Not according to your grades, you don't."
"I'm passing."
"Barely."
"If there was a problem, I'd be failing."
"Not necessarily." He waited, but she didn't say anything. "I can't help you if you won't let me," he said.
"I don't need help," she insisted.
He grabbed a clipboard and a pen, wrote something out and then held it up for her. "What does this say?"
Kreska barely glanced at it. "Is the handwriting part of the doctor programming?" she asked. He rolled his eyes, but rewrote it, this time with mechanical precision to emulate a common font. Then he held it up again. "I'm not doing this," she said.
"This should be easy," he said.
"It is easy," she said. "I just don't want to do it. It's stupid, and I hate that you're trying to make me do it, and I don't want to."
He set the clipboard aside. "Kreska."
"Don't try to use that voice with me," she said. "My reading is fine. Okay? Just because I don't like it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with me, and you can't make me take any tests or whatever that I don't want."
Li held up his hands in surrender. "Fine," he said, "fine. I'm here to help, not to fight you. If this is what you want, that's your choice." She relaxed slightly, still wary. "You know you can call me if you change your mind."
"I won't," she said.
"Your aunt says she's worried about your diction," he said, which was technically a different subject.
"Did she just give you a list, or what?" Kreska asked, displeased.
"Pretty much," he shrugged. "She thinks you don't tell her anything."
"There's nothing to tell."
"You're not hanging out with a bad crowd?" he asked, heavy with irony.
Kreska snorted. "Yeah, I'm in a gang now. I sucked ten dicks this morning."
Li made a face of disgust. "You're thirteen," he said.
"That doesn't mean I can't suck ten dicks," she said, as if this assertion was not absurd on the face of it. "Go ahead and tell Diane."
"Unfortunately, thanks to patient confidentiality, I'm the only one that has to live with that. Haven't had any allergic reactions since last time?"
"No."
"Seizures?"
"No."
"That covers the list, then." This time he did reach out to tousle her hair, if unsuccessfully. "A couple more tests and you'll have the all-clear."
"Yaaaay." She gave unenthusiastic jazz-hands, and he smiled.
She wished he'd do that more.
"I'm not going to be in the pageant," Kreska corrected, continuing to stare at a spot on the wall as he moved a light in front of her eyes. "They can't make me if I don't want to."
Li smiled faintly. "No, they can't," he agreed. "I'm just making sure nothing's wrong. Follow the light." He started to move it in figure-eights, and she adjusted her focus accordingly.
"I'm fine," she said, a stubborn set to her jaw. "I just don't want to do it anymore."
"You're really good at it, though," he pointed out.
"That doesn't mean I like it."
"No," he agreed, shutting off the light embedded in his index finger, "it doesn't. I'm just wondering what happened."
"Nothing happened," she said, blinking away the stars in her eyes.
"You used to like it."
"I never liked it."
He raised an eyebrow, moving his coat out of the way as he tucked his hands in his pockets. "I used to ask you if you liked it," he reminded her, "and you said yes." She shrugged. "Were you lying then, or are you lying now?"
"I don't know." She had more patience for him than she did for most people, but the line of questioning was still making her irritable. "I didn't think it was an option."
"Not liking things?"
"I guess."
He sighed, and it had to be deliberate when he didn't have lungs. "I wish you would have said something."
"I'm saying something now."
He got that look on his face that he did sometimes, that made her think he was going to try and tousle her hair. He never did. Maybe braids just didn't invite tousling. She'd been thinking about cutting them off. She hadn't decided, yet.
"Better late than never," he said finally. "I thought you would have liked the singing, though."
"I like singing," she shrugged. "I sing plenty."
"Yeah?" He smiled, leaning back against the sink behind him. "What do you like to sing?"
Her mouth twitched, slightly rueful. She thought that she probably shouldn't. She felt strangely self-conscious about it. She sort of wanted to see if he'd get The Look, though.
"Good morning, good mor-ning! We've talked the whole night through…"
Li went very still, like he'd had a glitch or thrown an error. It was, she supposed, very similar to The Look. She stopped, something sadder than a smile twisting her mouth. "Sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't mean to–"
"It's fine," she said with a shrug. "Everyone does it."
That seemed to surprise him. "Everyone?"
"Everyone who used to watch the logs," she said, looking down at her hands as she fidgeted. "I don't do it as much, anymore. It made Aunt Diane cry."
He ran a hand through his hair. "He did used to… sing that. A lot. I don't even know if he… it was in the public domain, was why. He couldn't sing anything still under copyright."
"Teraka always hated it, too," she admitted, and she didn't miss the way he flinched when she called her mother by her first name. "I don't know why I still do it."
"Probably because she hated it," he said, and she snorted. "So I don't have to be worried about this pageant thing?"
"Jobari don't even celebrate Christmas," she said, frustrated. "It's… I mean, it's a literal song and dance."
"Yeah," he sighed again.
"I didn't even know what I was singing, the first time. They waited until the pageant was over to start teaching me to read."
Li rubbed a hand over his face, so she couldn't see his expression. When he dropped it, it was to change the subject. "Speaking of reading," he began, and Kreska scowled.
"Don't," she warned.
"I'm just wondering if there's anything you'd like to tell me."
"No," she said firmly.
"Are you sure?" he prodded.
"I can read, okay? I'm not stupid."
"That literally could not be further from what I'm suggesting," he said, and she flushed dark green, crossing her arms and curling in on herself. "That is almost impressive, how wrong that is."
"Whatever," she said. "You don't have to worry about it, anyway. I read fine."
"Not according to your grades, you don't."
"I'm passing."
"Barely."
"If there was a problem, I'd be failing."
"Not necessarily." He waited, but she didn't say anything. "I can't help you if you won't let me," he said.
"I don't need help," she insisted.
He grabbed a clipboard and a pen, wrote something out and then held it up for her. "What does this say?"
Kreska barely glanced at it. "Is the handwriting part of the doctor programming?" she asked. He rolled his eyes, but rewrote it, this time with mechanical precision to emulate a common font. Then he held it up again. "I'm not doing this," she said.
"This should be easy," he said.
"It is easy," she said. "I just don't want to do it. It's stupid, and I hate that you're trying to make me do it, and I don't want to."
He set the clipboard aside. "Kreska."
"Don't try to use that voice with me," she said. "My reading is fine. Okay? Just because I don't like it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with me, and you can't make me take any tests or whatever that I don't want."
Li held up his hands in surrender. "Fine," he said, "fine. I'm here to help, not to fight you. If this is what you want, that's your choice." She relaxed slightly, still wary. "You know you can call me if you change your mind."
"I won't," she said.
"Your aunt says she's worried about your diction," he said, which was technically a different subject.
"Did she just give you a list, or what?" Kreska asked, displeased.
"Pretty much," he shrugged. "She thinks you don't tell her anything."
"There's nothing to tell."
"You're not hanging out with a bad crowd?" he asked, heavy with irony.
Kreska snorted. "Yeah, I'm in a gang now. I sucked ten dicks this morning."
Li made a face of disgust. "You're thirteen," he said.
"That doesn't mean I can't suck ten dicks," she said, as if this assertion was not absurd on the face of it. "Go ahead and tell Diane."
"Unfortunately, thanks to patient confidentiality, I'm the only one that has to live with that. Haven't had any allergic reactions since last time?"
"No."
"Seizures?"
"No."
"That covers the list, then." This time he did reach out to tousle her hair, if unsuccessfully. "A couple more tests and you'll have the all-clear."
"Yaaaay." She gave unenthusiastic jazz-hands, and he smiled.
She wished he'd do that more.
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