Ayla left the bathroom, rejoining the others who were smiling and talking with Arcadia, as if they had not threatened to kill her earlier that day. She sat down, forcing a smile and listening absentmindedly to the conversation, answering any questions directed at her about her new job or what she knew about the two men at the table. Her answers were short and vague, she even changed the subject, if possible, not wanting to drag her best friend any deeper into this mess. Her focus and attention were mainly on Deici, he was clearly the most dangerous of the two. Typhon from her observations was calm and did not act impulsively, Deici on the other hand felt like a ticking time bomb. He busied himself playing the charming host, asking Arcadia questions he already knew the answers to. He asked about their friendship, questions like 'when did you two meet?' and 'how long have you been friends?"
Arcadia, utterly oblivious to his motives, answered truthfully, explaining that she had met Ayla in college, having been doing a six-year culinary arts and mixology degree program. She had met Ayla had on her fourth year, which surprised Typhon who asked exactly how old she was, having expected her to be the same age as Ayla. Embarrassed, she admitted she was twenty-six, before Deici jumped in. "So, Ayla must be like a little sister to you, then?" his gaze on Ayla, who clenched her teeth.
"Of course, she has been a wonderful friend and the sister I always wanted, though I already have two others," she smiled, meeting Ayla's eyes before finishing "She has always been there for me, so no matter what happens, I will always look out for her." Ayla felt her eyes prickle and broke eye contact first. She looked down at her clenched fists in her lap, trying her best not to cry, knowing if she started, she would not be able to stop. She would find a way out of this situation for Arcadia's sake. She looked up again, hearing Arcadia ask the question she knew was coming, that they had rehearsed. "Why did you choose Ayla for the job? Not to be rude or anything I think she deserves it but...she just started today, didn't she? Why hire her on her first day?"
"We've been looking for a live-in maid for a while and just couldn't find the right person. You see, we work in AI engineering and have quite a few pieces at the apartment that have pretty much scared all the help away. They are not attractive to look at without their skins and can be very unnerving. When we came home today and found Ayla had not only finished her assigned tasks but had taken the time to dust the AIs, and we knew we had found the perfect person for the job." Typhon finished.
"Wow, must be that degree in robotics," Arcadia said with a knowing smile on her face. "Finished with honors too."
"Really!" Deici feigned delight.
"Yeah, she needs to complete an internship to be licensed, and I think you guys can help with that." Arcadia smiled triumphantly.
"I think we can." Typhon replied. "What's the saying? Two birds, one stone." Ayla felt her face become flush as her stomached clenched in despair. "No need to blush Miss. Phos, we are more than happy to intern you." Deici said through a wide grin.
Arcadia sensing her unease asked to be excused to the lady's room and grabbed Ayla as she was leaving. "I need to steal her for a moment." When they were alone her smile dropped and her voice took on a more serious tone. "What's wrong?"
Ayla wanted to tell her everything, she needed to unburden her soul, but she bit her tongue. "It's just that this is happening so fast." She said letting the tears she'd been holding back flow down her cheeks. "What if I am not good enough?" Arcadia held her and let her cry herself dry.
"Don't think like that, you're not that person anymore. You have grown into a strong independent woman, and you deserve this." "They seem like good guys but if they get fresh give me a call and I'll beat them straight. You deserve this and I am proud of you." They left the bathroom any doubts Arcadia may have had, erased. She had played the one card she knew would work, that would make her think this was all a wonderful series of events. The tears had been real, the reason for them a lie, a throwback to the darker days after leaving her parents' home, and Arcadia had bought it hook, line and sinker. It pained her to deceive her friend, but she had no other choice.
She dipped into her inner strength and put her mask on, time to put on the performance of a lifetime.
....
Dinner looked amazing but everything tasted like ash on her tongue, her senses dulled and repressed, only allowing for a fake smile and animated conversation. The evening seemed to drag on forever and after three hours her mask started to crack. Typhon seemed to notice and called it a night. "It's been lovely, but we have an important meeting in the morning."
Ayla watched as the taxi with her friend inside drove away. Typhon had offered to drive her home, but she had insisted that it was already getting late and that they were going in the opposite direction. She had given Ayla a long, reassuring hug and said, "The fact that you already moved your stuff means you're sure about this, stop overthinking it and let lady luck shine on you, just this once."
"Your friend's nice." Typhon said.
"Hopefully she does not have to meet either of you again." she retorted, getting into the backseat of his waiting car and 'hopefully, someday neither will I.'