Meliora - Extricate - 07

[lady_mab]

Zoné Altair

I almost forgot about the list that Mr. Stavros gave me.

(I also almost forgot about doing my homework while sitting right there in detention for not doing my homework, but Mr. Stavros provided a gentle reminder by taking my food away from me until I had finished the assignment.)

The list includes last name, first name, and occupation. I'm right near the very top under Altair, Zoné - Busboy.

If I want to take the task of participating in this game seriously, I need to find a partner for the game. I narrow down my choices to those listed as 'student' -- though I can't find Lio or Lia anywhere. There's only Darcy, Rhys - Accountant, which I figure must be their older brother that Mr. Stavros mentioned.

Some of the names are familiar, but not enough that I would feel comfortable walking up to them and asking them to participate in this game with me. While I consider myself a very friendly and outgoing person, this feels like a completely different matter.

It's not until my third or fourth review of the list do I even find one almost at the end of the list. Zhou, Jun - Student.

Seeing her name there hits me like a ton of bricks. I don't know how to react to that information, because truthfully we also don't know each other that well. Looking at the date from the original message, we received it on the day that I invited her to eat lunch with us.

How could such a little decision on my part lead to a huge coincidence?

Hundreds of questions run through my head. Does she plan on participating? Does she want to leave or is she out for information?

My mind keeps looping back to the very important thought: Would she want to join my team?

I return to the list, trying to see if there is a better option, before I spot a name smack dab in the middle. It’s mundane enough, but there is something about Fletcher Oswin that catches my attention and drives a pin through it.

Where have I heard that name before?

I'm running out of time to make a choice when I decide to do something about 'Fletcher' before I go crazy.

It takes a lot of texts to various friends from classes to figure out just where Lio works. I don't even know if he will be in today, but I have to at least give it a try.

After classes, I hop on the bus and make my way towards the computer repair shop in the Second District to try my luck.

A bell hums beneath my feet as I step inside, enjoying the breath of air conditioning before I glance about. Everything inside is very sleek and expensive looking, though there are some older models that are closer to my laptop.

A man with a goatee and thick arms approaches me from around one of the shelves. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Uhh..." My fingers fiddle with the strap of my bag, an uncertain feeling rising in the pit of my stomach. This is probably a very stupid idea, but I've got nothing else but to try. "Is Lionel Darcy in today?"

The man's bushy eyebrows waggle, though I wonder if that is his attempt at lifting them in surprise. They certainly look a little too big to be going anywhere quickly. "He's in the back."

"Oh! Cool! Can you get him for me? I know him from school." There's a hint of relief in my posture, but still not enough to do a dance in joy. I still have a lot of unknown variables in the next few days.

He huffs a response and nods. When he turns to leave, I go back to my study of the shiny tech lining the walls. Cords of all types are coiled on a row of shelves, and I'm so curious as to why they're being advertised when I thought the trend was cordless these days that I start to reach for one of them.

Someone coughs to clear their throat, and I jump at the sudden sound.

Across the room, behind the register, is a scrawny boy with a sour expression. His blond hair sticks out at odd angles, and there are little red marks around his eyes -- probably from the goggles he grips in his hand.

Yep, just as I remember him.

"Lio!" I grin and cross to the counter. "Haven't seen you around in a while. How've you been?"

His frown deepens, and with it comes a seriously confused expression. "Do I know you...?"

Well, that answer is to be expected. We didn't talk all that much when we shared a class. So I don't let it bother me as I respond with, "I'm Zoné. We had English Comp together last year."

Recognition comes a beat later and I watch his posture shift from defensive to bored. "Oh. I'm not taking summer classes, if that's what you mean."

I rock back on my heels, hands shoved into the pockets of my slacks. "That's why. I've got to take them to make up for the fact that I came in late during my first year." I sigh, shoulders slumping at the thought of all the work I still have left to do with I want to graduate on time. "Can you believe that my credits from New Ox don't count? Okay, I skipped most of year nine, but whatever."

That was the year I dropped out of school in New Ox and walked to Eminence. It took several weeks before I was able to find a job, having to ration what little I had left on me from my parents' parting gift.

All in an effort to find someone who probably doesn't want to be found.

Lio and I drop into a silence -- him with a tired expression, and me with a carefree smile in place.

"So," I try again. "How's your sister?"

Lio pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "Listen. I don't have a lot of time to talk. I'm sort of at work, and all--"

"Right, no, I totally understand--" Ack, awkward.

"Is there something I can help you with...?"

Okay, the moment I came all the way out here.

I shrug off my backpack and pull out the laptop. "I want to ask you a question about a list."

He makes a strained sound that I think is, "What?" He's grinding his jaw in frustration. "If this is a homework thing, I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Huh?" I look up in shock. I have other people I can go to for that -- unless it was some kind of computer science class, but even then I might just give up and fully accept how awful I am with technology. "No, of course not. It's about Meliora."

Seconds tick by before Lio shakes his head. "Meli--wait, what?"

"Mel-i-or-a?" I begin to wonder if Mr. Stavros was telling the truth about Lio participating. "You know, that game where you have to team up and--Hey!"

He launches himself around the counter and grasps my arm. With a sharp tug, stubby nails digging into my forearm, he drags me away from the register. I stumble along behind, tripping over my feet when he manages to push me before him down one of the side aisles formed by the shelves.

"You know about Meliora?" His voice is low, more like a hiss.

"Yeeeahh?" I stare at him in confusion. Where did this tension of his come from so suddenly? "Is that bad...?"

"No," he says automatically. "Well..." Then, after he has a chance to think about it, "No, it's not. Just... don't talk so loud. We don't know who is involved and who isn't. And the Program Manager said we're not supposed to involve outside people..."

I stare at him, trying to figure out what he's talking about. Would it be such a problem if other people know about it? He seems to be taking it a lot more seriously than I am. So I hold up my laptop. "I thought that is the point of this list in the first place. To know who received an invite."

Lio squints from me to the screen. The battery is dying, so I've kept the brightness down until I can get back to my apartment. It doesn't take long before his eyebrows shoot up in a much better example of surprise than the other man. "This is the list I pulled from the email... How did you get this?"

"Mr. Stavros got it from your brother."

The twitch of a frown pulls at his lips. "You know Lysander?"

That reminds me that I'm supposed to try to start calling him by his first name, and not like an instructor. "Well, he's one of my teachers for summer school. But seeing as I didn't go to the first meeting, he sort of filled me in on what he knew from your brother. He's going to be that Informant thing."

Lio purses his lips and makes a small sound in thought. "Oh. Who is your second teammate?"

Aaaaand that reminds me that I still have to talk to Jun about it. "I haven't asked her yet."

"You're sort of running out of time. We have to register the teams on Sunday."

"I know. I..." I take a breath, and force myself to go on. "There's something I wanted to ask you before I approach her, though."

His expression moves through several different emotions in rapid succession and he draws back a step. "I can't be your second teammate--"

This startles a laugh out of me. I hadn't even considered that thought, and the idea alone is almost hilarious. "I know. You're working with your brother, right? Mr. Stavros told me."

"Okay. That's good to know."

I have a hard time meeting his gaze as I form the words for my request. "I was wondering if you could look into one of these people for me."

"I can't promise anything," he tells me as I fiddle with the keys.

"I don't really know what to expect, so I won't complain if you say no." I find the name and highlight it. Cautiously, I hold it back out to him.

Once again, Lio squints at the screen and studies the name. Oswin, Fletcher - Librarian. "I'll look into it. How about we meet up on Sunday and I'll give you what I find?"

I was hoping for an answer a bit sooner so I could decide before the deadline if I wanted to participate. But he’s doing this for me when he doesn’t have to, so I can’t complain."That'd be great," I say, deciding to go with relief as an expression. "And if there's anything I can do for you--"

"You'll owe me one," he replies without hesitation. Just when I think that he's going to turn around and leave, he takes the laptop from my hands and turns it around to inspect it from different angles. On second thought, it looks far worse than even the older models in here. "God, I forgot how much of a trash heap these poor things are. The processing speed might as well be negative for all the good it does."

I try not to get offended, because I don't know enough about computers to care that I have a crummy one. "I can't afford an actual one, so I've got to get a school issued one." I take it back and hug it to my chest. It does have all my homework on it, after all.

"I'll make you one."

I glance from him to the laptop in my arms. Then, confused, to the equipment on the shelves around us. "What?"

A breath escapes him that might be a huff of laughter. "It won't be much, because I don't really have the time. But it pains me to see people using those. Like, physically pains me." He presses a hand to his chest in the most dramatic fashion I think I've ever seen him manage.

I clap him on the shoulder as the smile returns to my face. "I owe you big time."

"Yeah, you do. I'll try not to hold it against you."

I shove the laptop back into my bag and swing it back over my shoulder. "See you Sunday." I give a parting salute and beeline for the doors.

The bell hums again in farewell, and I manage to make it several steps before I stop and try to catch my breath. Holding conversations with strangers and classmates alike isn't generally an issue for me. I grew up going to social events because of my mom and her family, and I like to think that I have enough charm and personality to get people to warm up to me.

But something about Lionel Darcy makes me ridiculously nervous, like he's not-so-secretly judging me and just qualifying himself as the superior human because he's smarter.

"That went well..." I murmur to myself.

Now... just to make it through classes tomorrow so I can talk to Jun about joining forces.

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