Ethos Code

Chapter 16

"Hey bud, how about in here?"  Atlas opens up a grate in the wall to peek inside.

"Sticky..." Kiyoshi mumbles, disgusted by the texture of the drainage pipe.

"Yeah, it is pretty goopy in there."

"Goopy?"

"Goopy."

They continue to search for a hiding place for Kiyoshi, before finding a dumpster shed.  Atlas opens the door with a loud creak and peeks inside.  Cigarette butts and stray papers scatter the ground along with a few broken-down cardboard boxes.  Atlas peeks around to the other side of the large rusty dumpster in the center, his eyes lighting up.  "Oh, dude, you can totally fit behind here!"  He points to the gap between the bin and the wall.  "How about here?"

"Stinky..." Kiyoshi mutters.  "But I can do it."  He pulls out his laptop and wiggles himself behind the large trash bin, sitting down and setting his laptop up.  "I have signal."

"Great!  I'll go meet the girls inside then, how about... oh that's right!"  He chirps up.  "Before I forget, your surgery's tomorrow, right?"

Kiyoshi nods.  "I guess it is..."

"You scared?"

He nods.  "I made the mistake of looking up how they do it on the internet.  Scary."

"Hey, if anyone can handle it, it's you, little man."

"I did not go to a hospital since I ran away, I think that is also really scary."  Kiyoshi admits.  "I went there last when I had the car accident.  I think I have a hard time thinking good thing about hospitals, even though the surgery will be good."

"You're gonna be fine, Yoshi-Yosh.  Plus, you've got all of us now.  You're not alone this time.  When you wake up after it's all done, the three of us are gonna be right there, cheering for you."

"You promise me?"

"I promise."  Atlas assures him.  "Welp, I'm off to—"

"Question."  Kiyoshi asks.

"Yeah?"

"When are you going to tell Miss Vanta that you like her?"

"What?"  Atlas' cheeks go bright red.  "I don't..." his voice trails off, "not like her."  He says sheepishly.

"I was right!"  Kiyoshi's eyes light up.

"Listen, kid.  Yeah, I like Vanny."  He admits.  "But she's like... hella friend-zoning me.  So don't tell her, ok?  I don't have a chance with a girl like her, and I don't wanna make things awkward."

"What does "hella" mean?"

"It means like... "a lot", I think?  Hey, is that all you're taking from this?!"

Kiyoshi laughs.

"I think Miss Vanta is... hella crush on you."  He says confidently.  "I am usually good at telling these things."

"Oh, are you now?"

Kiyoshi nods.  "I could tell about you."

"You're right, you're right."  He ruffles Kiyoshi's hair.  "You gonna be ok back here, kid?"

"Yeah, you go look at Miss Vanta in her dress."  Kiyoshi grins.

"Oh, shut up."  Atlas laughs, walking off.

Kiyoshi turns to his laptop, logging onto the building's WiFi.

"Such a nice suit to sit behind the trash."  He mutters to himself, tossing a straw wrapper away from him and beginning his work.