Chapter Fifty-Eight

Lunchtime on Wednesday afternoon began with Lila promising to collect Ayaka from outside their Japanese class, which they had just finished. Ayaka waved goodbye and turned back to her classmates, speaking in rapid-fire Japanese. Lila considered going to the Mandarin classroom around the corner but had yet to take a step when Asher motioned to her over in the distance. Gavin trailed behind Asher for a few moments, looking at Lila curiously, before shaking his head and heading off in the opposite direction.

“Let’s go get our food,” Asher beamed at Lila. Lila was relieved to see that Asher was in higher spirits. He remained so as they talked and joked on their way to the science lab. Lila didn’t even mind the crowd jostling her as they waded through to the glass door. Asher glanced at her and, unlike the previous times, confidently strode in.

“Hello again,” Livi smiled as Asher and Lila stood before the teacher’s desk. It seemed like the usual Grade 12 crew was in here today, and they all acknowledged Lila and Asher in various ways. Theo waved as usual but didn’t meet Lila’s eyes today.

“Your food hasn’t arrived just yet,” Livi said pleasantly. “You’re welcome to wait in here for it.”

“Thanks,” Asher said shortly. Livi’s grin grew even wider and she leaned forward on the desk, tilting her head to the side.

“You know, I can see why Lila is desperate to help you help Isaac,” Livi said, her eyes seemingly locked on Asher’s. “They have some serious chemistry. Saw it for myself yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Asher asked, his body seemingly tensing up. Lila briefly looked at him from the corner of her eye. His face seemed strangely devoid of any emotion.

“Yup,” Livi drawled, her eyes sparkling. “They seem like a great match.”

“No thank you,” Lila said bluntly. “He’s my ex.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lila realised it had been a mistake to admit that.

“So you dated Asher’s best friend?” Livi clarified slowly, her eyes lingering on Asher’s face as she spoke. “Clearly, you already chose who you prefer. Seems rough on you, Asher – to know that your best friend came first. Probably in more ways than one. I’ll bet it stings, remembering that.”

“Livi,” Vi’s harsh warning tone cut through the air like a knife. She had placed the book she was reading on the table and stood, glaring at Livi with a look that edged on murderous. “If you keep pressing, they won’t come back. Don’t you need that 3k?”

Livi pouted, folding her arms across her chest. “But it’s fun. You should see the looks on their faces.”

“They’re not toys, Livi,” Vi snapped. “You’ve been treating them like toys this whole time. Same with Theo and Zack.”

“Sorry, Vi,” Livi mumbled. Vi continued to glare at Livi, who seemed to wither before it, for a few more seconds, before sitting back down and opening up her book again.

“Should we wait outside?” Lila whispered to Asher. He was as still as a statue and didn’t seem to register her question. Lila gently tugged on his blazer sleeve and he recoiled from her touch. Lila could hear Livi give a small snicker, but Lila didn’t dare look at her.

“Running away?” Livi cajoled, inspecting her nails. “You know, you did a number on Theo yesterday, Asher. Any reason for that?”

Theo sighed, closing his textbook.

“For the last time, Livi, it’s fine. It didn’t hurt that much,” he insisted.

“Are you kidding?” Livi said disbelievingly. “You were so close to crying. I don’t think I’ve seen that happen since you told me how cute you thought Lila was.”

Theo rolled his eyes. Jason’s head whipped around to look at Theo and Livi.

“What happened?” Jason queried. Asher’s face suddenly twisted into an expression of guilt, and he looked down at the floor.

“Isaac and Asher were testing out a new strat for the game on Saturday,” Theo sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I just got hit in the crossfire right on my knee. And not the part that my kneecap covers.”

“Zack helped him out,” Livi interjected, her expression seeming to convey more than what she was telling. Jason stared at her before rounding on Zack, who held his hands up in surrender.

“What did you do?” Jason asked, his voice taking on a shrill note.

“I just used a bit,” Zack replied defensively.

Livi snorted. “You only had a bit,” she said. Jason closed his eyes, his whole body shaking in apparent fury. Then, he took a deep breath and looked at Theo.

“You alright?” Jason grunted, seeming much calmer than he had a second ago.

“Yeah,” Theo replied with a cheeky grin. “It’ll take more than that to take me out.”

Livi smirked and Jason sighed before turning his attention back to his phone.

“Anyway, Lila, how far did you get with Isaac?” Livi quizzed, her amusement clear on her face. Lila heard Asher take in a sharp breath, and she took a peek at him. He was looking at the desk Livi was sitting at as though it was the most well-made desk he’d ever seen.

“I’m not going to answer that,” Lila replied stiffly. This, too, seemed to be the wrong answer. Livi practically jumped up with glee.

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“You went all the way?” she cried. Lila’s face immediately turned a deep red colour. She could feel several pairs of eyes on her, including Asher’s, but she tried to stand her ground and made eye contact with Livi.

“No,” Lila said firmly. “Nothing like that at all.”

“I see,” Livi said sagely. “So just hand and mouth stuff.”

“No!” Lila shouted. Everyone unblinkingly stared at her. “Just kissed. A couple times.”

“How boring,” Livi pouted. “And here I’d picked you as being a bit more adventurous than that. Though… you don’t have to be in a relationship to step it up. You still a virgin?”

“That’s enough,” Vi half-yelled as she slapped her book onto the table. “Stop it, Livi.”

“Yeesh, she can get so scawy,” Livi sniffed, her voice suddenly child-like, dramatically wiping imaginary tears from her eyes.

The door behind Asher and Lila swung open and they spun around. It was Nate and Will, both juggling way too many Uber Eats bags.

“Your timing is impeccable,” Livi called out to them sweetly. Both boys blushed as they hurriedly put the bags down on a free table and began sorting out orders. Nate recognised Asher from last week and handed over their food with a smile worthy of a customer-service award. Asher and Lila departed as soon as the food landed in Asher’s hand.

“See ya later!” Livi’s joyful voice rang out as the door slammed shut behind them.

Once they reached the library, Asher burst into an empty meeting room, clearly irate. He heaved himself into a chair and entirely avoided looking at Lila as he began to demolish his burrito. Lila pursed her lips, unsure what to do or say. Given the fact that relationships in general were still ticking Asher off, it wasn’t a surprise that he was annoyed at the mention of Lila and Isaac’s previous relationship.

“I don’t know how she does it,” Asher suddenly said, his tone menacing. “But it’s like she’s a parasite in my brain. She seems to know exactly what would set me off and goes ahead and says it. She enjoys it, too. Sadistic as hell.”

“I definitely get the same feeling,” Lila nodded, loading up a nacho and shoving it in her mouth. The spices mingling with avocado seemed heaven-sent, though would probably taste better if she wasn’t so off-put from the interaction with Livi.

“You do?” Asher asked, seeming surprised. “I hadn’t realised she said anything that would upset you, too.”

“I don’t know if upset is the right word,” Lila replied after swallowing. “But the way she operates is uncanny.”

Asher stared down his burrito for a moment before looking up at Lila again. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but instead took a bite of his food. Lila glanced down at her own food before sighing. She relayed what she’d discovered from her conversation with Alice and Willow, hardly pausing for breath. Asher took in everything she said silently and, once she was done, he nodded.

“That all tracks, from what I’ve seen,” Asher responded. “They’re an odd bunch, especially when thinking that they’re a group.”

“You could say that, but is it really odd for the Head Boy and Head Girl to be hanging out with the Dux? I don’t know about the rest of them, but that trio seems reasonable to me,” Lila shrugged. Asher snorted.

“Do you envision me hanging out with the Head Boy and Head Girl of our year?” he asked.

“I envisioned you being the Head Boy, to be honest,” Lila said lightly, picking up another loaded nacho and tipping it into her mouth.

“It’s a marvel, watching you eat that,” Asher said suddenly with a chuckle. Lila frowned at him, a faint embarrassed flush coating her cheeks.

“Don’t be rude,” she admonished him. “I’m just trying my best here. I didn’t get any cutlery.”

“I have spares in my locker. We can grab a fork or something, if you want,” Asher offered quickly.

“I’m good if you don’t point out my eating technique,” Lila replied, frowning again.

“Yes, ma’am,” Asher quipped. She smiled, and they continued to eat in silence. Once Asher was done, he rolled up his alfoil burrito covering into a ball and sat back in his chair.

“From what I’ve seen and what you said to me, I wouldn’t be surprised if Vi was the Banker,” he said contemplatively, tossing the ball high into the air and catching it with ease. “She has this odd authority over Livi, somehow, despite how unruly Livi is. I can definitely see her running the show behind the scenes, and Livi’s just the accounts manager or face of the Banker or something.”

“I can see that,” Lila agreed. “I guess we’ll find out next week.”

Though she knew they couldn’t do anything about the impending drop-off, the wait was still grating on her. Why couldn’t they just know who the Banker was now? The curiosity was gnawing and clawing its way out of the depths of her stomach, but she kept a lid on it. At least one thing was clear, Livi’s stonewalling regarding that point was very effective.

Something lit up in Lila’s mind as she turned over her memories of their conversations with Livi. What was the purpose behind Livi’s jabs at Asher and Lila? Was Livi just bored? Or was there a hidden meaning behind it all?

“She’s always got a plan,” April’s voice floated into Lila’s consciousness.

“Why do you reckon she says all that extra stuff?” Lila asked Asher, glancing at him. He met her gaze and rapped his knuckles along the edge of the desk.

“Beats me,” he shrugged. “I know a lot about schoolwork, but hardly anything about girls, clearly.”

“Go on,” Lila encouraged. “Throw out a theory.”

Asher stopped slouching as he eyed Lila suspiciously. “Why?”

“I’m at a loss myself, but maybe we could figure it out together,” Lila replied earnestly.

He seemed to consider this as he placed a finger to his chin. “It’s hard to tell, but I think she began to dig in deep once you started asking questions… It could be a diversion tactic? To put us off the trail?”

Lila tapped the desk as she thought through Asher’s suggestion. “I reckon you’re right on the money,” she said finally. “They’re hiding something big. And somehow I think it’s much more than the identity of the Banker or their leader.”

Asher’s eyes grew as wide as saucers and he leaned in closer to Lila. “I didn’t think of that,” he whispered, “but it makes so much sense.”

“And just makes me want to dig in even more,” Lila sighed in frustration. “But I have no idea where we could start. My teammates were helpful, but they don’t seem to like Livi at least.”

“I’m surprised anyone does, to be honest,” Asher said darkly.

“I don’t think she’s trying to be likeable to us,” Lila said, continuing to tap on the desk. It seemed to help move her thoughts along. “And I think that’s because we started off snooping more than the average student. She even said as much - that no one talks to them outside of the business transactions…”

“But why would she want to be unlikeable?” Asher queried with a heavy intake of breath.

“Maybe she’s just trying to get a rise out of us, so we’d get so fed up with them that we don’t go back. She could feel threatened since she doesn’t know you, besides the fact that you’re the Dux of our cohort. She could think you’re a total goody-two-shoes and ready to tell a teacher at any moment and blow the whole operation apart.”

Asher laughed heartily, clutching his stomach. The force of his laughter surprised Lila. She hadn’t said anything particularly funny.

“Once upon a time,” he eventually said, wiping a small tear from his eye, “I was a total goody-two-shoes. But this year I’ve been bending the rules so much, I don’t even recognise the guy I used to be.”

“Not just rules,” Lila grinned cheekily. “Laws, too.”

“They’re just fancy rules,” Asher joked. “Enforced by guys in wigs and all that.”

“Wigs?” Lila asked, bemused.

“Yeah, sometimes the Judges and counsel wear wigs in court,” Asher explained. “Kinda funny that we still do that.”

“Good to know,” Lila smiled. “In case I’m ever in a position to wear a wig in court.”

“Honestly, though,” Asher said seriously. “Breaking into places at this point feels as natural to me as if the doors were open the whole time.”

“Probably shouldn’t admit that,” Lila teased. “Though, as your accomplice, the feeling is mutual.”

The rest of lunch passed by without more discussion of Livi and her group. Lila at least wanted to think on it some more... what were they hiding?