THE GOLDEN AGE, sejanus plinth

026. august ninth

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
AUGUST NINTH
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IT SHOULD BE a day like the others. Rot in her bed, go over to the Plinths to eat Mrs. Plinth's pie, sleep, and then do it all again the next day.

Today was different. It was August Ninth, Aurora Crane's nineteenth birthday. How exciting.

Pandora had looked forward to that day in a way. Although it was another reminder that her daughter would never be there to celebrate her own birthday in spring again, she had done everything to make this day festive.

Maybe to finally get the girl's mind off that boy. Pandora was glad that he was gone, he hadn't been the right company for her Aurora anyway.

And so the girl sat at the dining room table and stared at the grinning faces of Clemensia, Festus, and Lysistrata.

She had talked to them during graduation, had apologized for cutting them off years ago and for some reason, they had accepted.

It wasn't the same as when they had been kids, but she knew that time would bring them closer together again.

And as long as Festus didn't start talking about those atrocious dog fights, she liked his company.

But the two empty seats around the table reminded her of the two people who were closest to her and so far away. It had been more than a week since she'd last seen her boyfriend and her best friend. And another empty seat reminded her of her cousin who would never come back again.

"If you don't eat it, then I will," Festus said.

Clemensia slapped his hand that was already reaching for Aurora's plate.

"Ouch," he let out, which made Lysistrata laugh.

She was the only one who still hadn't touched her aunt's pie. It wouldn't taste as good as Mrs. Plinth's anyway. And it was strawberry pie, Arachne's favorite.

"It's her birthday, Festus, not yours," Clemensia scolded him. She wasn't scratching her collarbone anymore, but something about her was still different.

"Sorry, Rory," he said and stared at his empty plate. He'd already eaten three pieces of cake and was still not fully satisfied.

"No, you can have it, it's fine," she replied while holding her plate towards him. He sat across from her, next to Clemensia.

The boy beamed at her as he grabbed the plate.
"You're the best!"

Aurora glanced at Lysistrata next to her and the two couldn't help but snicker at his reaction.

"So, Festus, how's it going with Persephone?" Lysistrata asked him.

He sighed loudly. Everyone knew that his flirt skills had, once again, failed bitterly. The two other girls couldn't quite hide their smiles.

"I guess she was immune to my charm," he replied with his mouth full of pie. A few crumbs stuck on the face around his mouth.

"Shocker," Clemensia remarked, while looking down at her own plate.