Out of their Element 12

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Evie

"Sorry, what's the word you're standing on?"

"Oh, my bad!" I exclaim, taking a few steps to the side to get out of the way. Aiden's a faster reader than I am, although that might be because the letters are so much bigger to me. He doesn't seem bothered by me walking all over his textbook, though.

"So, the tri… car… boxylic cycle and the krebs cycle are the same thing?” I ask, having to take a few steps forward to look back to an earlier passage.

"I think so? Yeah, that’s what it says here. And it’s also called the citric cycle. Why call it so many things...”

There’s a large diagram at the bottom of the page that shows all the steps of said cycle, going in a big circle. I walk along the circumference a few times, trying and failing to memorize the steps. Aiden watches me with amusement for a minute before saying, "Let me know when you’re ready for the next page."

"I’m ready," I immediately say, giving up on the futile attempt to memorize the chemicals. I dart over to the edge of the textbook and hop to the floor - and by that I mean the actual floor today.

My giant roommate spent the better part of our Sunday cleaning the apartment between homework assignments. So then when we decided to study together in the evening, he took advantage of the cleaner space to spread his papers on the floor and bring me down there to join him.

How many more things are going to be new discoveries for me? It’s a whole other world this far down. I never would have thought I’d prefer seeing a huge drop beyond the horizon of the desk compared to everything around me stretching so high up instead, the ceiling twice as far away. It’s especially disconcerting when Aiden leaves to get a quick drink of water.

I almost fall over backwards as he rises into the air, looking more skyscraper-like than ever before, and I can feel every one of his footsteps as they shake the ground. It’s humbling to know the earthquakes would be imperceptible to anyone else on the planet. I can’t see him over the kitchen island either, which is unsettling as I hear the echoing sounds of shuffling and water filling a cup, and I’m instinctively wanting to crawl underneath the cover of the textbook for shelter. Instead I stand there trembling as I wait this out.

Aiden approaching is even more intense than him leaving, and for a moment I’m just staring at his massive feet thundering like heavy machinery. Trying to desperately convince myself that I’m not about to get stepped on, I force my head to lift towards his face again.

As he crouches he gets close enough to see my expression and can clearly tell how pale I am. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he says as he kneels, looking around for whatever gave me such a fright. “Everything alright?”

“Yes,” I squeak promptly, “I’m good.”

“Oh wait,” he looks back at me with a little frown and sits on his heels, hunching lower to try and make himself look smaller. “It’s probably from me towering over you like that, isn't it? I’m sorry. I really don’t think things through sometimes…”

“It’s okay, Aiden,” I say with a smile and a bit more confidence this time. He definitely means well. And I need to not be so scared of every little thing. It’s only day five. We’ll get there.

He goes back to laying on his stomach, propped up on his elbows as we resume studying. I return to my spot on the textbook, my heartrate still settling. Together we continue trying to figure out the krebs cycle.

Soon it’s time to turn the page again, and this time as I hop off the book, I ponder our setup. After a moment of thought I call up to my friend, “Could I try sitting on your shoulder? Then I won’t be in the way and it’ll probably be easier for me to read.”

“Yeah, sure thing. Upsy-daisy…”

His fingers slip onto either side of me and I grip them tightly as he gives me a boost. It’s another new environment, the broad expanse of his shoulder. I instinctively start huddling towards his head since I’m now high enough that I want something to hold onto to feel secure. As I scooch from his shirt to his skin, I notice that little bumps are appearing on the back of his neck. I hope I’m not tickling him too much.

“This alright?” I ask. For once I actually don't need to project so much since his ear is so close.

“Mm-hmm." He sounds unbothered so I settle in. It’s definitely much easier to read from up here.

We stay like this for another forty minutes or so, and I’m starting to really struggle staying engaged. Studying for school was never really my strong suit, especially from textbooks like this. I always learned better by doing, or at the very least by listening to someone explain things.

“So pyruvic acid ferments to become lactic acid, right?” I ask, suppressing a yawn, “Which is… what exactly?”

"You’re getting it. Lactic acid is that stuff that makes your legs feel like rocks after a five hour hike."

“Right... Oh yeah, that reminds me!” I pipe up excitedly at his word choice, giving his neck a little shove. “You never showed me your rock collection.”

Aiden chuckles at my obvious desire for a distraction, shaking me a bit in the process. "Want to take a break?”

“I really do.”

“Yeah, me too. Okay, hang on tight.”

I turn to straddle his neck, bracing my fingers and toes against his skin as if hugging a giant tree trunk. For extra assurance, I reach up to a lock of dark hair that dangles just within my reach. Once I let him know I’m set, the giant carefully pushes himself up to crouching and then standing, moving slowly and with a hand at the ready to catch me if I slip. I keep thinking we must have reached the apex of his height but we continue going up, up, up…

From the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. I've never been in a helicopter but I imagine it feels somewhat like this. It's like I'm looking down at a canyon. And then I think about how Aiden's eye level is even higher up.

He walks over to his bedroom with me along for the ride, heading to a shelf in the back corner. He holds very still as he briefly takes his hovering hand away, grabbing a shoebox that he settles under his arm before the protective hand quickly returns. I feel pretty confident I'm not about to fall off, but his diligence is comforting nevertheless.

It's funny how he's already gotten so used to me hanging around and seems so comfortable with our interactions. I guess it makes sense that it'd be easier to get accustomed to being around a tiny person than a giant one. But still, he's taking the transition to having an unexpected (and unconventional) roommate quite well.

We're back at the desk now and Aiden drops me off directly onto my bed so that I can be comfortable. I sit there cross-legged, watching as he opens the cardboard box and begins digging amongst the rocks.

"So did you find these yourself?" I ask.

"Some of them. Like this one… It's literally just a big pebble from the yard at the first house I lived in. Oh and this is from the second house, but you see that? It's actually a fossil. I think it was some kind of snail. Kinda crazy that it was in my own backyard."

He places each of them down near me in turn and I lean forward from my spot on the bed, genuinely curious.

"Most of these are gifts, though. Rocks and minerals kinda became my thing, so it was a go-to present idea for people. Like this jasper," he puts down a reddish stone that's almost as big as I am, "my uncle gave this to me when he was visiting for my eighth birthday. He thought it'd be funny since my last name's Jasper. And this," he sets down a black one, "is a meteorite my dad brought back from his time in Australia."

I hop off of the bed now and approach the growing array of his collection. I've never really paid attention to rocks before. But hearing how Aiden comes to life as he talks, I can't help but get sucked in. I meander between the boulders like I'm at a museum.

"I've got a few geodes and agates – this one's probably my favorite since I found it myself when rockhounding in Arizona. That was home number four."

I look up at him at this point. "Sounds like you moved around a lot growing up, huh?"

"Yup. Military family. My parents were both in the Navy."

"We have that in common. Not the military part, just the moving."

"Kinda sucks, huh? Maybe it's just me, but I can't wait to put down roots somewhere."

"No… It's not just you. I feel the same."

I zigzag between the pyrite, the petrified wood, the rose quartz, the polished amber. Each one of them has a story, scattered fragments of Aiden's life. One of the geodes is only half as big as I am, and I sit down so I can peer into it, marveling at the gorgeous purple crystals inside.

"I actually can't quite remember where I got that one," Aiden muses, leaning his cheek on his hand as he smiles down at me. "I think I got it early on, when I was first deciding I wanted to start a collection. Probably just spent my allowance on it at a tourist shop."

"It's so pretty…" I say, reaching out to feel one of the smooth amethyst facets. "Would you mind keeping it here on the desk?"

"Of course not!" He grins, clearly pleased that I've taken such an interest. "That's right, I need to find a place to display them all."

"Is there any room on that?" I wonder, pointing at the squat brown shelf that's near the desk, opposite to the couch. It looks to be pretty full of books but there might be some space in front of them.

"Well, I don't have anything on top of the shelf... Plus I could see them easily if I put them there. Good idea, Evie." He picks up the geode I'd been staring at. "This one stays here with you though." His hand glides over to my area, repositioning the rock towards the back of the desk so that it's visible without being in the way.

Having wandered from one living space to the next, home decor is never something I could really afford to have. As I take in the look of the crystals, adding a welcome air of fantasy to the area, I decide that I'd like to change that.

"That reminds me," Aiden says abruptly, "Be right back."

He disappears around the corner into his bedroom, and when he returns I'm surprised to see him holding my plush lion.

"I've been thinking this could maybe help you feel like you're in your own space," he says, and he sets the stuffed animal on the windowsill that's just behind the desk, so that the lion's top half is well in view to watch over me. It's as if Aiden had heard my thoughts about decorating.

"What do you think?" he asks.

I gaze up at the fluffy feline face that has been by my side through many a challenge. "Perfect," I say with a big smile.

Aiden's expression softens and he slowly slides a hand towards me. I turn to face it, feeling a little wary but mostly curious. He gently touches the top of my head with his index finger, barely putting on any pressure as he gives it a little pat.

"Welcome home, roomie," he murmurs.

I blush all over.

At this point it's almost bedtime so we give up on doing any more studying. Aiden puts the rocks back into the box so that he can relocate them to their new spot on the shelf. I stare after him quietly, feeling anxiety bubble inside of me. End-of-weekend dread isn’t something that has ever really affected me since going to school was a welcome escape from my home life and my work schedule has always been all over the place. But right now I hate that tomorrow's Monday.

We say good night and I drag myself over to the water tank to brush my teeth. I don’t plan on taking a full-on bath tonight… I’ll have plenty of time by myself tomorrow, after all.

I turn off the desk lamp and slide into bed. Absently I run my hand over the dog-shaped logo of my blanket that used to adorn Aiden's shirt once upon a time, and I gaze at the moonlight that stretches across the surface of the desk. I stare and stare and stare and sleep continues to slip away from me…

"Come on," I whisper to myself in frustration. "He's done with school at four. No big deal." It's not like he's never left the apartment before. But I guess in my mind it's a big jump going from a couple of hours alone to the majority of the day.

I feel so pathetic. Here I've been so adamantly wishing to be autonomous, to not bother him so much. I simmer in self loathing for a little while before I bolt upright, suddenly struck by an idea.

I go turn on the lamp again, hoping I don't attract Aiden's attention from the other room. I grab onto my makeshift pencil, step onto the giant notepad… and I start writing.

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