The Ordinary Haunting

23. The Close Friends - Part 1

Unlike a certain someone, Joss had let me buy a ticket. Behind me I distinctly saw New rub at his jaw to hide his smile as the staff member on the gate watched a maroon sleeve without a hand raise a phone and its QR code to the scanner. Joss lowered his sunglasses to widen his eyes playfully at the young guy and I think I was instantly forgotten.

"I have to stop going to these public places with hot men," I grouched after we'd cleared the entry and were shuffling towards a towering black wall with the other people registered for the 11am session. The word 'teamLab' stretched above us in red, orange, blue, green and white. I almost asked Joss to pick his favourite colour letter when he freed himself of his mask and glasses and revealed a set of eyebrows folding towards each other.

"What hot men? You said you'd never dated."

His eyebrows were folding, but if they'd had elbows they would have been digging into my side like an eleven-year-old.

I tucked the tail of my shirt back into my pants and busied myself reading the entry guidelines on the wall beside me. A heel clacked its way towards us, accompanied by the gentle tap of New's nicest loafers.

"Oh bummer, there aren't any restaurants here. Would you be interested in trying the tea house later, New?"

"I think we have to book it. It's a separate fee."

"I'll check. It's on me, okay?"

"You don't have to."

"I know. I want to, though. Will you accept this grand gesture, even knowing that I may never reach to these heights again?"

"As long as you know the risk you're taking, sure."

"Do you like risk-takers?"

"Some of them."

"Do you think I'll be one of them?"

"Depends how good the tea is."

Joss sidled in with his junior-high-schooler eyebrows still junior-high-schooling and nodded at the pair behind us.

"Not bad," he sang. "I did a good job."

Sure sounds like a job interview, I giggled to myself.

Mint plucked her own mask from her ears and put it into her handbag, a pair of Ray Bans sunglasses following it. "Anything that's happening right now is because New and I are doing a good job, thank you," she retorted. Her tiny pointed nose jabbed the air at Joss and then she threw out a dainty white grin. "So you ready to split? I call first dibs on Crystal World."

"No way. I'm the one who copped us the tickets. I get Crystal World first."

"I believe it was your agent who copped us the tickets, sir."

"Ma'am, Imma need you to stop gossiping with Miss Jane in the agency cafeteria."

I got to the end of the guidelines for the second time and turned to join the group circle. Mint was leaning casually against the wall, one of her feet lifted so that she could loosen the ankle strap of her shoe as she argued with Joss. I don't how they did it, but she and New were in almost laughably matching olive green outfits, she in a skirt and crop top set kept warm in the nearly winter conditions by a large grey coat, and he in a slightly darker button-down shirt with another of his favourite, stately mandarin collars, and black suit slacks. That morning he'd insisted on leaving without any outer clothing, stubbornly maintaining the idea that he was like some kind of polar bear, immune to the human concept of cold weather.

Did I bother pointing out which one of us was actually immune to the human concept of cold weather? Yes, of course I did. Did we then spend the 45-minute train ride debating the outcome of Ghost Tay versus Polar Bear New? Yes, of course we did.

I would win, by the way. One-hundred percent.

I shifted the jacket on my arm as I watched Joss and Mint bicker. They were crab-walking in the line trickling into the main floor of teamLab, still trying to decide who'd go where first. Joss was dressed in a black turtleneck and oversized downcoat that I could have sworn started under his chin and ended somewhere in the carpet beneath our feet. I was trying to decide if it was the worst decision in history to wear all black to a digital art museum that was 85% projections on all-black rooms, or genius. Upon spotting him after we'd exited the train station, New had been excited to see the result of said outfit, until we remembered the plan was to split up while on our double date. So now I had been tasked with getting photo evidence...but only if it looked ridiculous.

I shifted the strap of my Leica off my neck. For my outfit New and I had sparred strongly, wielding very different opinions (big surprise): I'd been happy enough to just wear my ghost work clothes, thus going unnoticed by staff and other patrons, whereas New had quickly objected and followed up with at least five reasons why I had to wear something visible. Most of them were easily deflectable, but he got to me when he pointed out how sorry Joss would look, walking around and talking to himself.

(Let me reiterate that this was before we saw his outfit and realised he might end up being invisible too.)

To be honest, however, New had got to me one point earlier, when he'd said the projections would be able to touch me if I wore his clothes. Until then I hadn't thought about how much I wanted to be able to participate in the exhibits just like everyone else. How much I wanted to be able to take a photo with a friend amidst the lights and colours in the different spaces of the museum and almost look like a real human beside him again.

Anyway, short story long, I was wearing a maroon shirt my sister had brought for me from my belongings at our grandmother's house -- on Earth's suggestion, knowing Joss's fancy for red -- and black skinny jeans that, to my disappointment, sat smaller on my waist and flatter on my backside than they did on New.

I ran a finger between the jeans and my hips to try to stretch them a little. It still confused me how I could be so clearly skinnier than New, and yet his clothes were almost always too tight around the middle. I eyed his torso as he reached out to take a set of artist flyers from an employee at the door. His shirt twisted with the movement and hugged an undeniably small waist. It was firm in the front, his toned abdominal muscles keeping all that caramel cake he liked tucked neatly inside, and even his built back slimmed as it lowered, propped up by tapering, strong lines.

"Tay?"

"Yea-up?" I bit my tongue at the combination of 'Yes' and 'Yup' that bleated its way out of my mouth and looked to where Joss was waiting by a huge black curtain. The people in front of us slipped through, briefly exposing a faint pink light from within.

Joss lowered his right hand, which had been going to catch the falling curtain, and instead pulled at the collar of his coat with his left. "I'm just going to drop this off at the cloak room. Let me take yours too. Will you wait here for me?"

"Ok, no problem," I replied.

"Thanks. Mint, New, you guys can go ahead. I'm sure we'll see you around. Though I hope we don't."

"You realise this means we're going directly to Crystal World, right?" Mint smiled and eagerly shook off her own coat to give to Joss. He took it without even a twitch of resistance, like he'd barely registered the motion.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't. That's the way I raised you."

Mint rearranged her long black hair down her chest and, walking backwards so that she could face New, thumbed at the pink glow behind the curtain Joss was now holding aside for them. New walked after her, his feet sticking close to the ground. I caught his eye as he passed.

"Enjoy your good thing," he whispered, grinning.

Fuck you, New Thitipoom, I cursed as he followed his twee attack with a twee wink. I'd definitely told him not to do that again.

~~~~

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