Accessory Wars

Chapter 53-Felisa

            Sunday arrived and I came to realize I was more afraid of a date than I was for a tournament. I decided not to overdue my outfit since it was only a trip to the movies. We'd be in the dark most of the date. Harvey arrived right at eleven in his car and gave me a warm smile as he pulled up to the curb. He talked most of the drive to the theater with me occasionally giving short answers. We decided to see the new spy flick Never Die Again, a sequel to the action filled Never Die released a few years ago. I never saw the first one but I figured it shouldn't be too hard to catch up. To be sure, I read the summary of the first movie on my phone as Harvey stood in line for snacks.

The movie went by faster than I expected. I suspected it was due to me analyzing all the small details of each fight scene. It all looked so fake after experiencing real fighting. Even the stunts looked mediocre in comparison to some of the tournament fights. Harvey thought the movie was cool and I didn't want to disrupt his good spirits by telling him it looked bland. Instead, I put on a smile and listened to him ramble on about the movie. I joined in once he started making fun of the terrible villain.

"Seriously, what's with bad guys wearing purple suits?" Harvey asked as we stepped outside. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the afternoon light. "It's either black, white or purple. Why can't one wear something classy like grey or dark blue?"

"I think it's to make them easily identifiable," I said.

"I guess, but do you know anyone who wears a purple suit?" he argued.

I was going to say no when I remembered I did. "Mr. Mondue owns a purple suit."

Harvey scoffed. "Oh, man! Don't even get me started on the one percent. They can be such snobs. It's hard to hate them when they donate so much of their money to good causes like hosting tournaments, charities or building new hospitals. They drive me nuts but I'll clap like all the other monkeys when they announce their latest donations. They don't have to give away all that money and it's great that they do. I just wish they weren't so arrogant."

"They're not all arrogant."

"Yeah? You know some Elicits?"

I fiddled with my bad strap. "I have a friend who lives out in Bailey. He's different than other people but he's driven. He's working on a chemistry degree and I think he wants to work in healthcare." Harvey perked up when I mentioned healthcare.

"That's awesome! We totally need more people who want to work for others. Do you know any others? I guess you would, seeing as you're a tournament fighter." I wanted to avoid the obvious answer so I tried to think of another way to divert his attention.

"I don't know too many. I talk to some of the other gym goers and there's a couple I know that frequent tournaments."

"What about your partner? Who's your Elicit?"

My shoulders drooped and I picked at my purse strap. "I'm the Elicit."

Harvey stopped dead in his tracks and I braced myself for the backlash. "You're an Elicit?" He looked me over, examining every detail. "No offense but you don't look like an Elicit. Can you show me?"

"W-what?" I stammered, taken aback. "Harvey, I can't do that! That's illegal."

"Huh? Oh, I didn't mean it like that!" Harvey corrected. "You said you go to the gym, right? I can sit in on a practice session." My body uncoiled. The last thing I wanted was for the ERT to come breathing down my neck again. I was already one wrong move away from getting bands on my wrists. I shivered when I thought of the scabs on Jay's arms.