When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

53. Consequences be damned

Aaria had put on Daisy's straw hat. The wide brim hid most of her face when she slightly tilted her head. So she'd tipped the hat a bit backwards. Locks of her short hair peeked out under the brim. Zack thought she looked cute.

They'd left Daisy's apartment and walked out on the street. Aaria told him about a zoo that was two blocks away from her place. "I wanted to go there but Daisy is always busy working double shifts. I heard the ticket prices have gone down quite a bit. I feel like they're gonna close down."

"Why do you think that?" Zack asked.

"Most of the businesses on this block have closed down. Plus Daisy said everything has become way too expensive and soon the shops will close down if that remains the case."

Zack nodded with a serious look before giving a smile. "Then it seems like the right time to visit the zoo."

Aaria smiled back and nodded. She took his hand as they made their way to the zoo.

#

The tickets were indeed cheap--just four kervers per person--Aaria paid for the two of them. The children passed through the main gates.

"Aaria, why did Daisy make you act like a boy?" Zack said as the two of them made their way down a cobblestone path. "Why would the steel heads come after you for just being a girl?"

"They weren't after me because I was a girl. They were being ordered by someone who was after my family," she said as she tried to tousle her hair a bit more at the front. "You must've heard the name of Eli Hodges."

"I have."

"He is my granddad."

Zack frowned. "Isn't he someone important in politics? Why were they chasing you if your granddaddy was their boss?"

"My father said that it was my granddaddy's boss who was ordering the steel heads." She looked down with a somber gaze. "My mom and dad stayed behind to let me run. But I remember the sound of gunshots. A-And...my mom was screaming."

Zack gently. squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have asked about it."

She shook her head. "It's okay. Daisy already knows what happened of course, but I always wanted to tell someone else about it. Someone who was my age. But everyone at school was too rude. Those who weren't rude just simply ignored me. I never really felt comfortable enough to talk about it with any of them."

"I feel like I was one of them too," Zack said as they arrived at the deer enclosure. "I was also ignoring you."

"I never felt like you were one of them." Aaria shook her head. "I still remember your first first impression. You didn't seem to care much about anything around you that day when we met at the shoe store."

Zack frowned. "Is that a compliment?"

Aaria gave a small smile. "Everyone at school seemed like they could tell I was lying about something. And they thought of me as someone weird for doing it. Whereas you...were always just so careless about what you were looking at."

"Aaria, do you really mean it as a compliment?"

Now the smile widened on the girl's face. "You seemed like someone who didn't think of me as weird." She turned to him. "I felt like we could really become friends."

Friends. Zack's face turned solemn at the word. He looked down at the coin. "I don't know if I'm good for being anyone's friend."

Aaria frowned at him. "Why do you say that?"