PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

XXXIV. Disappointed in You

"Okay, so, study drugs?!" Brooklynn questioned, her step matching Eva's as they treaded through the jungle.

Eva rolled her eyes— of course, that is the one thing her friend in pink picked up from the argument the day before. "Look, I spent the first fifteen years of my life off of Adderall, I think I can spend an extra few years faking it... I needed cash, okay?"

"Why do you always need cash?" Kenji asked, pulling aside a large leaf for the two girls to pass through. "Your grandparents are rich."

"Yeah," Eva said, as though it were obvious. "And they don't give me anything. Why do you think I worked in a diner over summer? For shits and giggles? They give me fifty bucks a month, and a girl's gotta breathe."

"So you sell Adderall?" Brooklynn repeated.

"And juul pods," she said. Are we getting close? she wondered. "Edibles, if I could get my hands on them. Drugs sell big to over priveledged, trust fund baby, private school rich kids. Plus, the more I have, the more I can buy myself snacks in the campus store."

"So you're selling drugs to fund your food addiction?"

"It's Eva," Kenji said. "What more could you expect?"

"And books. I like buying books," she added.

"I've never seen you read a book," Kenji laughed.

Eva huffed as she stepped onto a rock formation, climbing over it. "Buying books is a completely different hobby than reading books, thank you very much."

The trio emerged from the tree line to see a very tall building in front of them. And by tall, we're talking at least twenty floors.

"It's the penthouse, right?" Eva asked.

"Yeah."

"Yeah. So, stairs?"

"Hold up," Brooklynn said. "The key card might not even work."

The three teenagers approached the front door of the building, looking around for any dinosaurs that might spring out at them. Brooklynn held out the key card, and took a deep breath before sliding it into the little slot meant for cards. The slot turned green, and the little machine beeped. Brooklynn popped open the door, sighing in relief. "Okay, now the stairs."

~~~

Brooklynn, Kenji and Eva collapsed inside the penthouse door, each out of breath and desperately sucking in air. Eva's legs were throbbing and burning, begging to give her a break. The marble floor was cool to the touch, and Eva rightfully melted straight into it.

"Welcome... to... mi casa..." Kenji panted, his head roughly bouncing against the floor.

Eva was the first to her feet, looking for Mr. Kon's office. She had never been inside the penthouse, so she was wandering around aimlessly. She found a private mini theater, two separate bedrooms, and finally, an office space. The room was filled with floor to ceiling bookcases filled with books and little figurines. One wall was lined with desks, holding a large globe, a telescope, scattered books half open, and tons of loose papers. The back wall was all windows, and just in front of it was a desk with, luckily, a computer.

"In here!" she called, heading for the computer.

She turned it on, letting out a breath when it lit up, revealing a screen to type in a password.

Brooklynn was second in the room, happily heading over to the computer. "Kenji?!" she called out as she sat down in the big comfy spinny chair.

Kenji shuffled into the doorway, leaning against the wall.