I’m King

8) dog days are OVER

Gianna spent the whole morning waiting for the other shoe to drop. After her conversation with her demon, she wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen. She was more concerned about what the gift was than anything else. But it was now lunch which means a whole 30 minutes all to herself. And today was Friday, cause for celebration. So, Gia placed a CD into her CD player.

Happiness, it comes like a train on a track

Gia turned the volume on full blast and dramatically sang into an imaginary microphone. She danced around the room and sung at the top of her lungs. This is how she got her serotonin hit, dancing and singing like an i***t in her office.

Leave all your love and your loving behind

She was now on her desk, pretending to sing to a crowd of cheering fans

“THE DOG DAYS ARE DONE!” She shouts at the top of her lungs. At that exact moment, in walks Conrad. He stops for a moment and looks at her. He shakes his head with a small smile before closing the door. She smiles at him, “CAN YOU HEAR THE HORSES? CAUSE HERE THEY COME!”

He may not totally understand her but he never made fun of her for her antics. For that she would forever be grateful.

“We have an issue,” he says once she finished her extravagant rendition of the Florence + the Machine song.

“What kind of issue?” she reluctantly asked.

“One you need to deal with quite urgently,” he turned serious. An overly serious Conrad was never a good thing.

“Can’t I just ignore it and hope it goes away?” Gia whines and dramatically leaned against her desk.

Conrad smiled sheepishly, “This problem will just become... bigger, the more you leave it.”

“I don’t wanna,” Gia dragged her feet as she slumped out of her office. She was walking so slowly down the corridor to the boardroom that Conrad placed his hand on her back and pushed her down the hall. Gia nearly tripped because her feet wouldn’t move so fast and started laughing. Conrad put his other hand over her mouth and whispered, “Shhhhhh. This is a serious situation.”

Gia’s face immediately dropped when she saw a very nervous Leoni and her boyfriend. the problem will just get bigger.

Shit! The dog days really are done*.

~

Kat had developed a healthy weariness of Gianna. They had once been friends but recently, she felt like she did not know who Gia was, or had ever been. Gia used to be this quiet, reserved, mom of the group but living with her proved different. Gianna was a force to be reconned with. She was so bubbly and wild within the confines of the house. She would turn the music up and dance on the tables in her underwear. But she could also be so childish, whining and complaining, being all round difficult. No one would ever let her run things if they saw her like that. And it would be such a shame because she was so good at running things. Probably because she was still the mom of the group. Strict but fair. And so loving. So, loyal. So, very, very strange. You never knew which Gia you would get at any different time.

Especially not now, as they sat in the living room of the massive house. The entire council and their SO’s with Leoni and her boyfriend, Jessen. Gia was leaning against the fireplace. Just watching. She looked so grown up. Her usual summer sun dress replaced with the mandatory uniform that looked like medical scrubs. Yellow. The council all had yellow uniforms. Apparently, it was because yellow was the first colour people saw. Kat often wondered why not red? Red was such a powerful colour. And the council was powerful. They knew it and everyone else knew it. But red had been allocated to first responders. Gia had worn it once when she was filling in during one of the shifts and that was when Kat realised, Gia looked devastating in red. No one would ever compare to that level of power. No one would approach her in red. So, the yellow worked. It was soft but captured everyone's attention.

Like it right now. Gia captured everyone’s attention. They were just waiting on Aly who had to deal with a cooking schedule issue. Kat curled herself up in her spot on the couch. She looked over at Conrad, her boyfriend. He was wearing the black uniform of defence. They had a different uniform: sweat wicking and tear proof workout pants and long sleeve shirt with hardy boots that had the best features of tekkies but were much sturdier. Conrad had yellow piping on the collar of his shirt to indicate his position on the council. He looked so handsome. Equally powerful but menacing with his usually shaggy hair neatly slicked back. When was the last time Kat had run her fingers through his hair? Touched his face? Made his frown lines turn to laughing ones? He had been so distant recently. She supposed it was because Gia had been having more nightmares. Kat didn’t even wake up at the screams anymore. She only knew they happened because her boyfriend was no longer next to her in bed when she woke up. She hated that. She hated that he would sit in her room throughout the night, even after the nightmares. Of course, she couldn’t voice this to Conrad. His duty was now to the council and Gia was the most integral part of that. What she needed would be his biggest priority. But Kat knew that Gia would return that. She would be there come hell or high water for not only Conrad but any of the council.

Conrad went to sit on the one couch as Aly walked into the room. Aly took a seat on the couch next to him.

“So,” Gia said from her place by the fireplace, “what do you have to say?”

Leoni looked around the room, then at Jessen, then her hands. Gia’s question was pointed at her but she did not speak. Kat knew Jessen quite well. Him and Conrad were very close friends through high school. Kat was also friends with Leoni through that more than through school interactions. Gia said nothing. She did not push them to speak but her stare at them was intense.

“Um,” Leoni eventually spoke, “We, um... I’m...”

Jessen looked up at Conrad, “pregnant.”

Kat watched Gia for any reaction. There was none. If Gia was surprised, angry, happy, anything, she hid it very well. The room was silent. Kat could not take her eyes off of Gia. Gianna was Pandora’s box. And no one knew what was about to come out.

*“Dog days,” also known as “dog days of summer,” refers to some of the hottest days during the entire year in the northern hemisphere. It represents the period between early July to early September. For most of history, this period was usually associated with bad luck as it was filled with droughts and unexpected thunderstorms. Moreover, the heat tended to make people lazy and to turn dogs mad, so nobody got anything done during this period. This is why another definition of “dog days” is a period of stagnation or inactivity