I saw George and Bill waiting outside next to the guard that let us in. When I walked outside, Bill said, "What took you so long?"
I replied, "The lady wanted you to know that she'd be rooting for us."
George said, "I might as well take her on date!"
To which I responded, "She's twenty-two. You're fifteen. It's illegal."
George was confused, "How did you know her age?"
"It was on her name tag."
"Also, it's not illegal for me to date her."
"If you engage in intercourse it is. And knowing you so far, I'm sure you'll push for it."
He sighed, "Well, I hope she'll wait for another year."
Bill chimed in, "Yeah, for your face, she'll wait for all of eternity!" George gave him the middle finger. I chuckled.
The twins and I started to search for a place to stay. Alicia told us that many inns and hotels would reduce prices to gain the attraction of more customers. She was completely right, but the reduced rate was still over many hundreds of credits per night. Even if all three of us pooled our money in, we wouldn't able to afford two nights, much less one whole week. As we kept walking, I faced the twins, "We've come a long way together, but I think it's time for us to split in our own ways. We'll find better opportunities if we go in separate directions."
Bill and George looked at each other. They opened their mouths at the same time, but Bill closed his first after he saw his elder brother doing the same. George asked me a question, "As you said, we've been together for a decent amount of time. And by that, I mean, like half a day. But, we were wondering if you would like to join our party?!"
I looked at him strangely, "A party?"
"Yeah, a party! You know...like when a group of people teams up to achieve a common goal. In this case, it's to get into the top ten."
I asked again, "What happens in the top ten?"
Bill looked exasperated, "Holy shit! You don't know anything! In the top ten, participants get sponsors that are willing to look after you until the end of the ENTIRE Evolution Games!"
George chimed in, "So, what do you say?"
I thought about it. A party? Can I really trust them?... I looked at them again. Their eyes really wanted me to say yes. Did I ever actually have friends before? I answered, "I guess I'll be sticking around for a while longer."
George was overjoyed, "Heck ya! With your brains, Bill's brawns, and my charm, there's no way we can't make it to the top ten!"
Bill interrupted him, "I don't think charms going to do us any good."
"Hell yeah, it will! What if one of the competitors is a sweet, young lady? I can sugar coat our way right next to her and...BANG! She's knocked out!"
I laughed out loud, "Or we could make a run for it while you do your little sweet-talking!"
George laughed as well, but then asked a serious question, "You guys won't actually do that, right?"
Bill said, "We'll see."
***
We continued to search and loiter around for any good, and cheap places to stay. At the time, I think we were regarded. Truly. How the hell were we supposed to find CHEAP stays in the INNER sector. But, we didn't realize that until later that afternoon. I pitched in an idea, "Since we can't find a place that fits our budget, why can't we spend the week on the streets? I mean have you seen the streets? I would choose these roads over my room any day of the week!"
George pointed out a problem, "I think any of us here would, too. But, you have to remember that there are other outer sector participants that roam the streets too. And they won't all be nice or apathetic to our presence. What if they attack us when we're sleeping? Or they try to gang upon us?"
Bill pointed out another one, "Also, remember that we're not exactly in paradise. There are some people here that are willing to drive over us on purpose for fuck's sake! How are we supposed to deal with that?"
I got frustrated, "I know that too! But, you guys have any better ideas?"
George elucidated, "Actually, I think I have the solution."
***
Bill and I followed George through the inner sector. We went through malls, crossed streets, passed over bridges that balanced over open water, we even ducked through restaurant back doors. The entire time I was thinking if all of this is necessary? The scenery was breathtaking though. The way cobblestone walkways smoothly merge into modern sidewalks or off-road trails. The way that the tall buildings of commerce blend right into the humble homes of the rich. It was all one big merging of cultures, heritage, and ideas. But, they all worked in harmony together.
George finally stopped. He presented us with a giant building with the name 'Public Library of Arior'. Bill slapped his forehead and said, "George staying in the library for six nights isn't going to cut it."
George put a finger over his lips, "SHHH! You can't say that out loud!" His voice grew to a whisper. "It's a public library! All we need to do is act like we're studying by day and find somewhere secret in the night to sleep. There's even a public shower in there, so we don't stink up the place."
Bill retorted, "Okay, genius. But, what about our clothes? We look like beggars; the students or whoever's in there are sons and daughters of the top one percent!" He too lowered his voice at the end.
"This is why I'm the older brother," George pulled out three rich-looking outfits, "Ta-da!"
My eyes opened wide and I seethed, "Where did you get those?!"
"Tsk. Tsk. I thought you'd be more thankful!" he said slyly.
"Thankful my ass! You know what would happen to all of us if we were caught with those!" I fumed.
He grinned at me, "And no one has to know. As long as we keep our mouths shut, nobody will ever know."
Bill asked, "What about the cameras?"
George grinned even brighter, "Why do you think I made you walk in all those weird directions at the mall and at all the other places? The mall's cameras would've only seen our backs, so even if people do decide to investigate, they'll only see two outer sector kids shoplifting. There are thousands of kids like us; they won't trace it back to us. Even the routes we took to get here were all meant to cut the time by half, so if they question us, then we don't have to worry about the time's matching up."
I scrutinized him head to toe and said, "It's not perfect by any means, but it'll do."
Bill led us to a public bathroom. George divided the clothing. I was amazed to see how much he had actually...borrowed. Three whole sets of clothing. One shirt, one pair of pants, one pair of socks, one pair of shoes. For EACH person. George disrupted my thoughts, "Guys, I think we have a problem." We were in adjacent stalls from him. "There are only two pairs of shoes. I think we got split'em with a game of rock-paper-scissors."
I breathed a sigh of relief as I remembered that I had an extra, neater pair of shoes from Alicia. "It's okay. Bill, you take the shoes," I said, "I have an extra pair."
George laughed, "This was meant to be; it would be a sin if we didn't at least try to make this work!" He threw the set of clothing to our stalls. Mine came out fine. I got a green shirt with a star in the middle of it. Blue jeans, solid black socks, and the maroon-colored shoes that Alicia gave me. It felt comforting to wear the shoes because it felt like someone looked out for me.
"AHH! Fuck you, George!" Bill pulled me out of my trance.
George, with a genuine sense of worry, called back on his brother, "What?! What happened Bill?"
Bill, this time a little softer, said, "My socks...my socks fell into the toilet."
"..." Nothing came from George's stall. I knocked on his wall, and I heard an eruption of laughter.
"Fuck you! You're going to hell, George!" Bill vented.
George paused the laughing for a brief second and said, "I'll meet you there!" Then, he resumed his obnoxious hysterics.
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Micheal Grey POV:
Angela and I made it back to the office in one piece. I gave her my keys and told her to...I'm not sure what I told her, but I'm sure she'll remind me of it later. I popped open the pill container, slid on into my hand, and threw it into my throat. That's done.
I called on Angela and Flin on the intercom. They both came in through my door at the same time. Angela was sweating profusely while Flin was standing very calmly. "Flin, were you outside my door this entire time?"
"Yup."
"Then, why didn't you come in sooner?"
"I didn't feel like it."
I grew frustrated, "I pay you almost a hundred million dollars a year, and you can't even feel like coming through my door. I'm not asking for you to be a fucking cheerleader, Flin!"
"My bad."
I stared at him. At least he does his job. I had a flashback of the advertising department. Still gives nightmares. I tossed my bottle of pills and said, "Here take your prescription. I know you don't have any left."
He caught it and replied, "Thanks."
I smiled. "Anyway, I am sorry for straying off the topic at hand. I called you both here to tell you that we're taking a business trip to Arior!"
*Silence*
"C'mon show some fucking excitement, will ya?!" Flin and Angela both started to slowly clap. "Stop. Stop. I don't need your damn sympathy. Just move your asses and pack your bags." They both left the room in a sense of peace. I swiveled my chair and faced the evening sun. Whatever happened to people?"