Sector 10

Chapter 12

It was a cool Tuesday night and I was on my break. I was loitering against the public piano that Jon played, the plaza much busier this time. Across the piano was a large shop that sold clothes "of the latest fashion trends." Similar to the bar, the walls were painted dark purple but lit up through glowing strips in the wall. Young teenagers buzzed around, pointing out holographic shirts and skirts too short to cover anything.

I folded my arms and looked up. It was 11:20pm and an abundance of stars were out. Standing in the midst of so many, the high-rises looked like they reached the heavens. I closed my eyes. I listened to crowds bustle by in urgent conversation, footsteps thumping on the cobbled concrete. The bass-heavy music from inside the shop ahead of me barely reached my ears. I could feel the light wind from people sweeping past me.

I opened my eyes and Jon was leaning against the piano next to me.

"Good morning," he said.

I gave a half-suppressed chuckle and said, "Shall we?"

"We shall."

Jon had offered to take me to a piano bar; I've never been to one. He was wearing a chic black suit with silver floral etchings crawling up his sleeve and his hair was tied up in a small ponytail. He looked quite similar to how he looked when I first met him. I, on the other hand, wore a black dress under a leather jacket with my hair in a messy plait.

The piano bar had no windows, just a dark door with 'The Piano Bar' displayed in curvy neon letters. As soon as we stepped inside, I could hear the soft murmuring of talk and the distant sound of the pianist in the background. Jon closed the door behind us and ushered me towards a comfy booth close to the piano. Most of the light came from the spotlight on the piano. The rest came from the faint lustre of lightbulbs hanging above the tables. The person playing the piano was a girl that looked only a little younger than me. She was playing a soft, mellow jazz song.

We shared a pizza with a side of onion rings and listened to the girl on the delicate instrument. I observed Jon as he attentively watched her play, a hint of admiration in his eyes. After a while, we launched into a conversation along the lines of Jon's piano playing. I never realised how much music was a part of his life. He told me that the music that his mother taught him on piano was the only way he could feel closer to her before she died of cancer.

"I'm sorry," I soothed.

He brushed it off. "I'm okay. It's been a while since it happened."

We resumed listening to the piano-playing, finishing the meal nonchalantly. As I nibbled on an onion ring, I took a glance at Jon, only to find him observing me also. I felt bashful and looked away.

When we finished, Jon insisted on paying for the meal. Before walking back to me from the counter, I watched Jon exchange a few words with the pianist after she finished a song. She smiled and nodded a thank-you.

Together, Jon and I stepped back into the cool night air. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at me. "Where to now?"

I shrugged, then replied, "Let's just walk around."

And we did, walking past many shops and stands, chattering the hour away. At one point, Jon returned to the public piano and started playing a complicated tune (at least, to me it looked like it). By the time he finished, a crowd had gathered around him. Jon stood up and bowed to the cheering audience, a wide grin plastered on his face.

After, he jogged over to me and we resumed window shopping. At a certain clothes store, Jon ushered me in, pointing out outfits that would "look good on me." He handed me a pile of clothes and begged for me to at least try them on. I gave in eventually but couldn't figure out how to put on a few of them - I put my head through an arm hole and vice versa. Every time I exited the change room with a new outfit, Jon would judge it.

We left that shop without buying anything and continued our promenade through the plaza. Arriving at an area of the plaza that contained the abandoned shops, we were in the middle of a conversation about the colour vermillion before we were interrupted by someone walking towards us.

"Silver?"

A tall woman stood in front of us. She had elegantly dark skin and her hair was dyed a light coral colour. Sabre. On her break, probably.

"Fancy seeing you here," she remarked. "Who's this?" Sabre stared down Jon's attire. "I don't recall being assigned anything with this face."

Syndicate minions weren't really supposed to have relationships with magnates. "Could get in the way of business," we were told. I personally thought Sean was scared of losing us, his precious workers, to significant others. If Sabre suspected as such, who knows what Sean would do to either me or Jon. So, I did what I did best.

I let out a melodramatic sigh. I grabbed one of Jon's arms and pushed my other hand down onto his back. In a matter of seconds, I had him bent over, the arm I was grasping becoming threateningly close to breaking. He let out a gasp in protest as I looked Sabre dead in the eye. The few people near us quickly hurried by at the sight of us.

"It was assigned to myself alone, thanks for blowing my cover," I muttered.

"It's not often you eliminate targets face-to-face," Sabre snarled.

"I needed some information out of him first." I pushed Jon's arm slightly further forward as he flinched. "If you'll excuse us..."

I allowed Jon to rise enough to walk but stilled pressed his arm to his back. I shoved Jon forward, scanning the area for possible buildings for interrogation. Fortunately, there were many.

Pushing past Sabre, I walked Jon over to a building that supposedly used to be a pawn shop by the looks of the fragmented sign hanging above the door. Sabre's narrowed eyes followed us until we were out of her sight. I marched through a back door and instinctively cast Jon to the dusty ground of the dim room, the outside lights scarcely reaching the walls of the inside. As soon as I took one look at Jon's face, I was hit with the sudden realisation of my brutal habits. He was staring back at me with a subtle bewilderment. I went too far.

"I..." I began. Jon was helping himself up. He was bigger than me, but less experienced. And I took advantage of that, just like that. What if I was put in a more serious situation? What would I do to him? I almost gravely injured him without another thought.

"You... You shouldn't be with someone like me," I mumbled.

"What?"

Before Jon could continue, I scurried out of the room. Then the shop. Then the plaza. As I did, I heard him cry "Wait!" and "Ai!" But I was already gone. I ran faster and everyone around me turned into a blur. I pushed past people and weaved through complicated streets and shortcuts. At last, I staggered through the entrance of my apartment block. I plodded past the empty reception desk and into the elevator. When I reached my room, I stumbled into my small kitchen and opened my fridge. Majority of the items inside consisted of packaged salad and leftover ramen. I grabbed a bottle from the section of the fridge designed to hold drinks. Unplugging the top of the champagne bottle, I drank straight from the bottle.

But unfortunately, it's impossible to drink your problems away permanently. A common belief that we can only wish were true.

My problem?

I can't seem to keep anyone close to me.