Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 37: My Deal with Ray

I exited Amanita's crystal and mirror labyrinth a few minutes later feeling a bit dizzy.

The raging party in Amanita was still going on, but the heavy drinking was escalating a lot further. I wanted to make them stop, but I realised that I should be able to respect their free will if they wanted to intoxicate themselves to such a point. It saddened me, though.

I had had enough. I got my uniform, the spiders, and the ticks that Agape had left for me, and I left. I exited the building, hoping to find Siegfried by the main door.

When I opened the door, the music came out too. There he was, making sure no one misbehaved as several groups of clone youngsters were making a cue to buy tickets from Momo and Vera to enter the venue. He turned his face to me out of instinct, and when he saw me he smiled briefly. That was a good sign since I wanted to ask him for a ride home if that was possible. After all, I had promised my father that I wouldn't walk home.

"You're out early. Didn't you find him?" Siegfried asked me. It was obvious he was expecting me to say 'no'.

"I did," I replied.

Suddenly, he was tense all over, and his smile was gone.

"Don't worry. It's gonna be fine," I tried to calm him, but it was no use.

The dance music rang louder again. The main door was open once more.

"Hey, you," a stern male voice called behind my back.

I turned around and realised that Ray, the Asian guy with long, dark hair, was staring straight at me with a murderous face. Oh-oh. He was referring to me. I was sure that I would get killed by one of those rebels one day.

"Ray," Siegfried intervened with a stern voice, "take it easy, man. She's just..."

"A rookie, like you, Sigi," Ray interrupted him abruptly, but in a much more intriguing tone of voice as he came closer to us so that nobody else could hear us. "A talented rookie. But unlike you, my dear friend, she's is a mechanic, right?"

His murderous face turned into an interested one. I realised he had a wonderful tattoo of a carp fish on his right biceps, partially covered by his tight-fitting, black T-shirt.

"Listen, huh," he said hesitating. With his keen eyes, he seemed to ask me my name.

"Daphne."

"Daphne," he repeated agreeably, "the washing machine's driving me nuts. Could you take a look and fix it?"

"The washing machine? Yeah, I've heard Nemesis complaining about it this morning. I can mend it, sure."

"Ray," Siegfried said then calmly, "it's too late for that now. It's midnight already. She should go home. She's got a mission in the morning."

"I don't mind," I commented joyfully.

"Daphne, Ray's obsessed with cleaning," Siegfried told me with a warning tone, "and with order, too. He can't stand dirt, misplaced objects, stains or wrinkles on his clothes. If you can't mend our washing machine, he's gonna hate you forever. Besides, Ray, that repair guy called saying he got delayed. He's coming tomorrow."

"He said the same thing yesterday!" Ray complained in anger. "And the day before that! And last week!"

"Sounds like a procrastinator to me," I concluded.

"You bet," Ray agreed. "Listen, mend the washing machine, and I swear I'll pay you back. Anything you ask for. I'll be the best customer you've ever had. Deal?"