"...What's wrong? A-Ajax, are you okay!?"
"...Huh? Whoa, what’s wrong? I’m alright, I’m alright, Rita. What got you so worried?"
Rita looks once again at Ajax's face and, as if that previous moment was just a lie, his face is back to normal. Rita’s expression slowly returns to normal as well.
"...Nothing. No, it’s nothing, Ajax. I’m hungry."
She doesn’t want to explain her thoughts to Ajax, she can’t even explain them in words. It’s probably just herself doing some overthinking, she probably made a mistake. Rita vaguely understands that today is an important day for Ajax as well so she decides not to push further.
Ajax simply moves on to the next phase of his not-as-busy-as-usual morning. He woke up early today so he can easily make breakfast for Rita and himself without losing any time.
"Come on, let's eat, you have to be ready soon."
"...I can be late, you know, summer’s almost here already." Rita pouts slightly.
"Well, that's true, but if you're late then mom will be late for her job too, so come on, let's eat!" Ajax smiles. Rita is still slightly unsettled but agrees.
"...Alright."
Rita decides to let her thoughts go for now, but what she's currently thinking makes her feel peculiar.
It feels to her like a bad omen. Is Ajax about to do something dangerous today? She wants to ask Ajax not to go to school today, to just stay home so nothing bad happens to him, but she cannot do that. She sits at the breakfast table pondering her thoughts, yet she doesn’t have the understanding to make sense of everything in Ajax’s head.
Ajax places two plates of food on the breakfast table: some scrambled eggs, slices of toast, leftover coleslaw, apple slices and a few drops of hot sauce for the eggs. He continues to think to himself about his dream; even though he forgot its details already, the fear is still there.
The details of the dream feel as if they’re behind a veil, as if he could gain glimpses of it if he really tried to think about it. But, he doesn’t want to think about it.
He knows that within that dream there were one or more moments where he felt pure terror. He does not wish to remove the mask off that terror; let the mask stay where it is for now, for the rest of his morning at least. He looks over at Rita who is quietly eating her food.
He remembers her slight panic from earlier and wonders what she was thinking about when she looked at his face. He doesn’t come across an answer and puts that thought away for now. Hopefully, her day goes well even if his day doesn’t.
He continues eating his own breakfast when the beautiful Shaula walks into the room. While working on autopilot, she makes a large and nutritious oatmeal bowl for herself as Ajax and Rita finish their own breakfast.
Rita goes off to see mom while Ajax brushes his teeth, checks his school supplies for the second time, and does a few more minutes of review for his English test.
He waits by the front door to his home where he sees his mom walk by with Rita. Ajax wishes them both a good day at work and school respectively and Rita wishes him back as well. He notices that look of Rita towards him, a slight worry that Rita herself doesn't fully understand.
As if resolving herself, she looks directly at Ajax who notices her sturdy gaze, and speaks.
"...I love you, Ajax."
"I love you too, Rita. Have a good day at school. Bye mom, I love you."
"Bye, Ajax, sweetie, love you. Also call your father after your test, he'll want to hear about it once you're done."
"Sure mom, I will."
With that, Ajax’s mom and Rita leave for the day.
Ajax then meets Shaula at the front door after she gets herself ready. He walks forward out the door, locking it behind him. He looks up at the clear blue sky above him and smiles slightly.
