Classless

Chapter 65 : Tangles

Chapter 65 : Tangles

*Fedor’s POV*

“Not much. He’s an old friend.”

“Friend?” He was puzzled by my answer.

“So you know who he is and his family?”

“In small dozes, is that a problem?” I wasn’t sure I understood his tone and I was particularly not interested in figuring it out.

He stared at me for a minute before dismissing me, I did not know if that was a good or bad thing. I thought I might have stomped him, I had told myself that I was not curious but I could not help it but wonder if that might affect how he treated me especially if he did not like that family, I would not blame him. They suck big time and considering that was the environment Kurt grew up in, he did pretty well for himself and now I was thinking about what she would want from me. Dinner, I said in my head and scoffed out loud which unfortunately or fortunately for me depending on how you’d look at it, it coincided with when fake Becky was passing by, and like every narcissist, she’d thought that my reaction was for her and gave me a cold icy glare before making a weird sign with her hands. Uppity class must have their own definition of cusses because from where I’m from, that is definitely not the symbol for you know what. I wiggled my tongue at her in response and that made her look down at me before walking away.

It was a good day, she had considered me not good enough to even speak to; I had a new name now to add to the list of growing names; I actually liked this one. The green-eyed demon, there is something whimsical about the name, at first I had no idea it was mine until the green keyed me into it, they had to be jealous of my eyes and I decided to own it. I made sure to put more dark liner than usual today to really get into the name and a little disappointed that they were quieter than usual especially when I had made such an effort for them. Humans, can’t please them and can’t still get them to insult you when you need it the most. Now, my new assignment meant that I had to input my own feelings into it and I would be the first to admit that my moral principles and standards are not what I’d call pristine.

I decided to put the dinner at the back of my mind no matter how curious I was, Tokhe was good at record keeping, I had no digital access to what I’d need, apparently I did not have enough clearance so I went back to the library again. The librarian shared a warm smile in the form of a glower, he was happy to see me, he just wasn’t the expressive type. Grumpy as I liked to call him in my head was a sweetheart but he did not know that and he was grumpy to everyone. Other people called him the unifier because it did not matter your position, class, or hierarchy in the organization, he treated everyone the same; like shit and it warmed my heart. Grumpy won my respect when he shouted at Mr.Charles as he had put a book in the wrong place. Even Mr. Charles was a victim of his rants, no one was safe and that was why I liked spending time here, I could really be alone and by myself.

I did not know why I thought I could get more from here than what was here, at best the information was superficial, and only descriptions and ceremonies of each of their inventions were logged. I knew how much Tokhe valued record keeping especially hard paper ones, if they were not here then they had to be somewhere but I decided that it wasn’t worth probing into and focused on what I had. Tokhe was new money unlike Carl industries, they would be 60 years in five years and I know when measured with the human age is on the older side but when compared with others, they are quite young. Like all good stories, it started from a young mechanic with an imagination and a dream, until it became what it is today, at least that is the story. The ugly parts of the industry are never really reflected in books or memoirs, the first Tokhe invention was a cleaning robot, it was new and it made all the difference in future developments. The first one made so much money for Tokhe and even with more upgrades, they managed to get a fair share of the market until Carl met up and surpassed them. There were rumors of talent snatching and what not, hearsay would get me nowhere and then all of a sudden, they stopped with the robots as abruptly as it had started.

There was no explanation anywhere in the library, Tokhe moved on to other areas such as ship and vehicle production, biomechanics, aerospace engineering, and automation. There was a lot that I learned about Tokhe and unwillingly, I had developed some respect for the organization. They had changed systems over time depending on trends and development. I had gotten lost in what I had first thought were superficial and even forgotten about the time until the final bell. Then it came to me, I was about to have lunch with Kurt’s mother and I felt my hand flex in anxiety.

I picked up my things and went outside to meet a waiting Kurt, he looked more nervous than I felt and then I had to ask myself why I was going again, I owed this woman nothing so why I was I answering like a dog the moment she called. “Why do you look like you want to poop?”

“Crass Fedor and I pretty much want to do that, I am a grown man yet meeting my own mother makes me feel worse than a report meeting with my superintendent.”

“Why? She is such a sweet small woman.” I responded drily.

He eyed me, “I can see your hands shaking, you are nervous as well.”

“I have reasons to be, does she still think that we are a thing?”

“She knows what she wants to know.”

He opened his door and I entered then the seat belt fastened itself and my eyes widened, “Dear Lord, it is one of those flying cars. I do not want to fly Kurt.” I said with gritted teeth.

Kurt chuckled, “I remembered, we are driving there. “

“I remembered, we are driving there sacredly cat.”

I snorted, “This thing is a death trap, I tell you.” I did not allow the satisfaction on my face to show when the smooth purr of the car started and we moved. The difference between his mother’s place and mine was as different as the earth and the sky, I could not fault the woman’s taste. She had an entire estate to her name and her touch was clear in each piece you met. She was a control freak and I would not expect less from her, there was a time I admired her; a woman who could make anyone shiver at the sound of her voice was admirable to anyone until you became the subject of her ire. Look at me, even my language is beginning to sound fancy the closer I got to her.

“Relax.” Kurt’s words broke through my memories about the last time I was here. Most things had changed, I could not believe how happy I was when I got a gig here, I believed that my life was going to change, the delusion was my happy place and now, I could not even muster the energy to believe that my coffee was truly what it was. The innocence I had was gone, leaving a cynical beautiful woman that was me. I smirked.

“I think you should tell yourself that, why don’t you ever let your car do the driving? Trust issues?”

“Shut up.”

I chuckled and we finally got to the main entrance, I was worth the welcome apparently because my bag was grabbed and I was ushered into her dining with treatment worth a princess. Huh, that was weird; very weird and there she was with her slightly grey hair, pouty mouth, pointed nose and expensive dress. “Kurt” Her raspy voice filled the room.

“Mother,” Kurt answered just as stiffly.

You could cut through the tension between them with a sword, She turned to me and in the same spirit, “Fedor.”

I tried to return the same energy, “Kurt’s mother.”

Her eyes narrowed, “You know my name.”

“I do, I don’t want to say it.”

She allowed herself a small smile, “Still so self-conscious. You have become a fine woman, you should be proud. Don’t slouch.”

“I will slouch if I want to.” Oh this woman hadn’t said two words yet I was so defensive, what was even that? It was neither witty nor sarcastic, this response would haunt me forever, I knew it.

“I don’t want to fight with you.” She sighed and sat down then gestured to me to sit, Kurt was about to sit when she signaled for him to leave.

“There is no way on earth that I would leave her with you.”

“What do you think I would do to her?” She asked.

“Suck my blood.” I muttered mostly to myself but clearly loud enough for her to turn her glare on me, I raised my hands in surrender.

Kurt warned his mother, “What exactly do you want with her?”

“That is her business and not yours. Please leave, us ladies are about to get to know each other. Kurt, if I wanted to hurt her, you could not stop me and so for the last time, leave.” I almost left myself with the iciness she injected into her tone; I would rather not have a mother than to have one who looked like there was no warmth left in her bones.

“I will be fine Kurt, she can’t hurt me. She is a small elderly woman and I am young and twice her size, I have the advantage here.” I said with a bravado that was apparently false.

Kurt’s mother laughed at my threat, as she should, it was as empty as her soul. Kurt had no choice but to leave and then she turned to me, “You haven’t changed much. I am glad.”

I frowned at her, that nearly sounded like a compliment; “What do you want?” I asked her.

“I believe we should eat first then talk business later.” She almost sounded unsure.

Queen was never unsure of herself, never; damn it! I had called her name in my head unwillingly, how arrogant do you have to be to name your child Queen, I guessed it was proper seeing how many kingdoms she owned. “I would never be able to digest anything until I know why I am here, the curiosity is killing me.”

“Impatience does not become you Fedor. Food first, business later.” Queen said in a word that booked no arguments but I wasn’t one of her fodders.

“Queen, what do you want?” I asked again, with her name.

She knew that I was serious and clasped her hands, “I want you to marry Kurt.”