Chapter 9

“What a view,” I murmured to myself as Zack and I entered the hotel’s restaurant. The low lighting provided for an intimate atmosphere, and while it was dark outside, the reflected light of the moon on the inky water took my breath way. We had a section of the restaurant to ourselves; we passed a long table filled with executives celebrating some deal or another, but it was too late for most of the other guests.

“O’Connor really came through,” said Zack as we were seated.

I goggled as I read the prices on the menu. “Good God, they want that much for fried potatoes? That’s ten times what they charged back at the Nagoya Tower!”

“Welcome to civilian life,” said Zack, “and the Lieutenant didn’t cheap out, either.”

“I guess I’m too used to being subsidized…” A bit of quick math told me that I’d clear out my bank account twice over if I got so much as a meatless pad thai and a soda. “Excuse me, I have to powder my nose. Could you get me a water to start?” I hoped that was free, but I didn’t stick around to find out, not wanting Zack to see me sweating. I definitely didn’t want him to feel pressured to pay for me, since that would be a small fortune.

I doubted I’d get any more handouts for home, not that I wanted to have a chat with Dad about my finances any time soon. I also didn’t want to go bugging Yukiko for a loan. That was a good way to kill that friendship.

I wondered if I would still get my stipend from the Wizard Corps. They had provided a small weekly allowance for food and supplies at the Nagoya Academy, but those had been in school credits, not yen. I doubted this place would take that.

Even the lady’s room was looked like it was too expensive for me. I wondered if that was real gold on the faucet. I snapped off a quick text message to O’Connor, who assured me my meals would be covered. “Be reasonable, but I have some funds I can tap,” his response read. “Benefit of being in intel.”

Maybe my brothers had been too rough on spooks?

I sighed at the thought of my brothers. I didn’t exactly feel too good about the remaining three either.

When I got back, a glass of ice water was waiting for me. I tried to drink slowly so Zack wouldn’t think I was a pig, but it was hard; my throat felt like sandpaper. I’d barely had anything the whole day.

“How are you holding up?” asked Zack.

“Well…” I considered how much I should burden him with. Screw it, he knows what Mum and Dad are like. “I just had it out with my parents. They didn’t think I could handle the news, so they were waiting for the right time. It wasn’t just them; all of my brothers knew and didn’t say anything either.”

“That’s rotten of them,” said Zack.

“Let’s not make this about them,” I replied. “Let’s remember the good times.” I read through the menu again, now that I wasn’t going to have a heart attack about the price tag. I was a little let down; I didn’t see a lot of local flavor available. “What would you recommend?”

“Definitely the seafood,” said Zack. “Labuan’s always been famous for that.”

I subtly turned to the drinks section, and I was immediately disappointed. There were two notes; first, that the local drinking age for non-Muslims was twenty-one, and second, that it was a crime for Muslims to purchase alcohol under any circumstances.

“Zack, could you…” I trailed off. “Never mind.”

“What?” he asked.

“Well… You wouldn’t be willing to buy me some…” I shook my head. “No, never mind. I’m not about to ask you to break two laws for me.”

Zack looked horrified. “Bloody heck, Rose. Albert’d kill me if he knew I hit on his little sister, and now you want me to get you drunk.”

“I did stop myself,” I said, defensively. “And I wasn’t out to get drunk! I just wanted to take the edge off.”

“The answer is no, by the way. What have you been up to since I left?” asked Zack.

I stayed quiet, letting Zack order for me when the waiter suddenly showed up, my cheeks burning with shame.

For once, I had to force myself to talk. I kept up a happy patter about whatever came to mind: the view, the food, the friends I made in Nagoya, anything except for what we were truly there to talk about.

Mum and Dad had known. Some part of me had hoped that O’Connor was wrong, but they’d been completely sure.

Mum and Dad knew, and they wouldn’t tell me.

“Rose? Are you crying?”

“A little,” I said. I’d considered lying, but then I’d be just like them, wouldn’t I? “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

“I know how you feel. It feels like he’s out there somewhere.” He let out a sigh, before shaking his head. “Alright, no more gloom and doom. We’re here to celebrate. That’s an order.” He followed it up with a wink that told me just how seriously to take it.

“You’re not my superior officer,” I said, smirking despite it all. “You’re a national military, I’m Wizard Corps. We’re in different command structures.”

“Are you sure, Cadet Cooper? I’m a Lieutenant. I’m pretty sure that still puts me at least two or three notches over you.”

“Oh, you want to play that game? Then you were hitting on a subordinate on the plane, Lieutenant.” I shrugged, giving him a wink of my own. “I might just have to report you. On the other hand, if we’re just two old friends who happen to both be in the military, I’ll let it slide.”

Zack winced. “You play dirty.”

“I never said I didn’t,” I said, leaning over the table. The poor guy tried not to look down. He didn’t quite make it. I’d chosen my outfit well. “Just like that.”

“There you go again,” said Zack, making a show of covering his eyes. Peeking between his fingers ruined the effect. “For the record, I wasn’t looking down your top. I was admiring the great job your braces did.”

“That had better not be an English teeth joke,” I said, flashing my much-straighter-than-before pearly whites at him. “And it wouldn’t be so bad if you were.”

“This is entrapment. Mom was right, you English girls are trouble.”

“You dated plenty of Albert’s classmates,” I countered.

“I didn’t say I always listened to her,” he said. “Just that she had a point. Hey, did Albert ever tell you about the time we double dated the Emerson twins? You would have been thirteen, with a mouthful of pink braces.”

“And you were still the Scarecrow,” I said, shaking my head. “No, though I remember that Albert was always talking about Jennifer, until he just stopped.”

“Oh, he was obsessed,” he said. “He had photos in his locker, stalked her on social media, and every story was about what Jennifer did in class that day. I’m amazed she said yes instead of getting a restraining order. Well, he spent all week before the date reading up on how to impress girls. Dumb things, like insulting their hair, comparing them to other women, just talking down to them.”

My eyes goggled. “He negged her?”

“He tried to,” said Zack. “He couldn’t do it. He just kept mumbling about how her hair would look nicer down instead of tied up. Really tame stuff like that. Jennifer just took it as friendly advice.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “He’s still trying that schtick. Well, he was.”

“Bet you he failed, yeah?”

“As far as I know,” I said. “Every time he ended up in the hospital, he’d fall in love with the nurse, but it never sounded like he got far.”

Zack smiled wistfully. “I didn’t think so. Albert didn’t have a pickup artist bone in his body. Do you know why?”

“Why’s that?” I might have sabotaged him when I could, since I hate womanizing. I’m not a prude, but I don’t think you should try to seduce someone you don’t take seriously. I doubted that was what Zack had in mind, though.

He leaned in, taking my hand. “Because deep down, he was a good man pretending to be bad, and he was rubbish at it. He never realized it, though. You had a wonderful brother, Rose, and I’m proud he was my best mate.”

I nodded, my eyes going dewy again. I didn’t let go of Zack’s hand right away. Nope. Not the Scarecrow anymore at all. “Thanks, Zack.”

We carried on swapping stories like that until the rowdy executives made their exit. We took that as a signal to leave too, and Zack walked me back to my room.

“See you in the morning?” asked Zack.

“Of course,” I said, taking his hands in mine. “We’ve only got a few days until we set out. We need to make them count.”

We didn’t let go right away. There was a pregnant silence in the air as we each struggled for what to say. “Thanks again, Zack.”

“For what?”

“For keeping me away from the booze.” I stood on my tiptoes, and our lips met. “I might not have been able to stop.” I know I just said I didn’t like going after somebody I wasn’t serious about. I wasn’t being inconsistent; I was extremely serious about him after how well that night had gone.

I’ll admit, though, I was used to dealing with boys, and not grown men. The closest I’d been to dating someone since I was seventeen was Soren, and that hadn’t gone far. I expected Zack to freeze up at the sudden kiss. Instead, he wrapped his muscular arms around me, gently cradling my head, pressing me against him.

Oh my.

I don’t know how long we were like that, but he eventually let me go, my knees as firm as wet noodles.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he said, his eyes sending a very different message.

“I shouldn’t have either,” I said. “See you in the morning? Or…”

He shook his head, clearly hating himself for it. “Let’s not ‘or.’ It’s been a long day, and we don’t want to do anything we regret. Good night, Rose.”

“Good night, Zack.”

As I darted into my room, I think I heard him mutter, “Yeah. Nothing but trouble.” He sounded happy about it, though.