8:23am Sunday - Grace
I didn't see Amity all morning. Or David. I should expect to see David, cause he lives here and Amity is a figment of my imagination that I've projected onto my friend.
Anyway, I've finished all the setup for my plan to make Amity real. Now it's just a matter of letting everything fall into place.
Having been coming to David's house for a year or so for Sunday dinners I'm well aware that dinner starts at ten am sharp. Not the eating part, but the socialising part. David always said it was when the house was finally ready to use, I had assumed it was so he could tidy but now I know the real reason. The reason was sitting across from me at the table eating far too much breakfast and asking far too many questions for my tastes.
"So, Grace, when did you meet David, cause he hasn't mentioned you." Okay, that's a great question. Do I lie here or tell more half truths? I really should be taking notes so we can be on the same page later. The more true the answer the easier it'll be to remember.
"About a fortnight ago. He was...showing me his skill at darts."
"No, before that. What did he say to get you to walk up six flights of stairs and into a stranger's house." That's an excellent question, that doesn't make sense unless I already knew him.
"I dunno." The most reliable answer: the truth.
"Girl, you are waaaay too trusting." I'm more amazed neither of these two have sussed out that I'm not a girl. "Mar, we have to protect this pure creature."
Okay, so these two may have forgotten to introduce themselves, but in their defence so did I (but they do seem to already know my name). But I have worked out that that one is Jell and the other is Mar. Neither of those sound like human names, especially not for girls. So I have no idea what to actually call them, cause I don't think I'm allowed to use nicknames in the same hour as meeting them.
Mar is about as short as David but has hair I'm dead jealous of. She's got it up in two buns on top of her head, like a chest height muffin assortment, and just as pleasant. She's constantly looking over at Jell to prompt them to stay involved in the conversation or read their expression.
Jell on the other hand is taller than I am and built like a truck. If everyone has been calling David a short king (not for long if my plans work out), Jell would be a muscle Mommy. I'm sure she could lift both Mar and myself without breaking a sweat. But what she can't hold is her attention, she's clearly paying attention (and asking all the follow up questions), but she looks quite bored. Which I can see where she's coming from, meeting other uni students isn't the most thrilling thing. You swap your degrees and names and most people keep as much about themselves secret trying to manufacture a good first impression based on what the other says.
I don't think I did that today. I'm pretty sure I've bungled this like I've bungled every other first impression. Gotta turn that around in time with skill and effort.
"I saw her sunbathing earlier. She might just be a cat in disguise." Don't react to that...they might think you ARE a cat in disguise. "And I know you're small in the chest but you should put on a bra with something sleeveless, this place will be crawling with guys later...and David will wake up eventually."
Yeah, fair cop. I just really liked the shirt-thing from among Stuff David got me yesterday. I really was expecting he'd ask me to put on a fashion show after the last two times he got me to put on clothes. But instead he just left to buy ingredients for this evening. Not that I'm complaining, I still put on a fashion show, just one for only me. It was nice to have no time pressure and try things out in private (in private but David did bring the giant mirror so I could check myself out). I don't remember the actual name of this, but it looks like the virgin-killer jumper and I liked the idea of pretending to be sexy. After this is done I'll fight with the bra I stole and see if it's an improvement.
"Yeah..." Jell is doing an impressive job talking with a mouthful of eggs and only making me a little nauseous. "...a few weeks of eating David's food you'll start to put some weight on your frame. I can see your ribs, girl" Don't respond. I know I said I would cry next time the opportunity arose, but that's not it. Just pretend you get called a girl all the time and it's not heart-warming. They are being too kind and it's putting me off my game.
Before they ask more questions I should turn things around to stem the flow of questions.
"I was planning a quick game with David later, with something fun at stake and wanted to get your opinion first to see if you think he'd be against it or not...or if you think he deserves it."
The pair of them lean in close. Jell's eyes light up with interest.
"Go on."