unREASONable by Arya Matthews
Track 18
Marshall
Alexandra slumps in my arms. She’s out cold, but when I place her on the back seat of the minivan, she stirs and comes to with a slight gasp.
“What’s wrong with her?” CJ’s face is lined with worry. I’ve never seen him this freaked out.
“I’m okay,” Alexandra says weakly as she pushes my hands away.
Jung starts the car. “Let’s get her home. Kayla will be able to tell us more.” Kayla, Tangs’ oldest daughter, is a nurse practitioner. It wouldn’t be the first time the family relied on her in an emergency.
We make a slow way back through the snowstorm. Alexandra falls asleep in CJ’s arms, and I sure hope her fainting is nothing serious and Kayla’s expertise will be enough.
When we get back, Kayla unleashes a million questions on her. “Do you feel like you have a fever? Did you have any earlier? Headaches? Cough or sore throat?”
“No.” Alexandra shrugs off her coat.
“She looked fine the whole time,” CJ says. “She played, talked, laughed, then she just passed out.”
“Do you have any chronic conditions?” Kayla continues. “Is there any chance you’re pregnant?”
That last question makes both me and CJ cringe, and Alexandra finds enough strength to issue a decisive, “No.”
Kayla takes our bassist upstairs. CJ and I go to the kitchen. Everyone else has had dinner already, and there’s plenty left, but I don’t want any of the salads, fruit, or potatoes au gratin with ham.
Graham sits at the table, glancing at his phone every so often, a half-finished plate of food next to him. “What’s with the commotion?”
“Alexandra fainted after the interview,” CJ says while I raid the fridge for a bottle of water and prepare a tall glass of apple juice. Who knows if solid food is okay to give to Alexandra right now, but drinks should be safe.
“She did?” Graham looks up from his phone with his eyebrows raised. “I didn’t take her for the fainting type. She going to be okay?”
“Yeah. Kayla’s with her,” CJ responds. He sounds certain, but what if it’s something serious? What if she’s been ill this whole time and is going to die?
I take the drinks upstairs. Alexandra’s door is slightly open. I still knock.
“Come in.”
Kayla is gone. Alexandra sits on her bed, under the blanket but still in her clothes.
“Kayla thinks I’m just exhausted.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
I sit on the edge of her bed and put the drinks on the side table, but Alexandra pulls on my arm that holds the juice.
“I’d like some.”
I hand her the juice, and she drinks until not a drop remains. It may be just my hopeful imagination, but her face seems to regain a bit of color.
“Is there any dinner left?” she asks. “I’m so hungry. I haven’t eaten anything today.”
“You passed out from hunger?” I laugh to stop myself from feeling like a complete idiot. Here I thought she was dying.
“I am sorry,” Alexandra says in a small voice, fidgeting with her hands. “I was just so nervous. I know how important it is for me to do everything right. Project Viper’s reputation depends on it. I wanted tonight’s performance to be perfect.”
I’m past feeling like an idiot. I’m not even human at this point. She passed out because of the interview. Alexandra tried her hardest from day one despite my inane comments and attitude. She never wanted to take anything away from me but worked hard to do her part. And I was never of any help.
“You don’t have to be perfect.” I cover her hands with one of mine to calm their nervous writhing. “Have fun and do your best.”
Alexandra’s gaze focuses on my hand on top of hers. I hold my breath and wait for her to move. She frees one of her thumbs and clamps it over my hand.
“I’ll go get you something to eat.”
Her thumb grip shifts to a full hand grab. “Potom.”
Later.
“Later can be too late. Graham’s still in the kitchen. He has no qualms about finishing off holiday dinners.”
Seriously, who cares? It’s not like he’s going to vacuum up every crumb in the house. What I should care about, or shouldn’t, depending on which side of insanity I want to dangle from, are Alexandra’s questioning look and her soft fingers that slide gently up my wrist.
“Feeling alive again?” CJ’s voice floats from the doorway.
I get off the bed. This is CJ’s place.
“Yes,” Alexandra says. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”
CJ comes over and pats her head. “It’s okay. You did so well today.”
Yeah, I’m out of here. I’m useless. I can’t even remember to praise Alexandra for her efforts at the radio station. She doesn’t need me.
Zach thwarts my escape by first blocking the doorway then by pushing me in. He carries a white plastic container. “Good. We’re all here.”
Shane and Graham follow him. We gather around Alexandra’s bed.
“What’s the matter?” she asks in a worried voice.
Zach grins. “Don’t worry. Everything’s fine. Are you feeling okay? We listened to the interview, and you nailed it. Good job.”
He raises his palm for a hi-five, and Alexandra slaps it. “Thanks.”
Shane smiles too. “Your first venture into the big, wide world of band business. You should feel good about yourself, and I’m not nervous to bring you along as part of the band anymore.”
Alexandra’s eyes widen in surprise.
I say, “I told you they would love you.”
A shadow crosses her otherwise pleased expression. I don’t know how, but I know what she’s thinking. The audience loved her, Shane said he’s okay with her belonging to the band, but I’m holding back.
“Speaking of business.” Zach sets his container on the corner of the bed. “Charlie had this delivered yesterday before we left. She texted me to open this before Christmas morning, so I thought, why not now?”
“Can’t wait,” I grumble and earn a conspiratorial smirk from Graham.
Zach opens the container. “Interesting.” He takes out an envelope and hands it to Alexandra.
She opens it with fumbling fingers. Inside is a Christmas card. I bet Charlie’s sent some kind of instructions for Alexandra. Also, I don’t think it’s presents in the bin. Chunky bundles in white plastic wrap with our names on them give off a sinister vibe. Knowing Charlie, it’s something utterly stupid.
Alexandra reads the card to herself first, chuckles, and clears her throat to cover it up. Fantastic.
“Okay, so.” She takes another sweeping look over us, then reads out loud.
Dearest Vipers,
You’ve had a nice, long break from all things public and social media. We hope you’ve enjoyed it. Now it's time to do a little work. In the white container you will find…
Alexandra pauses and looks at Graham. “Drumroll, please.”
He obliges and taps his palms on her footboard in a rapid beat. She continues to read.
Christmas pajamas. Be darlings and wear them this Christmas morning. Enclosed is a camera. Alexandra, since you’re not quite an official member of the band yet, the job to take the pictures falls on you. It also falls on you to make sure they look as sleepy and disheveled as possible, homey and cute, as they open the presents, eat their breakfast, and goof off. Lots of goofing off, please. CJ knows where to upload the pictures, so please have it done by eleven in the morning.
XO, Your Favorite Social Media Harpy
“Pajamas?” Alexandra tosses aside her blanket and grabs the top bundle, which happens to have my name on it. She pulls the plastic apart and shakes out a long-sleeve top and a pair of fleece pants. The fleece pants are fine, just black. But the top…
“Awesome!” Zach picks up my top and holds it up, seriously enjoying the sight of horrid tinsel stripes and ugly kittens in Santa hats.
“You gotta be kidding me. And what happened to the interview being the only thing we had to do?” Graham grabs his set and stalks out of the room.
Shane frees his pajamas from plastic. “No, no, this is great!”
Alexandra yanks my top from Zach’s hands, presses it to my chest and shoulders, then falls on her back, laughing.
“I wouldn’t cackle so loud if I were you.” I lean over the bed for the container, pinning her legs in the process.
As I suspected, there’s a pajama set for her too, but when I toss her Charlie’s new weapon of torture for years to come—we’ll be seeing these pictures every Christmas, I’m sure—Alexandra grabs her bundle and hugs it.
Eyes shining with happiness, she says, “I’m in.”