A bag strapped across my shoulders, I walked along the streets of Illagu. I’d spent enough time at Celeste’s. It was time to go home.
The familiar chant of “Leave the bytes alone” drifted faintly from the square as I passed by. There was only a handful of the usual people present.
Did Ramona stepping back really make that much of a difference?
A couple walked past me. “Itejifke they don’t even realize tehtuefjkdmis meeting with the director aniejtfnedsiujfa regular basis,” one of them muttered.
I glanced their way as the other person laughed. “Right? I bet it’s just to show the Strokes air curious or sam sing.”
The small crowd cheered as someone on the platform spoke. I was too far away to hear him, but I imagined it was along the lines of what Ramona had said in the past: that bytes had never asked for help from the Strokes.
Even if I disagreed with them, I knew they meant well. I knew they had what they believed were the bytes’ best interest at heart. But after what happened with 216894 so long ago, I wondered how many would change their mind if they knew the truth.
I adjusted the bag on my shoulder and continued my walk back to the apartment complex. The sight of the fountain in the miniature plaza of the complex made me smile. It was comforting to see some things didn’t change.
I climbed up the stairs and, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, walked through the door of my apartment.
“You’re dead wrong!” Leslie exclaimed, slamming their fist on the table.
Ramona glared at them. “It makes perfect sense, Leslie. You can’t convince me otherwise.”
Neither of them seemed to have noticed me walk in. And I was seriously considering sneaking right back out.
“He should’ve ended up with his best friend,” Leslie responded, “not the person he hated for two-thirds of the book.”
I laughed.
“Dax!” Ramona exclaimed when she saw me.
“I thought you were having a serious argument,” I said.
“Oh, come on, you know us better than that,” she replied as she sprung out of her chair. “Welcome back!” she said, wrapping me in a tight hug.
“You finally came home,” Leslie commented from their seat.
“Uh, yeah,” I replied, pulling out the Strokes paperwork from my bag. “I figured I should actually be living at the address I put in the application.”
Ramona stared at the packet for a moment. “You’re… really going to apply to the Strokes.”
“Well, I still have to finish filling it out. It’s,” I thumbed through a few pages of the packet, “extensive.”
Ramona let out a dramatic sigh. “So now I’ve got to deal with two of you.”
Leslie chuckled.
“No different than before, right?” I asked.
Ramona rolled her eyes, walking off to the kitchen.
I glanced at Leslie, smiling at them when our eyes met. Everything was going to be fine.
To be continued…