Road to Arcadia: the Path East

Chapter Forty-five: Dinner Plans

Kai Gilling was breathless.

But the loss of oxygen wasn't a result of excessive physical activity or the breathtaking views of the floating city in the summer evening.

No, Kai Gilling was nervous.

He knew he shouldn't have been. The mere consideration of expressing his anxiety over the situation sounded a bit too over the top for this taste, but he couldn't shake the flutter in his chest or the subtlest tremor in his limbs.

The interior of this apartment building wasn't much different from his. The only features that stood out were the distances between doors and the opposing color schemes—Kai's building painted with midwestern yellows and oranges, while this building had walls like the ocean, filled in with grey-green blues.

He glanced at the crumpled note in his hand for the fifth time, quintuple checking a number he knew for a fact he had memorized by now. He stopped at the door, checking the number again. He hesitated for an extra moment to listen for any noise behind the door.

His better senses were finally able to take hold and lift his arm without him. He gave the door two heavy knocks. The pumping of blood in his ears covered the sounds of scurrying on the other side.

The door creaked open, revealing the smirking face of a curly-haired, bespectacled friend. "We have a doorbell, you know." Her greeting was as warm as any other she'd given.

He shrugged. "Force of habit, I guess."

Her smirk broke out into a full-fledged smile. "It's good to see you here."

"It's good to see you, period."

They shared a warm smile, comfortable silence gathering around them. The air stagnated, turning to innocent awkwardness as neither became sure of what they were supposed to do next.

Kai spoke over this uncertainty. "Now are you gonna let me in or what?"

She rolled her eyes before stepping back and opening the door in full. "We have a guest!" she called out into the apartment.

Kai tried to take a quick peek around, but was swiftly interrupted.

A streak of black and blue flashed before him, stopping only to collide with full force.

He looked down to take stock of the kid now squeezing him half to death. Their dark hair was wavier than the last time he had seen them. The dark blue of their hooded shirt resembled the evening skies they often fantasized about. They were still more than a head shorter than him, but he could've sworn the difference had decreased since the last time the two had seen each other.

"Mr. Kai, it's so good to see you!" Meredith gushed. "I missed you so much. I can't wait to tell you about everything and for you to tell us about the R&R and—"

Meredith's excited ramblings were punctuated by another weight against them. A smaller child, one Kai had met only a couple times before, was also hugging him. He figured it had less to do with how much he was missed and more of a desire to copy anything the older kid was doing. This kid was half the age of his senior, a single hand's worth of years already packed to the brim with a lifetime of experiences. His milk chocolate hair and tan skin didn't mirror either of his parents', but his devilish smile was familiar nonetheless.

"Natey," a stern warning emanated from a mellifluous voice across the room. "You have to at least say hello first."

The boy didn't break away. "Hi."

Kai chuckled, patting him on the head. "Hi there, Nate." He gave Meredith a hug back. "And hi there to you, superstar. I hear you've been killing it at the Arc game."