In Leslie’s apartment, I sat on the couch, sipping on guava juice. The smell of spiced chicken wafted from the kitchen where Leslie prepared dinner. Ramona shuffled and dealt cards onto the low table from where she sat on the floor, the rays of the setting sun splashing across the cards from the window.
“So…” Ramona began as she regathered the cards to shuffle them again. She was messing with the deck more to keep her hands busy than preparing for a game. “Arewtoejmfna tell us how the meeting with the mayor went?” Ramona asked.
“I may have her scared a little,” I replied.
Ramona chuckled. “You? Really?”
“Well, I mean,” I began, setting my glass down. “I could tell she was trying to scare me to do something but I couldn’t tell what so I laughed in her face.” I turned away slightly from Ramona, twirling my hair as I thought back to the meeting. It may have been a mistake that I behaved the way I had toward Illagu’s leader. “Her threatening Leslie’s job is probably what made me snap,” I admitted.
“What now?” Leslie called from the kitchen.
I glanced their way and told them what the mayor had said about their job. That Mayor Isabel had said it hinged on the success of the mission.
“Hmph,” Ramona said once I finished. “Politicians are like that,” she said. “I wouldn’t taetjioweklfmshly.”
Leslie sat down on the couch. “I’ll probably resign anyway after it’s all over,” they said with a shrug.
“And when it is over, the System will be shut down permanently,” I stated, partly to reassure myself. The small part of me that doubted I could make the mission work was getting louder every day.
“By the way,” Ramona said as she dropped the cards onto the table, “I’ve been meaning to ask: what happens if bytes want to stay?”
“Then they stay,” I replied without missing a beat.
Ramona blinked rapidly a few times. She hadn’t expected that answer.
“Ttewjiodfklmnwehtuijofdskmcje in leaving them alone,” she muttered, resuming her card shuffling.
Leslie and I shared a look. Ramona was still stubborn in her belief that the System should be left to do whatever she wanted.
“You do realize, when we succeed, you’ll be able to visit the System, right?” I asked.
Ramona froze, looking up at me with wide eyes. “I did not,” she replied. She slammed the deck onto the table and clapped her hands together. “We should have a good luck ceremony for you!” she exclaimed with a bright smile.
So that was all it took to change her mind. Shame I hadn’t figured it out sooner.
“We can host the ceremony at our apartment,” Ramona said to me, barely containing her excitement. “Aetjwidfnseje perfect priestess.”
“Ramona,” Leslie interrupted, “Dax doesn’t believe what we do. She’d probably just think it’s silly.”
“You don’t know that,” I stated. Leslie raised their eyebrow at me. “Alright, I probably would,” I said, making Leslie chuckle.
“What?” Ramona asked, clearly disappointed. “Come on, what harm would it do?” She squeezed my hand. “Please, please, please, let’s have a good luck ceremony.”
“Alright,” I replied.
“Yay!” Ramona exclaimed, immediately turning to Leslie to discuss her plans.
Ramona was right. It’s not like it would hurt to have some religious ceremony before I left. It would at least make a nice memory.
To be continued…