String - Fabrication 5.4

“Heeeeeey, can I borrow you for a few hours?”

After our conversation with my sister, I wasn’t expecting to hear from Sam today. I had opted to stay home today instead of going back to my workshop. The lawns wouldn’t cut themselves and it wasn’t like she was capable of reaching the higher areas of the house to dust them. There were chores that needed doing and I was the only one that could do them.

I was a good way through most of the housework when Sam called. She sounded anxious, which sounded unusual with her voice. The Sam I knew was steadfast and practically oozed confidence, not this one that sounded like she would burst into tears the moment she heard rejection. It was all wrong and made me feel like I was talking to one of her personalities.

“Why do you sound like that?” I looked around to make sure Mom wasn’t listening in from the other room. “Has something happened?”

“What? No,” Sam laughed, which slowly turned into slow, awkward chuckles. “This is a social call.”

“Oh.”

I felt myself frown as I thought over the potential things she would drag me into. Our relationship up till now had been pretty professional – as professional as two sixteen-year-olds could be – and never really went beyond our superpower-related activities. We had the occasional lunch but it was almost always occupied by discussing what we’d do next, or what I was working on.

“Yeeeah. Look, feel free to say no but—”

“No thanks.”

“—hey! You didn’t even hear me out. Don’t hang up!”

“I’m kinda busy right now,” I said, pulling down the oven door to give the inside a proper clean. “With all my time spent on developing stuff to take down the Cains, I’ve kinda neglected the normal stuff. I’m house cleaning right now.”

“...Okay. How long is that going to take?”

“I don’t know, it depends how fast I’m going and I’m not in any rush to go anywhere.”

“I could come over and help,” she suggested. “Four hands are better than two. Plus, housework is so easy.”

While I had nothing against the idea of rejecting it outright, the thought of Sam meeting my mother felt a little skewed. There was the distinct feeling Mom would get the wrong idea the moment I tried to introduce her and I’d be subjected to a round of parental teasing. She’d probably even pull out the baby photos.

“What happened to keeping our relationship ‘strictly professional’?” I asked, reminding her of her own words from yesterday. She had seemed pretty content with how we were going so far, so all this felt like a giant leap in the opposite direction. It was like she was trying to intrude on my life. “I think I’m fine cleaning my house on my own.”

“You know what I meant about keeping things strictly professional. I can offer my help when I feel it’s beneficial without things turning weird,” Sam replied with an annoyed hitch to her tone. “Look, a couple of my ‘friends’ from school invited me out a while ago and I’ve been dodging them. Last night they got pushy and pretty much demanded I meet up with them today.”

None of that sounded even remotely appealing to me. I didn’t know her friends and I knew scantily little about her personal life. Honestly, I thought the life she lived as Alice was her personal life, while the persona she put on at school was the fake one. She was always claiming that people like us couldn’t live a normal life.

However, it brought up an interesting point. Her life at school might be a fake one, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy it.

“What’s this got to do with me?”

“All my friends have boyfriends and I don’t want to be the only one showing up single,” Sam groaned. “Do you have any idea how mortifying that is? I’ve always deflected the questions at school. I can’t exactly avoid showing up single, can I?”

“I don’t know, are you sure Gold can’t figure out how to do that?”

“Oh, fuck you,” Sam groaned. “Are you going to help me out or not?”

I drew in a breath and exhaled slowly to organize my thoughts.

Was she really going to ask me to be her pretend boyfriend just so that she could protect her precious ego?

I’d be finished with the house in about an hour and after that, I was probably going to go upstairs and get started on some homework that I had clearly missed over the last week. My teachers had all emailed me some things to finish up before Monday and I needed to get the week’s groceries at some point. It left me with little time to myself but I hadn’t used my power today. I could probably invest them into some kind of software that could finish my homework for me. Given how busy I was going to be in the future, it would be something I’d have to do soon, or else I’d risk failing school entirely.

If I went out with Sam, I would be able to guilt trip her into helping me get groceries on the way home. Then, at night, I’d mess around with my powers and create something that did my homework for me. That seemed like a good plan of action.

“When and where is this little outing?”

“Two o’clock. So an hour and a half from now. We’re going to New Market to do some shopping. Hang out, eat… I don’t know. We might watch a movie or something.”

Screw it. It’s not like she’s boring to hang out with.

“Fine, but I need to get groceries when we’re done. Our cupboards are running low and Mom doesn’t want to pay the extra fee to get the stuff delivered.”

“Sweet! That’s fine. I should probably do the same. Having you, Mia, and Liam over has been murder on my fridge and pantry. Seriously, have you seen what Liam does? He just helps himself. Mia caught him sneaking some of my Aloe the other day.”

That didn’t surprise me, though he seemed to respect my boundaries when it came to my workshop. I knew he was excited about some of the projects I was working on but he was always careful about what he touched when he was inside my workshop. At least, to my knowledge he was.

Hmm… maybe I should set up a camera there?

“Am I coming to you or are you going to pick me up?”

“I can swing by in the car,” I could hear the grin in her voice. “You can even drive us if you want.”

My car looked like it was worth a good fortune and rocking up in front of her friends was sure to send her on an ego trip.

“Are you sure it's a good idea to be using the car for something like this? We’ve been using it for Super stuff. Maybe we should find another car to do normal stuff in, or take a bus or something,” I suggested. The silence I received from her told me she wasn’t the biggest fan of it. “You don’t really like that, do you?”

“Your power can change the model, right?”

“You want me to waste charges switching the model back and forth for something like this? Tell me Gold isn’t trying to chew you out right now.”

“That’s not important,” Sam deflected. “Look, you can just change the model and the body color. I doubt that would be more than a couple of your charges and it’s not like you're using them on anything important today.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Well, are you?”

“That’s not important,” I replied, throwing her words right back in her face. “I’m just asking whether or not this is a good idea from your perspective. Until my suit has long distance movement modules, I’ll be using that car to get around when we’re out in costume. You have Pink, Liam can jump around, and Mia can essentially teleport with her statues.”

“Ugh, Max, nobody’s going to know. If it bothers you so much, just use your power to change the bodykit. I know you have the charges to do something that simple.”

“Okay, fine. I can solve that problem easily enough but what about these friends of yours? Won’t they have questions if we roll up in a car that looks more expensive than most houses?” I asked, skeptical. Seriously, it looked better than any car I had ever seen in a magazine. “How are we going to explain that away?”

“Oh, come on. This isn’t rocket science, dude. Just say you’re rich. I’ve already told my friends that I’m pretty well off and it's not like their parents aren’t making decent cash either. Honestly, I doubt they’ll make a scene of it.”

I bit my lip and considered it further.

“You’re being weirdly insistent about this.”

“Who else am I going to ask? Liam?” Sam snorted. “I barely know him and I don’t trust him to not embarrass me in front of everyone. You…” she paused for a moment and I could feel a strange sensation crawl up my spine. “I trust you. I don’t have anyone else to ask.”

She sounded strangely vulnerable and desperate. It was almost cute if it wasn’t so unsettling. Plus, if I knew her as well as I believed I did, then there was the real possibility that she was…

“You’re already on your way over here, aren’t you?”

“...Yeah.”

“Seriously, now?” I muttered, shaking my head.

“Sorry. I didn’t think it would take this much convincing. I really thought you wouldn’t mind helping me out here,” Sam replied, sounding mildly bitter. “Seriously, this isn’t a big issue. It’ll be fun! The regular kind of fun, you know. Not our usual kind of fun.”

“Concerning that you think everything we do is ‘fun’. Feels more like survival.”

“Oh, please. You love it.”

I couldn’t confidently deny that accusation. There was definitely the adrenaline rush that came with suiting up and actually using the things I got to make. However, fun was not something I’d describe our last outing. Fun wasn’t even in the vocabulary of words I would’ve even considered what we did. The closest thing I got to do that was fun was messing around with my powers and trying to think of what to work on next.

“Not as much as you think,” I replied vaguely. “How far away are you?”

“Not long. I should be there soon if this traffic clears up.”

“Alright, I’m going to finish up this housework. I’ll see you soon.”

I ended the call, grumbling as I pocketed my and finished up with the oven. With the knowledge that Sam was coming over, Mom would need to know, despite having grown used to impromptu visits from my friends. She didn’t know Sam, though, so I thought it would be best to warn her.

Moving out of the kitchen and into the living room, I found her sitting on the sofa watching a midday news broadcast.

“Hey, hope you don’t mind but—”

Mom shushed me and pointed to the TV. When I saw what had captured her attention so thoroughly, I felt a cold sense of dread crawl up my spine.

The news was showing aerial footage of a giant sinkhole that went so deep that darkness shrouded its depths. It took me a moment to realize the scale of the hole, and another moment for it to register that on the fringes of the hole were roads and buildings. There were no people around, nor were there news crews surveying the hole. I read the news tagline for more information and found that this had happened in a town five hundred kilometers south of Bayside.

“It’s like I said,” Mom shook her head. “This world is getting scarier by the day. Half a town gone overnight like the earth just reached up and swallowed it.”

“How many people got caught in that?”

“Over ten thousand people are missing, presumed dead. The sinkhole is so deep that normal search and rescue forces won’t be able to get down there to save anyone in time. The ECU have been called in to investigate,” she pointed at the TV again. “They’re sending a flier from Zachery Port down there to check for any survivors.”

I felt my lips thin as I stared at the footage. I wasn’t a geologist but I felt like I could confidently say that holes that size don’t just appear randomly without warning. There would be signs beforehand, indicators that something was about to happen.

“Sinkholes like that don’t just happen out of the blue. There weren’t any signs?”

“The earthquakes,” Mom replied swiftly, not seeing my confusion. “There’s been earthquakes in that area for the last few weeks. People have been blaming The Mountain for this and he’s yet to make any sort of public statement.”

People always wanted something or someone to blame.

“No surprises there,” I grumbled. “By the way, I have a friend coming over shortly. She’ll be here soon, it was sort of a last minute thing.”

Mom turned to me, surprised. “She? Another girl?”

“Her name is Sam. You haven’t met.”

Mom’s stony visage cracked, an amused smile stretching across her lips. “Where did you two meet? Was it school? I don’t think I’ve heard Lucy mention anything about a ‘Sam’ before.”

“No, she goes to Eastworth Girls. We—” I cut myself off before I said anything that might’ve been contradictory. I realized that it was a bad place to stop but I had to consider my next words carefully. Try as I might though, nothing exceptionally smart came to mind. “—met online…?”

It wasn’t a lie. She had been the first to contact me and nowadays, people meeting online isn't uncommon at all. In fact, it was pretty normal. My mother was a bit of a traditionalist when it came to these sorts of things so I wouldn’t fault her for not understanding but she did work in software development. It wasn’t like she was technologically illiterate. I practically grew up with technology all around me.

“Oh… but you’ve met her in person, right?”

“Yeah, plenty of times.”

“Well, I don’t have issues,” Mom shrugged. “It’s not like we never have guests around. Are you two planning on going out anywhere?”

“Yeah, she’s taking me to New Market. Don’t worry, I’ll be getting groceries on the way home,” I saw her open her mouth to speak but I was quick to cut her off. “And I’ll be home in time for dinner tonight. It’s a school night. I know the drill.”

Mom gave me a suspicious glare. “Good. You’ve been in and out of the house a lot lately and I haven’t seen you that much. I know I’ve been rather lax but I’d like to think I raised you with your head on straight to know what is and isn’t important.”

The doorbell rang, which startled me because I didn’t think soon meant five minutes.

“Yep,” I started toward the door. “You know me. Model student and all that.”

I opened the door to find Sam – or someone who looked a lot like Sam, standing in my doorway. I had to blink a few times just to see if I was seeing things right because the Sam I was used to seeing either walked around in tank tops, sweatpants, her costume, or her school uniform. The attire she wore was showy and absolutely designed to impress.

Just about everything looked completely transformed. Her hair was straightened and her make-up was just subtle enough to not look overdone. She wore a loose-fitting white button-up, a skirt with some nice looking patterns I didn’t care enough to know, and hightop vans.

“Jeez, pick that jaw up off the floor, why don’t you?” Sam laughed. “Are you going to invite me in?”

“You look so different.”

Sam just laughed again. “Uh, yeah. I actually put some effort in for outings like this. I’m going out in public with a group of friends. Anything less would be kinda stupid and I’d be mocked for it.”

I stepped aside and allowed her inside, recoiling at the assault of perfume on my senses as she moved past me. It was so sweet I could almost taste the fruity aroma it had. I had to turn my face away as I closed the door to avoid choking. I was able to suppress the choking urge to a light cough, which I would easily be able to explain away as having dust in my throat from all the cleaning.

“Aw, damn. Too much?” I turned to find Sam giving me a curious look. “It’s been a while since I’ve bothered to doll myself up a bit. I might’ve gone overboard… buuuuuut, Pink was really insistent and you know how she is.”

Sometimes it slipped my mind that I didn’t need to explain things to her. With Gold, she always just knew without me having to say anything.

“It’s fine,” I said, my voice sounding a little weak. “I just wasn’t prepared for it.”

I heard the squeaking of Mom’s wheelchair sound from the room over.

“Alright, what’ve we got here?” She wheeled over toward the entrance. Sam popped her head into the living room door frame and waved. Mom looked surprised, a smile screeching across her face. “Hello, Sam was it?”

“Yes, hi!” She replied eagerly, extending a hand in greeting. It was rather interesting to note the different demeanor Sam was putting forward, compared to her meeting with Alex. Right now, it seemed she was a step away from switching to Pink with how bubbly and happy she sounded. “It’s great to meet you. I’m so sorry for dropping in like this. It was a last minute thing and I was in the area.”

“It’s no problem,” Mom shook her hand. “I’m used to his friends popping over every now and then. Unannounced visits are not out of the ordinary in this house. Though, I’ve never seen you before,” Mom gave me a suspicious side-eye. “He tells me you met online?”

“Yep!” Sam replied without missing a beat. “We’ve been talking for weeks now. Met up recently.”

“Well, I’m happy you're meeting new people,” Mom said, turning to address me with an earnest smile. “I’ve always been worried you’d stick with the same group of friends you’ve had since Intermediate school.”

“What’s—” I started, only to have Mom cut me off.

“There’s nothing wrong with that but meeting new people builds character,” Mom lectured, giving me a knowing look. “Anyway. I suppose offering a drink and some food would be a waste of time? I’m told you two are heading to New Market soon.”

“Yeah, we’re eating out,” Sam confirmed. “Would you like us to bring you anything while we’re out?”

“Aren’t you kind,” Mom mused aloud. “Groceries would be nice.”

“That’s already on the list,” I commented. “Anything else?”

A thoughtful look crossed Mom’s face and I saw the gears turning in her head. Holding up a hand, she gestured for us to give her a moment before wheeling herself into the kitchen. A few moments later, she came back with a small piece of paper in her hand. Handing it to me, I unfolded it to see a small list of prescription medicines.

“I just remembered I’m running low on my prescriptions. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, would you be able to pick up my refills?”

“Nah, no trouble at all,” Sam said, clearly eager to make a positive impression. From the looks of it, she seemed to be doing a good job. “It’s not like we’re sticking to a tight schedule. There’ll be plenty of time to get that stuff.”

“Thank you. Well, I won’t keep you two. Don’t be out too late!” Mom said, moving back to the living room.

I folded the note and slipped it into my pocket when I noticed Sam staring at the open living room door. There was a conflicted, pensive look etched onto her face, one that hadn’t been there a moment ago. When she noticed me staring, she brightened up a little and bounded over to me.

“You’re room’s upstairs?”

“Yeah?”

She pushed past me and skipped up the stairs, two at a time. I followed, puzzled at her bizarre behavior. I had to wonder if she was debating with Gold or Pink inside her head. Maybe both, or maybe even more than just those two. Sam did explain that they were all in there and that some were more active than others.

When we arrived at my room, I found her sitting on my bed with the same pensive expression.

“What’s with you?” I asked. “You seem a bit more spacey than usual.”

She turned, squinting at me for a few seconds and I could have sworn I saw her eyes flash through multiple colors. It happened so quickly I couldn’t pinpoint which part of her was trying to break through. Despite all that, she settled on Blue and exhaled. Her shoulders slumped and she looked away, rubbing her forehead.

“It’s nothing.”

I resisted the urge to scoff.

“It’s never nothing with you.”

“Because you know me sooooo well,” there was a flash of Red which had her groaning and shaking her head. “Sorry. I just feel like I’m being pulled in multiple directions sometimes. Today’s supposed to be a day where you can just relax, take your mind off things… but I can’t ever do that. It’s impossible to just unplug.”

“Why?” I asked, perplexed. Sam gave me a knowing look and the realization slowly hit me. “You’re personalities?”

“They’re always here, you know,” she lifted a hand to her ear and made a mouth with it. “Always talking, never shutting up,” she met my gaze and pushed herself further onto my bed until her back rested against the wall. “Your Mom didn’t seem very keen to talk to me.”

The sudden change in topic had me suspicious but I wasn’t sure pushing the topic of her powers was a smart thing to do.

“In her defense, she had about five minutes notice before you arrived but she’s always been like that. It took a while for some of my other friends to grow on her. Lucy talks to her a lot but otherwise, she tends to keep her distance when my other friends are around,” I explained. “I’ve always thought it was her way of not getting in our way or cramping our style. Parents tend to be like that.”

Sam didn’t look very convinced, despite it being the truth.

“I thought she’d be more like your sister. I don’t really see the resemblance,” she murmured. I thought she was upset about it but that confusion quickly faded when that familiar thoughtful expression crossed her face again. I was about to ask but she – again – changed the subject on a dime. “You aren’t seriously thinking of wearing that, right?”

I looked down at my clothes, which consisted of a T-shirt, jeans, and plain socks.

“What’s the issue?”

She rolled her eyes and sprang off the bed with renewed vigor, making a beeline for my wardrobe. She swung open the doors and stared at the contents within. Her head swivels from right to left, before repeating the motion another three times for good measure.

“What the hell is all this?”

“Clothes.”

“Don’t be coy, you know what I mean,” she began digging through the various shirts that were hung up. She pulled out about a half dozen and flicked through them, her brow creasing further with each find. “This stuff is old, and I don’t mean the ‘good’ kind of old either. Just plain old. None of this stuff will fit you. Have you ever cleaned out your closet?”

I struggled to think of an answer as the embarrassment hit like a freight train. Lucy had complained in the past about it but our relationship felt wholly different. Sam’s criticism felt different, the kind that made me want to jump out a window.

“I… haven't.”

Sam placed the shirts in her hand onto my bed before returning to dig through more of my old clothes. I just stood there, watching stupidly as she went deeper and deeper.

“Fuuuuuck me.”

“Okay, it’s not that bad,” I said, trying to defend myself. “They’re just clothes and I can always use my power to adjust the size if I want. Why would I buy more clothes when I can just upgrade and repurpose old stuff?”

“And you were just complaining to me before that switching the model of the car would be a waste of your powers,” she replied sardonically. “You can’t stand there and tell me the thought of using your powers to fix up these has ever crossed your mind.”

She pulled out a pair of jeans that definitely didn’t fit me anymore. I had to have been ten or eleven the last time I wore them.

“I—”

“Don’t even try,” she cut me off with a finger. Placing it to the side she continued to dig until she found some somewhat decent clothes. “These will do for now,” she pushed them into my hands. “You should’ve said something while we were out buying those 3D printers. We could’ve gone clothes shopping for you. Seriously, your wardrobe is like an archaeologist's excavation.”

“I didn’t think I needed more clothes.”

“Clothes from this century would be nice,” Sam shot back with a glare. “I’m now glad I decided to go through with this. The thought of you living like this is causing me physical pain.”

“Sam—”

“No teammate of mine is going to suffer from something like this,” she playfully jabbed me. “So get dressed, we’re going shopping.”