Victor and Jean-Paul

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Somewhat disturbed by his melancholy roommate, Victor decides that another cooking lesson might help him provide Johnny with a pick-up.



"Let me see...it is half-past nine and Victor Borkowski is at my door." Jean-Paul offered the boy a smile and leaned against his door frame. "If experience holds true, that means that Johnny fell asleep early and you have something on your mind. How close am I to right?"

"I think you're supposed to hold an envelope to your forehead first," the boy said with a smile. "And you're pretty close. Johnny's still awake enough to pretend he's reading and not dozing, and I thought I'd see if you were up for another cooking lesson. Well, baking lesson," he amended. "Unless it's too late?"

"I suppose that depends." Jean-Paul was definitely intrigued now. He turned down his stereo; Pachelbel would endure without him. "I would imagine it is not...you usually do not come asking for anything very complex. What are we looking at?"

"Birthday cake," Vic replied, glancing down at his frayed rattan flip-flops in a rare show of self-consciousness.

The request left Jean-Paul a bit surprised. He took the time to close the door and consider the possible reasons behind it. "I am guessing this would be for Johnny? His birthday is coming up, is it not?" On the first day of school too. That had to be a joy.

"Yeah, in a couple of days, I think? And he's been...I don't know." The boy shrugged, not knowing exactly how to describe his roommate's distracted air of the last few days. "I mean, I know nobody likes school, but I don't think it's just that, you know? But I don't know what it is."

Jean-Paul hesitated, not wanting to break Johnny's confidence, but wanting to put Victor's mind at-ease as well. "His father called him the other day," he said finally. "It was not bad news, they just...are not close."

"Oh." Vic scuffed one toe against the carpet, digesting this. "He doesn't really talk about his dad much. I mean, basically all I know is that he calls him by his first name, which is kind of weird." It was weird, too--not only because Victor couldn't imagine being comfortable ever calling his own parents by name, but also because Johnny didn't seem like the kind of kid who did it to be contrary.

"It is not the happiest of situations," Jean-Paul agreed, "but I think that his roommate taking the time to bake him a cake will perk him up, non? Were you thinking of delivering on the day itself?"

Vic shrugged again. "I dunno. Do you think he's got plans or anything?"

"I was planning to spend the day with him in New York the day before -- I think we will all be too tired on his actual birthday to do much celebrating. But for the actual day, I am not sure. He has not told me anything, at least." Jean-Paul shrugged. "That does not necessarily mean that he has no plans, but he would probably have let me in on them."

"He hasn't said anything to me either," Victor admitted. "You don't think that's because he doesn't want to do anything, do you? I don't know if birthdays were a big thing in his family or not."

"I have a hard time believing that his father took much notice." Jean-Paul finally waved Victor to a seat before heading to a chair. He had a feeling tonight would be more about planning than actual baking anyway. "I think it is less that he does not want to do anything, and more that he does not expect us to think that the day is anything special. Which, of course, cannot be allowed to stand."

"Of course not." Vic sat on one end of the couch, slipping his feet out of his flip flops and pulling his heels up under himself. He wasn't quite sure how to ask his next question, or even if there was a good answer for it. "How...how do you ignore a kid like Johnny? Johnny's awesome."

Jean-Paul turned his answer over in his mind, then sighed. "It takes a great deal of fear and selfishness," he said at last. "Understand, Victor, I wish that I could be more forthcoming, but if Johnny does not wish to speak of his past, then it is not my place to do so either."

"I know," Vic said hurriedly. "I don't--I'm not trying to pry. I just don't really understand it, I guess. He's, like, one of the sweetest kids I've ever met." He would've said more, but the last thing either of them really needed at the moment was for him to gush over his roommate to one of their professors, he reminded himself. Instead, he tried to get back on topic. "But you think that he really doesn't expect anyone to do anything for him?"

"I would put money on it," Jean-Paul confirmed. "Even if he has seen how we get about birthdays sometimes, I am sure he doesn't think it applies to him."

"Then we should definitely do something," Victor decided with a certainty only found among sixteen year old boys. "Starting with a cake. Maybe a big cake, to make up for past birthdays?"

"I think we can manage that." Jean-Paul considered. "Baking is not my usual area of expertise, but I have had a lot of practice with cakes recently. Do you think chocolate would be safe?"

"I think so," Vic said, thinking back over Johnny's eating habits. "Or we could do yellow cake with chocolate frosting, in case he's not a total chocoholic?"

Jean-Paul's nod was as much approval of Johnny's roommate as agreement with the idea. He certainly agreed with the idea that Johnny was an awesome kid, but Victor was not so bad himself. "I believe we have a plan. Now...how big a cake are you thinking?"