Page 18 of Septembers

Everyone except Theo was eating with chopsticks, which made him feel lame, holding his dumb fork. “Someone teach me how to use those.”

Jason shook his head. “How did you grow up in Toronto and never learn how to use chopsticks?”

“We didn’t eat out a lot. Just teach me.”

He and Caleb demonstrated, but then Dae took pity on him and positioned his hand, putting one chopstick firmly in the crease of his thumb, and the other in his fingers, like holding a pencil. His fingertips were rough, and they dragged across Theo’s skin in a way he tried and failed to ignore. Where was that autumn breeze when he needed it?

“Thanks,” he croaked, gently pulling his hand away, “I think I got it.” He managed to pick up some noodles, which was exciting until they slopped back down onto the plate.

“You’ll get there.” Dae said in an almost-whisper, and Theo finally realized that his cheeks were pink again. He tried not to stare. That blush was going to be the actual death of him.

Luckily, Caleb had news that demanded their attention. “I found Sticker Girl. The one I met during orientation.”

They all gasped and listened as Caleb told them about how he’d noticed her at music club auditions. Her name was Avery, she played guitar and bass, and her instrument case was also covered in Bob is Not Your Neighbour stickers.

Theo actively did not glance at Dae when he mentioned that. “You said you found your first one at a comic shop, right? Why did you keep buying more? What do you like about them?”

In the corner of his vision, he saw Dae go very still as Caleb put his chopsticks down, staring off into space, actually considering his answer. “You know when something happens to you, and you feel like, ‘oh man, no one is ever going to understand this,’ and then you find someone who does, and it’s like, this huge relief? I know this sounds dumb, but the art on those stickers is sort of like that. I don’t know.” He shrugged, seeming a bit shy. “They’re like, a bit lonely, but in a way that makes me feel like we’re all lonely together. Does that make sense?”

Theo hadn’t thought of Dae’s drawings as lonely, but there was a melancholy feeling about them.

“Was that too cheesy?” Caleb laughed, picked up his chopsticks again, and shoved a bite into his mouth.

“No.” Jason clapped him on the back. “I need to check out this website.”

“Me too,” Theo said. “Sounds like Bob is Not Your Neighbour owes you a marketing fee, Caleb.”

“Just spreading the joy, fellas.” Another dazzling smile. “Just spreading the joy.”

The conversation moved on, but Theo noticed Dae listening more intently and making more eye contact. He didn’t even go into his room that evening as Jason taught Theo how to play Mario Kart (okay, yes, he caved) while Caleb knitted.

“This one’s for you, Dae.” Caleb held up the forest green square. “Natural tones suit you.”

For the first time since they’d moved in, Dae gave him a genuine, dimpled smile. “Thank you, Caleb.”

SECOND SEPTEMBER

Those Baby Browns

“Left.” Theo heaved the TV before it could slip from his sweaty hands. “Caleb, left.” They course-corrected and managed, with some grunt-swearing, to set the large screen down in the living room.

The four of them had decided to move off-campus for second year, finding a small house in a cul-de-sac mostly filled with other students. Theo thought living in a student neighbourhood would mean mystery stains and questionable structural integrity, but the house was surprisingly decent: appliances from this century, a kitchen that wouldn’t turn them into human bumper cars, and a living room that, in Caleb’s words, was ‘big enough for board game nights!’

Pink carpets and green walls aside, Theo was digging it.

“Almost done.” Sweat beaded a path down Caleb’s temple as he stared out the window at his dad’s truck in the driveway. The couch was all that was left of what had been a towering pile of belongings strapped to the bed of the truck with cords. “We could leave it there,” he said, wiping a damp strand of hair from his forehead. “See it whenever Dad visits. Go for comfortable rides.”

“Thank you, couch,” Theo said, holding up his hand in what he hoped was a respectful wave goodbye, “for all you’ve done for us. Go, see the world.”

Caleb put his hand to his mouth, holding back fake tears. “Or at least North York.”

Jason saw them from outside and waved back, except his was less a ‘fare thee well’ wave and more of a ‘get your ass out here and help me move this couch’ wave.

They trudged outside, complaining for the eighteenth time (Theo had been counting) that it was too hot for the first week of September. The start of school was supposed to mean cardigans and fall breezes, not soupy air and chaffing ass cheeks.

A plan was formed to use their brute strength to hoist the couch off the truck and into the house, but one notably strong brute was missing.

“Where’s Dae?”