Riley Ross
Chapter 44: What Is Love?

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: What Is Love?

"Come to mommy."

Another memory I haven’t seen before. Or perhaps truly just a dream? I told Sister before that I could remember the events of what happened to me when I was two years old, but she laughed at me and told me it was impossible.

Maybe she was right? After all, how could a mother who killed his own son be this... affectionate?

"L-look! Mom, he’s walking!"

"Six-month-old babies aren’t supposed to walk, Alice. What in the hell is even that?"

"Mom!"

Six months? This makes this my second-earliest memory. Perhaps they really are only dreams?

"And the boy’s not actually walking! Look, he’s just staring at us without a thought in his mind!"

"Because he’s a baby! Come, Riley. Don’t listen to your grandma, okay?"

Grandmother? Her? But she looks almost as young as me. Not infant me, but me. But still, young. Perhaps this truly is just a dream and not a memory. But who are you, Grandmother?

And this warmth that I am feeling now that Alice is carrying and cradling me, it is... weird. I know it is only physical, but since it is happening in my dream, it feels... more intimate, as the only thing I am using here is my mind and nothing else. It is... replicating emotions that I do not have anymore.

Or did I have them before, and lost them when you tried to kill me, Alice?

"Ah! Someone’s at the door. I think that’s her! Can you hold Riley for me for a bit?!"

"Wh—don’t leave me with your creepy baby! And how many times do I have to tell you I don’t trust that woman!"

My youthful grandmother did not have a choice; Alice gave me to her as she ran to the door, leaving me alone with her. Her warmth is not the same as Alice’s, it is... much colder.

"Why... are you staring at me? I swear, it feels like you’re already conscious. Why can’t you just be a normal baby? Be quiet, okay? Ssh."

Where... are you bringing me, Grandmother? Oh. Are we... eavesdropping?

"How is Riley’s condition? Is he stable?"

This voice... it sounds familiar. But we’re too far for me to remember it clearly.

"He’s great! He’s so... he’s so cute. He’s actually walking now, and just last night he talked and asked me for milk!"

"What? Already?"

"Psh, what’s that look? You’re the one who told me that he would be different from the other children because of the special IVF serum thing you injected me with."

IVF? Is that why I do not have a memory of my father? Interesting. Who did you get my other half from, Mother?

"That’s true... but this kind of development is unusual."

"Doc, he literally has white skin and hair. How more different can he be? Have you seen him? He’s like the cutest little munchkin in the entire world. Like... he didn’t evolve from a semen but in a good way. I’m sure people from your planet isn’t as cute as him, but you don’t need to be so jealous."

What is this, Alice? Your doctor is from another planet? Is that a figure of speech... or is it literal?

"Semen wasn’t involved in his birth, Alice. And secondly, his skin doesn’t have anything to do with the state of his mind. He is—"

"Riley! What are you doing?! We’re gonna be late!"

Before Riley could sink any deeper into the memory of his mother and her doctor, his eyes flew open at the sudden sound of Hannah banging hard on his door.

"I am going in. You better not be doing anything weird when I go in!"

And without even giving him a chance to respond, Hannah kicked the door open.

"What the—why are you still in bed?! Shouldn’t you be all dressed by now?! Did one day in school really change you that fucking much?!"

Hannah didn’t care that Riley was still snuggled under his blanket, completely motionless. She stormed around the room like she owned it, raiding through his closet and throwing clothes at him without even checking where she was aiming.

Then she darted into the bathroom. A second later, she came back out, holding his toothbrush like she was going to stab him with it. Riley, meanwhile, just lay there, still staring at the ceiling.

"I was about to find out something about my past, Sister," he said, still not moving from the bed at all, "I think my biological mother knew Megawoman."

That is the only logical conclusion. If what Alice said was not a figure of speech, then that meant her doctor came from another planet... and the only alien on the planet right now is Megawoman. And that means that Megawoman had something to do with my birth? Is that why she hesitated so much in killing Alice...? The Earth’s strongest and mightiest superhero... was going to let me die?

...Megawoman?

"What are you even talking about? Of course, she knew her!" Hannah clicked her tongue before jumping onto the bed and then grabbing Riley’s face, "Megawoman occasionally visits the Hope Guild HQ. Now open your mouth."

Riley did as Hannah said and opened his mouth, and without mercy, she started brushing his teeth. Riley was saying something, but Hannah did not care at all even as he started gagging.

She brushed his teeth for an entire minute before moving away from the bed,

"Now go spit that out and get dressed. Let’s go! Let’s go! I don’t wanna be late on the second day!"

Riley had plenty to say—but before he could get a single word out, Hannah bolted out of the room.

"You better be out in three minutes or I’m going to leave you!" She yelled, her voice trailing away into the hallways.

I suppose I’ll postpone telling you until I am sure, Sister. But then again... is there even a point in knowing more?

Riley’s eyes lingered on the open door. He stared for a long moment before finally sitting up.

No. There is no point in knowing my past.

And with that, Riley got ready for another day at the Academy.

***

"What do you think is the most amazing and important ingredient in cooking?"

"MSG!"

"Still wrong! Fine, since no one is getting it—the most important ingredient is love."

"Boo!"

A couple of hours later, Riley was back in his regular class with Pauline. The memory he had been obsessing over earlier in the day was now completely gone from his mind. Right now, he was simply... confused. Specifically, by whatever Chef Jordan Ramsay was saying.

Judging by the groans and eye rolls around him, the rest of the class wasn’t exactly buying it either.

Love. How can it even be an ingredient? Does he mean... the heart? Father had already cooked chicken liver and heart before, they had the bitter taste of metal.

"Now, hear me out! Hear. Me. Out, you donkeys!" Chef Jordan clapped his hands and slightly hopped, smiling at his students as he looked at them, "Love is the human element in our dish. Without it, people would still be eating unseasoned food. The care we put into our dish is as important as all the fancy ingredients and spices we put in it. Because tell me, what is the opposite of love?"

All the students started looking at each other at Chef Jordan’s sudden question, whispering to each other as they quietly pondered it.

"I thought this was a cooking class? Why are we talking about love?"

"Aren’t we supposed to be plating today?"

"Have you guys heard about the two people who were killed in New York? I heard one of them was a student here."

Chef Jordan scanned the classroom, his smile faltering as he realized that no one was actually talking about his question. And so, he clapped again, louder this time, snapping the students back to him.

"Tell me, what is the opposite of love?" He looked around again, and this time, there was a sudden shift in his voice, and the wrinkles that filled his face became even more obvious from his frown, "You. What is the opposite of love?"

"M-me?" One of the students pointed at himself, and Chef Jordan only glared at him until he answered, "H... hate?"

"Sure. Okay," Chef Jordan said, pointing at him again. "Cooking with hate leads to catastrophe. But to really understand this, we need to first define love. So... what is love?"

The students all started murmuring and teasing each other as Chef Jordan’s voice turned soft, some of them even squealing. All of the raging hormones coming out of their nose stopped, however, as soon as they saw Chef Jordan point at a particular student.

Riley.

Everyone in the room knew about Riley... and his condition—even if they didn’t know the details. The way he moved, the way he spoke—the color of his skin and hair was the least of his... uniqueness. It was obvious something was different with him. Even though they’d only just met him yesterday, the whole class felt it.

Why would Chef Jordan ask him that question?

"Mr. Riley. What do you think the meaning of love is?"