33 Apocalypse Ave, Wednesday Morning

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By the kindness of fate--or perhaps the influence of Fandom--Kathy had treated herself to a long bath and a book the night before, ending up falling asleep in her own room mere pages from the end up the book. This bit of unexpected luck allowed the Kathy that woke up the following morning to have at least a little while before she was unexpectedly traumatized. At thirteen and still several years before attending Fandom or developing superpowers, this Kathy was a little less trained to roll with the punches.

But for now, she got washed up and dressed, then headed downstairs to make herself a bowl of cereal and some toast before figuring out what to do with the day.

And wow. That was a lot of booze and leftover pizza to shove into one fridge. Huh.

[Open!]

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"I've, ummm...never really done that before," she said quietly.

Her whole life had been pruning herself to fit into the molds the adults in her life expected her to fit; a bonsai tree of respectability, responsibility, and politeness.

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"So give it a shot as long as you're here," Dante said, shrugging. "You're probably not coming back, right?"

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Kathy shrugged. "This is supposed to be an educational enrichment program," she said. "I thought it would look good for college."

Not that Kathy was even a freshman in high school yet.

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"You're like nine," Dante said, rolling his eyes. "Fuck, lighten up, okay?"

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The shift in Kathy was immediate. She just kinda of...wilted, shoulders hunching forward, knees coming up to her chest. "Right," she said softly. "Sorry. Yeah."

Somewhere, adult!Kathy was facepalming.

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Aw, fuck. He'd fucked up. "No, not like that," Dante said. He sighed. "Sorry, Kat--hy. Wasn't trying to be a dick."

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That was weird. No one ever really apologized for hurting her feelings. Except for Sarah, but Sarah was even younger than her.

"Then like what?" she asked quietly, peeking out from behind her hair.

It hadn't been that he was mean, exactly, or that she was offended by his use of bad words. Just...he'd been so nice and then turned dismissive all at once. But she didn't really have the words to explain that. Or the confidence.

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"Like, I think it's fucked up you're already thinking about college," Dante said slowly. "You shouldn't be worrying about that."

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"But it's college," Kathy said, like that explained everything. "If I don't get into a good one, I'll disappoint everyone."

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"Is that the only reason you wanna go to college?" Dante asked.

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"Well, no," Kathy admitted. "I like school. And learning. And it's the only way I can become a doctor. I like helping people."

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Dante shrugged.

"You still got a lot of time."

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"Only four years," Kathy countered. "Three, really, since you start applying during your junior year. And I have to really stand out to make any college look twice at me, especially a good one."

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"You're smart, you'll be fine," Dante said, letting out a sigh. "You ever had like, a real summer vacation?"

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"I spent a few summers visiting family in Korea?" Kathy said, which might have counted if she hadn't asked. "And when we were younger, we spent a few days at Disney every year?"

And then her dad had lost his job for a whole year when she was in sixth grade and the last few summers had been pretty lean.

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"So... not really," Dante said slowly. "How about you just make this a break, huh?"

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"Okay," Kathy said, nodding.

And then, after a short pause, "...How?"

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"I dunno, do something fun," Dante said, shrugging. "Get ice cream or go swimming or... what do you wanna do?"

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Kathy was at a loss. Somewhere, Raven was banging her head in sympathetic frustration, remembering the 'Do Nothing Classes' she'd insisted on after they'd become roommates.

"Umm...practice my routines?" she suggested. "Read a book, maybe? Umm, I do like ice cream? And swimming, but I didn't bring my bathing suit. Isn't the Atlantic cold to swim in?"

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"There's a pool," Dante pointed out. "But you know what? We can start with ice cream."

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"I didn't bring any money," Kathy protested, to the surprise of literally no one.

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"So I'll pay, whatever," Dante said, standing up.

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"Are you sure?" Kathy asked, scrambling to her feet. "You don't have to feel, umm, obligated? It's okay."

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"I don't, I just want you to have a good time while you're here," Dante said, nodding towards the door.

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"Thank you," Kathy said, scampering towards the door. "I promise, I'll try really hard to have fun this week!"

She wasn't sure why he cared about that so much, but she appreciated that he did.