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Chapter 23
“You still look a little pale mate, you sure about tonight?” Callum said at the doorway. I nodded my head, “I’ll be alright, come in. Leo already took the black pad”. “Shit, I should’ve set off earlier.” He walked in and took his beige Vans off. Callum was on the margin between buff and obese, he’d spent some time at the gym but given it up when he started having to work every day. He joined us off the back of some freelance work he’d done, Leo found his portfolio somehow and decided he wanted Callum on staff. It wasn’t until we all went out after the first demo that I learned he was gay. Apparently, Cynthia knew the moment she met him by the way he sat at his desk. We’d all been sat around the bar celebrating our lowered expectations from management when Callum randomly said, “you all know I’m gay, right?”. Leo had nodded saying “Makes sense why you’re so good with colours”, Cynthia kicked him under the table. Callum never took offense to it though, he’d already worked out that Galileo only understood the world through a series of stereotypes. We’d all hung out a few times watching films and Leo would forever tell us exactly what ‘archetype’ the characters were, what traits they would most likely display. He was like the Sherlock Holmes of narrative, except we were never sure which ones he’d seen before.
Leo and Callum had taken their seats on the couch and instantly turned on Mario Kart, Cynthia was running a little late. “I ordered pizza” I said, bringing in the beers from the kitchen.
“Did you get anchovies on one?” Leo asked.
“I got a ten-inch chilli, jalapeno and anchovy” I said. “I’m not wasting money on something you won’t eat again.”
“I’m gonna fuck them fishes up this time.” Galileo pointed his finger at me. For whatever reason he had a grudge against his hatred of eating fish and often forced himself to ‘push the boundaries’ of his taste. It never lasted more than the first eager slice and the second belligerent one. A third transitioned into sad acceptance that he still hated the flavour before it ever made it to his mouth.
“What we doing then? Just hanging?” Callum enquired as he selected Toad.
“Actually, I want to replace Mawvis. With something less mindfucking.” I said, honestly. They turned away from the screen and I could tell both of them were thinking about it.
“She getting to you?” Leo asked with a touch of reservation I’d not heard in him before.
“I’m down for that. He’s right Leo. There’s some bad juju in her. Gives me the chills” Callum added.
“Management won’t be happy” Leo added solemnly.
“I thought you’d be more opposed to it, I mean she is your creation.”
“I realise that, but you know what made all the people in the game go mad. It was making their imagination come to life. Hubris man, I’m majorly facing my hubris. I hate that thing.” I was stunned. I could tell Callum was too, I’d never heard Galileo ever say anything remotely resembling actual feelings.
“Shit man, that’s deep” Callum nodded.
“I’m guessing you got a pitch?” Galileo said putting the pad down. I picked up the remote and tabbed the screen input back to my P.C. they both had a look at my hastily written notes.
“That’s the thing with all the spears. Forget its name. Yeah, I mean it’s workable, but we’d be deliberately tanking the terror she brings in.”
The rest of the night we worked on the designs, Cynthia never turned up and I tried not to take it personally, but it still left me kind of bitter. I’d always been the second choice though, it was something that had haunted me from childhood. Not particularly good looking, but I felt I’d developed my compassionate side a lot more to compensate. Yet, inevitably, Leo was the fascination. I liked him, he didn’t ever mince his words and his views, quite erratic on many things, were of a type you could never determine if he was joking or serious. One thing he was not was emotionally accessible or even aware. Callum had learned to accept his use of ‘gay’ as an insult to things which displeased him. I’d been party to a meeting between Cynthia, Callum and some HR woman about an email Leo had sent internally talking about how fucking gay it was that we had to attend an emotional sensitivity day. Irony aside, Callum had told the woman he was not in the least hurt by that, “I know he means wank, so I don’t see the issue”. Callum himself was not beyond using gay as a means to express his incredulity at something, he also was from Yorkshire. “look”, he said in the meeting, “if I had any inclination that he hated gay people I’d tell you, but he doesn’t. It’s just how things were back in school, I know that”. And, as if by magic, or more astutely as if by repeated beatings and long drawn out speeches, Galileo had managed to temper his insults by occasionally calling things ‘fucking straight’ as if it somehow made a difference.
Leo and Callum had taken their seats on the couch and instantly turned on Mario Kart, Cynthia was running a little late. “I ordered pizza” I said, bringing in the beers from the kitchen.
“Did you get anchovies on one?” Leo asked.
“I got a ten-inch chilli, jalapeno and anchovy” I said. “I’m not wasting money on something you won’t eat again.”
“I’m gonna fuck them fishes up this time.” Galileo pointed his finger at me. For whatever reason he had a grudge against his hatred of eating fish and often forced himself to ‘push the boundaries’ of his taste. It never lasted more than the first eager slice and the second belligerent one. A third transitioned into sad acceptance that he still hated the flavour before it ever made it to his mouth.
“What we doing then? Just hanging?” Callum enquired as he selected Toad.
“Actually, I want to replace Mawvis. With something less mindfucking.” I said, honestly. They turned away from the screen and I could tell both of them were thinking about it.
“She getting to you?” Leo asked with a touch of reservation I’d not heard in him before.
“I’m down for that. He’s right Leo. There’s some bad juju in her. Gives me the chills” Callum added.
“Management won’t be happy” Leo added solemnly.
“I thought you’d be more opposed to it, I mean she is your creation.”
“I realise that, but you know what made all the people in the game go mad. It was making their imagination come to life. Hubris man, I’m majorly facing my hubris. I hate that thing.” I was stunned. I could tell Callum was too, I’d never heard Galileo ever say anything remotely resembling actual feelings.
“Shit man, that’s deep” Callum nodded.
“I’m guessing you got a pitch?” Galileo said putting the pad down. I picked up the remote and tabbed the screen input back to my P.C. they both had a look at my hastily written notes.
“That’s the thing with all the spears. Forget its name. Yeah, I mean it’s workable, but we’d be deliberately tanking the terror she brings in.”
The rest of the night we worked on the designs, Cynthia never turned up and I tried not to take it personally, but it still left me kind of bitter. I’d always been the second choice though, it was something that had haunted me from childhood. Not particularly good looking, but I felt I’d developed my compassionate side a lot more to compensate. Yet, inevitably, Leo was the fascination. I liked him, he didn’t ever mince his words and his views, quite erratic on many things, were of a type you could never determine if he was joking or serious. One thing he was not was emotionally accessible or even aware. Callum had learned to accept his use of ‘gay’ as an insult to things which displeased him. I’d been party to a meeting between Cynthia, Callum and some HR woman about an email Leo had sent internally talking about how fucking gay it was that we had to attend an emotional sensitivity day. Irony aside, Callum had told the woman he was not in the least hurt by that, “I know he means wank, so I don’t see the issue”. Callum himself was not beyond using gay as a means to express his incredulity at something, he also was from Yorkshire. “look”, he said in the meeting, “if I had any inclination that he hated gay people I’d tell you, but he doesn’t. It’s just how things were back in school, I know that”. And, as if by magic, or more astutely as if by repeated beatings and long drawn out speeches, Galileo had managed to temper his insults by occasionally calling things ‘fucking straight’ as if it somehow made a difference.