The cold had set in early in the afternoon. Sydney had driven them to the nearby shopping outlet where people were already flocking at every food stall and shopping area the eye could see. Sydney began to recall Mei's reminders and words of wisdom in obtaining information from Isaac.
"Listen Sydney, Isaac isn't the type of person to share with anyone. He even struggles to talk to me about sensitive topics. What I do to get him talking is to get him out of his comfort zone. Oh, it also helps if nobody else is around. He was never the type who could handle big crowds."
Mei explained as Sydney played with the mini-mecha models Mei had on her desk, barely listening to what she was saying.
"And also… Sydney were you even listening?!"
"I am I am. It's just, I don't understand why it has to be me. You guys are closer so wouldn't it make sense for you to get the information from him?" Sydney asked. Accidentally separating an arm from the figure she was playing with.
"I already tried Syd. Plus, I'm already getting information from his mom so this way it's more productive, right?" Mei said with her back to Sydney who was scrambling to fix the broken figurine.
"Nonsense! You just can't bring yourself to talk to him about these things after how many of your lover's quarrel."
"L-Lover's?! Shut up! He… I don't think he sees me that way anymore. Also, this is strictly for business purposes!" Mei declared.
"Oh sure, business, then why are you so flustered right now? And even though I can't see you I know how much you're blushing!"
"S-Shut up! Just get it done please!"
"Sure sure, but I'm bringing Rikki with me!"
" No problem, Ikki is never busy anyway. I'll look over the club until it closes and head straight to the hospital." Mei said while covering her beat red face then slowly walked away defeated.
~~~
"Now tell me again, why did you guys take me here?" Isaac asked as he glanced over crowds of people doing all manner of fun and social activities.
"Mei was concerned when your mom told her you hadn't been visiting, so she sent us to check on you and show you a fun time." Rikki smilingly put his arm around Isaac.
"Plus it'll give you a chance to stretch those legs. Judging from the smell of your apartment, you haven't been outside for some time have you?" Sydney asked.
Isaac was cornered. Even if he tried to run away, Rikki would stop him in his tracks and Sydney's stare alone would freeze him solid. The day progressed and Isaac felt like he was dragged from one place to another.
"Have you ever played baseball, Isaac?" Rikki asked as they entered the batting cages.
"Uhm, not really but it shouldn't be that hard right?"
That same confidence of Isaac was nowhere to be found once he got into the cage. Out of the 10 balls fired by the machine, the first nine were a complete miss. The last ball was about to launch and Isaac took a different stance, his eyes focused and legs firm he swung.
"Homerun?! HOMERUN!" Isaac threw the bat down and started jumping and cheering himself. Sydney and Rikki watched with smiles as Isaac finally started to enjoy the trip.
Rikki came up to the cage and hit a total of seven out of the ten balls launched, getting five home runs. He proceeded to gloat at Isaac who failed to fire back with any witty remarks. As they were about to leave they noticed Sydney enter the batting cage. What followed was a perfect run where Sydney hit all ten balls with each of them being a home run., leaving the guys with their mouths open in amazement.
"Hmph, child's play," Sydney remarked
"You're doing good Isaac! Just keep those feet under you!" Sydney shouted.
"I've never been to an ice rink before! And why didn't you guys come in here with me?!" Isaac shouted back followed by him falling on his back multiple times trying to regain balance.
"Was it a good idea leaving him alone in there?" Rikki asked.
"I've never done this before, have you?" Sydney asked back.
Rikki smirked and swiped the tip of his nose with his finger. He asked for two pairs of skates from the cashier and put on one. Sydney had trouble putting hers on, so Rikki did it for her. She turned away as he tied up the knots with a hint of red on her face. The two entered the rink hand-in-hand. Sydney had trouble keeping her balance but Rikki was there to help her through it. Moments later, they naturally skated together. Other people were staring at the smooth movement the two were making around the rink. Over by the corner, Isaac held onto the ice-cold railings to keep himself from falling again.
"Man! I was confident I had the highest score at the test of strength there." Rikki frustratingly said.
"Well, maybe you need to work out more," Sydney said, a smug expression on her face.
The three of them walked side by side, each with their snack in hand. Sydney and Rikki exchanged food while Isaac looked on with the feeling of being misplaced. Sydney went ahead to find a spot for the fireworks display to be conducted later as she did not trust Rikki with things like this.
"Sydney's pretty terrifying isn't she? But in a good way. Always so persuasive and direct, not letting anyone walk all over her." Isaac said as they were left alone.
"She wasn't always like that. I knew her since high school and she was WAY different back then. She would often get bullied because of her weight and interest in writing. One day I saw her getting a mouthful from a group of girls after school." Rikki said as he looked at Sydney arguing with a group of people in the distance.
"So what did you do?" Isaac asked.
"I went up there and told the girls off. She got angry at me for getting involved… So I called her stupid."
"You called her what?!" Isaac asked, his eyes growing a few meters wider.
"I told her that she shouldn't take that kind of treatment from anyone and she should learn to fight for herself. And also gain some self-confidence."
"And what did she say?"
"She kicked me in the knee and shouted a few things at me. I shouted back and it turned into a full-blown argument. After that, we'd hang out and the arguments would turn into friendly conversations. We lost touch during summer break and met later in college. By then she completely transformed into a different person. She worked on herself a lot and she definitely gained a lot of confidence." Rikki looked on as Sydney successfully drove the group of people away from the viewing spot.
"She pretended not to know me when college started and I played along with it for a while. But deep down I knew it was her." He added.
Eventually, Sydney came back and directed them to the viewing spot. They sat down in an open field, waiting for the scheduled fireworks display that was conducted at the end of every week.
"So how was exploring the outside of your cave for once?" Sydney asked.
"Thanks for bringing me along. I had a lot of fun but…"
"But what?" Rikki asked.
"Did Mei tell you to do this?" Isaac asked.
They were found out. The two thought that lying at this point was pointless so they explained the whole situation to Isaac.
"Other than that, we just wanted to have fun with you dude, no joke," Rikki said, nudging Isaac's shoulder.
"And we could tell that something's bothering you. We figured you could tell us since you're having a real hard time telling Mei." Sydney added.
Isaac was perplexed. The time he spent with them made him completely forget the worries he'd been having for days now. He was frustrated with keeping it to himself, even trying to come up with solutions but only making things worse. So he decides to tell them.
"My mother, she's dying. We all knew from the start what would happen. But that's not all." A moment of silence as the two wait for his answer. Isaac clenched his fist but had a straight expression. He was looking up to the sky.
"The illness she has… I have it too."
The fireworks show started. Red, blue, pink, violet. Bright colors exploded in the dark sky. Isaac stared at the colorful display in front of him. The mixture of colors and how they would scatter in the sky gave him goosebumps, sparks of inspiration. He wanted to capture every detail in paint, but for now, he was lost in it.