[May 7th]
May 7th, 206 SD
7:42 PM
I had begun to realise that my bar was becoming more of a hang-out than an information hub as the months begin to count off nearly a year since Lacryma began. Not that I mind, of course, but sometimes I have to wonder just how serious some of these people were about playing the game when they gossiped more than they plotted.
Even Zoné would show up every so often. Not as much as Lysander and Rhys, or even Jonas (who had the excuse of being an informant), but more often than I would have expected for a kid like him.
The boy, of course, didn’t seem to understand that there was something wrong with him showing up to a bar. He was old enough, after all, and there were free snacks (I considered charging him for them-I would soon make a fortune with the amount that he consumed), so he came to hang. Probably for a chance to separate himself from his own team without having to be bothered by his brother’s, but still be connected to people in the game.
Only, he seemed to have a bit more of a purpose to his peanut-chewing than he normally did. I had since learned that this meant he was thinking. I had also learned not to interrupt his eat-and-think act, so I busied myself with replacing the clean glasses. The activity was low enough that I didn’t have to worry about other patrons.
“So-” Zoné finally began, then cut himself off when I turned to glance at him over my shoulder.
“Yeah?”
He pursed his lips, chasing a peanut around on the counter for a moment before plucking it up between two fingers and staring at it. “I asked Jun to the prom.” I opened my mouth to say something, a response coming automatically to my brain, but he kept talking. “And no, don’t get any ideas into your head. It’s just as thanks for her always bringing lunch for me.”
I snapped my mouth shut, but couldn’t help the slight grin that pulled the corners of my lips. “Alright.”
His eyebrows quirked in confusion. “Alright? What was with that?”
I shrugged, returning to the glasses. “Nothing, really. Just, alright. I’m agreeing with you.”
“You-” He pointed a finger at me, then realised he was still holding the peanut and ate it. “You know, you’re bad at lying.”
“How do you figure?”
“That tone in your voice! Alright my ass-you were thinking something else, weren’t you?” He frowned at me, though not really meaning anything threatening by it. “That’s why I had to clarify. I knew you would think the wrong thing.”
I held up my hands. “In my defense, kid, I think you brought it up because it’s something you’re self-conscious about.”
Zoné opened his mouth, shut it, furrowed his brow, and opened his mouth again. “What are you talking about?”
With a wistful sigh, I tossed my hands into the air. The towel I was holding flopped against my arm like a limp flag. “Ahh~ young love!”
The look that crossed his face was something a normal person would have made if they ate something bad. Only I don’t think Zoné could make that face in relation to food, so it was rather odd to see it now. “Uh-no.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything on the subject as to why you asked Jun to the prom,” I clarified. “It was you that jumped to the conclusion in the first place.”
He was honestly confused, an unusually blank expression plastered on his face. “So?”
This was going to be more difficult than I first thought. Taking a deep breath, I rested my hands on the counter and leaned forward. “Whenever people are thinking about something a lot, then it stands that it’d be on their mind, yeah?”
“Okay. Sure.”
“Why else would you hurry to clarify the situation for me if you weren’t worried about it in the first place.” It wasn’t a question.
Zoné’s face took on a slight hint of concentration. “But I understand why I did it, and so does Jun. So why would I think about it a lot?”
I held his gaze for a bit longer, then pushed myself back from the counter and shrugged. “I dunno. That’s something for you to figure out.”
He looked at me, head tilted ever so slightly to the side. “Sometimes, I don’t understand you,” he finally said, rising to his feet.
I gave him a smile. “It wouldn’t be any fun if I was easily understood.”
Zoné returned the grin and shook his head before he turned towards the door of the bar.
“Hey,” I called after him.
He looked over his shoulder.
“A few words of advice: Offer her your arm when you’re walking, compliment her dress, and open a door or two. Women love it when you do that.”
He hesitated for a few seconds, then thumped his chest and grinned. “Of course!” He gave me a wave.
“Good man, Zoné,” I said with a laugh as the door closed behind him.