Shadows and Popularity

Chapter 08: Elevator Talk

Chapter 08: Elevator Talk 

Nathan, though he knew it was a tad judgmental and stereotypical of him, was expecting to be brought to a trailer park where he was sure Sakri lived in. He tried to be casual in asking the rebel where they were going, but Sakri merely shrugged the question off and told him he’ll know when they get there.

A tad annoyed over the inconsistent answer, the heartthrob decided to spend the rest of the trip asleep. When he awoke however, he thought Sakri had duped him.

“Where are we?” He asked, a bit confused at the sight of a tall, condominium building out the window. They were driving toward its parking lot.

“Clarisse’s runaway spot.” Sakri stated, showing a card to a tollbooth before the entry was opened for them to drive through.

“What?” Nathan asked, perplexed.

“When Shawn was a kid, she used to run away a lot and would either go to my place or to another friend of ours.” He drove the car in a vacant parking lot and turned the engine off. “In the end, her brother didn’t like her bothering other people too much so he gave her an apartment in this place and promised not to tell their parents where she would go whenever she’d want to run away. The only deal they made was that she’d at least take the time to tell him where she was.”

“Wow. Her brother sounds awesome.” Nathan muttered, then asked. “And now she lets you live here?”

The rebel looked at him in a face that was almost comical. He looked shocked and disgusted at the same time.

“Hell no!” He said, before grabbing a few plastic bags he just noticed that was beside him and opening his side of the door and shutting it closed in his face.

Nathan got out of his own side and followed Sakri making his way through the lot.

“So who lives there then?”

He shrugged. “Practically nobody really. Ever since Shawn started high school and lived alone in that house in the classy suburbs, she never really came back here.” They both entered an elevator and Sakri pressed the highest button. “Let’s just hope housekeeping kept the place livable for a night.”

As the elevator doors closed and started rising, Nathan went into another casual questioning.

“So where are we again?”

“The place is called Lakes Classic. Don’t know if you’ve heard of it.”

“Heard of it? My parents are business associates with the owners!” Nathan stated.

“Of course you’re rich.” Sakri muttered under his breath.

Nathan pretended he didn’t hear him. “So what’s your relationship with Clarisse?” He asked.

“We’re… Childhood associates.”

“Seriously dude?” Nathan said flatly, a brow cocked in disbelief. 

“E-yup.”

“You sure you two aren’t anything more?”

“E-yup.” Sakri repeated, more vehemently this time. “Nothing more.”

“Okay, okay.” The heartthrob stated, both hands raised and palms open. He tried to get the atmosphere back to casual. “Then how come you help her so much? What’s the deal with that?”

“I’m not helping her out.” He took out his phone, an android, palm-sized touchscreen, when it vibrated and started texting. “I’m doing her a favor. And when Clarisse Shawn owes a favor, she pays it back tenfold.”