Khaleel eventually texted me back. It was a little late but I was fine with it. My nerves were still on edge after hearing about his plans with Arisa. I wish I could move on as easily as she did, I wish I could forget how happy she made me, but the memories were harder to erase. They were engraved into my mind, imprinted there to remind what I lost. I wanted to see her and at the same time I didn't. I couldn't help wonder what would happen if I ran into her? What would I say? Was I allowed to be jealous of their friendship? If that's what it was. Hino said they might be more than friends now but I couldn't see it.
If that wasn't bad enough, I was waiting for the Jackheights school board to make their decision about my return. I didn't know what was taking so long, but it was starting to irritate me. I had to get back to the academy, if not to restart my business then for Tomasia's sake. I couldn't stand by and let my sister handle the backlash from having her relationship exposed. It was my job to protect her, whether she liked it or not.
And if that wasn't the cherry on top, Kohaku refused to hack into Jackheights' admin system for me. As if he grew a conscious overnight or something.
"Freaking out won't help," Hino said, from the sidelines. We were hanging out in his parents' basement, or as the brothers liked to call it, the man cave. There were two flat screen TVs mounted on the wall. In one corner there were two computer monitors stationed next to a couple of keyboards and chairs, and in the another, there were shelves full of movies and video games. A set of worn out lazy boy chairs rested in the centre and a pool table occupied the adjacent space. The walls were covered with critically acclaimed movies and superhero posters, and although the lighting was dim, the LED lights were enough to set the mood.
"Is there something we can give Kohaku in exchange for his services?" I asked. "There has to be something he really wants."
Hino shrugged. "A relationship."
"It hurts me to know that you're not lying," I replied, continuing to pace back and forth.
"Same, to be honest."
My phone chimed. I pulled it out and checked to see who was messaging. "It's Zander," I relayed. "He says Khaleel is going over. Should we head out too?"
"Are you ready to let bygones be bygones?" Hino asked, standing up. "I know you two made up or whatever, but I can see how angry you get when I mention him and Arisa."
"I'll deal with it," I replied. "Like I do everything else—I'm the one who lied to her, it's my fault she's with him. I drove her off with my bullshit. I drive everyone off."
Hino placed his hand on my shoulder. "Not everyone," he reminded me.
We heard the basement door open. Kohaku descended. He was taller than his brother but somehow thinner and meeker—he wore clothes too big for him and a lot of them had anime characters drawn on them. His eyes were warmer than Hino's, more wholesome in a way, but they always seemed to deadpan when he saw me. "Can you two plot your revenge elsewhere?"
"We're leaving already," I replied.
Kohaku walked by and claimed one of the lazy boy chairs. "Good, because I'm a busy man with a full agenda."
"Good for you," I drawled. "Sorry to keep you away from the Real Housewives."
Kohaku's eyes widened. He turned to glare at his little brother. "He's here all the time, what do you expect?" Hino asked.
"Yeah and don't try to deny it because I'll know you're lying," I teased.
"Get out," Kohaku instructed.
Hino led me to the stairs and we began the climb up. "You should be nicer to him if you want his help with the Tommy situation," my friend advised.
I shrugged. "It would have been nice to have him hack in but I have other ways of getting information out of that school."
"Findlay?" Hino asked, as we reached the main floor. I nodded. We pulled our jackets out of the closet, and slipped into our shoes.
The weather was a little less chillier than yesterday, but I didn't mind. I preferred the cold over the heat. "If Findlay doesn't spill her guts then we'll try harder to get Kohaku on our side," I suggested. "Until then, I think it's important for us to learn why the school admin allowed such a tactless post to go through in the first place."
"Then there's the whole devil's successor thing," Hino reminded.
I rolled my eyes. "Right, well hopefully that will settle itself once I'm back on campus."
"And if it doesn't?"
I stopped in my tracks and looked at my friend. "Why wouldn't it? You said so yourself, Khaleel has no interest in succeeding me."
"He doesn't but if you—we go back to operating things like we did before, who's to say it won't land us in shit again?"
I nodded. "I can see why you're concerned but our business wasn't the problem, Hino. Arisa Hoffman was an anomaly. Things will go back to normal, and this time, anyone who tries to get in our way will be handled effective immediately."