Round One

That's Life

Zeph: Life sucks.
Selene: Oh come on, it’s not that bad.
Zeph: Yeah it is! Every time Dad visits there’s fights, not that they need his help…
Selene: Yes, Mum and Dad fight. So do a lot of other couples. It’s not the end of the world…
Zeph: It’s me they fight over!
Selene: Come on, that’s not true.
Zeph: Yeah it is! *storms off*
Selene: *sighs* It’s not him they fight over, it’s how he got here. Dad’s spent a good portion of my life being down, not thinking straight, you get the idea. He found out the hard way he likes guys too, when he had a one-off with Zephyr’s Dad. To Mum he’s just a reminder of that – I don’t think she’s ever forgiven Dad for that one “moment of weakness” as he puts it, not going by the way they argue. Yes life could be better, but at least we’re not cast out as freaks for looking alien. Would be a bit hard given the rest of our family, wouldn’t it? As luck would have it, there’s enough “oddities” (for want of a better word) in our town by now for us all to stick together.

Selene: I'm dying to tear the wallpaper and carpet up, and replace it with something more to my tastes. If it was only my room I would, but I share with Clare, one of the people in the family who can't even stand the way I dress. Bah...
Zeph: The only folk I really get on with, aside from the other girls at home, are those I left behind when we moved. Namely the kids of my oldest brothers, Chris and Andy. I love coming back with them after school. Everyone’s so happy, I wish I could stay here instead.

Zeph: That’s one of the only reasons I keep going to school, to see them. Not because I enjoy it, that’s for sure – teacher keeps telling me to take off my sunglasses, so the others make fun of my eyes. If I had to pick a lesson, it’d be music – I want to play at piano like Andy does, I love it when he plays!

Selene: I prefer Maths. My mind works in very technical, logical ways… Although I do get sick of the way some people still tease on my colour, I’ve learned to brush it aside and give as good as I get. Usually by going into this long-winded, complicated rant designed to blind them with science, so to speak… it does work! Dad didn’t send us to private school because of the teasing our brothers got, but if you ask me, I dread to think what we’d get there, it’s bad enough where we are! Not in exactly the same school since we’re in different age groups, but you know what I mean.

Selene: Favourite season?
Both: Halloween!
Zeph: Bwahahahaha!
Selene: It’s the one time of year we can go out as is and get away with it. Besides, it’s a good excuse to dress up darker than we usually do…
Zeph: Is that possible?
Selene: Um… *ponders* I think so. To a degree, anyway… oh, favourite food?
Both: Lasagne!
Zeph: Yum yum! It’s even more tasty when Selene cooks it…
Selene: Cheeky…! You wait till you’re old enough, you can make it yourself!

Mini-task

Selene: Dying my hair? Oh yeah, I do like to experiment sometimes. How about this? Goes pretty well with my skin, don’t you think?
Zeph: I like Chris’s hair. I also like Mum’s colour, it matches my eyes. … Oh, I can do that? Whee!

Selene: I define fashion as something that goes out of date a few hours after you’ve bought it. I live in that top, but like to pair it with different bottoms. Dad hates me wearing this but I don’t care!

Zeph: Joey lets me borrow all sorts of stuff! Like this. I get Selene to buy me them if I like them enough, we do a lot of shopping together! Who’s Joey? He’s one of my friends that I talked of before. He wasn’t in that first photo, he was off doing something else at the time.