Chapter 32: Ryan Goes to a Dance

As she vanished into the darkness, the Conjurer took advantage of my momentary lapse in concentration. However, I had not the will to resist him any longer. As the Conjurer tackled me to the ground, I saw you looking at me. I never found the strength to ask for your forgiveness, son.

Ryan was getting dressed. He hated wearing that monkey suit they called a ‘tuxedo’, but there was no getting around it. Plus, he suspected that Rachel might try and kill him if he came in anything else. Surprisingly, the old tux no longer fit him, though not because he’d gotten fat or anything. Ryan had gotten taller. A lot taller, in fact, since his old days at the Ministry. He used to lament being short, but without even noticing, that no longer seemed to be the case. He remembered what Rachel had said about a ‘sexy growth spurt’. As he looked at himself shirtless in the mirror, he found himself happily agreeing with her. In place of the scrawny and short street urchin now stood a young man, tall and muscular. His golden scales were more prominent now, but still could not hide the chiseled six-pack that he hadn’t even realized was there. Even his arms looked bigger, bulging with muscles and power ... almost like a real Saurian. Ryan had gotten used to avoiding his reflection because he didn’t think he looked as appealing as other humans. But in this lapse of self-reflection, he hadn’t realized how much his Elemental training had changed him. It was almost like going to bed as a normal guy, and then waking up as a superhero.

Dang, I’m freakin’ ripped, Ryan thought to himself. How the heck have I not noticed until now? If not for the scales, I’d be hot!

Still appraising himself in the mirror, he took one last look at the pale scar on his neck that nearly ran up his left cheek. He traced a finger down the scar, reminding himself of the one he needed to find one day. The one he needed to kill. But for now, it was time to enjoy himself. And the scar did look quite fetching on him. The smaller scar on his chest looked cool too, reminding him briefly of the time that Silvia healed him with Dark Water.

Girls like scars, right? Makes a guy look manly.

Ryan sent for a new suit to be tailored for him and it arrived shortly afterwards with a droid carrying it in for him. He was surprised that it arrived so quickly, but then Gateways between the moon and the planet still operated, and he remembered hearing from the nerds on the Reject Squad that inorganic matter was much simpler to teleport than organic matter. Luckily, he still maintained good relations with the eccentric tailor, Gaston, despite the fact that the man had kissed him. Ryan nearly retched just remembering it. That might’ve been even worse than Nanny Eliza’s unwanted advances ... maybe.

Ryan sure met some weird people. Nanny Eliza, Gaston, and more recently, the Reject Squad. Those guys actually sent Ryan a message to his Ministry Medallion saying they wanted to hang out sometime. He couldn’t imagine why they liked him so much. He wasn’t exactly nice to them. Still, they had made a good team together, so he’d consider the proposal. Though he still found it surprising that his Medallion could connect to his personal communications. It was the cutest thing watching the tiny Lion and Dragon read his communiques for him.

As Ryan put on layer upon layer for the tuxedo, Thomas helped him get on the coat himself, all the while reciting their lessons. “Now, you remember what I told you about snacks?”

“Grab what you can as fast as you can, but don’t stand near the snack table too long or the girls will think I’m a pig,” answered Ryan confidently.

“That’s how my sis ended up dumping her last boyfriend. Said he paid more attention to food than to her. But I still don’t get why it’s such a big deal,” said Thomas in a slightly muffled voice as he munched on a beef jerky.

“If there’s anything constant in this huge universe, it’s that women are weird,” declared Ryan as he slipped on the black coat and looked around for his tie. “Alright, what else?”

“Find a group of people you know to ... what’s that word my sis used. Oh yeah! Mingle. Find a group to mingle with. The more popular they are, the better. You’re lucky that this is kinda already covered. You’re part of Squad 99. Everyone wants to be a member of that squad. You guys always get to do all the cool stuff.”

“Right! Mingle! Got it. Mingle. Mingle. Mingle. That’s a fun word,” muttered Ryan to himself as he finally spotted the tie. Though without Éclair’s help, he couldn’t make heads or tails of the thing.

Isn’t it weird that something so similar to a hangman’s noose somehow became a fashion statement?

“What should I mingle about?”

“I don’t know. Maybe the weather.”

“We’re on a barren moon with only mild weather patterns created by an artificial atmosphere. How is that interesting?”

“That’s all my sister ever talked about with her friends, at least the parts I understood anyway. I guess if that doesn’t work, you could always tell them stories. You probably gotta bunch of really good ones.”

Ryan considered. Now that he thought of it, he did have a lot of good stories to tell. He nodded appreciatively, and said, “Well, I guess I can think of something about my heroic exploits that’s not too braggy. And the last thing?”

“Ask lots of girls to dance. Stay away from your date as long as possible so that she doesn’t think you’re desperate. Play hard to get.”

“But I am hard to get, at least for her. It’s Éclair I want, not Rachel.”

“Huh,” said Thomas thoughtfully, his beef jerky sticking out of his mouth. “Well, if that’s the case, dance with your date a bunch then. And do it in front of Éclair to make her jealous.”

“You think that’ll work?”

“I don’t know,” replied Thomas with a shrug.

“You’re a boon in troubled times, kid,” said Ryan with a shake of his head.

“What’s a boon?”

“I don’t know. I heard Éclair say something like that once.”

A squawk rang out as Tyrant came fluttering in, flew past Ryan’s face with several of his feathers flying into Ryan’s mouth, and then back the way he came. Ryan spit feathers out and sneezed as one tickled his nose. He still couldn’t get the tie figured out, and Tyrant’s distraction made him drop the darn thing.

Nanny Eliza was suddenly there beside Ryan, bending over and retrieving the fallen tie. “No need to fret, dearie. Nanny Eliza will get you all sorted.”

Ryan reluctantly accepted the woman’s help as she fiddled with the tie below his neck. “I thought you said you were going to feed Tyrant?” he asked.

“Oh, don’t you worry, luv. Cedric’s got it handled.”

Ryan glanced over his shoulder to see Cedric chasing the bird around the quarters, a bowl of bird feed in his hands. Occasionally, Tyrant would double back to peck Cedric on the nose and then fly away before the mute could get ahold of him.

I probably should’ve mentioned that Tyrant usually eats people food. Guess I figured that the overgrown pigeon wasn’t that picky. Heck, that thing once ate a dead Brownie while we were on the streets. Good thing too because I was so hungry at the time that I was considering doing the same.

Nanny Eliza was just finishing up the tie. “It’s strange. Cedric is usually good with animals given his telepathy and all. He can always soothe the beasts by connecting directly to their brains and sending calming emotions. But that awful thing is right nasty, it is.”

“Yup. That’s Tyrant. Living up to his namesake as always.” Ryan adjusted the collar as it dug uncomfortably into his neck. “Hey, Cedric, my man! Just leave some meat lying on the floor and he’ll pick it up!”

Cedric panted for a moment with his hands on his knees. As he did so, Tyrant perched on his hunched back and started pecking his bum.

“Alright, I’m all set. How about a quick dancing lesson before I go?” asked Ryan, looking down at Thomas.

Thomas looked thunderstruck. “Dance? I don’t know how to dance! I’m only nine!”

Ryan sighed. “Figures. I now know pretty much everything there is to know about a dance party, except the actual dancing part.”

“Don’t worry, dearie. Just freestyle. That’s what I do,” said Nanny Eliza as she broke into a weird routine that involved throwing her ancient hips back and forth.

Amazing how spry that woman is at her age.

“I guess I’ll have to skip the slow dances then. Though, considering that it’s Rachel, that would probably be for the best. But I still think I’m getting the short end of this deal, Thomas.”

Thomas raised his hands innocently. “You’ll still train me a bit after the dance, right?”

Ryan waved a hand. “Yeah, I guess I could spare a little time.”

Thomas pumped his fists triumphantly. Ryan had to admit that he enjoyed hanging out with Thomas. There was a pureness to the youth that Ryan had not known in a long time, an innocence that he found strangely comforting. Plus, the little kid actually thought Ryan was cool. His taste in role models notwithstanding, Thomas still made for an excellent sidekick.

“Alright. I’ll see y’all later. Oh, and thanks for taking care of my demon bird, Cedric. I wouldn’t want him following me to the dance.”

Cedric gave a beleaguered smile, displaying a fatigued thumbs up. Tyrant now perched on his shoulder and nibbled on a strand of his long white hair, pulling on it as if it were a worm stuck in the ground.

“Oh, before you go, there’s just one last little thing,” said Nanny Eliza all of the sudden.

Ryan groaned, mentally preparing himself for more grotesque flirtation.

“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna make another pass at you, dearie,” assured Nanny Eliza as she dug into her pockets, bringing out a small slip of paper. “I just need to give ya this.”

Ryan took the slip. It was kind of like the messages in the fortune cookies in that Werecat’s restaurant. It read in some very nice cursive ’North is First. South is Second. East is Third. And West is Fourth’.

Ryan looked to Nanny Eliza skeptically. “What’s it mean?”

“How the blazes should I know? It’s your fortune after all.”

“Fortune?” repeated Ryan.

“Yeah. Thought it might come in handy like that shield I sent you for the second phase of the exam. The one you used in the desert dome.”

Ryan gawked at Nanny Eliza in surprise. “That was you?! Why ... who told you to give me this stuff?!”

Nanny Eliza grinned widely as she pointed at her temple. “Why, the voice in me head, of course. He’s a very nice man. I’d love to introduce you sometime. He says he’s got a castle made out of clouds and that I can live there with him someday. Oh, such a romantic. You can come too if you want.” Nanny Eliza winked and strode away.

Ryan stared down at the slip of paper. He remembered how useful the shield had been during the exam. Maybe Nanny Eliza had some kind of crazy, weird, old-lady prophecy kind of thing. He decided he would keep the fortune with him just in case as he put it in his pocket.

Ryan soon stood in front of Rachel’s door fidgeting nervously, although he wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. Even though he didn’t like Rachel the way he liked Éclair, he was still technically taking her on a date.

If only dad could see me now. He always said I’d be thirty before I got a date. Suck it, dad!

The thought, though energetic, brought on an unsurprising bout of sadness in Ryan’s heart. The pain was especially poignant when he thought about his mom. How she would fuss over his outfit if she were here now ... just like she always did when they went to formal events, like Caretaker School every Sunday. He could sometimes almost forget how much he missed both of them so desperately. That made him want to go to service at the Ministry more often, just like his family did every Sunday at the colony. He knew the Fire Ministry had a chapel where those who followed the Caretaker’s teaching could come and worship. He’d just been so busy with training. But besides that, he didn’t want to hear anybody lecturing him about the Caretaker besides Hannah Lioness.

Finally, Rachel emerged from her room. She wore a slender, sparkly red dress that went down to her feet. A slit on one side of the dress revealed her right leg almost up to the thigh. And though her cleavage wasn’t quite as impressive as Éclair’s ample bosom, her dress still made it seem alluring without looking obscene. She wore long, white gloves that went up to her elbows, and red ruby slippers on her feet.

Though Rachel never overtly reminded Ryan of the Minister, he could see the resemblance now in the confidant way she carried herself in her dress. Rachel and Éclair were about the same height, making her tall for a girl. This would’ve been a problem in the past as Ryan used to be a bit of a runt. But now that he was a lot taller, he didn’t have to worry about looking short next to her.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Be all proper and stuff and give me your arm.”

Ryan only then realized that he’d been gaping stupidly. “Oh! You mean ... like this?”

Ryan proffered his arm and Rachel took it with a grateful smile. They strode toward the hovercraft platform where their ride awaited them “Now you’re getting the idea. Also, gotta say, you do clean up nice when you try, kid.”

“You do know you’re only like a couple years older than me, right? You don’t have to keep calling me a kid.”

“Yeah, but to me, you’ll always be a kid ... both mentally and emotionally. Now stop talking before you ruin this even more and just keep thinking about how lucky you are that you got a date with an upperclassman. And don’t forget about all the crap we can do to mess with Éclair and Leon.”

Ryan grinned, his former days of mischief-making returning full throttle within him. “On that note, I’m way ahead of you. At least we can agree that as painful as this might be for us, it won’t be half as painful as we’ll make it for them.”

“Hmm. I think this might be fun after all. I like that evil grin of yours. Got some plans I should know about?”

Ryan chuckled wickedly. “Don’t worry. I’m a freakin’ mastermind when it comes to this sort of thing, babe.”

Rachel frowned. “Okay. That whole ‘babe’ thing isn’t working for me. We’re going to need to have a talk about pet names.”

“I would think you’d like that better than me saying what I really think of you,” muttered Ryan under his breath.

“What was that?” asked Rachel suspiciously.

“Nothing,” said Ryan as he looked away, remembering whose granddaughter this was. Plus, if she was anything like Éclair, she could turn violent.

They soon came to the platform where hovercrafts of all shapes and sizes landed and took off, carrying dozens of other candidates who passed the preliminaries. Flying taxis like the one that carried Ryan to the Ministry when he first discovered his powers zoomed off the platform into the gloomy night sky, their multicolored lights cascading over the round metal stage almost hypnotically. The hovercrafts all sped off towards the Crystal Palace in the distance, which glowed on the horizon with a deep, red light.

Among the candidates gathered, Ryan caught sight of Leon and Éclair waiting for their ride at the edge of the platform. Leon wore a long, black coat over his formal wear, but that’s not what drew Ryan’s attention. Éclair was beyond gorgeous tonight. She wore a dress similar in style to Rachel, but with sparkling blue laces instead of red. White slippers covered her delicate feet, almost seeming to glow with a white light. Her silver-gray hair went down to the middle of her back, done into a single, long braid. Éclair wore a slender black choker with a blue ruby shining in the center. She was nothing less than a queen among peasants, and others seemed to share this sentiment as most everyone on the platform gawked at her, especially the boys. The girls looked too, though they seemed more annoyed than impressed.

“Okay. Targets located,” said Ryan. “Now for my plan to work, we need to hold back for now and wait until-”

“Hey, squad mates,” called Rachel, waving at Éclair and Leon from across the platform.

Ryan was dragged forward helplessly as Rachel pushed past the other candidates.

“Rachel?” said Leon in confusion.

Rachel let go of Ryan’s hand and dashed forward. She grabbed Leon and Éclair around their necks, forcing them into a very unexpected and awkward hug.

“Fancy meeting you guys. Who would’ve thought we’d bump into each other like this.”

Ryan stood back, speechless at Rachel’s sheer audacity.

“Ryan?” said Éclair quizzically as she broke away from Rachel and stared at Ryan dumbfounded. “You’re going to the dance, too? I didn’t think you’d feel up to it after ... after...” Éclair trailed off uncomfortably.

Ryan cleared his throat. “After Grafy beat me like a drum.”

Éclair looked down, almost ashamedly. “Ryan. You should know that this is a difficult time for Grafael. Please, don’t blame him for what he’s done.”

“Trust me, Éclair. I don’t,” said Ryan gently. “In fact, I understand more than you know.”

Éclair regarded him thoughtfully. Before she could voice her thoughts, Leon stepped forward.

“Rachel. I’m sorry for the confusion, but since you two came out together ... does that mean-”

“Oh, yeah,” said Rachel offhandedly, letting go of Leon’s arm as if she’d just remembered who her real date was. She then skipped over and took Ryan’s arm. “We’re a couple now ... I guess.”

Ryan cringed inwardly. Yeah! That sure sounds convincing!

“You ... and Ryan?” said Leon incredulously.

“Yeah,” said Rachel, gripping Ryan’s arms tighter as if to show proof.

Rachel prompted him to put his arm around her waist with a curt nod of her head. Ryan did so, though felt somewhat nauseated because of the weird way that Rachel was playing this whole thing.

“So it turns out that I finally realized how badass and sexy Ryan is now that he’s all grown up and stuff. And he’s always known that I’m amazing and so out of his league, he’s just never been able to admit it.”

Ryan felt a bead of sweat roll down his chin, having no choice but to play along as he said, “Y-yeah! I just ... wow! What can I say? I love the heck outta this crazy chick. And always have ... apparently.”

“That’s ... nice,” said Éclair with a strained smile.

Ryan put a hand behind his head and laughed awkwardly. “I know, right? Look at us! All paired up and stuff!”

This ... was ... a ... horrible ... idea!

“Uh ... look! Here comes Felix,” said Leon pointing over the platform towards an incoming hovercraft. Ryan thought he heard Leon mutter under his breath, “Thank God.”

Éclair’s elegant flying limousine pulled up the platform and came to rest next to them, hovering hundreds of feet above the moon’s surface below. The doors opened to reveal Felix in the cockpit, the grouchy Harpy with a man’s figure, but an Eagle’s head and golden feathers all over his body. Felix wore his chauffeur’s black suit and hat as per usual. He screeched at Ryan angrily, his large, yellow beak flexible enough to curve into a frown despite lacking human lips.

Yeah, I remember you too, bub. What is it with me and birds? They all seem to hate me for some reason.

“Well, then,” said Leon ushering Éclair towards the limo. “I guess we’ll see you at the-”

“Oh, drat! Wouldn’t you know,” said Rachel suddenly, looking at her wrist even though she didn’t have a watch. “Our ride should’ve been here half an hour ago. If they haven’t shown up by now, then they probably won’t ever. Well, darn! I guess we’ll have to hike it from here, lover boy.”

Ryan choked back a very graphic curse as he realized what Rachel was doing. Ryan drew his lips into a thin line, and his eyes bulged angrily. A low growl bubbled in his throat as he glared at Rachel who still kept up her perky façade.

“Would,” started Leon hesitantly. Then sighing in defeat, he said, “Would you care for a ride?”

“Oh, what a great idea!” said Rachel excitedly as she pulled Ryan into the limo with her before Leon and Éclair could take their seats.

Moments later, they were all crammed in the back of the limo together. Ryan sat across from Leon, and Éclair sat across from Rachel. Ryan’s mood had turned decidedly sour as Rachel kept snuggling up to him throughout the flight. Not to mention the fact that he didn’t like flying in general. Even relatively smooth flights in hovercrafts that never left the atmosphere made him feel a little sick. Plus, he really didn’t like being in such an enclosed space with four other people, especially when one of them was deliberately trying to make the atmosphere as uncomfortable as possible.

And to top it all off, Felix sat piloting the craft just behind Ryan. The chauffeur kept snacking on peanuts loudly as he drove. And when he finished one peanut, he threw the shells behind him, causing it to land in Ryan’s lap. Within minutes, a pile of peanut shells had accumulated on Ryan’s pants. He felt so numb with anger and embarrassment that he didn’t even bother brushing them off as he sat stiffly and scowled.

I know you’re doing this on purpose, birdbrain! When no one’s looking, I’m gonna pluck you and use your feathers to make a pinata!

“So, when exactly did you two get together?” asked Leon, his usual cold demeanor degrading into nervousness.

“Why, Leon. You wouldn’t happen to be getting jealous, would you?” asked Rachel innocently.

Ryan went tense. I know she can be obnoxious, but I’ve never seen Rachel this forward before. It’s like she has an off switch for all her inhibitions.

Leon smiled gently, somehow regaining his composure. “Rachel. You know I’ve always had nothing but the highest regard for you. I respect you as a colleague and I consider you my equal. Even if my intentions have never been romantic, you should know that I still think fondly of you. That’s why I’d never do anything to jeopardize our dynamic. It would ruin our teamwork, keeping us from functioning as a cohesive unit.”

“Oh, really,” said Rachel, twirling a strand of hair through her finger offhandedly. “So I guess my stepsister princess doesn’t factor into that ‘teamwork’ stuff, right?”

“Rachel, please,” said Éclair, her face going red. Surprisingly, she didn’t get angry like she usually would when Rachel provoked her; only slightly flustered this time. Something was different about Éclair tonight. Something was different about both the girls tonight.

Ryan remained stark quiet throughout the exchange, hoping no one would bring him into this conversation. I think dad mentioned something like this. When women act weird ... or at least weirder than normal ... it’s usually due to a mysterious and strange phenomenon known as a ‘Periodic Table’. Yeah, that’s gotta be it!

“That’s different,” Leon said to Rachel. “You and I trained together in our beginning years as Elementals. But Éclair is my student, so I feel obliged to escort her to the dance. That is actually a long-standing tradition of the Preliminary Dance before the finals. A lot of the other candidates are doing so with their mentors, though it’s not required.”

“Well, how chivalrous of you, Leon; being so considerate for poor little me,” said Éclair irritably with an upturned nose.

Realizing his mistake, Leon patted the air apologetically. “Éclair, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were expecting more.”

“I suppose that’s not altogether surprising, really,” said Éclair, turning away and looking out the window, her mind seeming elsewhere. “It is you after all.”

Leon chuckled nervously and shrugged. “Doesn’t look like I can win tonight. Care to help me out here a little, Ryan?”

“I regret so much right now, so please don’t drag me into this,” mumbled Ryan under his breath.

“What?”

Ryan responded with a string of curses from his nonsense language. “Frakka booga. Stinka wagga gromy,” he muttered, crossing his arms grumpily.

Fortunately, the Crystal Palace soon came into view, and Felix brought the craft in for a landing.

As the hovercraft slowly descended to the landing platform, Rachel whistled. “Well, makes no difference to me. I’ve already got my man right here.” Rachel hooked Ryan around the neck and gave him a playful noogie.

Ryan didn’t respond but clenched his teeth tighter as a growl threatened to rise up.

“Who knows,” Rachel continued, nuzzling her cheek against Ryan’s cheek. “I’m so freakin’ into this little gem, we may even end up doing it tonight.”

“Doing what?” Ryan asked, though soon wished he hadn’t.

Rachel burst into laughter, causing Éclair and Leon to cringe back into their seats.

“Isn’t he just the cutest thing ever?!”

The door opened a second later. Ryan brushed the peanut shells from his lap and bolted from the limousine, probably turning the deepest shade of embarrassed purple he’d ever turned in his life.

“Oh, well, someone sure is eager! Guess I’ll see y’all on the flipside! Have fun, you crazy kids,” called Rachel over her shoulder as she dashed after Ryan while he headed into the main entrance.

Ryan kept up a brisk pace as Rachel struggled to catch him. She finally caught hold of his arm and tried to forcibly slow him down, but she was no match for his superior strength as he dragged her behind him.

“Would you slow down, lame brain? You have no idea how hard it is to move in this thing. The high heels are bad enough, but the dress-”

Ryan cut her off as he stopped, bringing up his palm and jutting it forward to enunciate every syllable. “Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘pushing it’?”

Rachel scoffed, straightening herself up. “Relax, kid. Wasn’t the plan to make them as uncomfortable as possible? Do you really think after that train wreck, anything remotely intimate is gonna happen between those two?”

“That,” started Ryan in outrage.

Then he looked back at Éclair and Leon. They seemed satisfyingly horrified, and even maintained a respectful distance from one another as they entered the dancing hall.

“Is a very good point,” he conceded softly.

“See. It’s working. We’re off to a great start.”

“But still, I had a whole itinerary of awesome pranks I was gonna pull in secret during the dance. If I did that stuff now when they’re already looking so gloomy, I’d just feel guilty. Plus, I thought the idea was to embarrass them, not me!”

“I know, but seeing you squirm a little was just too much fun to pass up!”

“You know, for the so-called ‘sane one’ of Squad 99, you do crazy pretty well sometimes,” commented Ryan almost admiringly.

Rachel shrugged, waving a hand. “What can I say? A girl needs a chance to cut loose and let the crazy out every once in a while.”

As they walked into the Crystal Palace, everything changed. Though the walls outside the palace were a sparkling red, inside the dancing hall was another beast entirely. The walls shimmered with varying colors, rotating around the room in shades ranging from blue, purple, and pink. Twinkling white ball-shaped lights almost like stars floated around the room and amidst the attendees, casting a comforting but faint glow. At the edge of the dancing hall was the long, rectangular snack table decorated with colorful fruits and vegetables ... but no steak, unfortunately. Sure, there were beanie weenies among the hors d’oeuvres, but that didn’t really qualify as meat in Ryan’s opinion.

Gathered near the entrance were the elder Elemental observers. Among their ranks were a few Wielders chatting with the Minister of Fire herself. Saria glanced in their direction, and Ryan felt Rachel go tense beside him.

The Minister of Fire excused herself from her conversation and made her way towards the pair.

“Look,” started Rachel without facing Ryan. “Phase one is complete. They probably won’t do anything for a while, so I’m ... I’m gonna go out for a little bit ... and ... take a breather.”

“What? You’re abandoning me?” asked Ryan in disbelief.

“Oh, please. It’s not like you wanted to go with me anyway,” scoffed Rachel harshly.

Ryan floundered, on the verge of panic that Rachel would leave him alone with all these ... people. “But ... but I thought we were in this together, at least! I don’t know what I’m supposed to do at these sorts of things! For crying out loud, I had to ask a nine-year-old for advice about how to mingle! That’s how desperate I am!”

Rachel’s expression softened, but then she glanced at the Minister who was getting closer. “Look, I’ll be back soon. I ... I just need a little air, alright.”

Before Ryan could object further, Rachel retreated, disappearing into the crowd. The Minister came up to Ryan, her brown eyes searching before focusing on Ryan intensely, making him want to shrink once again.

“Did Rachel come with you?”

“Uh, yeah. About that,” said Ryan, twiddling his thumbs nervously. He found himself rambling as he was wont to do when under extreme pressure. “I know she’s your granddaughter and all, so maybe I should’ve asked permission ... I guess. I don’t know if that’s a thing with grandmas. I never met my grandma, so I honestly don’t know. But since you’re the Minister of Fire and all, maybe it should be a thing. But you should know, it was all totally her idea. So if I end up ruining it tonight, please don’t hurt me, because I-”