It’s time for the annual Daylight Savings Time chapter!
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Darby would like to know what stupid coward had been so afraid of light bulbs that he’d decided to make everyone get up an hour early instead. Because whoever it was, he was not impressed with that person and if they were still alive, would be mailing them anthrax or old shoes or pictures of clocks or something.
All of which was to say that Darby was tired and angry at the government, but it was a different sort of tired and angry at the government than he usually was, because he thought that if the capitalist murder machine was going to control the whole world, they could at least leave time alone. But no, apparently nothing was sacred, time included.
Which Darby supposed shouldn’t surprise him, since time wasn’t real anyway. At least he hadn’t had to get up early to go to church like Gavin had. Maybe God knew something about Daylight Savings Time that the rest of them didn’t, but if he did, Gavin and Owen hadn’t said when they’d come back.
Darby watched the sky, fiddling with his phone. He sent Sully a text. If we topple the government, will they stop messing around with time?
Sure, Sully sent back right away. Though I’m not sure they’re the ones who arbitrate the chronofascism.
Darby scowled. Then who does?
Some shadowy cabal somewhere, who knows. If you find out, let me know so I can punch them in the eyes.
Can do. Darby would make an effort to find out. Gavin’s money had to be good for something other than exploiting poor people.
It wasn’t like today had been all bad—it had been mostly good, actually. It was International Women’s Day, which didn’t really affect Darby except inasmuch as better treatment of women affected everyone, but he’d drawn Gabrielle a picture of her as queen of the world, which she’d liked, which was good because Darby was afraid of her. He’d also gotten chocolates for Owen’s mom and flowers for Gavin’s mom. Everyone had told him he didn’t have to do that, but why not? Giving people things was nice, and he had a credit card that Gavin had given him for emergencies, so he may as well use it at every opportunity.
It was also the full moon tonight, which was why Darby was sitting on the rooftop terrace waiting for the sun to go down. He liked the full moon, and this was the first one of the year where it was really warm enough to be outside to see it not through a window.
Darby still had a heated blanket, because it was only a few degrees above freezing, but that was mostly for Greg if he came up later. He’d said he might come to watch the sunset with Darby.
So yeah, it hadn’t been all state control and thought policing. There’d been some good stuff today. Though, to be fair, technically the actual zenith of the full moon was tomorrow afternoon, which was super annoying because it was after lunch and if Daylight Savings Time wasn’t a thing it would be during lunch and Darby could have gone outside to see it.
Maybe Darby would just not go to school tomorrow. Getting up was going to be hard, and he could probably convince Owen to tell the school he was a Neo-Pagan and needed the day of the full moon off to do something with worms. Darby thought he’d make a good Neo-Pagan. He didn’t know much about them, but they seemed to like plants and being outside and full moons and being naked, and Darby also liked all of those things. Owen’s cousin Ron was Neo-Pagan, maybe Darby would ask him about it next time he saw him.
Darby was resisting the urge to text Greg and tell him the sun was starting to set. If he did that, Greg would come up and sit with him, which Darby would like, but he’d do it even if he didn’t want to, which Darby wouldn’t like. Darby had invited him to come up a while ago, and Greg didn’t forget things. If he wanted to come up, he would.
Just in case, Darby turned the heated blanket on for him.
It was nice, though, just being up here by himself for a while. Darby didn’t much like being alone, mostly because he was used to it, but he didn’t often get a lot of time to sit around and just think about stuff. Except for his phone, he hadn’t even brought anything up here to do to keep himself busy. Usually he liked to be busy, doing something or playing something or talking to someone. Usually he didn’t like to spend too much time just thinking because when he did, he thought about things he didn’t like much.
But it was kind of nice to just sit here for a bit because today, Darby was thinking that the worst thing currently in his life was that he was going to have to get up early tomorrow, and that really wasn’t so bad, considering.
A hand on his shoulder surprised him and Darby looked up, saw Greg standing there. He smiled. “Hi!” Darby said, pulling his hands out from under the blanket to talk. “You’re just on time.”
Greg nodded. “Sorry to make you wait so long.”
Darby shook his head. “It’s okay. I was going to be up here either way.”
“Okay.” Greg looked over at the setting sun, then rubbed his hands together. “It’s a bit cold,” he said, when his hands were free.
Darby smiled, moved aside on the big chair he’d gone through a lot of trouble to haul up here, and held out the blanket for Greg. Greg got under it, but instead of taking it for himself like Darby had intended, he pulled it over both of them, and sat right up against Darby. Darby felt his heart quicken, and Greg smiled at him.
The sunset was pretty, and the full moon was prettier. Darby could have watched it all night and been happy, but he kept getting distracted looking at Greg sitting beside him in the moonlight.
He was a little too hot under the blanket and he was going to be tired tomorrow, but other than that and the rampant chronofascism running unchecked in society and controlling the minds of innocent people at the behest of a malevolent state, Darby thought today had been just about perfect.
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How Best to Use a Sword 