Argo paled at the thought. “You know we don’t get on. It’ll be a disaster.”
“So no different from your acting then,” Cynthia said dryly. “Look, I know it’s going to be hard to adjust, but there’s no other way. Papa has made his mind up.”
“You could talk to him,” replied Argo, leaning forward. “You can persuade him to let me stay here. You’ve done it before. Surely you understand? You were an actress once.”
“I understand only too well, Argo,” Cynthia said. “I remember all the failed auditions and the grimy digs, living on a pittance and the backstabbing. I was lucky papa got me out of that life. It’s not for everyone.”
“It’s for me,” Argo said. “Please, talk to papa. Get him to change his mind.”
“I tried. Papa won’t be budged this time. I didn’t want to tell you this, but your lack of success is the talk of the other grand families back home. People are laughing at papa, and we both know he won’t tolerate that. You have to come back and start living in the real world. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
Argo felt his blood run cold. From deep inside him, a source of strength of character came up to the surface that he didn’t even know he possessed. “I’ve made my decision,” he said firmly. “I’m not going home.”
Cynthia was silent for an awful long while. She opened her purse and took out a silk handkerchief to dab at the corner of her mouth. “Is that your final word on the matter, Argo?”
“It is,” Argo replied, surprised that his mother had not tried to push the matter further.
“Then I wish you the very best of luck,” she said with a sharp nod. She got to her feet. “You’re certainly going to need it from now on.”
There was something in the tone of her voice that Argo didn’t like. “What do you mean by that?” he asked, rising to his feet with her.
She looked at him trying to meet his questioning gaze but couldn’t quite hold it. “Before I left, papa made the position clear. If you won’t fulfill your responsibilities to the family, the family will no longer support you in this foolish dream of yours.”
Argo frowned at her. “No longer support me?”
“You’ll get your allowance for next month Argo,” Cynthia replied as she turned towards him and headed to the door. “After that, unless you come home to begin your new duties, the money will stop. Papa is cutting you off.”
Argo ran after her. “What? You can’t do that!”
“I can’t, but papa can,” Cynthia said, turning back to him. “He controls the purse strings and Milo and Constance are behind him completely. There was a family vote. You know how we do things. I asked papa to give you another year to turn it around, but the three of them wouldn’t budge. I’m sorry, Argo, but if you don’t come back the money stops and you won’t be able to afford to live in the city.”
The implications made Argo’s mind reel madly and he couldn’t focus on what she was saying. His whole world was suddenly collapsing around him. Cynthia leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
“There’s always a place for you at home, Argo. The role of assistant will be waiting for you. Don’t try and fight it. Just take heart at the fact that you’ve given it your best shot, like I did, but the dream is over. I suggest you enjoy this last month as much as you can and then come back to the estate. You’ll always have your memories. Papa can’t take those from you.”
Argo said nothing. He was staring into her face without seeing her. He’d always feared this would happen, but now it had come he just couldn’t get his head around it.
Cynthia shook her head slowly and left the apartment, closing the door behind her. Argo stayed where he was, staring into space. She was right. Without his family’s money supporting him, he couldn’t carry on with the acting. The dream was over.
Chapter Four: Breakdown
Aaheli was waiting for him by the stage door when Argo left the Nightingale Theater after the afternoon’s matinee. She was buzzing with excitement and grabbed his arm as soon as she saw him.
“Argo! Guess what! I got the part! I’m going to be in Rozzazio’s film! Can you believe it?”
Argo, who had been wrapped up in his own worries for the best part of the month, blinked at her as if dazzled by the sun, and it took a few moments to process what she had said. “You’re in the film?” he said and then grinned when realization dawned on him. “That’s fantastic. I’m so pleased for you.”
Aaheli hugged him to her. “I’m pleased for me! I never thought I’d get it. I was sure Orela hated me from the get-go, but no he wants me for Silvera, he says I was born to play the part. Can you believe it? I’m going to be in the movies!”
Orela Rozzazio was one of the most prominent filmmakers on the avant-garde scene. While most movies now were quantum generated, Rozzazio preferred working with real life actors still. Unlike the trashy action movie fodder that the big studios churned out, he focused on intense psychological dramas and emotional romantic stories and his latest venture was being filmed entirely in Orchid City over the course of the next twelve months. It was the perfect opportunity for Aaheli and convenient for her to get to every day.
Argo was genuinely pleased that she was getting the career boost she deserved, and he was also relieved as actors working for Rozzazio were extremely well paid and paid regularly. This meant Aaheli would have no problem covering the rent for the foreseeable future when he could no longer put up his half of the money. It had been almost three weeks since the visit from his mother and the ultimatum, and he still hadn’t told Aaheli or anyone else. He knew it was terribly irresponsible, but he just didn’t have the courage to tell her. He had hoped that papa would change his mind at the last minute, but it had not happened. He did have some savings to keep him going after the deadline, but not enough to afford to live in the city or to stay on at the apartment. If he was lucky, he could stay on until maybe the summer but beyond that was impossible. Sooner or later, he would have to go home and face his responsibilities.
The thought filled him with dread. If seeing papa wasn’t bad enough, having to work for Constance and Milo too, was unbearable. He had churned it over and over in his mind for weeks, trying to figure a way out of the situation, but always came to the same bleak conclusion. He couldn’t give up acting and he couldn’t go back home.
That left only one option.
“I thought we would celebrate,” Aaheli was now saying as they walked away from the theater arm in arm. “I know you’ve got no more shows now until after the weekend, so we could get a hot chocolate fudge pizza delivered and then we could log into Drake Realm for a weekend session. What do you think?”
The mention of Drake Realm cut through his brooding thoughts and he looked up at her in alarm. He hadn’t been to the game world since the disaster in the Siren Spinner’s lair. “Drake Realm? Oh, I don’t know about that, A. I don’t feel up to adventuring at the moment.”
“Come on, Argy, don’t be a wet dweeb,” the girl urged. “You haven’t been on in ages. The guys have been asking for you, and I’m starting filming next week so this’ll be the last time we get a proper session for a while. We need to catch up and have some fun.”
“You log in and do that,” Argo said. “I’m pretty wiped out, so I think I’ll have an early night. Besides, the Crew aren’t gonna care about seeing me. It’s you they like.”
“They like both of us, Argo, especially Henk and Sonia. You need some cheering up. You’ve been moping around for ages now, ever since you went for that audition with Maniac Mags. You’re not that cut up about not getting the role surely? It would have been a nightmare.”
Argo shook his head. “No, I don’t care about that. I just don’t think the other guys will want to hang with me after Duke Red stole the Lute of Decimar off me. Kip and Brier were really livid we failed the quest and I could tell that Henk blamed me.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, Argo,” laughed Aaheli. “None of that was your fault
and they don’t blame you. You know what Brier and Kip are like, they have to win everything and Henk doesn’t blame you. In fact, he blames himself for taking us in when we weren’t ready. Even if Duke Red hadn’t showed up, we were in way over our heads. It was too soon for the company to try anything that ambitious.”
“But we were so close,” Argo said. “I got through the ward. We could have destroyed the Blight Cube.”
“There’ll be other quests, Argo,” Aaheli replied.
Maybe for you, thought Argo glumly, but that was my last one. “I still don’t feel like going into the game though,” he said. “I’m not in the mood.”
“I’ll not take no for an answer, Argo,” Aaheli said sternly. “It’s all arranged. We’re all meeting in the Gargoyle Inn for a couple of goblets of honey mead and to talk about what quests we can do next. The quicker you get back in, the quicker you’ll rebuild your confidence.”
Argo knew it was hopeless to argue with Aaheli when she was in this frame of mind. Besides, he was warming to the idea of going into the game world. It would be a kind of goodbye, though none of the others would be aware that he was leaving them. He gave Aaheli a weary nod. “Okay, I’ll come on with you.”
“I knew you’d see sense,” Aaheli said with a grin. “We’ll cut back and relax. It’ll do you good.”
They got a taxi back to Mandarin Heights, and Argo listened as Aaheli told him all about the movie and the other cast and crew. He listened in fascination and with some slight envy. He’d never been good enough to get into the movies, especially a Rozzazio production. That would have certainly been a true dream job. It was for Aaheli. He reflected that it didn’t really matter now. He had decided on his course of action and nothing was going to change now.
In his mind’s eye, he pictured the bottle of sedatives he kept in his bedside cabinet. They were pretty powerful and knocked you out in seconds when you couldn’t sleep. His mom used them all the time. He only took them when he was really stressed out because they made him oversleep. Hence, he had quite a lot stored up, enough of them that when he took them all together he’d go to sleep and never wake up. The idea had come to him the morning after the shock visit from his mother. After a restless night, he’d open his eyes and the idea had hit him straight away. It suddenly all made perfect sense.
His mother was right that he would never make it as an actor, and the chances of him landing acting work that paid enough or more than his monthly allowance on a regular basis was virtually non-existent. He was not good at anything else, so trying to get a job doing something else was also out of the running. He found it hard to push forward in the career sphere or interact with people outside of acting, so that would have ended up being even more stressful. Most of the side jobs he’d attempted when he first came to the city had not lasted more than a week, and the money he got from his family meant he didn’t have to work, so he hadn’t bothered to improve on that area at all and now it was far too late to make amends.
That left the only one inevitable option available to him. He had to go home and work for the family business. That meant being pushed around by papa, Milo, and Constance. He would have to endure complaints and criticism that he wasn’t good enough in anything he did. That was always the way of things when he was growing up and one of the reasons he was so desperate to escape to the city. He was as desperate to get away from his restrictive family as he was to make it as an actor. To go back to that old way of living was not conceivable.
So, he had decided that fateful morning that he was not going to live like that again. He was not going to live anymore. That was the best solution all round. The only problem he had was when to do it. He knew it had to be at the apartment, but he didn’t want Aaheli finding him before the sedatives could effectively do their work. Now she had a new hectic filming schedule, she would be out all hours, giving him the perfect opportunity to do what he needed to do. It was likely Aaheli would be the one to find him… afterwards, and he felt really bad about that, but it couldn’t be helped. He would write her an apology note before he took the pills.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Aaheli asked. He had drifted off into his own thoughts again and she was looking at him curiously. “You seem to be living in another world at the moment. Is there something bothering you?”
Argo shook his head. “No, I’m just a little tired that’s all. I’m just finding the run at the Nightingale a little heavy going. I’m a bit worn out doing Julius Caesar, you know how it is.”
“Yeah, and here I am blathering on about my movie,” Aaheli said crestfallen. “I must sound like a real big-headed jerk. I didn’t mean to rub it in, I’m just super excited.”
“You’re not being a big-headed jerk or rubbing it in,” Argo replied with feeling. “I’m really pleased for you. You deserve all the success you have.”
“It’s only one movie and it is a pretty small part,” Aaheli said. “I know I’m super-excited and acting like it’s the best thing ever, but I’m just so pleased I got the part. Don’t worry, Argo, you’ll get your big break as well.”
Argo gave her a sad smile. “You don’t have to say nice things just to make me feel better. I know I suck as an actor. It’s just one of those things.”
“You don’t suck, you just need to work on your range,” Aaheli said. “There’s a perfect part for everyone, you just have to trust to fate that the right opportunity will come along at the right time.”
“Thanks,” Argo said and dropped his eyes from her face. The thought of her finding him was almost too much to bear and he nearly lost his nerve to follow through with his plan. He felt like confessing what had happened with his mother and what he intended to do there and then, but instead, he stayed silent. This was his problem and he wasn’t going to burden her or anyone else with this mess. She was right that fate had given him the right opportunity to solve all his problems and he was determined to face his fate alone.
They reached the apartment and Aaheli ordered the food, while Argo flicked through the TV channels. There was a breaking story about a small explosive device being detonated at an automated factory across town, which resulted in several robo-workers being destroyed. According to reports, anti-robot dissident movement—the Humanic Alliance—was claiming credit for the attack. The Alliance was a crazy fringe group which believed robots were slowly taking over society with the intention of enslaving humanity someday, and were dedicated to wiping out all intelligent machine life across the globe. Argo was only half-watching it when Aaheli joined him on the couch and switched over to a holo-soap opera.
The pizza came, and Aaheli chatted happily about the film again while Argo listened. Then it was time to go into the game world. Climbing into their Astral-bubbles, they spawned in Granthaven, a small coastal town located three miles away from Witchstorm Manor.
It was early evening in the Astra-verse, the sky a warm pastel pink above the narrow cobbled streets and half-timbered houses that made up the town. As Argo and Aaheli ambled across the main square, a warm breeze caressed their faces and seagulls called to each other overhead. NPCs and other gamers strolled by, enjoying the clement weather and peaceful surroundings, and Aaheli nodded and smiled as they passed by, enjoying the relaxed ambience of their surroundings.
Tucked away from the more dangerous territories in Drake Realm and mostly untroubled by monsters, bandits and other evil-doers, it was a suitable starting point for people new to the game and just beginning to build up experience and develop their player characters. There were plenty of affordable shops and vendors where players could buy equipment and potions, and a blacksmith on hand to repair and supply weapons and armor. The Gargoyle Inn, located near the waterfront, provided players with somewhere to socialize and to obtain refreshments, and a place to sleep, as well as acting as a source point for obtaining lower level quests that came up on the virtual notice board.
As they drew near to the stone building, Argo could hear jaunty music and the sound of
laughter and voices talking loudly. The Gargoyle was always busy, and he tensed up whenever he entered the heaving common room, but tonight he felt strangely calm and untroubled by his social anxiety. Maybe it was the knowledge that this could well be the last time he would be coming here. He now felt the need to savor every moment of his time in the Inn. Soon, he’d be leaving the game world and the real world behind forever.
“You’re doing it again,” Aaheli said as they climbed the stone steps up to the open door of the Inn.
Argo looked at her in surprise. “Sorry? Doing what?”
“Drifting off into your little Argo-verse again,” the girl said in mock disapproval. “Are you sure you’re okay, Arg?”
“I am now,” he said truthfully, giving the pitted stone façade of the Inn an approving look. “I’m glad you convinced me to come tonight.” He swallowed as his throat began to tighten. “I just want to say I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me, Aaheli. Whatever happens, you have to believe that.”
Spy: Reborn Page 9