Interludes 1: Smoking

Ib adjusted her backpack over her shoulders, her small feet trudging to the gates. It'd been a long day, and she was just settling into middle school life. She was definitely looking forward to today's macaron run with Garry.

Waving goodbye to some of her classmates, she finally came to a stop a few yards away from the school where Garry was free to have a smoke or two as he waited. As the young girl approached him, she tilted her head. She didn't like to hug him when he was smoking. It stuck to his clothes.

Garry smiled down at her as he exhaled, gray puffs of smoke wafting out in front of him. "How was school, Ib?"

"…There was an assembly today."

"Oh? That sounds like fun!"

"It was about," she paused to point at the white stick sitting between his lips, "that."

He blinked, reaching up to brush his hair from his eyes (or attempt to at least), before taking another drag. "…They talked to you about smoking, huh?" Giving Ib another awkward smile, he flicked the ashes from the tip. "That's good. It's an awful habit to get into. I'm glad they're keeping you guys aware."

Ib stared down seriously at the bits of ashes dotting the pavement below them. "If you know it's bad, then why do you keep doing it?" Her nose wrinkled. "It's bad for you. They told us about all these health problems that smokers can have. I don't…"

She bit her lip, fiddling with the edge of her skirt with her hands as she blushed a little. "I don't want you to be that unhealthy. They showed us pictures of a smoker's lung and what can happen to you if you keep doing it.

"You're my hero, so…if you were to get sick, I'd get really sad."

Garry was surprised by how sincere and genuinely concerned she was over this, and frowned at his cigarette. After a moment's consideration, he smiled weakly, dropped the butt, and stepped on it. "It's tough to quit. I've been trying to cut down slowly, but I think that it's time I really get serious about it!" He laughed, reaching out to take her tiny hand in his. "Just be patient with me, all right? I can be forgetful, you know that."

She smiled brightly, not minding that he smelled of cigarettes, and took his hand. "I know."

"Macarons are a bajillion times tastier than cancer sticks, anyway!"

"Bajillion isn't a number, silly."

"Ib, it's a joke!"