Chapter Sixty-Two

Today for PE, Asher and Lila were in completely separate rotations. She’d already cleared the idea of Asher coming over with her parents that morning, who seemed delighted that Asher was personally tutoring Daniel. The only chance Lila had to talk to him was before or after class though, neither of which was appealing enough for her to attempt to ask Asher to come over. At the very least, Asher had managed to ask whether Lila was up for having lunch again today once PE was over, which she obviously wasn’t about to turn down. They quickly parted, with Asher needing to head to his next class in a rush to ask his teacher a question regarding the assignment he was working on.

Lila couldn’t sit still through the rest of her classes as she waited for lunch to come around. Her anxiety regarding Daniel was pumping through the roof, which only increased as she heard students whispering about using the Banker’s services between classes and during morning tea.

“Hey,” Asher said, offering her a lunchbox outside her locker once lunch finally arrived. She took it absently and was about to walk towards the library before Asher questioned whether she wanted to put her stuff away.

“Oh, yeah,” Lila replied distractedly.

“You okay?” Asher asked after Lila slammed her locker shut and locked it. Lila gave Asher a sideways glance before taking a deep breath.

“I’m okay. Just worried about Daniel.”

Asher cast a furtive look down the hallway before gesturing for Lila to follow him.

“Let’s not talk about it here,” he said quietly. Lila kept her mouth shut as they walked to the library. She hadn’t realised just how much talk there was about the Banker among the student body until today. Had she always been surrounded by it?

“I feel sick,” Lila whispered once they sat down in an empty meeting room. Asher stopped unzipping his lunchbox and looked up at her, concern plain on his face.

“Was it that bad?” he asked, his eyes not leaving hers.

“It’s hard to explain,” Lila replied despondently. She unearthed today’s lunch – strips of grilled chicken coated in lemon and herb marinade alongside mango salsa and spiced tomato rice – and contemplated whether she should try to eat first or ask Asher to come over.

Now that the question was in her head, though, she suddenly realised that she’d never asked a boy to come over to her place before. The thought of Asher walking through her family’s house riddled her with a strange, overwhelming feeling of panic. She hadn’t considered how private her home was to her until now. It was starkly crystal clear that Elise and Grace coming over – that was much different.

‘Did Asher feel this way too?’ Lila asked herself, placing a hand on her chest to try and suppress her breathing before it went into overdrive. ‘Only about Holly, probably,’ came the reply inside her thoughts. Unlike previous intrusive thoughts butting into her consciousness, Lila couldn’t disagree with this one. He’d been so confident, asking her to go over to his place, in February. Though, in saying that, he’d chickened out in asking for her phone number at the end of class beforehand…

“You look really red,” Asher noted, inspecting her face closely. “Do you need to go to Sickbay?”

Before Lila could protest, he reached over and gently placed a hand on her forehead. Lila’s heart skipped a beat and lodged itself in her throat as he smiled at her before removing his hand.

“It doesn't seem like you have a fever, at least. Do you want me to walk you over?”

“No,” Lila shook her head, her face only more vibrant in colour now, a tingling sensation trickling across her forehead from where he touched her. “I... was just thinking.” She looked lamely at her food for a second.

“About what?” Asher asked, unmoving.

“W-Well... c-can you maybe come?” She’d run out of steam by the end of her sentence and now felt she’d rather die than continue.

“H-Huh?” Asher blinked at her, his own face turning a slight shade of pink.

“Myhouse,” Lila’s words had mashed together and launched out of her mouth like a jet of water. ‘Just bury me,’ she thought to herself as she stared rigidly down at her food. ‘I've lived a full life.’

“Huh?” Asher repeated, his pink deepening to a rich red. Lila took a deep breath. She obviously needed to be clearer.

Instead, Lila popped open her Tupperware container and began shovelling her lunch into her mouth. She was eating at such a pace that Asher simply sat there, evidently stunned into silence. He cautiously looked at her for a few more seconds before opening his own lunch and eating quietly.

Lila didn’t take long to finish her food. Now that she had nothing else to distract her, she took a few deep breaths. “Sorry,” Lila finally said quietly.

Asher glanced up at her, a piece of chicken between his teeth. He shook his head before biting through and swallowing. “It’s okay,” he replied, tapping his chest with a closed fist as if to dislodge something.

“I, um, wanted to ask if you could come over to my house tomorrow. I would ask about today, but we have practice.”

“I’ll be there,” Asher said instantly with a nod. “But... why?”

Lila despaired internally as she realised that she hadn't mentioned anything about Daniel yet. ‘Well, that’s embarrassing,’ she thought. Did he think she was trying to proposition him? Before Lila could dwell any more on it, she cleared her throat.

“It’s for Daniel,” she clarified, averting her gaze from Asher. She felt so mortified at her blundering that she wasn’t sure that facing him head-on would be a good idea for her own sanity.

“Oh,” Asher chuckled. He sounded relieved. “Of course. Daniel lives with you.”

“That’s news to me,” Lila replied sarcastically. Asher chuckled again and she chanced a peek at him. He had a hand over his eyes, a grin sitting just below. He then wiped his hand down his face and their eyes met. Asher’s expression changed to one of seriousness.

“What does he need help with?” he asked.

“I don’t really know,” Lila replied with a sigh. She launched into a retelling of Daniel’s strife as the Banker. When she was done, Asher looked rather contemplative.

“Quitting touch footy and soccer to spend all his time doing financials? Something’s not adding up. Pun absolutely intended,” he winked at her before furrowing his brow again. “I’ll have a look at what’s going on with his system. Maybe I can make it more efficient somehow. I mean, it definitely doesn’t sound like he planned for it to get like this, so he’s probably done this all a bit haphazardly.”

“He can be rather haphazard,” Lila confirmed.

Asher chuckled before pressing his lips together, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “Isaac got the job, by the way,” he said, grinning.

“That’s amazing!” Lila said excitedly, standing up. “We need to do something to celebrate!”

“Celebrate?” Asher blinked at Lila blankly.

“Of course,” Lila huffed. “It’s his first job, isn’t it? Besides, you cleared his debt too. I think that’s more than enough to celebrate.”

“Did you celebrate when Elise got her job?” Asher asked, looking bemused.

“Of course,” Lila huffed again, “we had dinner at her Maccas.”

“Hmm,” Asher paused, before his eyes lit up. “While it’s not the worst idea to do that again, why don’t we have lunch tomorrow with Isaac at school? Elise and Grace can come too.”

“Ooh!” Lila nodded excitedly. Then, her posture fell and she promptly sat back down. “What would we eat?”

“We could get Uber Eats,” Asher said casually. “I have some cash on me.”

Lila pursed her lips. “You sure?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you’d rather be done with them.”

Asher sighed. “It’s the only way I can get something more interesting with cash. May as well go all out if we’re celebrating a new job and clearing a debt.”

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“Let’s go order something, then,” Lila suggested, zipping her lunchbox closed. Asher followed suit, and Lila asked what kind of food they’d be getting as they began to leave the library.

“Isaac is a fiend for Japanese food,” Asher smirked. “He loves a Japanese chicken katsu curry.”

“Can never go wrong with one of those,” Lila nodded. She messaged Twisted Bitches’r’Us, letting Elise and Grace know of the plan to celebrate Isaac’s new job tomorrow at lunch. Both Elise and Grace immediately responded, seeming happy to be involved. Lila took note of their lunch orders and told them to Asher.

“All good choices,” Asher smiled. His smile fell slightly, however, once the lab housing Livi and her crew came into view. Most of the students usually surrounding the lab had long gone by now. There were a few stragglers here and there, eating in small groups outside on the lawn surrounding it. Asher slowed his pace to a stop and looked back at Lila.

“Ready?” he asked, his voice wavering slightly.

Lila tilted her head quizzically. “Yeah,” she replied, “are you?”

“Sure,” Asher said, pushing the door to the lab open. They entered quietly, though the door announced their arrival with a clang.

“Welcome!” called Livi from her usual place behind the teacher’s desk. “Oh. It’s you guys.”

Lila’s eyes darted about the room for a few moments. It looked like the whole gang was assembled again.

“Hey Lila,” Theo said, looking over the top of his laptop at her. “How are you?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Lila replied curiously. He’d never asked how she was before. “How are you, Theo?”

“I’m great,” came Theo’s monotonous reply. His eyes flicked back to his screen and he began typing away.

Vi, Jason, Harper, Zack and Jake greeted Lila and Asher with waves and hellos, which Lila and Asher returned.

“What can I help you with?” Livi said once the pleasantries were over, her tone measured and polite.

“Uber Eats, please,” Asher said, his tone matching Livi’s. She nodded, pulling open her notebook. They went through the usual motions and ordered food for the celebration tomorrow from a Japanese restaurant before Livi closed up her notebook and put it away. The room was silent, save for the flicker of turning pages and tapping of keyboards.

“So…” Asher trailed off. Livi looked at him blankly for a moment, before realisation crossed her face. Livi wordlessly rummaged around behind the desk before pulling out a document and handing it to Asher.

“This is a document confirming Isaac’s debt has been cleared,” Livi said plainly. She opened the back page and pointed at the signature at the bottom. It was signed by Daniel sometime today, though it only said, ‘the Banker’ underneath the signature. “He thought you might come back around here,” Livi continued. “But if you didn’t, he’d just take it home at the end of the day.”

“I see,” Asher said, looking through the document himself. “Thanks.”

Lila tapped the tips of her fingers together as silence resettled itself over the room. She’d been expecting Livi to make some kind of remark, but it seemed that their business, and discussion, had concluded.

“I guess we’ll take our leave,” Asher said awkwardly, though he seemed relieved. Livi sat up straighter. Lila could have sworn a ripple of excitement shone in Livi’s eyes. Lila noticed Asher immediately tense up, and she briefly wondered what he was anticipating.

“Actually,” Livi said, with a mischievous smirk. “There was something that I wanted to ask you, Lila.”

“Me?” Lila queried, slightly taken aback.

“Well, what’s it like being the sister of the Banker?” Livi probed loftily, her eyes glinting. Theo, Harper, and Jason whipped their heads around to stare at Lila.

“You’re joking,” Jason laughed, his eyes resting on Livi. She shook her head with an innocent-looking smile. Jason’s expression faded as Livi spoke.

“For once in my life, I’m deadly serious,” Livi said firmly. She beamed at Lila. “Right, Lila?”

Lila sighed. “Yeah, my brother’s the Banker.”

Theo closed the lid of his laptop and Vi put down her book.

“That’s hilarious,” Theo chuckled, an uncharacteristic amount of life in his voice. “You didn’t know?”

Lila rolled her eyes. “Of course I didn’t know. Why else would I try and get the identity of the Banker out of you guys when I live with him? Bit of an overkill, to have a shady-ass money drop like yesterday when I could just walk next door and give it to him.”

“Sassy,” Theo smirked, his voice lower than usual. “I like it.”

Livi looked at Theo, her mouth almost comically flapping open in apparent shock. She quickly replaced her shock with a look of amused curiosity. Lila couldn’t help but think Livi was scheming, unease resting along the bottom of her stomach as she waited for Livi to say something.

“Never heard you compliment someone like that before, Theo,” Livi predictably drawled. “I really think you guys should date. It’ll be super cute. Plus, you clearly have a thing for soccer players, Lila, but Asher doesn’t want to do anything about it.”

“Livi,” sighed Theo. “If you keep going on about it, you might lose an eye.”

“I mean, the only person I’ve dated was a soccer player so I can’t deny that I have a thing for them,” Lila said suddenly, shaking her head. Asher immediately turned to stare at her, his eyes as round as golf balls. Lila avoided looking at Asher and instead made eye contact with Theo, who leaned forward on his table. He adjusted his glasses, and his face had a hint of rosiness.

“She admits it!” Livi remarked incredulously.

Lila rolled her eyes. “Anyway,” she said swiftly. “To answer your question. Being the sister of the Banker is the same as being the sister of anyone else, I suppose. Was that all you wanted to know?”

Livi’s eyes flickered to Theo for a moment, before grinning widely. “Got what I wanted and more,” Livi said lightly.

“Fantastic,” Asher interjected, pulling at the sleeve of Lila’s blazer. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow!” Livi sang, waving at Lila and Asher as they exited. Lila and Asher walked towards the locker room, though for some reason Asher looked antsy.

“You okay?” Lila questioned, hurrying alongside him so she wouldn’t fall behind. He glanced at her.

“Yeah,” he replied, shaking his head. Lila thought Asher’s body language was odd – incongruous, perhaps.

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Lila pressed. Asher exhaled deeply, slowing his pace.

“Livi just gets on my nerves. Like I said before. I thought she’d lay off a bit, since you’re Daniel’s sister, but… she still managed to do my head in.”

“Asher, I’m curious,” Lila said, sweat pooling in her palms. She cleared her throat and tightened the scarf around her neck. She wasn’t sure why she was feeling quite so nervous. Asher looked at her, his expression strange – unfathomable again, but Lila was struck by the certainty that fear was held in that expression.

“About what?” he asked, his voice clipped.

“A-About what you mean. What did Livi say that did your head in?”

Asher fell silent as he continued walking.

“Asher?”

“Sorry,” Asher shook his head again. “I… can’t explain it.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?”

“Lila,” Asher said sharply, looking at her with a cold intensity. “I can’t.”

“Okay,” Lila replied simply.

Asher sighed heavily and looked up at the sky. “Look, if… I knew how to explain it, I would. You know I would,” he said quietly. There was a peculiarity behind Asher’s words – was it his tone? – that gave Lila pause.

‘If he can’t, then he can’t,’ Lila told herself as she rubbed her forearms. They continued on their journey to the locker room in silence until they were a few metres away from the entrance. Asher slowed to a halt, and Lila stopped as well.

“D-Do you… actually have a thing for soccer players?” he asked, looking down at his shoes as if they would give him the answer. Lila’s face turned scarlet as she looked away from Asher and towards the lockers.

“I… can’t say no,” Lila replied carefully. Something about this response was causing her stomach to flip upside down, her heart drumming against her ribcage. She looked back at Asher intently. He was still looking elsewhere but nodded a few seconds after Lila’s reply.

“I see,” Asher replied, thrusting a hand into his hair. “I’ll… probably see you at practice.”

“See you,” Lila said softly. He marched on towards his locker. Something inside Lila’s stomach was stirring. As she tried to figure out what Asher had meant, she felt the wings of anticipation fluttering against the walls of her stomach. Was he… jealous?

‘No,’ Lila thought firmly. ‘Impossible. He’s still not over Holly. He must still be bothered at the thought of relationships… like the mention of my past relationship with Isaac.’

From the information that Lila had, that was the most likely reason. He probably didn’t want to elaborate on that point with Lila since it involved Isaac, his best friend. Yes… that must be it.

Once classes ended for the day, Lila changed in the changing rooms on Jacoval. The cold was settling in hard and fast, now that they were in June, and she was not keen on practice today because of it. She knew she’d warm up once she got into the swing of things, but the interim between now and then was akin to cruel and unusual punishment.

Ms Wright started them off with a warm-up routine and drills. Nothing else of note really happened during practice, except for the fact that Lila felt more eyes than usual on her. Every time she turned, however, she could never find the source. Livi and her friends weren’t sitting on the spectator stands today, so it wasn’t them. Asher seemed entirely focused on his goalie drills, and Isaac was busy passing the ball between himself and Harrison. Lila saw Zack and Theo in the back, running through cone manoeuvres.

‘Odd,’ Lila thought to herself with a shrug. She was about to rotate from her position when she felt her body grow rigid. Was the feeling coming from… Piper? Lila rapidly took stock of the oval, looking at those on the field and into the trees surrounding it. She couldn’t see Piper at all – but that wasn’t necessarily new.

“Lila, are you okay?” Charlotte asked as she passed on her way to attempt a new routine.

“I-I’m fine,” Lila replied unconvincingly. She shook her head. “Absolutely fine.”

“If you need a break, I’m sure Ms Wright would be fine with it,” Charlotte replied, concern now folding her eyebrows. “Do you want me to ask her?”

“No!” Lila cried. Charlotte took a small step back, her hazel eyes wide in confusion.

“Sorry,” Lila added hastily. “I’m really fine. Just anxious about our next match.”

“That’s not for a couple weeks,” Charlotte replied doubtfully. She shrugged and moved along to complete the drill she’d been going towards. Lila took another sweeping look around her, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. There was nothing - she was probably oversensitive.

“Dude, what the fuck?!” yelled a familiar voice from the Under 18s soccer team. Lila glanced over and saw Asher getting up from the grass, wincing. Asher, Theo, Zack, and Isaac were actually quite close to where Lila was standing – over the boundary between the soccer field and the hockey field, anyway. Lila could see Harrison had moved on to the back of the oval. Lila shuffled sideways to try and hear what was going on better.

“Sorry, Theo,” Lila heard Asher reply. “Didn’t mean to slide tackle you.”

“Sure looked like you did,” Theo replied hotly, curled up on the oval and rubbing his ankle.

“Do you need some of the… thing?” Zack asked Theo, who shook his head.

“Save it,” Theo replied firmly. “This is nothing, thankfully. What’s the goalie doing slide-tackling me anyway? I wasn’t even shooting.”

“S-Sorry,” Asher said again, his face pink. Lila could see Theo look at Asher for a few seconds before looking away.

“You can’t change anything if you don’t act,” Lila thought she heard Theo say, but she couldn’t be sure as the wind was picking up around them.

“I know,” Asher replied clearly. “It’s impossible, though.”

“If that’s what you feel,” Lila heard Theo reply. Lila watched Isaac help Asher from the floor, and Zack did the same for Theo. They went their separate ways, and Lila couldn’t hear anything more.

“Lila, stop daydreaming,” Ms Wright called. Lila returned to her training, though she couldn’t help but think about that exchange. What were they talking about?