Page 32 of Rhymes with Metaphor
“Youshouldunderstand,” said Joel.
“You can retake your QDOG, can’t you?”
Joel stared at the floor, eyes glistening anew.He looked too sick to get himself home.
“Do you want me to call Juliet to take you home?”said Reg.
Joel shook his head.
“Do you want me to take you home?”
“I don’t want to go home.”Joel leaned against Reg.
“Why don’t you have a lie down?I’ll take you home later.”Reg moved just enough for Joel to slip down onto the settee behind him.His eyes were already closed.
The bathwater was cold, as was the rest of the korma.Reg ate it anyway, because he felt particularly empty just then.
Chapter 9: Getting Away
The following morningfound Reg in the Graduate Student Lounge attending an MFA Creative Writing rah-rah morale-boosting event, which was optional in theory but not in practice for Reg, according to the chair, who’d sent him an emailed edict.Which was why Reg was sitting in one of the uncomfortably small easy chairs drinking a truly obscene cup of coffee when Martin, with Juliet in tow, found him.The situation was grave enough that Martin had agreed to temporarily suspend hostilities.
A truce was called.
A meeting was held.
The passive voice was used.
Fittingly, the subject of their meeting wasn’t present, though at eighteen, Joel was too young to be admitted to the Graduate Student Lounge anyway.
“He’s gotten sicker these past few days,” said Juliet.“He doesn’t want to get out of bed.”
“Perhaps this is a discussion Joel should be having with his doctor,” said Reg.
“If it was just physical, I’d agree with you,” said Juliet.“But something else is going on.He used to be so open with me, but he won’t tell me what’s bothering him.”
“Perhaps that’s best discussed with his alienist,” said Reg.
