"This is the place!" Selene leaned forward as much as her seatbelt would let her. She pointed past Quang while the vehicle cruised down the road. Her finger was angled towards at a large inactive neon sign jutting out from the side of the building. The words The Family's Stone were formed in purple cursive. Beneath the name of the place was a large diamond logo made of white tubes. The sign looked complex even when it was off in the middle of the day. The windows of the building were tinted dark black, only giving vague silhouettes of what was inside. As the car continued to cruise past, the sunlight made the dark windows glimmer, showing off their spotlessness.

"Gotta say, the place looks nice," Quang said. He pulled the car into the parking lot adjacent to the building. His eyes quickly shifted from The Family's Stone to the metal fence that encompassed the parking lot. "Doesn't look too dangerous. For now."

"And it won't be for the rest of the day either," Vic called out from the back seat. He let out a long yawn and sat up straight. "Stop freaking out so much, Quang. This place has got a decent income. That means the police will be here pronto in case anything goes wrong."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Quang replied. He rolled his car into one of the parking spaces and shut the engine off. "But I still don't think that means much. Even if they do show up, it's not like Isla Lucrecia is really know for having the most effective police force."

"So it won't be much different from the rest of the city," Selene said with narrowed eyes. “I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t start trying to talk me out of this?”

"Sorry, sorry. I forgot that I agreed not to bring up how worried I am. I'll stop being a concerned friend."

Selene unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled on the handle to the passenger side door. "Thank you. Was that so hard?"

"Yes."

The passenger rolled her eyes. "I'm going in. Should be done in about thirty, forty-five minutes."

"Sounds good." Quang opened his side of the door, prompting a scornful glare from Selene.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Going in with you."

"But this is my interview," Selene said while putting her hand over her chest.

"I know. But I'll be quiet as a mouse. You won't even know I'm there."

"Why? Why do you feel the need to tag along to my interview? They're going to think I can't do anything by myself!"

"You're overreacting. Nobody's going to think about that when we go inside."

"Come on Quang. You've been protesting me doing this all day. Ever since I saw the ad in the newspaper, you have been against the idea. Now you just happen to want to come along while I'm about to get interviewed? Do you think I can't see through your little plan?"

"I would not stoop that low!" Quang barked back. "I'm just... doing a bit of research. Maybe I'd want to come by here one night and just... hand out or something. You never know."

"I know bro," Vic butted in. "You don't want to be here. Trust me."

"Let me go. Alone," Selene said to the driver. "I really need this job. And I don't want anything to go wrong. If you were my friend... you'd understand that."

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Quang kept his hand on the handle of his car. He froze, looking at Selene with a straight face. He took his hand off the door and placed it on the steering wheel. "Fine. You convinced me."

"Thank you, Quang. I won't take long. I promise." She then exited the vehicle, letting her door close with a gentle thump. She hurried to the entrance of the bar while Quang watched her from the rearview mirror.

"Dude," Vic said bluntly with his head resting against his arm it.

"Dude what?" Quang blurted back.

"You handled that all wrong, man. All wrong!"

"Because you know so much about relationships, right?"

Vic nodded. "I'd say so."

"Why?" Quang turned around to face Vic from around his chair. "Because of all those hippy song that you listen too you're a love guru now or something?"

"I mean... you said it. Not me."

"Uh-huh. Let's not forget that half those songs are about broken hearts, alright? Just because you can recite the lyrics to a few songs about 'treating her right' and 'making her happy' doesn't mean you've got any idea of what you're talking about."

"If you say so Quang. If you say so."

Quang kept his eyes on Vic through the reflection of the rearview mirror. It looked as if his mind had already wandered off; he began to play an imaginary set of drums with a pair of invisible sticks in his hands, all while whispering the lyrics of a classic tune underneath his breath. He watched from through the reflection Vic continue to bounce his head up and down in time with the song he hummed.

"You think I'm too... clingy?" Quang asked.

"Huh?"

"Clingy. Protective. You know. Stuff like that."

"Oh yeah. For sure." Vic's head continued to bob. "You're like a dad but for all the wrong reasons."

"But I don't want her getting hurt!" Quang turned around to face the back seat. "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to her that could have been prevented with a bit of persuading."

"Dude. She's an adult."

"And? That doesn't make her invincible!"

"No, but those tonfas make her a pretty mean threat. If she carries those around with her, I'm sure she'll be just fine. A bit of decent hapkido is enough to make anyone think twice about attacking." Vic chuckled. "Well, except for me of course."

Quang opened his mouth, only for no sounds to come out. He stared at Vic, looking at him with child-like curiosity. "I've got an idea."

"Lay it on me."

"You want some free food?"

"That's the best kind of food."

"And maybe a bit of cash, too."

"I'm listening." Vic stopped his in-seat dancing.

"Would you be willing to watch over Selene for me?"

"Huh?" Vic squinted his eyes and scratched his head. "Like... be a bodyguard or something?"

"Exactly! But not quite. Maybe something more like... a guardian angel. You just keep a close tab on her while she's going to this new job. Make sure she doesn't get into any trouble. But of course, you don't let her know what you're doing."

"I don't know man..." Vic said before tightening his headband. "That's pushing into weirdo territory."

"Come on. It's not like you've get anything better to do." Quang reached into his back pocket and took out a wallet. He waved a five-dollar bill in front of him. "Five bucks a week. And you wouldn't even have to go every day! Maybe like... every other day."

"I could buy an album after a month!"

"Now you get where I'm coming from. Just do it once. As a test run. If she gets the job, just do your thing and stay low. Get an idea of how her commute is and let me know what you find."

Vic's hand darted forward and snatched the wrinkled bill out of Quang's hand. "All right. I'm down. But payment comes first."

Quang tossed the bill behind him and let it all fall onto Vic's lab. He looked it with big eyes, pinching it with two fingers as he dangled it in front of his face. He placed one hand on his chin and he examined the money with one eye. "Yeah, looks like the real deal to me." He then wadded up the money and stashed it away in the pocket of his denim jacket.

"If you lose that, I'm not giving you another one."

"Don't worry. When it comes to money, I never lose it."

"You mean like, on the ground, right? Because some would argue that what you spend your money on is as good as good losing it."

"Don't judge, man. It's my money now. I'll spend it how I want to. Is that such a wild concept to grasp?"

Vic turned his head to look at the bar. "Just make sure you keep up with your end of the deal, all right? I'm counting on you for this."

"You worry a lot, dude. I'm start to think that you take too much after your mom."

"That's what happens when you get older," Quang said before letting a sigh escape. "You start to realize that your parents have been right your entire life."