DCU Shazam! - Issue #4
DCU Shazam! - Issue #4
Dinner is… a strange event.
I am sat at the head of the table, as the new guy. Down the left side is Freddie, Mary and Darla. On the right is Rosa, Pedro, Eugene and finally Victor at the other head of the table.
Everyone digs into the homemade pizza. It's even better than Papa Johns. I devour mine, a pepperoni, in less than 5 minutes. Everyone else was only halfway through theirs when I finished.
I felt greedy, so offered a few crusts to the cat that kept bothering me and rubbing around my legs. I assumed this was Tawny, who Freddie mentioned earlier. A ginger cat, who everyone seemed to be chuckling at as I fed him my scraps. Laughing back, I ask:
Billy Batson: “What is it?”
Mary Bromfield: “That's Tawny. He always bothers newcomers, ‘cause he knows they'll give him food.”
Rosa Vasquez: “He's the cheekiest cat I've ever known!”
Eugene Choi: “He bothers guests too, y'know.”
Everyone gives Eugene a look. I scowl in his direction.
Victor Vasquez: “That's enough of that, Eugene. Billy is a part of this family now, and that's the last we'll hear of it.”
Eugene huffs and leaves the table with an attitude, slamming the door shut on the way out.
Victor Vasquez: “Don't take it too personally, Billy. He'll come around, I'm sure.”
After that eventful… event, we finish dinner and then everyone clears up. They work as a unit. A family unit, even though none of them are related.
I take over Eugene's role of moving all the dirty plates and boards into the kitchen, with help from Pedro. Then, Freddie washes the plates while Darla and Mary dry them off and put them back in the cupboard. They were cohesive, and now I was a part of that. Part of a family.
But not everyone in the family agreed. When Pedro went off to feed Tawny some real cat food, I ventured up the stairs and into Eugene and Pedro's room.
Eugene was sat on a beanbag chair over Pedro's side of the room, hunched over a controller. By the looks of it, he was playing DOOM or something equally as aggressive.
Eugene Choi: “It's two player, Pedro, so if you wanna jump in...”
I coughed, alerting him to my presence.
Eugene Choi: “Oh. It's you.”
He pauses the game and turns to me.
Eugene Choi: “What do you want?”
Billy Batson: “I just wanna know why you hate me so much.”
I say it bluntly.
Eugene Choi: “I don't hate you. It's just… everything is going so well and… I
I don't want you to screw it up.”
Billy Batson: “I don't plan on it. I really like this place”
Eugene Choi: “Okay. It's just… I used to be the new kid and I didn't settle in at first. It was so hard to adjust to this life. But I managed. Then Freddie came, and everything was different again, and I had to readjust. Now you're here and everything is changing again…”
He turns away from me and faces the TV screen again.
Billy Batson: “Don't worry, man. I want to make this work as much as you do. This is hard for me too…”
He turns back to me. He now has two controllers in his hand, and passes one in my direction. I take it and start playing the game alongside him. Alongside my new friend. Maybe not my brother yet, but friend is a decent step in the right direction.
________________________________________________
Credit to Paul Lee & ReggiesTake (I think) for the Movie Posters
DCU Shazam! - Issue #4
DCU Shazam! - Issue #4
Dinner is… a strange event.
I am sat at the head of the table, as the new guy. Down the left side is Freddie, Mary and Darla. On the right is Rosa, Pedro, Eugene and finally Victor at the other head of the table.
Everyone digs into the homemade pizza. It's even better than Papa Johns. I devour mine, a pepperoni, in less than 5 minutes. Everyone else was only halfway through theirs when I finished.
I felt greedy, so offered a few crusts to the cat that kept bothering me and rubbing around my legs. I assumed this was Tawny, who Freddie mentioned earlier. A ginger cat, who everyone seemed to be chuckling at as I fed him my scraps. Laughing back, I ask:
Billy Batson: “What is it?”
Mary Bromfield: “That's Tawny. He always bothers newcomers, ‘cause he knows they'll give him food.”
Rosa Vasquez: “He's the cheekiest cat I've ever known!”
Eugene Choi: “He bothers guests too, y'know.”
Everyone gives Eugene a look. I scowl in his direction.
Victor Vasquez: “That's enough of that, Eugene. Billy is a part of this family now, and that's the last we'll hear of it.”
Eugene huffs and leaves the table with an attitude, slamming the door shut on the way out.
Victor Vasquez: “Don't take it too personally, Billy. He'll come around, I'm sure.”
After that eventful… event, we finish dinner and then everyone clears up. They work as a unit. A family unit, even though none of them are related.
I take over Eugene's role of moving all the dirty plates and boards into the kitchen, with help from Pedro. Then, Freddie washes the plates while Darla and Mary dry them off and put them back in the cupboard. They were cohesive, and now I was a part of that. Part of a family.
But not everyone in the family agreed. When Pedro went off to feed Tawny some real cat food, I ventured up the stairs and into Eugene and Pedro's room.
Eugene was sat on a beanbag chair over Pedro's side of the room, hunched over a controller. By the looks of it, he was playing DOOM or something equally as aggressive.
Eugene Choi: “It's two player, Pedro, so if you wanna jump in...”
I coughed, alerting him to my presence.
Eugene Choi: “Oh. It's you.”
He pauses the game and turns to me.
Eugene Choi: “What do you want?”
Billy Batson: “I just wanna know why you hate me so much.”
I say it bluntly.
Eugene Choi: “I don't hate you. It's just… everything is going so well and… I
I don't want you to screw it up.”
Billy Batson: “I don't plan on it. I really like this place”
Eugene Choi: “Okay. It's just… I used to be the new kid and I didn't settle in at first. It was so hard to adjust to this life. But I managed. Then Freddie came, and everything was different again, and I had to readjust. Now you're here and everything is changing again…”
He turns away from me and faces the TV screen again.
Billy Batson: “Don't worry, man. I want to make this work as much as you do. This is hard for me too…”
He turns back to me. He now has two controllers in his hand, and passes one in my direction. I take it and start playing the game alongside him. Alongside my new friend. Maybe not my brother yet, but friend is a decent step in the right direction.
________________________________________________
Credit to Paul Lee & ReggiesTake (I think) for the Movie Posters