I failed.
RJ had work to catch up on. He was on his computer non-stop, not even stopping to take a break for meals. And Zai was true to his word, getting me a job as a waitress at a nearby restaurant by the next day. He also got a job working with me. Zai somehow breezed through all the training, so much so that it stunned our trainer who asked him,
"Have you worked here before?" He said no, but he already had the floor plan, and menu memorized after, seemingly, only a glance. After the verbal instructions and walkthrough, he and I were left in a room to complete some modules on a tablet, about food safety and sanitation. Zai finished his test, which was supposed to be finished in 15 minutes, in less than 1 minute with a perfect score. Then he turned to me and said,
"Do you need help?" I shook my head,
"No, I think I got it... I'm just being careful." I answered. He laid the tablet down and scooted closer to me.
"Are you sure you don't want me to just give you the answers?" Zai asked while laying his head on the table, with his face turned up towards mine. I felt my face get hot so I tried not to look at him,
"No... that's called cheating." I retorted.
"You're blushing." He commented so I turned my chair till my back was facing him.
"I'm not."
"I am actually really good at seeing through lies... it's a skill of mine." He argued, I refused to reply so he continued with "I'm going to take a nap, wake me up when you're done." I tried to ignore him, but 17 minutes later, after I finished my test, I snuck a look at him... His lashes are so long... he looks more like a work of art than a real person. I put the laptop down and gently poked his earring... I've never seen an Infaniyan with a piercing, holes this small would heal up instantly and destroy most metals in the process... It shouldn't be too different for Afarions. I wonder how he got his.
"Are you done?" Amber asked, returning to the room we were in, I jumped in my seat and quickly put my hand down before Zai could wake up and notice.
"I'm done," I answered. Zai woke up and yawned, his arm fell behind my back. His fingertips grazed me and I shivered, tensing up at the slight touch,
"I finished too." He said while getting up and walking to where she was first. Amber was older than us, about 34, and she had small wrinkles around her eyes which showed more so when she smiled. Wrinkles were something I'd never seen before, either... the only proof of aging Infaniyans have are mannerisms, that allude to the generation they grew up in. Her hair was a bronze color and her skin was peach, almost translucent, so her emotions showed clearly, similar to how my eyes work.
"You're going to shadow me while I wait on some tables, then I'll let you practice on your own and watch from afar." She informed us. She was naturally charismatic and sweet, and because she was so normal the customers relaxed naturally with her. We observed her for about an hour. After that, Zai was the first to put what he'd learned into action. The table he approached seemed to be a couple,
"Good evening, my name is Zaikel, I'll be serving you today." He said politely, his voice had a hypnotic charm to it, I hate to admit it... "Would you like to try our Chardonnay or... can I bring you something else?" He asked politely, the woman looked at him in awe and mumbled,
"I want you..." When she didn't expound there was an uproar from her husband, which snapped her out of her trance. He called Zai a pretty boy, and accused him of coming onto his wife, yelling for a manager... it was entertaining to witness. I was told to take over the table for him and managed to calm the husband down.
"I'll be taking over... can I take your order?" It went well, and the husband even snuck me a tip, which I wasn't supposed to accept because I was still in training.
It was late in the evening when we were told to go home and study. Zai wasn't in trouble since there were witnesses and he technically didn't do anything wrong. The shop wasn't far so we were walking home together when Zai suddenly said,
"Let's stop at that park," He pointed to a nearby grassy field, obscured by some bushes.
"Why?" I asked, and he grabbed my hand as if it was completely natural to do so.
"I want to talk with you." He answered, pulling me gently by the hand into the bushes with him and sitting down. I sat down beside him... I think I want to talk to him too.
"Oh... um... I was wondering today... how do you have so many piercings? Is there a technique on Afaria for them?" He smiled and said,
"... So you're interested in me?" I blushed and looked away, pouting. "It was Rai... My earrings had to be constantly heated at 3 thousand degrees and held in place for 3 hours until the holes stopped attempting to close and healed around the piercing instead. I had to do this for each one," I gasped and turned back to face him, overcome with worry,
"That must have... been excruciating!" I replied... my heart ached just imagining the pain he must have been in.
"It was a long time ago... and I asked him to do it. So stop looking so sad." I took a deep breath to stop the tears that were trying to sneak out,
"Okay... but why would you do that?"
"... I was bored, I guess... tired of feeling nothing, thought I'd give feeling pain a try." His voice sounded melancholy, so much so... that I felt the urge to embrace him.
"Did you... grow up in the same prison as RJ?" He chuckled at my question and said,
"... I guess it was a prison, huh..." I should have known, they are brothers after all... but Zai always seems so happy and at ease, while RJ... is always trying to mask his perpetual sadness. "Now you... RJ told me how you decided not to go home... you didn't even visit your family."
"I... don't have any family anymore," I answered. He stared at me for a moment then put his arm over my shoulder and pulled me against him,
"Neither do I, except Rai..." My heart was racing and I was filled with guilt because no part of me was willing to move. "What's your favorite song, Snowe?" I wish he wouldn't say my name. It sends sparks through my body and with just that one word, I feel the same as I do after intense foreplay.
"A song called Open Door," I answered, hoping the topic would get my head back on straight.
"What's it about?" Zai asked, it was so popular when I was growing up, that it feels weird having someone ask me about it, but it has been a century since it was released...
"A woman is in a long-term relationship with a man, he decides to leave and she assures him that her door is always open for him, he can follow his dreams, do as he pleases for now, and if he decides to return, she will always welcome him back," I explained,
"....Wow... she sounds dumb as hell." I gasped, and pulled away from him,
"That's my favorite song!" I declared,
"Yeah, and the lyrics are STUPID," He argued back, then he frowned and looked away from me,
"Then what should she have done?"
"Moved on!" Zai answered,
"You're just saying that because you haven't been in love yet!" After I said this he looked at me and his face got dangerously close to mine, and then he stood up and said,
"If I was in love with them, I would either move on or drag them back to me. I'm not sitting around and waiting for anyone." He headed towards the sidewalk and I jogged after him. I went to RJ's room as soon as we got home but he was still focused on his computer so I walked to my own bedroom to sleep, instead of bothering him.
Working with Zai, every day became normal. The host was careful to not sit any heterosexual couples with him and that erased all issues. Of course, some customers flirted with me, but never in such an obvious way that their partner noticed. Straight women seem to lose their minds around Zai, incapable of making rational decisions... maybe it's pheromones? Even though he has so much natural charm, it seemed like no one actually interested him. A week passed and even though RJ finished his work within 2 days as promised, I still had to work, 5 days a week with Zai... and every day after work he insisted on taking a break to sit and talk, asking me about casual stuff, like my favorite color, movie, or book... to heavier things about my psyche; as if he truly wanted to understand how my mind worked and how I felt about everything. He never forgot anything I told him, and even if he acted nonchalant, I could tell he cared a lot. Unfortunately, I only had my late nights and weekends free for RJ.