Corin turns to his brother. (A brother. Geez, that's weird.) "Cor?"
But Cor says no too, of course.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Corin asks. "We have tons of movies."
"Which movies?" Cor asks, but Aravis glares at him until he says, "Um." So Corin figures that is probably another no.
There's only so much that Corin can do. His father had told him, "Take care of your new brother and sister for me, son. Be good to them." And far be it from Corin to disobey his father (except when he wants to), but Corin can't take care of them if they don't want to be taken care of. Right? Besides, he wants to play Street Fighter, then after that he's going to go swimming in their huge pool, and after that he's going to make Lita cook him some food so he can eat it while he watches Ace Ventura.
"I guess you can just call Lita if you want anything," Corin says.
"We'll be fine," Aravis says, sounding like she has a stick up her butt. Whatever. Maybe she'll be funner later.
Cor reaches out and takes Aravis's hand, and Corin almost makes a face and almost says, "Is she your girlfriend or something?" But he remembers his father's orders. He'll be good today.
"See ya," Corin says, and leaves.
After all, General Bison waits for no man.
+
Lune's house is big, like a castle. All the houses in Dasmarinas are like castles, and the streets are wide and clean. He feels like a jerk when he misses Mindanao -- because who can miss the middle of nowhere when you've got servants and a mansion in the capital city? -- but he can't help it sometimes: the bluer sky, the sea, the winding mountain roads, the muezzin singing the adzan five times a day, and the simple life he thought he'd inherit one day. He knows those things. He knows nothing in Manila, nothing but Aravis.
"Do you think my father is a good man?" Cor asks her one time. They are in her bedroom, which is approximately the size of his old shack. She's reading on her bed, and he's sitting by the window, watching his brother splash around in the pool below.
"Yeah," Aravis replies, turning the page. "He's letting us live in his house, and he bought us new clothes, and we can do whatever we want until summer ends and school starts. And I don't have to have that arranged marriage anymore. He's pretty good." She looks up at him. "Why?"
Cor shifts uncomfortably. "It's just.. I don't know. I heard him talking on the phone? I think he's a thief. Or he knows thieves, or something."
"That doesn't mean anything, except that you're a snoop."
"But-"
"It doesn't mean that he's not a good guy," Aravis says, "even if he is a thief."
"Thieves are bad guys," he says, but he is less sure now. His life had been completely flipped around these past few months, so uncertainty is familiar territory by now. He's gained more than he's lost, sure, but sometimes he feels like a little bag being filled with too many things. "Do you ever miss your home?" asks Cor.
Aravis shrugs. The sadness crosses her face just for a flicker of a second, just for a moment, but Cor has wised up to her pride games. He gets up from the window-seat and crawls onto the bed. Aravis moves to make room for him, and he lies next to her, watching her eyes flicker across the page as she reads. Cor doesn't know what to say, so he says something stupid like, "Well, at least we're good guys," which makes Aravis smile and call him an idiot, so that's good enough for him.
more consolidation: CorAravisCorin backstory
"No," says Aravis, so Cor shakes his head too.
"Do you want to go swimming?"
"No," Aravis says again.
Corin turns to his brother. (A brother. Geez, that's weird.) "Cor?"
But Cor says no too, of course.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Corin asks. "We have tons of movies."
"Which movies?" Cor asks, but Aravis glares at him until he says, "Um." So Corin figures that is probably another no.
There's only so much that Corin can do. His father had told him, "Take care of your new brother and sister for me, son. Be good to them." And far be it from Corin to disobey his father (except when he wants to), but Corin can't take care of them if they don't want to be taken care of. Right? Besides, he wants to play Street Fighter, then after that he's going to go swimming in their huge pool, and after that he's going to make Lita cook him some food so he can eat it while he watches Ace Ventura.
"I guess you can just call Lita if you want anything," Corin says.
"We'll be fine," Aravis says, sounding like she has a stick up her butt. Whatever. Maybe she'll be funner later.
Cor reaches out and takes Aravis's hand, and Corin almost makes a face and almost says, "Is she your girlfriend or something?" But he remembers his father's orders. He'll be good today.
"See ya," Corin says, and leaves.
After all, General Bison waits for no man.
+
Lune's house is big, like a castle. All the houses in Dasmarinas are like castles, and the streets are wide and clean. He feels like a jerk when he misses Mindanao -- because who can miss the middle of nowhere when you've got servants and a mansion in the capital city? -- but he can't help it sometimes: the bluer sky, the sea, the winding mountain roads, the muezzin singing the adzan five times a day, and the simple life he thought he'd inherit one day. He knows those things. He knows nothing in Manila, nothing but Aravis.
"Do you think my father is a good man?" Cor asks her one time. They are in her bedroom, which is approximately the size of his old shack. She's reading on her bed, and he's sitting by the window, watching his brother splash around in the pool below.
"Yeah," Aravis replies, turning the page. "He's letting us live in his house, and he bought us new clothes, and we can do whatever we want until summer ends and school starts. And I don't have to have that arranged marriage anymore. He's pretty good." She looks up at him. "Why?"
Cor shifts uncomfortably. "It's just.. I don't know. I heard him talking on the phone? I think he's a thief. Or he knows thieves, or something."
"That doesn't mean anything, except that you're a snoop."
"But-"
"It doesn't mean that he's not a good guy," Aravis says, "even if he is a thief."
"Thieves are bad guys," he says, but he is less sure now. His life had been completely flipped around these past few months, so uncertainty is familiar territory by now. He's gained more than he's lost, sure, but sometimes he feels like a little bag being filled with too many things. "Do you ever miss your home?" asks Cor.
Aravis shrugs. The sadness crosses her face just for a flicker of a second, just for a moment, but Cor has wised up to her pride games. He gets up from the window-seat and crawls onto the bed. Aravis moves to make room for him, and he lies next to her, watching her eyes flicker across the page as she reads. Cor doesn't know what to say, so he says something stupid like, "Well, at least we're good guys," which makes Aravis smile and call him an idiot, so that's good enough for him.