Chapter Seventy-Two

Lila woke up far earlier than she had intended to on Sunday morning. She went through her usual routine, doing a fine job of emulating a tortoise’s pace though her eyes kept drifting to her phone’s clock. Even the addition of makeup didn’t speed up time fast enough.

At least she could say for certain that she looked cute. Perhaps disarmingly so. Hopefully enough that Theo would entertain her questions, at least.

With nothing else to do, Lila even began curling the ends of her hair. That, in itself, took about an hour, owing to the fact that her thick hair fought back against holding a curl in most circumstances. Eventually, she managed to make it behave and returned to her room.

She’d already tidied her bed twice this morning, so she started fussing with her accessories again, adding a couple sparkly hair clips, silver necklace, and matching earrings to her look. She found a small black cross-body bag and slipped her phone and wallet into it. It paired well with the sweater dress and matched the black of her stockings, at least, and was functional enough.

As she contemplated the addition of a jacket or not, her phone’s alarm rang. It was now 10.30am.

Relieved, Lila headed downstairs, playing phone games on the couch as she waited for Theo to arrive.

After some time, Clare’s voice brought her out of her puzzle. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” Lila replied, looking back down at her phone.

“Giving Theo a chance, I see,” Clare continued, sitting next to Lila on the couch. Lila sighed and shut her phone screen off.

“I suppose it’d be rude not to,” Lila replied with a shrug.

“Well, I hope you have fun. Either way, you deserve to have a good time out now that the term is basically over. I was surprised at how much you studied, to be honest.”

“Not sure how to feel about that,” Lila said drily. Clare laughed.

“Your grades will speak for themselves, I’m sure.”

The sisters fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments before Daniel shuffled past, rubbing his belly and yawning. He stopped short of them and took in Lila’s appearance.

“Disgusting,” he said disapprovingly, moving on to the kitchen. Lila rolled her eyes and Clare scoffed.

“Hey, she looks nice!” Clare yelled hotly.

“Didn’t say she didn’t,” Daniel called loftily.

“Leave it,” Lila said warningly to Clare, placing a hand on her arm. “It’s fine.”

Clare simply shook her head and turned her attention to her own phone. Lila heard Daniel clattering around in the kitchen, most likely assembling some breakfast. He returned to the living room, holding a plate of toast and a cup of juice. He placed both on the coffee table and settled himself into his usual seat on the couch.

“Why’re you going on a date with Theo?” Daniel asked, looking shrewdly at Lila.

“You’re asking this again?” Lila questioned in frustration. “It’s literally none of your business.”

“You didn’t answer me yesterday.”

“I don’t need to answer you, either today or yesterday, dude. Why’re you so pressed about knowing?”

“Just curious,” Daniel responded as he reached over for his toast.

“You’re so invested in my dating life for curiosity? I can see that being nosy runs in the family,” Lila frowned, folding her arms.

“Oi,” Clare pouted. Daniel looked at Lila meaningfully before biting into his toast.

“I feel like most younger brothers probably don’t want to hear anything about their older sister’s dating life,” Clare piped up, looking at Daniel with suspicion. Daniel shrugged.

“Maybe. I feel like most younger brothers aren’t tutored by their older sister’s friend, either,” he said, swallowing his toast. “I learnt a lot this week. Maybe even too much.”

“That seems irrelevant,” Clare laughed. Suddenly, her laughter stopped, and she looked at Daniel with wide, sparkling eyes. “Wait, do you mean-”

Daniel shrugged again. “Dunno what I mean.”

Lila was about to interrogate Daniel when her phone rang. It was Theo.

“H-Hey,” Lila said hesitantly into the phone after picking up the call.

“Hey,” Theo’s voice replied. “I think I’m outside.”

“You think?” Lila asked with a laugh.

“I mean, I hope so,” Theo chuckled.

“Alright, I’ll come out now.”

Lila hung up her phone and looked briefly between Clare, who looked fit to burst with curiosity, and Daniel, who was biting into his toast as though he’d never eaten in his life, before speaking. “I’ll see you guys later. I’ll be out for dinner.”

“Have fun!” Clare called as Lila left to put her shoes on.

“Not too much fun,” Daniel also called behind Lila, his tone far less cheerful than Clare’s.

Lila made sure that her door keys were in her bag before leaving. The air was just as chilly as she’d predicted, and she was regretting foregoing a jacket. A scuffed black Suzuki Swift was idling in the driveway, a pair of white fluffy dice swinging from the rearview mirror. Theo looked up at her from behind the wheel as she approached. She could see that his hair was parted and styled in a way that was reminiscent of popular K-Pop idols, unlike his usual hairstyle at school. Lila also noticed that he’d switched out his usual glasses, ordinarily thick-framed and rectangular, for lighter, thinner round ones.

He jumped out the driver’s side door and hurried off to the passenger side before she could reach his car. She saw that he had a leather jacket over a lightweight cream jumper. Looking down, she noticed he also had charcoal-grey, denim slim-fit shorts with classic Vans on.

“Hi,” he said as he opened the passenger door for her. She looked up at him in surprise.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she smiled, walking over and sitting inside. He closed the door gently behind her. Looking around, Lila could see that the interior of the car looked much older – perhaps a 2010 or so model. Along the back window sat an array of plushies – some relating to Genshin Impact and Naruto, though she wasn’t sure of the others given the quickness of her glance.

He hopped into the driver’s side and started the car. It rumbled to life with a small, tinny whine that quickly disappeared. He grimaced and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he said in a low voice, a faint blush across his cheeks. “She’s a bit old.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lila replied comfortingly. “I barely noticed.”

Theo’s blush seemed to deepen and he clipped his phone onto a phone mount on the right-hand side of his dashboard. It looked like he’d already put the directions to the aquarium into his navigation system.

“It’ll be about a half an hour drive,” he said as he backed the car out of her driveway.

“Okay,” Lila replied awkwardly, pulling her knees together as she shifted in her seat. She’d been mostly worried about how the aquarium part of the date would go that she hadn’t considered the drive there and back. Theo glanced at her and turned up the music.

“I’ve just got one of the basic playlists on,” he explained. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear what I’m into.”

“Why’s that?” Lila asked, looking over at his phone. She couldn’t see much from this angle.

“W-Well, I’m a bit of a weeb,” he replied hesitantly. “Kinda embarrassing.”

“I did get that vibe,” Lila smiled. “I like your Zhongli plushie.”

The car braked hard for a second, causing Lila to jolt forwards.

“S-Sorry,” Theo said apologetically. “You just surprised me.”

“Why?”

“I just didn’t think you played Genshin.”

“I haven’t for a while,” Lila confessed, readjusting her seatbelt. “But it’s really fun. I’m glad it’s on mobile, but man it chugs through my battery. Does no one else you know play Genshin? I wouldn’t have thought it was that surprising.”

Theo shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road. “At least, none of the guys from the group you see me with do.”

“Oh. You should try converting them.”

Theo gave a sharp laugh. “I don’t think they’d be keen.”

“It’s hard not to love Genshin,” Lila replied jovially.

“They’re not really into games or anime,” Theo sighed. “Probably wouldn’t get it.”

They fell into an awkward silence. Lila stared out the window as Theo drove them along the highway.

“So… when’d you get your licence?” Lila asked curiously, looking back at Theo, who was humming along to the song that was playing. He gripped his steering wheel for a second before releasing the tension in his hands.

“Last month. I took a bit of time getting it. My Dad was real annoyed, since I’ve been eighteen for a couple months now.”

“You’re eighteen?” Lila blinked in astonishment. “I thought you were only seventeen.”

“Nah,” Theo shook his head. “When my parents moved over from Guangzhou, I was already in the Grade 1 equivalent but for some reason, Forestglade College put me back a year. My younger brother’s also a year older than most of his cohort.”

“I didn’t know you grew up in China.”

Theo gave her an easy-going smile. “Doesn’t feature that much in my day-to-day life. Been here in Australia far longer than I was ever over there.”

They were silent for another minute or so before Theo piped up.

“What about you? You’re half-Asian, right?”

“Yeah,” Lila replied warmly. “Mum’s Filipina. Dad’s Irish-ish.”

“Irish-ish?”

Lila laughed. “Yeah, his side’s from Ireland, but that was yonks ago. They’ve been in Australia for generations.”

“Did they come from the First Fleet or something?”

“Not sure. Somewhere along the line, maybe.”

“… is it hard? Growing up half-Asian?”

Lila glanced at Theo uncertainly. She hadn’t been asked that question before, and it was difficult to put into words.

“I… think it would’ve been harder if I didn’t have my older sister. There have been times when I felt really lonely, I guess. Most Asian people don’t treat me like I’m Asian, and most white people don’t treat me like I’m white. I kinda fall into a black hole where I don’t belong anywhere, if that makes sense.”

“I see,” Theo replied softly. “I know it’s not the same, but I guess I kinda relate. Some of the International kids who’ve come essentially straight from China treat me like an outsider, too. They reckon I’m too ‘Westernised’, even though I speak Canto and Mandarin at home with my grandparents and parents, and I can read it mostly. Sometimes it feels like they think I’m a traitor or something. But I mean, most of them are cool with it. It’s just a small percentage that’re weird about it.”

“Ah,” Lila uttered. “That does sound a little bit familiar.”

The conversation died there as Lila kept thinking about Theo’s experience. She’d never considered that migrants would be discriminated against like that – for assimilating too well. The quietness between the two of them started to get to her after a few more minutes, though.

“What made you decide to go to the aquarium?” Lila queried, fiddling with the zip of her bag in her lap.

“That’s a good question. I just thought it’d be a bit less awkward than a movie, or just dinner. There’re so many sea creatures in this world that I thought you’d at least like to see one or two. Plus, the one we’re going to has fairy penguins. Never heard of anyone saying they hate fairy penguins.”

“Those are the really little ones, right?”

“Sure are.”

Lila took a deep breath. There was one question that had been on her mind ever since Theo had asked her out on a date, and she wanted to get it out of the way, lest she brood on it throughout the whole date.

“W-Why’d you ask me?” she asked, stumbling over her words. She blushed in embarrassment and looked out the window again. Theo didn’t respond for a few moments.

“I… guess you’re just the first girl that’s caught my attention,” he eventually responded. Lila turned her head to face him. His jaw was clenched, and his fingers tapped the steering wheel. He seemed to be staring out the windshield with more intensity than before.

“Really?”

He gave a heavy sigh before responding. “… yeah. You seem cool, at least. I’ve never seen someone handle Livi like you do. Most people just don’t engage or get real upset. I’ve seen her make a few people cry. Plus, watching you play hockey is like a breath of fresh air. And… you’re pretty.”

Lila’s heart jumped in her chest at his words. She hadn’t been directly told that she was pretty by a guy before. Of course, Asher had called her beautiful at semi, and Isaac had called her cute a couple of times, but pretty had its own flair to it.

“T-Thanks,” Lila replied nervously, twirling the ends of her hair with her fingers. “U-Uh, you mentioned that I’m the first girl… have you been on dates before?”

Theo looked at her briefly, his face a reddish colour. “Plenty of them. Just with guys, though.”

“Oh. Is it different, being with a guy?”

Theo tensed up his shoulders. “Well, I feel nervous as heck right now.”

“Is… that different?”

“Usually, I’m the one that gets asked out. I’ve realised now that it’s a whole different ball game, being the one that makes the first move.”

“Oh,” Lila’s utterance was gentle. Isaac had been the one to make the first move, all those years ago, so she’d never given it any thought. It probably would be nerve-wracking. Though… that was precisely why she couldn’t bring herself to confess to Asher. So perhaps she could relate, after all.

“You don’t have to answer this, but do your parents know? About you dating guys?” Lila cringed as the words left her mouth. That was way too personal a question to ask on the first date.

“Not at all,” Theo responded, exiting off the highway with ease. “They’d probably kill me, to be honest. Though being bisexual makes it easier. I’ll probably end up with a woman anyway, so they don’t have to know.”

“Even if you fall in love with a man?”

Theo shrugged. “Don’t really know what ‘love’ is, in that sense. It’s a bridge I’ll cross if I get to it. For now, I’m just having fun.”

They approached the aquarium’s carpark, which wasn’t too busy to Lila’s surprise. Though, maybe people were just waiting for school holidays to visit the aquarium.

“To be clear,” Theo said softly as he circled the carpark, looking for an empty spot close to the doors. “I’m not expecting anything out of this. I just want to get to know you a bit more. Though, if you wanted to hook up, I wouldn’t say no.”

Lila felt a burst of goosebumps erupt along her arms. Hook up? Was he insinuating something more than kissing?

Theo took one look at her face as he pulled the handbrake of his car up, having slotted neatly into a park, before laughing. “Damn, I retract that one immediately. Sorry.”

“You know, you’re pretty different, outside of school,” Lila managed to say, unbuckling her seatbelt. She was about to exit the car when Theo virtually sprinted to her side and opened the door for her.

“What do ya mean?” he asked, closing the door behind Lila.

“I… well. You seem pretty closed off at school. Aloof.”

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“I guess I am,” Theo admitted with a chuckle. “People have told me I’m unapproachable. At the same time though, I’m fine with not being approached. There aren’t many interesting people at school that I’d want to be approached by. It’s a bit different with the soccer boys, though. It’s the only co-curricular that I chose for myself, so I’m not so ‘aloof’, as you say, with them. Since I chose to be there.”

His eyes lingered on her face for a split second before he turned around. “Let’s go see the fishies.”

Lila smirked. Fishies? Theo seemed far more excited to see the ‘fishies’ than to be embarrassed by calling them that as he floated towards the ticket booths. They purchased separate tickets and went through the turnstiles into the main aquarium.

Lila picked up a map at the edge of the information centre that was just inside and opened it up. There were quite a few exhibits around, and it would take them a good few hours to explore everything. It was undercover mostly, with only a couple exhibits out in the open air. Most of the shows were cancelled though as it was too cold for performances.

“Anywhere you want to go first?” Theo asked, looking over her shoulder. She turned her head and realised that he was far too close for comfort. She sidled away awkwardly before narrowing her eyes and looking at him again.

“Do you have a tongue piercing?” she asked, holding the map over her own mouth. He winked at her and stuck out his tongue. Sure enough, there was a midline, titanium barbell piercing through his tongue.

“Holy shit,” Lila said incredulously. “I didn’t expect that.”

Theo smirked. “No one ever does. Comes in handy if you’re dating guys, though.”

Lila paused, before blushing deeply upon registering what he meant. She quickly changed the topic. “Do you wear it at school?”

“Nah. But knowing that I have one makes being Dux even more exhilarating. The Headmaster would probably have a hernia. Well, not just over my tongue piercing.”

He walked a couple paces before her and pointed at the back of his right calf. She gasped as she saw a black-lined tattoo unmistakably embedded into his skin. It looked like a spiral split into uneven quadrants, with two opposing quadrants containing pictures of nature – one being detailed tree branches, and the other being a tidal wave.

“You have a tattoo as well?”

“Sure do. This is the only one I’ve got at the moment, though. It’s the Fibonacci spiral with some pictures of nature. It’s… a long story, but to cut it short, the Fibonacci numbers are used in nature all the time, and the spiral is the graph that’s used to convey the pattern of Fibonacci numbers. The numbers go on exponentially and indefinitely, just like nature…” he trailed off, glancing at Lila’s face before stretching his arms. “I’ve booked a couple more in for after graduation, but I couldn’t resist getting one as soon as I turned eighteen.”

“And your parents-”

“Grounded me for months. But I’m free now,” he chuckled, gently taking the map from her slack hands. “If you don’t have a spot you wanna go to first, why don’t we just walk the recommended pathway? Starting at the tidal touch pool?”

Without any different suggestions, Lila agreed and they strolled through the exhibits. Being with this Theo, the one who wasn’t so bored with everything around him, was far more pleasant than Lila had expected. She’d never thought that he was a bad guy, but he was certainly surprisingly endearing as he pointed out his favourite fish, spitting out facts, including how tasty they were when prepared properly. She took a few pictures here and there of the sea creatures, and he even took a picture of Lila standing by the jellyfish.

She contemplated taking a selfie or two with Theo as they approached the aquarium café. Her stomach rumbled, but it didn’t seem like he heard it from the anxiety-riddled peek she took at him. They decided to grab a quick bite to eat, which for Lila consisted of a ham and cheese toasted sandwich and a bottle of water, and for Theo consisted of a chicken wrap and a cappuccino. As they ate, Theo grumbled at the cost of the unimpressive meal.

Continuing their journey through the exhibits, Theo suggested taking a selfie with the fairy penguins. Lila took a few videos of the fairy penguins waddling around before following Theo back along the path. They took some more selfies, photos, and videos in the ocean tunnel exhibit, and after a couple hours, had a rest stop by the shark tanks. There were several tiered rows of seats here, with many families and couples sitting in the audience.

Lila sat towards the middle in the second row. Theo ducked off to the bathroom and Lila watched the sharks float around, seeming so unconcerned with life in their tank. If only she could be so unbothered…

Despite the fact that hanging out with Theo was turning out to be better than expected, she still couldn’t get Asher out of her head. Particularly, his flip-flopping over the past few days regarding the date with Theo. She was still kicking herself for being unable to ask if Asher was jealous. She’d been right – she was going stir-crazy about it.

Theo returned a few minutes later, sitting beside Lila and looking up at the sharks.

“They look so peaceful,” he said quietly, leaning back in his chair.

“Yeah,” Lila murmured, her eyes fixated on the journey of a nurse shark swimming towards the top of the tank.

“I made a reservation at Vapianos, by the way,” Theo said casually, still looking at the sharks. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“I love Italian,” Lila smiled at Theo. He returned the smile with a sigh of relief.

“Thank God. It’s at the shopping centre just across the road from here.”

“Didn’t want to go far, I take it?”

“It’s not that. I lost my appetite a while ago, so I would’ve been all out of ideas for where to eat.”

“We don’t have to have dinner if you’re not hungry,” Lila said quickly, though she was silently praying that he would insist. She hadn’t managed to ask him a single question about Livi and her involvement with the Banker’s functions during their exploration of the aquarium as they’d been constantly surrounded by people.

Thankfully, Theo shook his head.

“It’ll come back. Probably. I just… got a bit nervous again. Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Yeah, I am. I’ve never been to the aquarium before, and it’s a lot nicer than I’d imagined.”

“What were you imagining?”

“A few fish, here and there,” Lila grinned at Theo, who laughed in response.

“Easy to please, then.”

“Could say that,” Lila responded, stretching. It was nearing 4pm, and they had a third of the aquarium to go.

“Ready to go?” Theo asked, standing. He reached a hand out to Lila, though she didn’t take it.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Let’s go see if the seals are out and about.”

Exiting from the insulated shark exhibit was a mistake. The wind seemed to rush right through Lila, down to her bones. She folded her arms, shuddering as she continued down the path. Theo looked at her in concern.

“Are you cold?” he asked, stopping in the pathway.

“N-No,” Lila replied, her teeth chattering as she said this. He shrugged off his jacket and held it out for her.

“Here,” he said, looking down at the floor. “I don’t need it.”

“I’m good,” Lila responded, shaking her head. “Seriously.”

He looked uncertain for a moment before stepping towards her. She stepped backwards, raising her hands defensively.

“We won’t be here long,” she said, taking stock of what was around. This outside area seemed purely dedicated to the seals, with the other end being connected to another building. He paused, before reluctantly putting his jacket back on.

“If you say so,” he said lightly, walking towards the seals. “There’s a few swimming around, come take a look.”

Lila wasn’t quite sure why she refused his jacket as she took pictures of the seals with shaking hands. But… it wouldn’t have felt right to take it. Borrowing Asher’s jacket had felt comfortable, tender – as though he was meant to give it to her. With Theo… it seemed obligatory. Plus, the idea of wearing Theo’s jacket just struck her as odd. Wrong. Unnecessary. He didn’t need to pay for her stupidity in forgetting a jacket.

They moved on from the seal exhibit to the deep ocean exhibit after a minute or so. Lila warmed up quickly in here and took some more photos with less shaky hands. Theo suggested more selfies, to which she obliged. They had a small debate as to which was the freakiest fish in this exhibit before shuffling along to the shipwreck exhibit, which showcased small model replicas of famous shipwrecks and the kinds of ocean life found living within them.

They finally reached the gift shop, which signalled the end of their tour of the aquarium. Lila perused the offerings and picked up a small keychain with a translucent grey jellyfish dangling off it. ‘Asher would probably like this one,’ she thought, smiling at it. They’d watched a couple of videos on jellyfish when Lila was last at his house, and she remembered that Asher was particularly fascinated with the idea of the immortal jellyfish-

“You like that one?” Theo asked over her right shoulder. Lila jumped, almost dropping the keychain.

“U-Uh, maybe,” she replied, her voice taking on a squeaky note.

“It’s cute,” Theo nodded. “But I reckon the seals are cuter.”

Lila watched as he picked up a seal keychain and held it up to the fluorescent lighting. Lila clutched the jellyfish keychain tightly in her hand before looking back down at it. Buying another guy a souvenir from a date with someone else was probably a bad idea… Though she didn’t want to part with it, either.

For a moment, she wished that Elise or Grace were here, so she could ask for their opinion on getting it for Asher. Surely it was poor form, and probably disrespectful towards Theo, right? But at the same time, she wasn’t sure whether she’d come back to the aquarium – at least, not anytime soon.

“It’s not going to buy itself,” Theo chuckled, having put back the seal keychain. “I’ll even get it for you.”

“No!” Lila cried, pulling it to her chest. He tilted his head slightly in confusion and she took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m still thinking about it.”

“All good,” Theo replied, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’m gonna have a look at the reference books.”

He trotted off towards the books and Lila continued to look at the jellyfish. Such a simple decision to be agonising over…

Lila looked through the other jellyfish keychains and found a purple one. If she got both… and her friends said it was a shit idea to give Asher one… she could give them to Elise and Grace. And if they thought she should give it to Asher, then she could keep the purple one. Yes, that was a better idea.

She made her way to the counter and purchased them both. The clerk put them in a themed plastic bag with a copy of the aquarium map. Theo caught up with her, holding a small book on seals. He purchased it and they went on their way back to his car.

“Did you get the jellyfish one?” he asked conversationally, opening the passenger side door for Lila again. She nodded as she sat down. He popped into the driver’s seat, placing his book on the back seat.

“Hungry?” he asked, turning the car on and blasting the heater.

“Starting to be.”

“Say no more. Let’s go.”

After parking at the shopping centre, they meandered through the mall. It seemed that their reservation was 30 minutes from now, so they took a look at some shops. One that stood out in particular for both of them was an anime-themed store, filled to the brim with Pop! Vinyls, English-translated manga, and merch from various shows. Along the back wall was a variety of dakimakura covers, which Theo seemed interested in.

Neither purchased anything but looking through all the shelves had killed enough time to head over to Vapianos.

They were promptly seated inside on the top floor at a table for two and ordered separately, though Theo attempted to insist that he pay for Lila’s food, via the QR code on their table.

After finalising her order, Lila opened up her Photo gallery to take a look at the photos she’d taken that day. A few of them were nice, including the one Theo had taken of her at the jellyfish exhibit, but one selfie in the ocean tunnel caught her attention.

Lila and Theo had taken a couple in this area with the idea of catching some of the ceiling, where fish could freely swim through. But one caught more of the background than the rest – and in the background was Elise, Grace, and Isaac, huddled in the back corner, staring at the camera.

“Those sneaky gremlins,” Lila hissed under her breath.

“Sorry?” Theo looked wildly up at Lila from his own phone, having started up Genshin Impact.

“Sorry. That wasn’t aimed at you.”

“Alrighty then.”

Theo returned to his game and Lila zoomed in to the background of other photos, trying to spot the three idiots in the back. There were a few, actually – it seemed that they’d followed Lila and Theo through the whole aquarium, and she hadn’t noticed.

Breathing heavily, Lila picked the one that contained the three of them the clearest in the background and sent it to Twisted Bitches‘r’Us without an accompanying message.

You look cute! Elise replied instantly.

Nice hair, Grace sent.

You guys look cute, too, Lila replied.

Ah fuck, Elise sent.

She caught us, Grace responded with a sad face.

Are u guys still following me? Lila asked.

Not at all, Elise replied instantly.

Maybe, Grace’s reply arrived at the same time as Elise’s.

Grace what the fuck, Elise sent with an angry emoji.

Lila rolled her eyes and turned off her phone screen. She looked around, trying to spot Elise, Grace, or Isaac, but couldn’t see any of them around from where she was seated.

“Everything okay?” Theo asked absently, not looking up from his screen.

“Yeah. Peachy,” Lila sighed, taking a sip of table water.

At that moment, a waitress appeared at their table with complementary bread.

“Your pastas will be along shortly,” the waitress said pleasantly before disappearing just as quickly. Lila reached for a piece of bread and began to chew it as she appraised Theo. He was still absorbed in his game, but when he noticed her looking, he exited and flipped his phone upside down.

“Find any good photos?” he asked, grabbing his own piece of bread.

“I did,” Lila replied grimly. “I’ll send you them later.”

His face broke into a grin. “Thanks.”

Lila took a deep breath and set down her piece of half-eaten bread.

“Theo, I have a couple questions.”

He swallowed harshly before setting down his bread. “Sounds serious. Is it about schoolwork? I’m not a bad tutor.”

Lila shook her head. “Not… exactly. It’s… about Daniel.”

Theo paused before leaning back in his chair. “The Banker, you mean?” he queried.

“Yeah. The Banker.”

“What about him? I thought you’d know everything there is to know about him, since he’s your brother.”

“It’s more about the business. I was helping him with a couple things before I saw something… concerning.”

Theo’s eyes appeared to flash in recognition as he sat up straighter. “Like what?” he asked, his voice seeming unsteady. Lila pressed her lips together tightly. She couldn’t misstep here.

“About the money side of things. That’s a whole bunch of money,” she said vaguely, tracing the edge of her cup of water. Theo nodded.

“Sure is. I’m not really involved in it all. I don’t even get paid for it, even though I’m with Livi every day.”

“Why are you there every day?” Lila asked innocently, still looking at her cup.

“Well… I said before that there aren’t many people at school that I find interesting. And while that’s still true, there are a couple of interesting people in that group. I’m invested in the chaos.”

“I see…”

Theo eyed her over his cup of water, took a sip, and sighed. “I assume that you’re being the protective older sister, right? As an older brother myself, I can relate.”

Lila’s eyes flickered back up to his, and he ran his hands through his hair.

“I don’t like what’s happening, with your brother and Livi’s involvement,” he said softly. “But at the same time, I’m not in a position where I could control anything. So, I just sit back and reap the rewards.”

“Rewards?”

“Well… when you said money, I knew already that you know about the missing cash that comes back once in a while.”

Lila placed her elbows on the table and leaned in slightly, her attention entirely devoted to Theo. He blushed, clearing his throat, though he didn’t move back.

“… Livi and a couple others are running a side gig, using the Banker’s money to fund it,” Theo finally said, taking another sip of water. “It’s been working pretty well.”

“What’s the side gig?”

Theo looked uncomfortable for a moment before looking deeply into Lila’s eyes.

“It’s… supplying drugs, to whoever wants them. Mostly to the sports teams.”

“D-Drugs?” Lila’s mouth fell open in shock, her eyes not leaving Theo’s. He nodded.

“Nothing specifically illicit, like cocaine or anything like that. Um, not sure if you’ve heard of it, but it’s morphine. Pain reliever that they use in hospitals.”

“Morphine?” Lila repeated faintly, falling back towards the backrest of her chair. Lila’s mind flashed to Theo on the soccer field, groaning in pain, before Zack brought something over to him a few weeks back.

“Do you take it as well?” she asked. Theo shifted in his seat, looking down at his long-forgotten bread.

“Sometimes. But I’m not addicted to it.”

“Are there people addicted to it?”

“Probably. Pain relievers have that effect on people.”

“Where do they get it from?”

Theo shook his head. “I don’t know any more than what I just told you, except that they once said they’re part of a network, rather than being the epicentre of one.”

“Anyone else a part of the operation?”

Theo shrugged. “Probably a fair few. Not just in Grade 12. If I were to say what my part in all this is… it’d be as a really close consumer. I’m just not interested enough to get involved with all that. Plus, I have my studies to focus on and piano recitals coming up, too. They asked me if I wanted to be a part of it at the start of the year, but I refused. One of the key things about being a successful Dux is to know when to stop so you don’t overextend yourself. They haven’t asked since.”

Lila gave a low whistle, her mind reeling from Theo’s information. Her mind quickly flashed to Asher, working diligently on Daniel’s bookkeeping in the midst of exams, plus the investigation into his mother’s disappearance with everything else that was going on. Lila wasn’t entirely sure whether Asher would ever be capable of not overextending himself. Perhaps he should take Theo’s advice…

Lila firmly put it out of her mind. Asher was the least of her worries amongst what Theo had said. She definitely hadn’t put ‘drug running’ on her list of predictions for what Livi was doing with the money…

“You’re certain that Livi is a part of it?” Lila whispered uneasily.

“Yeah, she’s a part of it. But I don’t know who’s actually running it if that makes sense. Since Livi’s spending all day doing the Banker stuff, balancing books, and taking orders, I’d be surprised if she was running that, too.”

“So, it’s more likely she’s the financier,” Lila murmured. She looked back up at Theo. “You keep referring to ‘they’ – are you sure you don’t know who else is a part of it?”

“Sorry,” Theo said tightly, looking down at his phone. “You’re great and all, but for my own sanity, I can’t say any more.”

Lila was about to press for more details when their waitress reappeared, divvying out their food. The smell reignited her hunger, and she began to dig into her chicken alfredo, glancing over at Theo. ‘Pushing it any further now would be a bad idea,’ she reasoned. She’d gotten a lot of information from Theo anyway. There was no need to draw out more right now, especially if the result of that would be pushing him away.

They ate in silence until their plates were basically empty. Theo patted his stomach with a small smile.

“That was delicious,” he remarked.

“Yeah. Thanks for bringing us here,” Lila graciously smiled at him. He seemed chuffed for a moment before his face fell.

“Lila, I’ve been meaning to ask… but what is going on between you and Asher?”

“Nothing at all,” Lila responded quickly.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah. Completely sure.”

Theo looked at her suspiciously before seeming satisfied with her response. “Good. I’d feel bad if I stole his girl.”

“I’m not anyone’s girl,” Lila insisted.

“Glad to hear it,” Theo grinned. “Did you want dessert, or are we outta here?”

“I’m so full,” Lila responded, patting her stomach. “If it’s alright with you, I think I should go home.”

“Let’s go, then.”

The car ride home was much quieter than the car ride out to the aquarium. For Lila, she was suddenly feeling exhausted – probably due to the fact that her belly was full of food and she’d been walking around all day. Theo similarly looked tired, and they instead enjoyed the music playing through the speakers. Occasionally, Theo would sing along, and Lila would join in quietly on some songs that she knew.

Before long, he parked in her driveway and turned to face her, his expression entirely serious.

“I had a good time,” he said softly, his eyes darting down to her lips and back to her eyes. “Any chance for a second date?”

A jolt of electricity shot through Lila as she met Theo’s eyes. He really wasn’t a bad guy, but as she looked back down at her bag of souvenirs containing the jellyfish keychains, a strange feeling pulled the breath out of her lungs. Theo seemed to read Lila’s response from her body language as he leaned back in his seat, seeming disappointed.

“It’s okay if you say no, you know. And you don’t have to answer now.”

“Theo, I-”

Theo suddenly leaned in close to Lila’s face, their lips mere centimetres from touching. Lila’s eyes widened in shock as she dodged out of the way, bumping his face with her shoulder.

“Well, that hurt,” Theo said simply, rubbing his chin.

“Sorry!” Lila squeaked, hiding her face in her hands. “I-It was a reaction.”

“Well, that hurts even more,” Theo replied, the sadness unmistakable in his voice. Guilt began to gnaw at Lila’s stomach as her eyes flickered to Theo’s face. He was still looking at her, though his eyes seemed to be sparkling in the reflection of his headlights.

“I… can’t,” Lila admitted, looking down at her lap again.

“It’s because of Asher, isn’t it?” Theo asked plainly. Lila’s breath halted, her face paling.

“N-No,” Lila’s voice shook as she tried to deny it. Theo smiled at Lila, though his expression was filled with disappointment.

“Another reason why I asked you out on a date,” he said slowly, “was because I could see Asher wasn’t taking his chance. Plus, it seemed like perhaps I’d have a chance, too, with all of Livi’s teasing. But I’d also thought if we went on a date, and if you liked Asher, it might spring him into action. Kinda like a push from his senior, y’know. I just didn’t realise I’d hurt myself like this in the process. Or maybe I’d been kidding myself from the beginning, thinking I could detach myself rationally.”

Lila wasn’t sure how to respond, so remained seated in case Theo had anything further to say.

“But… I guess… losing to Asher isn’t all that bad,” Theo added, rubbing his face. “If there’s anyone at Forestglade College that I’d want to lose to, it’s him. I’ve kept my eye on him for a long while. He’s a good guy… when he’s not busy injuring me on the field.”

“I’m sorry,” Lila whispered, clenching her fists. “You’re a great guy. Anyone would be lucky to have you. But… you’re right. I… like Asher.”

“Have you told him?”

Lila shook her head.

Theo sighed. “It feels weird to be saying this after being totally rejected, but you should just go for it. He gets so mad whenever he sees me at soccer nowadays, especially after asking you out, that there’s no way he’d say no to you.”

“There is,” Lila’s voice trembled as she tried to hold back tears. “His ex… was awful to him. He’s still recovering.”

Theo paused. “I think, regardless of his ex, you should still say something. You miss all the shots you never take, you know.”

Lila glanced back at Theo with a watery smile. “Thanks, Theo. I’m sorry again. In another scenario, I would’ve loved to go on a second date with you. I really did enjoy getting to know you. But I can’t lead you on. It’s not right.”

“I appreciate that,” Theo said earnestly. “Nip it in the bud, and all that. Kill my hope before it takes hold. Thanks for giving it a chance, though.”

“There... is something else that’s bothering me, though,” Lila added with a slight frown. “You said you didn’t mind ‘losing’ to Asher. I’m not something to be won, you know.”

“I know,” Theo said, gazing out the windshield towards Lila’s house. “But that doesn’t mean that dating you is any less of a prize. Plus, no matter who you date, there’s always someone who wanted the chance that ends up losing out.”

“I’m not sure what to say,” Lila admitted in a whisper. Theo grinned broadly at her.

“You don’t need to say anything at all.”

Lila smiled back and made to exit the car when Theo jumped out, opening her door for her again.

“Thanks,” Lila said, making sure she grabbed her souvenirs.

“No worries. I’ll see you around school. And, look, no matter how this ended, I still had a great time. The fairy penguins were adorable, and I won’t forget how hard you laughed at the manta ray’s face in the ocean tunnel. Oh… and it goes without saying, but please don’t tell the teachers about my piercing and tattoo. I don’t care if you tell people in your grade, unless they’re snitches. Might help me score.”

Lila grinned mischievously at Theo. “It turns out that I’m a pretty good secret keeper. You don’t have to worry about that. I had a great time, too. Thanks for taking me out. See you at school.”