an unkindness of ravens

vingt-huit

— vingt-huit ; twenty eight —

"THAT'LL BE SEVEN FIFTY dollars, please."

Henri wanted to cringe at the fake politeness of his tone but settled for a plastic smile towards the customer who had just ordered a gin and tonic. It wasn't as if he was being purposefully fake — he'd been using his normal voice until Liza told him he needed to seem friendlier and warmer, as if was actually happy to see these random strangers. He sucked it up only because he considered it good practice for when the cameras finally managed to rope him into an interview.

It was a Tuesday and only nine, so Matt's Bar wasn't busy at all. Liza had disappeared into the storage room at the start of his shift and he was the only one left manning the bar. It was the most chilled shift he'd been called in for, if not a little boring, and he didn't even mind that he had to stay until two in the morning. The lack of customers and watching eyes meant he could sneak a drink every so often and still get paid for doing pretty much nothing.

There was a bang of the door and Zena suddenly rushed behind the bar, looking frazzled and wet from the downpour outside. "Sorry I'm late," she said, tossing down her bag with a cursory glance. "I mean, I could blame the rain, but I just overslept."

Henri raised an eyebrow. "At nine in the evening?"

"Never underestimate the importance of naps for a college student. Where's Liza?" she asked, glancing around. "More importantly, does she know I'm late?"

"She's been in the back since I got here."

"Cover for me?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Owe you one," she said gratefully.

"Don't you already owe me one for filling in as your fake boyfriend?" Henri pointed out.

"Hey, I paid you for that."

"True," Henri said, with mock thoughtfulness. "Maybe I should take up that role permanently to pay the rest of my college tuition."

"Don't get cheeky," Zena said, rolling her eyes with a smile as she headed down the bar to take orders from a group that had just arrived.

Henri watched her toss her curls up into a messy bun as she tapped out the drinks ordered into the cash machine and thought about the fact that she had hooked up with his brother. Obviously most of the Ravens he lived with had also known Jean, but this felt different — Zena had clearly known him well enough for her roommate to know about him, which was more than Henri could ever say. He could have asked Soren anything he wanted to know, but the answer would have been blunt and short because he'd made it clear he didn't like Jean. Zena would be able to give him a different kind of insight.

"So," Henri said, later in the evening when they finally had a chance for conversation while making drinks. "You and Jean."

She slanted a look at him. "You really wanna talk about that?"

"I'm just curious." Henri poured alcohol into the cocktail mixer and gave it a shake. "Was that a one night stand, or something more serious?"

"That depends," she said, amused. "You want every single detail?"

He grimaced. "Uh, no. Please don't give me every single detail."

"Why do you care so much, anyway? I kiss you out of nowhere and ask you to play along, you don't even bat an eyelid," she said. "You find out I had a thing with your brother once and you can't let it go."

"It's not that. I just..." Henri ran his fingers across the cool surface of the tumbler in his hands. "What do you know about us?"

"About you? Nothing, considering Jean thought he was an only child when I knew him."