little bird // r.keene

xxxiv. mr james and the boy.

When Robby woke up Wren was gone. He rolled over and sat up, running a hand through his dishevelled hair before trying to tie it on the back of his head and seeing he had no hair band on him. Robby pushed himself up and spotted one lying on Wren's desk, thinking she wouldn't mind, he picked it up and tied his hair back.

20 minutes later he was ready to go and left a small note on his made bed:

I'm calling us even.
No questioning it, Evans.

He smiled as he wrote it and left it on the pillow.

He made his way down the stairs to the main floor of the shop, it was pretty quiet and he pulled his bag strap over his shoulder before the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him startled Robby out of his skin.

He turned suddenly to see a small old man sitting in a leather armchair behind the desk of the bookshop, clutching his walking stick in his left hand.
"Help an old man up, would you my lad?" He chuckled, trying to prop himself up and failing.

"Oh... Sorry, of course, here." He said, slightly flustered, taken by surprise at the man's friendly demeanour, "Ready?" Robby asked, taking the man's hand and preparing to pull him up. One the count of three, the man was on his feet and smiling once more.

"Thank you my boy, you must be Robby." Mr James beamed, walking over to the counter and plucking a small piece of paper on top of a large pile of paperwork from the desk.
"Yes, sir, and you must be Mr James, it's nice to meet you. Sorry for the intrusion, I'm a friend of Wren's." Robby uttered, holding out his hand for Mr James to shake but Mr James simply waved him away.

"No need to worry about such formalities Robby, any friend of Wren's is a friend of mine. She left me a note, told me you were here, and here you are. All's right with the world." He laughed and Robby smiled too. "Did the pair of you have fun at the party last night? Wren was so excited yesterday." Mr James asked, leaning himself against the desk before greeting a few people who walked in the shop as they said good morning to him.

"Oh yes, err, we did. It was nice to see everyone." Robby lied, not knowing what Wren had told him and not wanting to get her in any trouble.
"You're a terrible liar, my boy. Get better." Mr James told him shamelessly, the echoes of a small smile echoed on his face, the kind that made Robby for trying to lie to him in the first place, "What happened?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lie, it's just. I got myself in a bit of trouble, one of her friends thought I was making a move on his girl, Wren tried to help me, I mean she did help me..." And Robby told Mr James everything, all the events of last night and what it had meant to him, answering any questions that popped in Mr James' head along the way.

How Miguel was drunk and shoved her when trying to get to himself. How she yelled at Hawk to protect him. How she walked home. How when asked, she let him stay the night because he'd been kicked out of the LaRusso's. How she had helped him.

"It sounds to me like you both have had quite the night." Mr James sighed and seemed to scribble some notes down on a sheet of paper, "Not a bad story idea either." He mumbled to himself.

"Do you know where she is? Did she mention it in the note?" Robby asked him, by this point he had set his bag down and was perched on the arm of Mr James' leather arm chair.
"Here, my boy." he handed Robby the note which read:

Morning Noah,

Robby guessed that was Mr James' first name, an inside joke between the two.

A friend of mine is sleeping upstairs,
Don't worry, he's not an intruder so please be kind.
He's a good one.

I will be late home tonight
But will lock up when i get home.

Wish me luck at the tournament.

"The tournament is this afternoon." Robby thought out loud to himself, of course he knew but with everything that had been going on it had simply slipped his mind.
"Ah, you're a fighter as well I presume." Mr James said as Robby handed him back the note and slung his bag back on his back.

"I am, Wren and I don't train together though. Her sensei is my father and we-" he broke off, "Well it's a long story." Robby offered and Mr James gave him a knowing nod.

"Well, I do love a long story my boy, if you couldn't tell." Mr James looked up and around for a moment, gesturing around the shop with the end of his pen. " But I understand, and are you fighting this afternoon as well in this tournament?"

"I'm not, my sensei sort of kicked me out last night, that's why I stayed here. I'm not really sure I can do it without him." He tried to explain, feeling a weighted sense of sorrow press on his shoulders.

"But could you do it with Wren?" Mr James' words caught Robby off guard, "Just be gentle with her, she knows more about the world than I ever will in my lifetime." Robby thought about this, he could do it, he felt like he had to try, even if it was against Wren. "I think she could also use the competition." Mr James gave a jolly laugh with a wink. Robby realised he owed it to himself to try and prove to Mr LaRusso he had actually learned from him.

But also prove to his father he could get by without him. That he didn't need him. Not then. Not now.

"I'll do it." He told the old man who smiled up at him from where he had moved back to the armchair.
"Very good, my boy. Now go! I wish you both the best of luck and if I'm to hear the tall tales of this afternoon, I want you both here to tell me!" He announced dramatically and Robby nodded, thinking about how much Mr James sounded like a writer in that moment.

"Thank you Mr James, I'll let her know and I'll be back with her to tell you the whole story. I promise." Robby told him and began to turn towards the doorway of the shop, a few customers had stopped to listen to the comotion.

"Of course, my boy, and tell Wren one more thing for me." Mr James called out and Robby paused by the doorway, looking back to the old man in the arm chair.

"Give 'em hell."

And Mr James watched as Robby left the shop and disappeared out of the view of the window in a slight jog. He knew Wren was right.

Robby was one of the good ones and they were in short supply these days.