Dinner

On the table sat a bowl of salad that Maya stubbornly called “legendary.” Ethan called it “a weapon of mass destruction.”

“You just don’t get spicy,” she said, sliding the bowl toward him. “It’s good for you.”

“For who?” Ethan pushed it back. “For people who want to die of internal fire?”

“For your immune system.”

“The best thing for your immune system is sleep.”

“You should at least try it.”

“I did. I survived. I’m done experimenting.”

Their father sat at the head of the table, scrolling through something on his tablet. The glow reflected in his glasses. He rarely jumped into their conversations, but he was always listening.

Lily sat beside Ethan, a little off to the side. Almost family. Almost.

Maya asked suddenly, “You’re sure you decided?”

Ethan didn’t immediately realize what she meant.

“Yeah,” he said.

“You wanted university.”

“I did.”

A pause hung between them. Lily stopped turning her fork in her fingers.

“You don’t have to be strong,” Maya said quietly.

Ethan let out a small huff. “Then who’s going to be?”

Their father set the tablet down.

“Finish your food first,” he said.

Fork on plate. A chair scraping. Outside the window, a platform slid past ,  its low hum skimmed the glass and disappeared.

Maya reached for the salt and bumped a glass of water. It swayed.

“Smooth,” Ethan said.

“That was a demonstration of control,” she replied.

A second later, she dropped her fork.

“See?” Ethan smiled. “Even the utensils are against your immune system.”

Maya flicked a napkin at him.

“There’s your immunity boost,” she said.

Lily laughed. Ethan caught her eye and laughed too.

An ordinary evening.

Nothing special.

But when their father turned the tablet back on, Ethan caught the reflection in his glasses by accident.

The news text moved too neatly.

The same phrasing.

The same pauses.

The same faces.

He looked away.

“What is it?” Maya asked.

“Nothing,” he said.

And it really was nothing.

He looked at the three of them Maya, Lily, his father and held his gaze a fraction longer than he needed to.

Outside, another platform passed.

This time, the sound felt too precise.