"The girl who brought the stuff last week. Remember?” Dan said.
"Idiots! You let her in? None of you should be letting anyone in! That's the job of the house elder!"
Katsuo was the house elder. Next in line was Claudia. But Katsuo was nowhere to be found when the boys had gotten home from school. Claudia, unsurprisingly enough, wasn't home either. None had much time to dwell on this for they heard a hammering against the door that was impossible to ignore. They turned back to the screen and saw that the girl looked impatient. Tyler shoved roughly by the others and reached for the door knob. He was the oldest boy and that made him the house elder.
At least at that moment, anyway.
The girl's voice carried beyond the door: "I'm here to see Ryu Debiru!"
Tyler froze, his hand rested on the knob.
Dan spoke first. "Ryu? She wants to talk to him?"
At once, Bradley hollered, and Clyde joined in until there was a chorus of Ryu's name bouncing off the walls. Yuan pressed his hands over his ears to drown them out.
Ryu stomped drowsily into the room. "What?"
Katsuo arrived at the common living quarters just as Ryu did. Katsuo, who at long last made his descent from the attic. All the boys, save for a blank-faced Yuan and a dazed Ryu, regarded him with startled looks. If Katsuo had been in the attic, that could only mean one thing. He would not be pleased that they'd been loud and stupid enough to interrupt him. Katsuo stared at the door, then at Tyler who stood before it and then the knocking came again.
Ryu watched Tyler's hand gripping the door knob and their eyes met with a scorn that was freely returned.
"Hello?" Her voice, loud and clear in spite of the depth of a massive metal-infused door, "Anyone? Is Ryu there?"
Ryu felt his stomach drop.
"Friends don't make house calls," Katsuo said, his voice calm but chilling in its complete composure.
That's right.
Visitors were rarely welcome at Tengoku House.
Ryu didn't dare look at him, or anyone, until he heard Bradley sneer: "It's his girlfriend, probably. I bet that's what it is."
"Shut up!" Ryu snapped, his eyes darting from Bradley to Katsuo and then to Tyler whose acidic stare seemed all of a sudden, one of surprise.
"Wah! She's pretty cute too," said Clyde with food in his mouth. "Aniki's always so lucky."
"She looks crazy-pissed, though. What did you do?" Dan noted, still staring amusedly at the CCTV screen.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Ryu barked, lunging towards Dan who backed up on instinct and slammed into Clyde who began to choke on his rice. As Bradley immediately tended to Clyde with abdominal thrusts just under the ribcage, Ryu was yanked back, a firm clench on the hood of his sweater that near strangled him.
"ENOUGH!" thundered Katsuo.
The room was brought to instant silence.
Ryu stole a peek at Katsuo whose eyes were glued to the screen.
"Ryu," he intoned sternly, "take care of this."
Ryu didn't need to be told twice.
Once released from Katsuo's hold, he bolted through the door. Haruna surely hadn't anticipated someone opening and slamming the door so quickly, for she flinched and stumbled back before folding her arms importantly. Anger? Nerves? Humiliation? It didn't matter what the sentiments were, but they hit Ryu like a fastball pitch to the gut. She hadn't even managed to breathe a word of disdain before Ryu had latched onto her wrist and dragged her behind him along the footpath, beyond the gate, and beyond the earshot of those inside.
He ignored her defiant squabbling.
All that mattered was his reputation.
That and the sudden burst of rage he felt, often felt at the depths of his core when he had to deal with this irritating, infuriating girl.
Once they met the edge of the property they came to a standstill, and he spun around sharply, levelling her gaze. Not until he felt her nails digging into his flesh as she fought his hold did he finally let her go.
"What in the hell are you doing? Why are you back?"
"Our assignment, idiot! Did you forget? You've been avoiding it—me. But you forgot one thing—I know where you live!"
"Are you crazy? You have no right coming here!" Ryu whipped out an arm, pointing to the street. "Go. Now."
She didn't twitch. She held her ground with a bold defiance in her eyes. Ryu felt his blood boil. Did she think this was some joke? Ryu was almost taken aback for just as the thought crossed him, she smiled.
"Hey, do you think I'll get invited in by the others?" she asked, peering casually back at the house, looking like she was ready to a make a break for it and head back there.
Ryu tensed his arms, standing tall and bracing himself to physically restrain her if need be.
"What are you talking about? I asked you to leave. Is there something about this you're not getting?"
"Is there something you're not getting?"
Now she was repeating after him. Ryu hated this game. He narrowed his eyes, watching her smile grow.
"They would let me in, wouldn't they?" she said, her voice purring. "Especially being such a charitable donor."
So this was her leverage. Haruna was a parishioner for that church, one of Tengoku's biggest sponsors. Ryu threw back his head, giving into slow nods, lips pulling into an involuntary smirk. He had to admit; it surprised him to see she was capable of being this shrewd, not half as sweet and innocent as she pretended to be. Still, she hadn't a clue. This wasn't a place you could just "waltz" into like some tea party.
Then again, how could she know any better growing up spoiled rotten on the West Side, oblivious to everything?
"You can't come here," Ryu repeated.
"Then promise me you will work on our project already! It's not like I want to come here, but I will if that's what it takes!"
If that's what it takes?
How much crap would Ryu get from Katsuo, from Father, if something happened, if he didn't get this situation under control? Haruna was indeed her own "situation." Ryu groaned, ruffled his hair and ran a hand over his face.
She'd won.
"Fine! Let's meet." He removed his hand just in time to see the smug look on her face. He had to remind himself that he just didn't hit girls as she stuck her tongue out once to him before making her diva-march to the bus stop. The bus arrived in that moment. As Haruna skipped onto it, Claudia got off, glancing at the clueless girl with something of recognition. Ryu swivelled around, making a mad-dash inside before Claudia could see him. Nope. Not today. He didn't need yet another asinine woman to compound his suffering.
Victory.
That's what Haruna should have been celebrating the next day. Instead, in its place was an unrelenting undercurrent of unease. Last evening, as planned, Haruna boarded the bus, having recognized it as the one Ryu had come off of. Riding the bus was not something she was accustomed to, and crossing from the upscale security of the West Side to the frightening unfamiliarity of the East felt like an expedition worthy of a Guinness record. She didn't know what had come over her as she stood outside the house insisting he show himself. She was expecting Claudia to come to the door, not Ryu himself. And even when he did, he had the gall to drag her away like she was nothing. Even though Haruna had accomplished what she had set out to do, she was unhappy. She didn't want to deal with him. She didn't want to even face him today.
That desire was a pipe dream.
Haruna hadn't told her friends what had happened, and so she walked around the entire day with her head hung low, her brows pleated with dread. When asked what was wrong with her, she would give them the easy answer: nothing, I'm fine. This didn't reassure them, but it kept them from prying further. That is, until lunch. Class ended. Tracy met Haruna at her locker before heading to the cafeteria to meet the others. Short of reaching the main foyer leading into it, Haruna spotted Ryu with his friends. The chills returned. She opted to shrug it off as she turned her head quickly and
focused on their destination.
Tracy made a face, likely noticing Haruna's reaction.
"Haruna—?"
"Yo!"
Haruna and Tracy skidded to a stop. They turned as Ryu closed in, his eyes set on Haruna, his hands in his pockets. Haruna swallowed hard, brushing aside any thoughts of fear so she could maintain her cool.
"My name's not 'yo,'" she stated, brushing her bangs from her face and tucking its longer strands behind her ear.
"Whatever. About that 'promise.' I'll be free on Saturday, so be available to meet then."
Haruna stared, blinking slowly like an automaton.
"S-Sure…"
"Good," he said, glancing sidelong. "And don't come to my house again, got it?"
Haruna watched in a stupor as he strolled on by, his sneering buddies shadowing him.
"What on earth was that about?" Tracy asked, her eyes rounded dinner plates as she gawked between Haruna and down the foyer where Ryu and his crew disappeared.
"I… don't know." Haruna hadn't seen that coming at all but from the corner of her eyes, she spotted a group of girls off to the side, glowering at her.
Another pair whispered.
"Yah, but what's that about going to his house?" Tracy pressed.
Echoes. Tracy had been loud. Too loud.
The girls seemed extra cold as they started to walk away, throwing looks over their shoulder.
"This isn't really the time to go into it," Haruna whispered back, flustered.
Once in the cafeteria, Haruna found herself not as hungry as she thought she'd be and picked at her food. She was too lost in her thoughts to listen to Angelique and Tracy's conversation. Gabrielle was off with Seth at another table, lovingly eating lunches together—as a couple.
“So it’s official, then,” Haruna mumbled, mostly to herself.
Tracy snickered proudly. “Yup, and guess who made that happen? Moi.”
“Elle does look very happy,” Angelique said with a smile, though she directed a wry look at Tracy, “but doesn’t this now officially make you the seventh-wheel?”
Tracy took a brief pause, then frowned.“Aw crap. Why did no one stop me?”
Haruna sighed. “Tried to.”
Tracy began another small tirade about being the only “single one” among them while Haruna tuned them out. She considered with some frustration that Seth really had stolen their friend from all of them. She still felt bitter about it. Somehow the thought of that reminded her of her latest run-in with Ryu. Haruna deliberately avoided looking at anyone from his table, but in her avoidance she couldn't help but catch a glimpse of the girls she had seen in the hallway. She flinched. They were glaring at her. Still. And Haruna was certain another had pointed.
"Hey, what's with you, Haruna? You seem out of it."
Haruna averted her attention, noticing it was Angelique who had spoken. Tracy watched with upturned eyebrows.
"I just noticed there were these girls giving me dirty looks."
Tracy turned to look over her shoulder, seeing the girls in question. "From earlier, eh? I noticed it too."
"What? You did?" Haruna exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"Yah-huh. When you were making your little meet-up plans with Ryu."
"You were making meet-up plans?" Now Angelique was starving for gossip while Tracy had a devious glint in her eyes.
"Yeah, and apparently she went to his house…"
"It was just for our assignment, you know. And it's not like I even went inside," Haruna said, trying to remain firm. "Back to the original topic. What's up with the looks though? It's like they have a problem with me or something. I don't even know them." She then paused, snapping her fingers as the thought came to her. "Hey! You don't suppose it's because Ryu spoke to me is it?"
He was a social outcast. Maybe that disease was contagious!
Tracy shrugged. "Well, Ryu is super hot so I'm sure they're just hating."
Haruna's jaw dropped. "Super what? "
"I think so too," Angelique noted, her eyes now journeying across the room to where Ryu's gang sat.
"You can't be serious?" Haruna said, and she meant it. Angelique's boyfriend had the looks of someone plucked from a New York runway. Angelique actually had taste.
"He has an unusual charm about him,” Angelique continued. “Since I started here I noticed he's popular with some of the juniors."
"Oh. Juniors. Their opinion doesn't matter. They're not even real people," Haruna scoffed.
"It's not just juniors, Haruna. There were a few girls in my grade last year who were crazy about him, too. So they'd be in grade eleven now—seniors," Tracy replied.
"It's like he wins them over without even trying," Angelique added, nodding. "Like, sometimes you overhear them in the halls talking. Apparently getting him to make eye contact with you is like winning the lottery or something. They just faint."
Haruna raked her mind for any hint of recollection, but there was nothing. Girls actually liked someone like him? Ryu was "popular" with people? How come no one ever told her this before?
"But why? He’s such an awful person,” Haruna spluttered.
Tracy sighed again, snapping open a canned drink.
“Dunno. He’s got this mysterious thing going on because he's so quiet, but you know it's not because he's shy. He's a rule-breaker, so he's interesting, unlike most of the uptight, pretty boring guys that go to our school. Nothing ever seems to bother him.”
“I heard he never dates anyone,” noted Angelique.
"So he’s hard-to-get too. Amps the hotness factor," agreed Tracy. "Imagine what all those girls think when they see him only talking to you, Haruna."
Haruna couldn't believe her ears. Both of them were speaking so casually like it was a universal truth that Ryu was some attractive, cool guy. Who were these people and what did they do with her friends?
"Sometimes I wonder if he's secretly gay," Angelique said with an offhanded shrug.
Haruna felt the onset of a coughing fit that she quickly averted by clearing her throat.
"He is not!" retorted Tracy as though she'd been insulted.
"How would you know?" Angelique asked, crossing her arms.
Tracy hesitated to answer. "I just know, okay? Maybe, I dunno, he has strict parents. Technically, I can't date either." Tracy then puckered her lips, clearly not buying her own theory.
The word "parents" lingered in the air. Haruna knew that couldn't be true. Even if it could have been, Haruna was sure that that wouldn't be an obstacle large enough to stop him from doing as he pleased. That guy was uninhibited, a wild child. Then again, so was Tracy.
“Are you sure you don’t have a crush on him yourself?” Angelique insisted, directing a pointed look to Tracy.
Haruna looked at her in alarm. Could that be? First Gabrielle and Seth… now this?
Tracy gave a dismissive wave.
“Nah. You know I only have one true love: Samuel Hope.”
“Oh gosh, you’re not over Elle’s brother yet?” Haruna asked, feeling relieved and at the same time disturbed.
“Are you kidding? He’s gorgeous,” Tracy gushed, a glow lighting up her face.
Sam graduated in 2008, the year before Tracy had turned Haruna and Gabrielle's little duo into a trio. Haruna long suspected getting close to Gabrielle's older brother was one of Tracy's motivations for befriending them back then. Even though it had been years since he'd left, Tracy still spoke loftily of him.
“He’s also studying abroad and totally not happening for you,” Haruna reminded.
“So? I can still dream, can’t I?” Tracy grinned mischievously, her eyes rolling to the ceiling. “But you know, Ryu would be a good back-up option.”
“Hmph. I think Mani is way handsomer. And tall,” Haruna quipped.
Tracy groaned. "Oh yes. Perfect Mani again."
Haruna ignored their glances as she took interest in her cell phone that rested beside
her on the table. She was done with their exaltation of a creep like Ryu. Mani was a way better guy! In fact, why was she even comparing them at all? As the thought churned in her head, Haruna noticed the old text from Mani in her phone.
Saturday?
She had already promised to meet Mani on Saturday: the same Saturday she had just agreed to meet Ryu.
The bell for the end of lunch went, and Haruna was now left to wonder how she was going to get out of this mess. She couldn't cancel on Mani, and she didn't want to either.
On the other hand, time was running out for completing this English project.
By fifth period class, all Haruna's wondering led her to a compromise. She could arrange to meet with Ryu earlier, at least two hours before Mani would arrive. Two hours was enough to get something done or at least start talking about what they'd do. Seriously this time. They hadn't even done that much yet. So when at last their fifth period English class arrived, their one class together, Haruna gave him a time and suggested they meet at Vangelis Diner.
"Yeah. Whatever."
The usual response. Unimpressive, but good enough.
Sweat dripping from their faces and thoroughly winded, the boys collected their things and left the gymnasium. By five in the afternoon, most of the school was reduced to a chamber of echoes. It was the start of the weekend. Naturally, no one wanted to stick around. It was times like this that the six guys felt their most powerful: free to roam the halls, unprovoked by the strictest teachers or given looks full of scorn from other students. It was like the school was theirs. An empty school and an empty, unused gym where they played ball until their legs were sore and their lungs starved for oxygen.
Lately, these times seemed so rare.
"Where to now?" asked Tim, his dirty-blond hair pressed to his damp forehead as they exited the school and crossed the pave. "O'Brien's?"
"I'm game," said Jackson, a huge grin on his face as he spun his basketball once before lodging it under his arm.
Cody and Seth nodded in eager agreement, but Tim looked back at Ryu who hadn't answered, too focused on steadying his lighter's flame.
Judge by the Cover: High School, Drama & Deadly Vices (Hafu Sans Halo Book 1) Page 11