The alarm caused him to open his eyes, and then the horns outside awoke him fully. Time for another day. Same as usual. Got the coffee from Ms. Chou, check the fridge for whatever was there. Jay was eating a bowl of cereal. Seemed like choco scratches, but the cheap store brand version. So Leon joined him at the table, sitting in the middle instead of across. The left side of the table had one leg noticeably shorter than the others, so actually eating there was a balancing act even the most skilled circus performers would struggle with.
"So, how's the game going?" Jay asked.
"Still alive, aren't I?" Leon replied flatly, reading the nutritional information on the cereal. The bowl gave him more or less the recommended sugar he'd need for the next three weeks. Cool.
"That's…good." Jay nodded.
"It's fine, you don't need to try and understand. It's not a situation people are prepared for." Leon sighed.
"I mean, I feel I should do something. At least a little."
"Eh, you're probably hoping I don't die. That's enough."
Leon's statement created an awkward silence. The silence continued for a few minutes, until the phone rang. Unknown number. Leon picked it up anyway. He waited for them to talk first, in case the robotic scam call voice started.
"Yo, Leon?"
It was Janet's voice.
"Janet? How did you get this number?" Leon asked.
"I have my ways." Janet replied casually. "But anyway, I wanna talk to you after school. "You free?"
"I'm in work two hours after school." Leon said.
"My message is like, half an hour, tops. Right after school and I'll get you where you work. You in? There's free food, your choice."
"I dunno…Hip Star Noodles?"
"Cool. I'll collect you after school. Laters."
Janet hung up, once again leaving Leon with Jay.
"Who was that?"
"Janet."
"Felloni?"
"Yeah."
"Also, can I go to Hip Star?"
"If you're there by the time school ends, sure."
So Leon went to school. The same stuff as the previous months, teachers stressing about exams and how important they were and yadda yadda whatever, he was hearing this for several months now. And he understood the exams that determine the rest of your life were important the first time. If the exams were anything like the recent results he got, he'd have the points he'd need to get into the history course he wanted. And he just had to endure a bunch of equations and scientific formulas to get there.
But school finally ended, and Jay was stood outside the school gates, catching a few odd looks from the few who were acknowledging him.
"Were teenagers always this judgmental?" Jay asked as Leon approached him.
"You're a twenty three year old hanging outside a high school." Leon replied.
"Shit, I probably do look bad." Jay whispered with widened eyes. "Where's Janet?"
"Right here."
Janet stood outside the school, dressed in her finest attire of a black and white chequered button up shirt, black jeans, and worn out purple skate shoes. And as soon as she stood on the street, a car pulled up. It was a deep blue, polished to a mirror shine. The license plate said it was only a few years old, even if it looked brand new.
"Hop in." She said casually, hitting up the front seat while Leon and Jay took the back.
The interior was also perfect, like nobody had sat in it before. And knowing Janet's family, it might be the first time. In front was an older looking guy, who should be retired by now.
"All good, Janet?" The guy asked. His accent was strong, and from halfway round the world.
"It's all good, Vass. Mind taking us to Hip Star Noodles?" She replied with a thumbs up, quickly getting her phone out and replacing the radio with what seemed to be her playlist. A song that seemed to be glitchy as it started, until Leon realized the song was actually meant to sound like that. Super harsh sounding and the audio level changed quietly, yet Janet was merrily bopping her head to it. When Leon left the car, the sound of traffic and an argument between two crackheads occurring next to him was a preferable noise. But whatever, it was lunchtime.
The place was very barren. Even after a near decade of operation, it was a white room, decorated only by a few tables with a desk at the back, complete with the menu taped to the top of it.
"So it's cool if I get a large?" Leon asked.
"Get what you want, my guy." Janet replied casually, credit card already in hand.
"'Kay, I'll get a large thick egg noodles with crispy pork belly, stir fried, please."
"Udon, Duck, Dry. Please." Janet ordered. The 'please' came a little later. Definitely reminding herself to say it.
"What the man there had." Jay said as he pointed to Leon.
Janet paid with a swipe of her credit card, and Leon felt a little jealous. She was so casual when she swiped, knowing the money was there. He wanted to go here for months now, and could never scrounge up the money. But whatever, he had noodles now.
"Alright, psycho-boy, let's get down to business." Janet asked before Leon could have a single noodle.
"Different name, please?"
"You have my number, let me know when you think of something better." She said. "Anyway, I want to both thank you for saving me yesterday, and offer an alliance."
"Alliance?"
"Yeah. Look, you've got one of the most versatile powers in the game, right? So we work together to survive the games."
"And I'm guessing I get paid?"
"Pretty much. Between now and the end of the game, I'll get you whatever you need."
"Can I get a new phone?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, no problem. What brand you want?"
"I dunno…the most powerful thing you can afford. But the type that lets me sideload stuff."
"I'll find something. Anything else? Place to live, maybe?"
"Eh, my place isn't that bad."
"It was pretty crummy." Janet said.
Leon didn't know what it was about her statement that pissed him off, but something definitely did. Maybe her dismissal of the place, of the people living there.
"It's actually a fine place." Leon replied, trying to retain some composure to his new ally.
"I mean, sure? I was just asking if you'd want something on par with the house you used to have…"
"I don't want that!"
Leon shot upwards, looking Janet in the eyes. But thanks to her goddamn sunglasses, there wasn't anything to look at.
"I'm doing fine right now." Leon hissed, multiple thoughts swirling around his head, that'd jeopardize the new alliance if he let out. He quickly wolfed down the noodles, which were as good as he remembered, and then left for his job. He wondered how alien the concept felt to Janet as he walked out.
Jay and Janet waited a few seconds, checking if Leon would come back for anything.
"So Jay, how ya doing?" Janet asked when it was clear he wasn't.
"Eh, could be better." He shrugged.
"And here, is the apartment actually fine?"
"You get used to it. But honestly, I am missing the Ritzrub life."
"I'd imagine. Tell me, when's your daddy getting your casino?" She said with a smirk.
This was who Jay really was. As Janet was heir to the Privis block, Jay was the Ritzrub. But he vanished a year after college, and it took several months of sleuthing on Janet's part to verify he wasn't dead. Not that she told anyone. Guy wanted to see what the city's less well off they were meant to look out for were up to.
"Eh, who knows?"
"But in all seriousness, how's your little experiment in loving among the poorer people in the city?"
"Honestly, it sucks." Jay sighed. "But it's pretty inspiring how they band together. There's a lady called Ms. Chou who brings us coffee every morning, and they try to make it look as nice as possible. Also, our landlady is really looking out for them. Like some guy who tried buying the place."
"Lemme guess, rich douche with slicked back hair who tried throwing money at something and threw a fit when it didn't work."
"Bingo."
"Figures, I'll look him up later. But anyway, how's Leon doing adjusting to the new place?"
"Alright."
"He tell you what happened to his old place?"
"He shut down the conversation whenever I tried. His mood got scarier when I asked, so I stopped."
"Really now? Well, if you aren't aware, his house burned down. His adoptive mom died, and then he moved out."
"Wait, the fire last year in Strovam?!"
"That's the one. Weird he just never mentioned it."
"Yeah." Jay nodded, the information exasperating him.
"Although I will say, it was a little strange how a fire like that didn't spread to at least a few other houses. He was able to get it under control shockingly quick."
"What are you implying here?"
"Nothing in particular." Janet said as she got up. "Guess the guys just skilled at preventing tragedy. And in this situation, that's something you'd need."