Chapter Text
The twins had finished assisting their housewarden close the restaurant today. It was Friday, so the lounge was busier than usual with students catching up and staying later than the average if it were any other weekday. Both of them were pretty beat after their shift, and one of them was about to feel worse when Jade’s phone began ringing.
“Oh?”, Jade paused on their way to their respective rooms, checking to see who was calling. Floyd took note of his brother trailing behind and ran back to snoop.
“Ooh, who’s callin’ ya Jade..?” He teased, putting an arm around his shoulder before reading the caller. Without giving a response, Jade accepted the call and put the phone on speaker mode.
“Ah, hello boys.” their mother’s voice speaks, moving the camera further from her face to see the twins clearly. “Are you two in a private room? This is an important announcement of which I’d like to discuss with you both.”
They both walked to the closer dorm, Jade’s, while telling their mom about their day. Floyd complained about his shift, but then beamed at how he won 78-45 during their basketball practice, and the other spoke about the new herbs and fungi he was growing, to Floyd’s visual disgust. Once they got there, his roommate quietly exited the dorm out of respect for their privacy (and partial fear), so they sat on his bed where they’d both be seen.
“So!” Floyd asked impatiently, his leg hitting his brother’s. “What’s the tea you have for Jade and mee?” he asked in a singsong tone.
“Well, oh dear.” she hesitated, looking away from the screen as if to look at someone for their approval, or support. When the other person seemingly gave their authorization to continue, she smiled and looked back at the twins. “Your father and I.. we have decided to split apart, divorce. We have been for quite some time now.”
The word echoed in both of their minds. Divorce. Divorce? No way. Their faces contorted from interest, to confusion, to two different faces of unease and exasperation.
Jade turned to Floyd who was about to ask a big “Huuhhh??”, putting a finger over his own closed mouth to let her explain. She took a deep breath and proceeded.
“It wasn’t a sudden decision made by only one of us, but something we proposed simultaneously.” Floyd was about to retort, before she continued her sentence. “See.. we have been falling out of love for the better part of a decade, and didn’t want to trouble you with our issue, seeing as how you two are focusing on your school life. However, your father and I have agreed that we must tell you this now, seeing as we have found our respective partners.”
She could’ve stopped talking there because Floyd blocked out her words halfway through and just wanted to go to bed. He already had a tiring day and wanted to worry about this tomorrow.
“So? Who’s the lucky guy, mom?”, he drawled, making sure to emphasize the lucky part.
“Guy?” a voice giggled from the background, coming into frame. Whoever this was, she could’ve easily been mistaken as one of their classmates had it not been an all guys school. Their mother made space for her to sit as she kissed her on the cheek. “Hello, twins! I’ve heard so much about you from your mother, I’m happy to finally meet you two!”
“She’s a bit on the younger side-” a bit? She looks younger than us! “18, to be exact.” No fucking way. “But we waited until she was of the age to be married.”
Oh my sevens. Is this real? He never thought he would have to say it, but this is reality.
His mother is a pedophile.
She may not be now, but there was no doubt that they have met long before she became a legal adult to be married now.
He prayed that all of this was some elaborate prank that their parents made to announce something else, because none of this made sense. The last time he saw them, (last year), they were still.. hold on. He didn’t remember seeing his dad. Could it have been..?
“I see. I support you, mother.” his brother responded after some reflection of his own, the faintest hint of a smile on his face. “Love is a subjective matter, and it knows no bounds.”
Floyd thought he was going to overblot right then and there. What was he saying? Why is Jade, the supposedly more levelheaded between the two, ignoring that his new step-mother was only a year older than them? Was it just because his new so-called mom is an adult now, she’s absolved of all her crimes?
Everybody was staring at him for his reply, but his inner monologue was visually translated into vexation, a mix of frustration and disgust on his face was enough for them to realize he needed more time to properly formulate his thoughts. For now, he could only choke out something for the sake of responding.
“Mama..” he murmured, his voice shaky. “She’s 18.”
It was all he could say without accusing anything further. The implications were set, and his family was smart enough to understand.
“I understand your confusion, Floyd.” Georgina lowered her voice, trying as much as possible to not trigger a rage-filled array of insults to be hurled at her. “So we will wait until you can speak to us again. Good night, Jade and Floyd.”
“Good night, mother.” Jade spoke for his brother before hanging up the call.
The light that came from the cellphone disappeared, leaving the room completely dark. Although their eyes could adjust quickly, neither of them wanted to face nor speak to the other. The room was filled with a deafening, awkward silence save for the sound of air conditioning in the background and light chatter from the halls.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Floyd finally choked out after what seemed like an eternity, breaking the tension only for it to reform as he waited for an answer he already knew.
“It was for your sake, Floyd.” his brother coldly responded back, the confirmation giving him the push he needed to stand up and leave his brother’s room.
It was unlike him to exit a conversation without leaving any sort of banter or good bye, even after a fight, but he was exhausted, both mentally and physically. He dragged himself back to his bedroom where his roommate was already fast asleep and changed his clothes to his sleepwear.
As soon as he finished, he jumped on his bed and began rapidly typing all of his thoughts in his notes app. All of the things he couldn’t say, the things he wanted to tell his mom and brother, the favoritism that was no longer hidden, his concerns with his family’s moral compass, and why this had to happen to him. It was only when a few minutes into his frantic session he typed a sentence which coincidentally rhymed when a lightbulb flickered in his head.
“SHES 18 MOM. DATS NOT COOL. SHES SO YOUNG SHE COULD GO TO MY SCHOOL”
“Hold on..” he thought out loud, repeating the phrase in a singsong tone and moving his finger and head from left to right on an imaginary beat, quiet enough that his roommate wouldn’t wake up from it. “Hold on..!”
He chuckled at his revelation, and realized that he could write a song like this. Floyd always had an interest for rap in particular, and his favorite artist made songs about his trauma as a means to cope. With just a few tweaks of his very long rant and a decent instrumental, he could probably publish this. It seemed fun and could get his mind off of things, so why not?
And so, with this newfound energy, he sat up from his bed and booted up his laptop.
Bandland proved to be a bit of a challenge, but after half an hour Floyd had gotten the hang of it and was already done with his.. unique beat. He admitted that it sounded messy, out of tune, and could not be taken seriously despite the severity of the topic, but he didn’t really want it to sound all gloom and doom either. Despite his feelings, he wants this song to be something people can laugh at, because maybe he can learn to laugh at his situation too.
As soon as he, to the best of his ability, finished making lyrics that would line up to where it would be on time with the sound, he ran into a small issue where he cannot record his vocals because of:
- the risk of his family finding out he made a song regarding this
- his room is often occupied by his dormmate and while he could ask him to leave, he didn’t feel comfortable having to find a time when the room was vacant.
So he ended it there, making sure to save the file and turning off his laptop. Yawning, he checks the time on his phone to find out that its already 4 in the morning (a low “woah!” coming from him), so he lays on his bed and closes his eyes. After that, tomorrow doesn’t seem so bad anymore.