Page 6 of Solo Stan

Kai

The Day of the Concert

Kai wished he could have gone to the airport to see Bobby off, but he was scheduled to work. He waited for a ride in the back seat of his parents’ car.

The driver-side door opened with a ding , and Pop got in, clad in a Nike tracksuit and white tennis shoes.

Mama emerged next, urging Pop, “Let’s go.

We’re late,” as she slid into the passenger side.

As they drove off, Kai watched the sunlight flicker against his skin.

He puffed his cheeks in and out until he was basically beatboxing, adding a rhythm to the barrage of uninvited thoughts he’d had since Bobby told him he’d be leaving— your summer is going to suck, you’re going to be all alone, that stupid candle isn’t going to work .

He increased his volume to drown out the negativity, but Mama finally got annoyed and told him to stop. He was quiet for the rest of the ride.

“Careful with that boy today,” Mama said as the car came to a stop in front of Moodie’s. “I hear he’s trouble.” The uncharacteristic softness of her expression touched Kai.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Kai replied, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. He gave his dad a gentle squeeze on the shoulder before stepping out of the car.

“Call us if anything—” Pop added before Kai slammed the door shut.

Kai entered the shop and waved at his parents until they were out of sight, leaving him staring at his own reflection in the window—a child with clunky headphones around his neck, scarred knees, and one of his shoelaces untied.

Figuring he ought to at least try to tie his damn shoes before Moodie came in, he sat cross-legged on the floor behind the counter and gave it his best try.

His clumsy fingers knotted and jumbled the laces with every attempt.

He looped and pulled, threaded and twisted, but his knots were either too loose and fell out or were too tight to accommodate proper circulation.

He kept trying, nearly turning his shoelaces into a fire starter with all the friction.

By the end of this, he would probably have no fingerprints.

The bell above the door suddenly jingled, and a voice called out, “Uncle Mudiaga, you here? How you going to leave the store empty with the door unlocked like that, Mood?”

A shock of embarrassment struck Kai in the chest. Hurriedly, he smoothed down his shirt and tucked his still-untied laces into his shoe.

He prepared to stand, but when he looked up, the owner of the voice was already staring down at him from the other side of the counter.

He was brown-skinned like Kai, with a similar build, but he was probably half a foot shorter, with broader shoulders.

Did he see me? Kai panicked.

“Hey, hel—hi. Sorry. You’re Moodie’s nephew Eli?” Kai asked, as more of an observation than a question.

“What tipped you off?” Elias replied, his tone shaded in dry humor. “And it’s Elias.”

“Sorry, Elias .” Kai rubbed the back of his neck.

Elias seemed to consider Kai for a moment, then said, “You apologize too much.”

It was an insult, but it wasn’t in the cadence of an insult. It was more like Elias truly thought he was being helpful by pointing this out.

“I’m Kai,” Kai said, extending a hand, which Elias didn’t take.

“ Kai? Mood told me your name was Dakarai,” Elias said in an accusatory tone.

“It’s a nickname,” Kai replied. Using his once-outstretched hand to steady himself against the counter, he rose to his feet, causing Elias to take a subtle step backward as Kai’s presence grew.

With a slow and deliberate lean over the counter, Kai rested his elbows on its edge so he and Elias could be the same height.

Elias puffed out his chest. “How do you get Kai from Dakarai?”

“Ask all the people in this town who couldn’t pronounce my name when I was a kid.”

“Call-center name,” Elias mused. “I get it.”

The two locked eyes for a fleeting instant.

A current of familiar energy hummed between them before Elias looked away and moved behind the counter as well.

Kai’s gaze remained fixed on Elias, captivated by the way he commanded the space.

Elias reached for the forest-green apron Kai offered, and their hands brushed briefly.

He felt a sudden weight on his back. Then a vibration pulsed through his body, and he saw a flash of bloodred.

Without thinking, as if his hand suddenly belonged to someone else, he grabbed Elias’s arm and held it.

The candle came immediately to Kai’s mind.

Elias abruptly reclaimed his arm. “What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry,” Kai said, mortified. “I—uh…the aprons can be hard to tie on your own. I thought you might need help,” he said, fully aware that Moodie had tied his apron for him over a year ago and he’d been slipping it over his head ever since.

Elias gave Kai a sidelong glance. “Thanks…but I can manage on my own.”

Kai’s eyes followed each of Elias’s movements, the way he confidently reached behind his back and how his fingers deftly manipulated the fabric.

Elias pulled the strings tight and looped them in a knot without even having to look.

Kai tried his best to appear casual, but the heat rising to his cheeks was hard to ignore. He was certain who this was.

Kai’s pocket buzzed with a faint vibration, signaling an incoming call.

Bobby, you have such good timing, Kai thought.

He excused himself to the back room and took a seat on top of an unopened box of comics.

“Dude, I think something happened,” he said as soon as Bobby answered the call.

“Why are you whispering?” Bobby asked, confused.

“Do you remember the day we kissed?” Kai asked in a hushed tone. He looked around nervously to make sure no one was there.

“You mean the day our love story began?”

“No, I mean the day it ended.” Kai clutched the phone tighter. “Do you remember that boy I met earlier that day, the one from the park?”

“The one who sent you running into my arms? Of course.”

“Bobby Bae! Stop joking for a second. This is serious.” He held the receiver close to his mouth, and, using his hand as a shield, he hissed, “He’s Moodie’s nephew!”

The line was quiet for a moment before Bobby said, “I don’t get it. Why is that serious?”

Kai ran a hand over his hair. “Last night, I was a little down about you, Winter, and Emmy not being here this summer. I thought I would do a— You’re not going to understand what I’m trying to say.

Let me try again,” Kai blurted, not even stopping to take a breath.

To anyone else, this would have been an unintelligible stream of nonsense, but this was Bobby, someone with whom he could communicate using only a series of grunts and facial expressions.

“What I’m trying to say,” Kai continued, “is that I put it out to the universe that I want to find love, and—”

“Don’t tell me he’s your twin flame.” Bobby was governed by science and math—hypotheses with demonstrable outcomes—and he had no patience for many of Kai’s views on life and love.

It was part of the reason they got along so well; they constantly challenged each other.

But sometimes Bobby’s skepticism came off as patronizing.

“It’s real this time!” Kai played with one of the short braids by his ear.

“There’s something about him. His energy is so intense, and his aura is…

it’s like…it’s such a dark shade of red.

I’m purple, so my head is always in the clouds, but he is so grounded.

Can you imagine if an etheric cord existed between two people like that? ”

“Kai, do you know how many times you’ve told me you’ve met your soulmate? You said this about Emmy last year.”

“Then I found out her Venus is in Gemini. I could have ignored that, but our signs in the seventh house are incompatible.”

“How about the girl you saw at the record store, or the one who checked you out at the movies last week? Or Jules from math class. Or how about—I don’t know—me?”

“I know I try really hard to look for things that aren’t there sometimes,” Kai said, settling back and switching the phone to his other ear, “but this time I have such a strong feeling about it. This can’t be a coincidence.”

Bobby huffed out a sigh. “It’s pseudoscience.”

“Can’t you just have an open mind for once, Bae?”

“I’m trying, but you’re giving me some serious But, Daddy, I love him energy. I don’t want to see you get hurt. Again.”

“I’m not calling you Daddy,” Kai retorted. “And I’m not saying I love him; all I’m saying is that I’m going to invite him to the CYPHR concert with me. And didn’t you spend the better part of last year stressing over Winter?”

“That’s different,” Bobby replied, his voice suddenly smaller.

“Why? Because it’s you ? Since when are you so judgmental?”

“Since you ditched me on the other side of the country!” Bobby exclaimed, and the two fell silent.

They didn’t usually bicker like this. Because the two of them were both introverted, they were far too polite to fight.

The worst disagreement they’d ever had was back in seventh grade when Bobby borrowed one of Kai’s graphite drawing pencils without permission and used it all day as a standard pencil—the tip was dull by the time he returned it.

“Thanks for letting me borrow this. You’re a lifesaver,” Bobby had offered.

But when Kai saw the blunted nib, his response faltered.

“It’s…cool,” he’d managed. To date, that tiny pause was the biggest fight they’d ever had.

“I’m sorry,” Kai said finally.

Bobby reined in his volume. “Me too. I just miss you already.”

“I know.” Kai buried his head in his hands. “I can’t believe you’re leaving.”

“I can’t believe you’re staying . I’m going to miss the hell out of you,” Bobby said, his voice breaking. Bobby was known to be a prolific crier.

And Kai was known to be a prolific empath. “Dude, if you start crying, I’m going to cry.”

“You know I can’t help it.” Bobby sniffed hard and cleared his throat, pausing. “My flight hasn’t even taken off yet and it already feels like you’re trying to replace me.”

Kai clicked his tongue against his teeth. “You know I can’t replace you. I’m sorry I couldn’t come see you off.”

“I know you had to work.”

“You fly safe, you hear? I love you. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”

“You always know where to find me. I’ll never leave you behind, I promise.”

“Don’t do that to me, man. Come on!” Kai said, tilting his head back so tears didn’t fall.

“I just called to say bye before Winter and I take off. I have to get to our gate. Just be careful, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt,” Bobby said, and then he was gone with a click.

Kai leaned his head against the wall, inhaling deeply to calm himself. A tear leaked from the corner of his eye and rolled down his cheek.