Elias’s shoulders stiffened. “I repeat, what the hell am I, a ghost?”
“If you’re so convinced that we’re friends now, let’s take a picture of us?”
“That’s no fun,” Elias responded. “And we took the first photo together. They probably won’t accept it. Making friends is easy. Just go up to someone and be like, ‘Hey, want to be friends?’ And then boom, you’re friends.”
“Then why didn’t you do that to get somebody to go to the concert with you?”
“Did you ever consider that maybe I wanted to go by myself?” he replied, bouncing his palm off Kai’s forehead in a playful manner.
Kai peered around at the other scavenger hunters, running down their own ten-minute timers.
“Don’t look at them. Look at me,” Elias said, drawing Kai’sattention. “These people are competition. Let’s get out of here.”
Elias stuck closely to Kai as they exited the hotel, passing by the same concierge as before. The glow of streetlights and neon storefront signs shone all along the tree-lined stretch. The sounds of laughter and music swelled. Plumes of steam that smelled of smoky barbecue and sizzling meats wafted from the nearby food hall, bringing the viscous scent of thick cooking oil with it.
Kai stopped Elias by the arm. “We don’t have that much time. Go test your theory. Go up to someone and ask them to be friends, and I’ll believe it works when I see it.”
“Challenge accepted,” Elias declared. His head immediately swiveled, scanning their surroundings for unsuspecting prey. He smiled when his gaze locked on a boy sitting beneath a red bus stop shelter. He appeared to be around their age, if not a few years older.
Before Kai had a chance to call off the bet to save himself from secondhand embarrassment, Elias was already striding across the street. Kai observed through his fingers. There was no way this was going to work. He winced when he heard Elias say, “Hey! Do you want to be friends?”
He tried to imagine the same thing happening to him, some random person coming up to him on the street asking to be friends. He’d probably assume it was an abduction or someone trying to recruit him into a cult.
The boy, who had seemed bored and disinterested before, now wore a smile that illuminated his face with amusement and a hint of confusion as Elias attempted small talk. The conversation wasn’t audible, but it was evident that Elias had succeeded when they posed for a photo together, then exchanged phones and switched back.
“Pretty privilege,” Kai muttered to himself. Elias really was theking of delusion if he thought this would work for the rest of the world.
“All right, I’ll see you later!” Elias called as he ran back to Kai. “I told you it was that easy.” He was biting his lip to contain a triumphant smile. “His name is Joshua, he does MMA, he’s originally from Pennsylvania, and he’s on his way to work as a security officer. We’re moots now,” he explained as he showed Joshua’s profile to Kai.
All Joshua’s pictures were taken in the gym. He was either looking in the mirror with his headphones on and a towel around his neck, or he was flexing his muscles, once again in a mirror, with a towel around his neck. Sometimes he was outside, doing parkour-type moves all around the city, swinging on scaffolding and doing ab workouts on street signs while one of his friends hyped him up in the background. There was a picture of him holding up his wrist, which was cuffed in a hospital bracelet, like it was a Rolex. His eye was black and blue. The caption readOccupational Hazard.
“You know, I kind of see the similarities between you guys now,” Kai said in a goading voice. “Are you sure he didn’t think you were asking him out?” He folded his arms purposefully over his chest.
“I feel like you’re suggesting something, and if you are, you’re wrong. We’re just friends,”Elias said, mocking Kai’s words from earlier, earning him a cutting stare. “Anyway, I proved my theory, so now it’s your turn.” The mischief in his eyes matched his grin. “I’m giving you a side quest to complete at any point tonight. I dare you to make a new friend. Your best friend is going to make a ton of new friends out in California. You should too.”
“Hm.” Kai scratched his chin. “What do I win if I complete the dare?”
“Whatever you want,” Elias replied with a shrug. “Within reason, of course.”
Kai wanted to sayHell no, but what came out was “Deal.”
The idea of him and Bobby making new friends had crossed Kai’s mind once or twice, but now, with Bobby actually gone, it felt more real. Kai and Bobby would have new people in their lives, people the other didn’t even know. Nothing had prepared Kai for this gnawing feeling of betrayal. He glanced at Elias. It had only been one day, and Kai was already spending time with someone new. With more time, it would only get worse.
He pushed the thought from his mind.
Elias had his neck craned over his phone, a discerning look on his face. He had uploaded his photo with Joshua and received a new envelope. The two watched the app circle until a new number,2, and a new task were revealed:
Random Act of Mindfulness
Head to the Art District for your next clue,
Where two things you cannot escape wait for you.
On the path with one start, you must wend—
Choose wisely your way to reach the end.
“What are two things you can’t escape?” Elias asked, squinting as he read the clue again and again.
