The Next Day... at Brass Knoxton.

Ravi walks out of the bus, and Aurion is standing right there, unmoving.

Ravi
Can I... help you?

Aurion
Yeah. Gimme a smooch.

Ravi glances at a mustard stain on his jeans.

Ravi
Uhh... no.

Ravi walks away, but Aurion follows. He snaps his fingers, and Lawke and Murphy reappear from their social camouflage around the schoolyard. They rush over to flank her. She picks up her pace, but Lawke and Murphy block the school's entrance.

Ravi
What does he have on you guys?

Lawke
(Intense.) Nothing.

Murphy
(Cheery.) He does give us snacks sometimes-

Lawke
Sshh! No snitchin'.

Ravi tries to evade the boys, but they corner her in a brick alcove. No way out.

Aurion
You missed FIVE DAYS. That's five kisses.

Ravi
We only agreed on ONE kiss, and I was sick those five days.

Aurion
One kiss for every day until you understand my craft. THAT was our arrangement.

Ravi
First of all, we played 'spin the bottle', not 'house'. Second, YOUR craft? You didn't INVENT writing. I-

Aurion
Bros, restrain her.

Lawke and Murphy grab Ravi by the arms and legs.

Aurion
Let's get one thing straight: we made a verbal contract. You don't get to break promises just because you're SICK. A PROMISE is a declaration to DELIVER, in SPITE of difficulty, not in its ABSENCE.

Ravi
Why do you care so much?

Aurion
Because us artists have to stick together. Your skills are behind, I'm bringing you up to SPEED. I'm doing you a FAVOR! So you have two choices now: tell me five stories, lickety-split, or give me five big, wet, sloppy tongue kisses. Lickety LICK.

Amira
YOU'RE NASTY!

Aurion
What?

Amira runs up behind Aurion and sweeps his leg, tripping him over. She pulls him up by the shirt.

Amira
Call your boyfriends off.

Aurion
No way. They work for me, ride or die.

Amira
I'll tell the teachers you're hurting a girl.

Murphy
This is a GIRL?

Ravi
Well, sort of. It's complicated.

Lawke
Murphy, did you think Aurion asked us to hold down a DUDE so they could KISS?

Murphy
I don't judge, I just get paid.

Lawke
MONEY MONEY

Murphy
DOLLA BIIIIIILLS

The two of them give each other a fist-pound, then go back to holding Ravi down. Her expression falls flat and unimpressed.

Aurion
Remember what you said? We gotta follow the rules!

Amira
That was a GAME, this is SCHOOL. And you're breaking a rule right now!!

Aurion
I... uh. Shit.

Amira
Let's just cancel the 'deal' you guys made and we'll call it even.

Aurion
I can't do that, because...

Amira
Because...?

Aurion
Because women should uphold their promises. Everyone should. That's what my family has always taught me, it's how our kind works.

Ravi
What's your 'kind'?

Aurion
Algerian. Isn't it obvious?

Ravi
Where's Algeria...?

Aurion
AFRICA.

Ravi
Oh.

Everyone is silent.

Ravi
Like, where... in Africa?

Aurion
Uh... northwest, kinda. Close to Spain.

Lawke
So you're half Spanish? Is that why you're a blond black guy?

Aurion
What? No, that's cause my dad's Algerian and my mom's from Norway and Germany. Even at that, I'm a rarity. Limited gold edition, baby.

Amira
Ugh.

Lawke
I'm Jamaican-Spanish, myself.

Murphy
Where's Spain?

Aurion
South of like, Germany.

Amira
No, Greece is south of Germany. Spain is south of France.

Murphy
France is in Africa?

Ravi
Lawke, gimme a forehead slap.

Lawke maneuvers Ravi's right arm to her forehead with a WHAP. Suddenly, Aurion's leg starts shaking.

Aurion
Oh, OH! My leg! I'm gettin' pins and needles!

Amira rolls her eyes and lets him go. He holds his leg.

Aurion
Is it so wrong for a guy like me to want some affection? Some love? Some tenderness?

Amira
Look, I was there when you made your 'agreement'. Just like I was there when you lost your first girlfriend in Grade Four because you kissed your cousin in front of her. You've been a jerk to every new girl since, and you can't take out your anger at every vaguely female being that crosses your path.

Aurion
Oh, that's the PAST! Whatever. For your info, that was my SECOND cousin.

Amira
Still embarrassing.

Aurion
In MANY parts of the world-

Ravi
Okay, shut up, dude. I'm still down to workshop stories if you just agree to call off this arbitrary 'contract'.

Aurion
I don't need a FRIEND, I need a GIRLFRIEND. I just thought cause we shared a hobby, you and I were a natural match. Who are you to deny me, anyway?

Ravi
(Lowering her head.) What do you mean by that, exactly?

Aurion
I've gone to this school since Kindergarten, and you just got here. Do you really think these people care more about you than me? Especially given your... situation.

Ravi
(Feeling targeted.) My... situation?

Aurion
How many people do you think actually like you, and how many just feel bad about what you think you are? When we both know you and I are exactly the same. At least I can admit I'm gay, but you're the one who has to pretend you're something you're not. I mean, let's face it – even if someone did date you, you'd just be a diversity hire. I'm the ONLY one who sees you as a person.

Ravi
I...

Amira
Don't listen to him, he always plays that card. I've been here since Grade One and he never lets me forget it. Also, he was the FIRST dude to make fun of me when I started getting lip hair – even though he says he's a total feminist. He's literally the LAST guy who'll see you as a person.

Ravi
Lip hair is the worst-

Amira
(Disgusted.) Yeah, not MUSTACHE, fuzzy. And so not an invitation to start kissing my ass.

Aurion
I personally don't mind a little fuzz-

Amira
And YOU need to shut the hell up before I slapshot you into a net so hard, you come out the other side like soft cheese! Which, coincidentally, is the only thing you eat all school-day! Before AND after lunch.

Aurion
(Defeated.) Okay, not cool to come after me for my love of snacks. But I concede... the deal's off. I'll leave Ravi alone, from now on. I'll be a man of my word, alright?

Amira
Good.

Amira punches Aurion in the shoulder, and he winces.

Aurion
(Surprised, and in pain.) OOWWW! What the hell was that for? I already conceded!

Amira
(Flat-toned.) That's for all the trouble. Now GET.

She fronts at him with a raised fist, and he flinches. He looks like his trust has been wounded, but as far as Ravi can tell, it'll heal.

Aurion
(Squinting, head-nodding to the side.) Boys, we rollin'.

The lackeys let go of Ravi and follow Aurion around the corner, still holding his shoulder and rubbing it slowly. Amira approaches Ravi, cautiously.

Amira
Are you alright? He's like a fucking al-mi'raj sometimes.

Ravi
Yeah, just freaked out. What's an Al-Mirage?

Amira
(Excited to talk about it.) It's a yellow rabbit, with a big black horn! It can DEVOUR creatures SIX times its SIZE! It runs around wrecking crops, and trying to mate with anything that moves. It's an animal that only brings disaster, and all the other ones FLEE at the sight of it.

Amira illustrates with her hand, making a 'bunny' gesture with two fingers, making other animals run away, and then chomping invisible lettuce with her whole hand. She grins.

Ravi
(Blushing, and grinning back.) Yeah, well. It's not the first time someone's tried to get at me without permission.

Ravi tries to remember what she's talking about. When did THAT happen? Better ask someone who'd know.

Ravi
Actually, I need to find Garland.

Amira
I'll come with.

Ravi and Amira round the corner, sneak into the school, and search the hallways for Garland in class. The loudspeaker blasts a message from the school Principal. Ravi and Amira move slowly while everyone in the classrooms is looking upward.

The Principal
IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT THE TEST SCORES FROM GRADES SEVEN TO NINE HAVE BEEN INADEQUATE SO FAR. REMEMBER: PROVINCIAL EXAMS ARE COMING UP! MAKE YOUR SCHOOL PROUD, WORK HARDER!

Ravi
He really likes to ride the students, huh?

Amira
Ssshh! He's speaking.

The Principal
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS BEING "SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT CORRECT". YOU'VE EITHER LEARNED THE MATERIAL, OR YOU HAVEN'T! THAT MEANS YOU'RE ONLY SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT FINISHED. THAT IS ALL.

Amira
(Quietly.) Stay low. The teachers will kill us if they find us skipping class. Maybe even literally.

Ravi
That's harsh.

Amira
No, no, it's... reasonable. I think. The Principal just wants us to stay focused, that's all.

Down the hall, they watch as a teacher drags a Fourth-Grader along the floor by a leg, as she cries and pounds the floor with her swinging fists.

Girl
(Screaming.) I DON'T WANNA GOOO, I DON'T WANNA GOOOOO!!

Teacher
YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU SPENT TWENTY WHOLE MINUTES IN THE BATHROOM!

The teacher pulls her up, stands her on her feet, and marches her into the The Principal's office. Ravi and Amira share a look. 

Ravi
(To Amira, flatly.) Counter-argument: The Principal is insane.

Amira
(Unmoved.) I'll consider your position.

They keep walking. Ravi spots Garland in the Science room, and pokes her head in.

Ravi
Sorry, Mr. Shrew. Family emergency, we need Garland right now.

Mr. Shrew
I didn't know you were related!

Ravi
Only half, thank God. Garland, come on!

Garland
But we're doing rocketry! I fucking LOVE rockets!!

Mr. Shrew
(Rolling his eyes.) You haven't done your homework anyway, and I'm not sure I trust you with explosives for how much you spitball my whiteboard.

Behind Mr. Shrew, on the whiteboard, is six scattered spit-balls. He's apparently resolved to write around them, in preposterous curves.

Garland
(Standing up.) This sucks, dude!

Mr. Shrew
And I don't want to have to see another subpar assignment on my desk tomorrow. You heard what The Principal said.

Garland
(Frustrated.) Aaaugggh.

Garland follows Ravi and Amira back outside, and around the corner, and to the brick alcove. He's got his backpack on, too.

Ravi
Do you have those Grim stories on you?

Garland
Yeah, why?

Ravi
I need to check something.

Garland opens his bag and Ravi browses her lineal adventures. She takes out the most recent one: her own.

Amira
Who wrote these?

Ravi
My ancestors. I printed them out so I could read them like books. There's also documents from other people, that were photocopied.

Amira
But they're all about your family?

Ravi
They put their own perspective first as a general rule, but not like, a moral doctrine.

Amira
Man, talk about vain.

Ravi blushes and frowns.

Amira
Oh, uh. I mean... ah, nah. That's Vanity 101. Are they all about how amazing and special you guys all are?

Ravi
Not really? They're actually a little self-deprecating. We're apparently a lineage of spirit mediums, descended from some kind of oracle from the Dark Ages. Called themselves The Grim Reaper, most of the time. But it never seems to actually matter to what's going on. It's just a constant background element, vague and undefined.

Amira
Can you see ghosts?

Ravi
Me? I can see things that don't exist, sometimes, if they have some tangible effect on the world. Like if a dude has unchecked insanity, I might see his eyes roll back into his head, or a bug on his shoulder.

Amira
What about us? Do us!

Ravi looks them over. Flashing into sight, Amira gains a full set of rubber knight's armor, and a glow around each hand. Garland's body turns to sleek steel, and a little spider pilots from behind windowed eyes. The cockpit looks like a damp, muddy pit. Then, the illusion dissipates.

Ravi
Everyone's, uh... unique. Besides, I'm probably just schizophrenic or something. I'm just checking to see something I wrote down.

She pages through book one. Amira picks up a smaller print-out from the bag, with a black cover.

Amira
What's this one?

Ravi
The zeroth one. The 'origin story'.

Amira
Oh, the ZEROTH one. Number zero. Yeah. That makes PERFECT SENSE. You guys enjoy reliving dead drama, I gotta get to class. I've got a game later, too.

Ravi
What kind of game?

Amira
Floor hockey.

Garland
(Grinning.) The dumbest sport in the world. It's for people who suck at real hockey.

Amira
It's important to me, they don't let anyone play sports back in Arabia. Especially not women. This is my chance to show my family back home what I can accomplish here. AND, you can't play REAL hockey in a place where the sun literally kills people! I'm hoping to give my little cousins something to do other than becoming child brides. So, since I actually have to be there to accomplish anything, bye for now!

Amira picks herself up and walks back into school. Garland and Ravi sit down together, to go over the books. Ravi flips through the cherry-red-covered one.

Ravi
I had the weirdest feeling like I was abused, like... sexually, or something. But I don't remember it happening.

Garland
What, by our cousins? You and I both lived with them, and I know I saw them climb all over you a lot, but it was never that bad.

Ravi
Then why are you still living with them, exactly?

Garland
(Blushing.) Because our mom is ridiculously hot – she makes me horny and I don't wanna sit around with a boner all day. Call me crazy, but it's easier to hang out with fat ugly bastards so I don't have to think about them that way.

Ravi
(Frozen.) What?

Garland
(Unashamed.) Yeah, I said the quiet part out loud. Sue me. You and I both know she's better off as a teacher than a parent, so at least her soft ass in those tight dress pants can raise the attendance rate. Isn't that why they hire hot ladies to begin with?

Ravi
(Embarrassed.) Uhhhh.... I, uh. I don't know.

Garland
Are you saying you've NEVER had the thought?

Ravi
(Blushing.) Can we get back to what I was talking about?

Garland
Aahh, I see. You've got the same problem, you just pretend it doesn't exist.

Ravi
Well, I dunno. She's more like a big sister sometimes. And siblings tend to have... thinner boundaries.

Garland
Exactly. So is she the one that touched you?

Ravi
(Pit in her stomach.) No... and since you're being candid, I wouldn't really care if she did. I've actually kind of been... secretly hoping for it. I figured it'd be practice for my first real relationship.

Garland
(Smacking her on the head, playfully.) There you go, now you've joined the club. Everyone's hot, everything's weird, and there's nothing you can do about it except tell the truth to someone you trust. Besides, it's not like you and I haven't-

Ravi
(Unphased.) Haven't what?

Garland looks around to make sure nobody's watching them in the alcove, and then shuffles a little closer so he can breathe on her neck, and slide a hand up her shirt. Chills crawl up her spine.

Garland
(Breathing heavily.) Y'know. I mean, I thought you were gonna make me wait a whole year...

Ravi's eyes flash, and she swats him off and moves away fast. She looks scared, in the corner of that alcove, but Garland looks confused.

Garland
What's your deal?

Ravi
(Sweating hard, flustered, but terrified.) It was you.