[crow]

Though it was also true that they looked pretty different in terms of physique than Henry himself, being tall and well built rather than short and scrawny. They were all probably from the same planet as Henry's English teacher, whatever place that was.

He bet Callum never struggled with the fitness test either. Well, of course he wouldn't. They looked at physical parameters as well as mental ones when they selected kids for the program that Henry's father was involved in, after all.

[crow]

... Come to think of it, if Rory had been a part of that program, then he must have fit the criteria in some way too. The thought was enough to take Henry's mind off the unpleasant heat and weariness he felt for a moment, so he clung to it as he made his way across the field of grass. What was special about Rory? Henry didn't know much about him beyond the fact that Henry's father found him memorable.

[crow]

Maybe he should have stuck around in the library longer to observe... But it was much too late for that now, and he would look conspicuous if he walked back in now. The idea of observing Rory didn't occur to him in time. If Henry ran into him again, maybe he would do so then... But it also wasn't terribly important, in the grand scheme of things. He wasn't in the experiment himself, and he didn't know them on a personal level.

[crow]

It didn't have any bearing on his life, and he was probably better off contenting himself with remaining where he was.

The grass felt dry and a little crunchy underfoot, which was probably a bad sign. It was hot, and getting hotter every year. The wildfire season had already started in other parts of the country. He saw it all over the news now, articles coming in on the daily about how this town or that county had to be evacuated.

[crow]

He had read one just this morning on how hotels were filling up with displaced families seeking refuge from the fires as they mingled with confused tourists. It felt strange to read about it all the time when he didn't see a lick of smoke, but he also figured it was only a matter of time until the winds shifted, and all that stuff started blowing over here.

At least when that happened, there would be more incentive than ever to stay indoors.

[crow]

His parents didn't try to push him to go outside the way that some of his teachers would clearly like to, but when it was wildfire smoke season, they made an effort to keep him inside instead. He didn't know their views on climate change, and frankly he was a little scared to find out -- if they were going to be deniers, he didn't want to know about it. His thoughts on his own family were complicated enough as it was without political views muddling the matter further.

[crow]

But they did firmly believe that breathing in the smoke was bad for the health, and whatever else they might think of him, Henry was still their only child. And as far as his physical well being went, he couldn't say they didn't take pains to take care of him.

It was a cold comfort, but still better than nothing. And he went to a nice enough school, but even there, even with him being as unsociable as he was...

[crow]

He heard rumors, knew things about some of the kids, the way that everyone in their grade knew things. Some kids had parents who beat them, and some didn't eat if they didn't bring home good grades. Unpleasant things like that, that no one could do anything about besides whisper about it in hushed voices behind people's backs. Every time Henry heard rumors like that, he shuddered and reminded himself that it could be so much worse than the mild discomfort he experienced now.

[crow]

The thought of it chilled him a little, just as he arrived in the cooling shade of a tree, like a man finding an oasis in a desert. It wasn't the relief that an air conditioned room would have been, but at this point he was glad for just about any reprieve from the full sun. A little breeze picked up just as he came to a stop, breathing harder than he would have liked. It felt refreshing on his skin, especially because he had been sweating.

[crow]

It would have been nicer still to peel off his shirt, but even at home he didn't do that kind of thing outside the confines of his own bathroom, with the door closed and another shirt at the ready. He wasn't about to do it here, in full view of the public. There were probably moms with toddlers here too, and he wasn't as charismatic as Callum was, to be able to convince them he wasn't some sort of weirdo.

[crow]

They probably wouldn't do anything worse than shepherd their kids away from him, but even that would be pretty uncomfortable to see. If he saw them do it, they might even make eye contact, and that really would be just the absolute worst. He felt worse just thinking about it, actually. No, it was for the best that he didn't feel comfortable enough to do that in public in the first place, because the public wouldn't have been comfortable with him either.

[crow]

He had to content himself with the shade, and whatever breezes might come his way. It was a mercy every time there was one, blowing across his dampened skin. He closed his eyes, and waited for his breathing to even out. For a moment he wasn't thinking about anything, just sitting there and soaking in the sensation, which was pretty unusual for him. Henry's head was always full of thoughts. It was just the way he had been, ever since he was little.

[crow]

A lot of them weren't very useful, and many were actively detrimental to his mood, but it was hard to stop thinking about things even when he put effort into it. He figured it was because he pretty much lived in his own head most of the time -- as opposed to living more fully in his body, he supposed. A part of having come from a different planet than the kind of kid who did well in gym class and all.

[crow]

But when he did sort of return to himself, he no longer felt the same sort of ambient anxiety that had held his attention earlier, which was a nice little surprise, all things considered. Maybe it was the fact that he had well and truly removed himself from the situation that had given him pause. There were things he could have found out, maybe, if he had stayed, and it would have been nice to stay somewhere with air conditioning...

[crow]

Even in the shade with a breeze blowing, it was still not exactly a comfortable temperature for him, and he wouldn't be able to stop sweating entirely because of that as long as he was outside. But it wasn't as bad out here as he had thought it would be, especially considering he was not the outdoorsy type at all himself.

He thought, a little wistfully, about eating ice cream -- or better yet, a nice popsicle. It would be good if it were fruit flavored.