Heaven Gilded Zarcroft Hybrid

Thirty One

Before Cynaline and I left the penthouse, he took off his shirt and draped a huge, black scarf around his shoulders. I asked him if he was tossing the shirt in the laundry or getting a new one, but nope. He just walked into the elevator.

People hung around the lobby and sat on couches to watch the mounted TVs. It was weird seeing multiple strangers watching a TV show together.

Those little kids that I saw here yesterday were playing a board game on the ground, with bowls of snacks surrounding them.

I know it was summer and hot outside, but I found myself walking too close to him to hide him from onlookers. But no one noticed. I even saw a grown woman wearing a thin poncho over her chest. I didn't care, but I also did...

Cynaline stopped at a drink dispenser for something to drink. It reminded me of something you'd see at the fast food restaurant. There were even some bags of chips and gummy fruit. Cynaline poured himself a small cup of coffee, and asked me if I wanted some. I just wanted some water.

The cups felt like the same material my pendant was made of, though it was probably sturdier.

I leaned against the wall. "You guys can just wear scarves? No shirts?"

He smirked nervously. "Yeah. Besides, it's better for my wings."

"What if someone looks at you weird?"

"They don't. People wear swimwear at the beach on Dualgaea, right?"

"But that's on the beach, when it's hot and everyone's swimming."

"It's hot now."

"What about the girls?"

He snickered, and handed me a cup of water. "What's the difference?"

"You know..."

He didn't seem to understand. "What?"

"Nevermind."

As we left the dispenser, a group of five kids ran up to us—the same ones playing on the floor. One boy held their board game up to me. It looked like a game of Mancala, except with mini colorful balls instead of stones, and a path circling the board like Monopoly. I couldn't begin to understand all of the other dice and pieces riddled around.

"Can you play Gambles?" he asked. "We need another player for hard mode!"

"We're doing something right now," Cynaline said.

One little girl, maybe ten, grabbed my cup and held it to her lips.

I swiped it from her.

"You snatched from me!" she yelled and stomped her foot.

"You did it first," I said.

Cynaline sighed, and looked at her. "Are you thirsty?"

She slowly rubbed her hand.

"What did you want?" He knelt down to face her.

"Is there more of that?"she asked.

"Yeah. Do you know how to use the dispenser?"

They didn't. Cynaline spent the next ten minutes showing them how it worked. Each of the kids got their own cup and dispensed their coffee, and Cynaline helped them with adding milk and sweetener.

"This is good!" a little boy said. He was the youngest of them all. "Thank you!"

"Gelpeid," Cynaline said. "See you later!"

⚝⚝⚝

Eventually, Cynaline and I ended up in a dark hallway, far away from the lobby. A strip of white light ran along the crevice of the ceiling and floor, like a guide. The room number at the end of the hall glowed marine.

My finger buzzed as I touched the doorknob. The door slid open.

"Is he letting us in?" I asked.

"Yeah," Cynaline said. "There's a remote that you press to open the door."

"Hm. Fancy. And by the way, call me Icarus."

"You gave yourself a different name?"

"You never know!"

A moody, warm light fell over everything. A huge, messy bed, shelves of books shrinking the room, and a black carpet full of shoes and broken ink pens. A small TV played a movie on a tall dresser.

"Ganè?" Cynaline called, reading from the note.

I looked over and saw a man sitting in a computer chair, in the direct light of a desk lamp. His workspace was crowded with pencils and stacks of notebooks. Huh. I wondered why he didn't just use a computer or something.

I carefully stepped over some shoes and papers on the floor.

Ganè didn't seem to notice us, despite inviting us in.

"Sorry for intruding," I said. "It's Icarus. And I brought my friend with me."

He looked up at me with his tired, green eyes and smirked. "One of your very shy friends?"

"I did say that, didn't I?"

I noticed the blueprint drawn on a piece of grid paper in front of him.

"How's the room I gave you?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck. "Did you sleep well in it?"

"Yeah... but we had a rough morning." I leaned on the desk. "Something happened to the windows. They... glitched."

"Oh. In what way?"

"What do you mean? The windows glitched! Like computer screens!"

"Yeah. They're the 'surround' windows. Since the hotel is underground, they make it feel more open."

"So they're screens?"

"You never saw one before?"

"N-No. Wait, I did. On the MorteVista train."

"Is that what you took here?"

"Yeah... So what about the elevator? Why didn't it crash into a rock or something?"

"You don't know?"

"Am I supposed to?"

Cynaline nudged me. I was starting to look too clueless.

I looked around the room. It was so messy. I just couldn't believe it.

"Is all of your paperwork in here?" Cynaline asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I concentrate better here. I'm working on a map. I don't have my computer right now, so I have to be super careful. And I don't have a phone anymore, but that's besides the point."

"Did it break?"

His smile broke. "It was taken from me a while ago. I just woke up one day without it. Luckily, my birthday's coming up soon and my dad's getting me something, so I'm calmer than usual... Hopefully, it stays that way. I doubt it."

I scratched my chin. "If your dad owns the hotel, it's probably expensive."

"Possibly."

"Did he tell you what it is?"

"Get out."

I flinched. I opened my mouth to question, but nothing came out. Cynaline rubbed his arm as he looked at the floor.

"You want us to leave?" I asked.

"I'm not repeating myself," he said.

Though I wanted to wait a few seconds before abruptly leaving, Ganè's stern glare shooed us away like scared kittens.

We traced a path through the mess before trudging across the room again.