6. Babyband
Chapter six
Babyband
Naoma kept Sanna company outside of the restroom, giving Boyband and me some privacy. Despite my request, I would have preferred that he not choose the urinal next to mine.
He let out a sigh of relief as he let his bladder loose. “Zeg du, you’re lucky I had to piss so bad. Why do you keep wanting to waste time? You’re usually the one that wants us to run from spot to spot, or was that connected to your mod? Finally learned how to chill now that it’s down?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he was watching me. Despite the partition, I didn’t like the attention, especially as I heard his continual stream.
I left to wash my hands. “No, that’s not it. This school is weird.”
He finished and joined me, washing his hands as I dried mine. Part of me was relieved that he actually washed his hands. The other part wondered if he would have, had I not been there.
“I told you du, this place sucks.”
“I mean… why did your parents send you here?”
“Because it’s a prestigious guk hole.”
I explained what I thought the school was meant for and did my best to ask without offending if his parents had ever expressed a desire for him to become an A-lister rather than inherit the company.
“Nah, du, they hated those Violet shacs. I get that I might not seem the most competent, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t want to give their life’s work to their only heir.”
“What about this work? The Luxists? Gongtide? Things that actually matter rather than monetary value?”
I glared into the mirror as he adjusted his hair.
“You don’t think it pisses me off that they kept this life away from me?
I don’t zegging know, du. I hate it, to be honest. It’s ten times worse because I liked my parents.
Still do. It would have been so much easier to resent all they did if they had been shacs, but they cared.
I thought they did, but now… I dunno. I just don’t get it. ”
“No, you see, I think they did care as much as you hoped, which is why I think they sent you here.”
“Because I’m too weak to hold up the burden of an agricultural empire?”
“No. Maybe I was too rash with that decision, but I think there has to be more to your enrollment than just tossing you to be some corporate shac. I…huh.”
“What? If it’s another jab, I’m not feeling it right now. Save it for Ral. Your guk-talk did its job and I feel as raw as a Finian’s blowhole.”
“No, du, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to drop the topic. I didn’t mean to offend. I think your parents were smart, so I think we might have a chance, if my train of thought is on the right path.”
“What?”
“David.”
He laughed. “Denji’s beef2 homunculus?”
“Exactly. Maybe you were too distracted petting it, but do you remember what he said he did?”
“Zeg… yeah! You think the data he’s putting into David might have something about this whole school thing?”
I shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I’m more inclined to believe we’ll find something there than in this corporate-run school.”
“You think it’s a dead end for finding the Correction?”
“I think there are better ways… Oh my zeg, yes!”
“What?”
“What if your parents sent you here to look for something? Maybe they were prepping you for some Luxist thing, but maybe it never showed up.”
“Or maybe it would have if I had graduated.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize–”
“No, it’s not that. I got caught up in all of this right before I had the chance to graduate. If your theories are correct, I’m glad I didn’t make it to the end or I might be another orphan owned by a corporation.”
“Is that better than being a tooth-eating Imp?”
“I have family now, that’s all that matters.”
I smiled. “Let’s take a step back. Say your parents focused on this school so much and that is why the other Luxists sent us here. That doesn’t mean that the Correction isn’t out there, but what if we’re approaching this all wrong?”
“Mixed-up data makes sense. There are seven Beacons out there that we don’t know about, after all.”
I smiled and patted him on the back. “Zeg yeah, du.”
“Don’t get too excited. We still have the head of the PTA to deal with.”
“Do you know them?”
“Maybe? My parents had them over every now and then. I might recognize them, but they also might approach me like I’m some nephew, especially if they know about my parents.”
“PTA involvement, just another reason to think they’re looking for something else in the school.”
“Is everything alright, boys?” Naoma called from outside.
“Your wife wants you,” Boyband said.
I smiled and shook my head as I turned to leave.
“Sorry for the wait,” I said.
Sanna looked more exhausted by the minute and lacked the enthusiasm she had at the beginning as she bid us to follow her towards the elevator.
We stepped inside and Sanna pressed the button for the tenth floor.
Naoma took my hand and eyed me from the side. Her eyes flashed for a moment.
A message appeared on my interface.
Naoma: Is everything alright between you two?
Petya: Yeah. We’ve got a lot to talk about later. Not sure how much we can accomplish right now. I don’t think this place will lead us to the Correction, but there still might be something worth our time.
Naoma: I was getting the same feeling. We’ll keep this PTA thing short.
Petya: See what you can dig up on the PTA, and see what Boyband’s parents were looking into before they got offed. You plug?
Naoma: Yup.
The elevator chimed upon arrival and the doors slid open. Sanna led us down the hall to a room in the corner of the floor. The back two walls were windows facing the city, giving plenty of natural light and the violet tint of the surrounding skyscrapers.
A woman with vibrant red hair in a ponytail stood from her seat facing the window. She looked to be in her mid-forties, though the abundance of violet light makeup and facial touchups said that she longed for a youth now lost.
“Little Devóne Eclaine!” She ran to Boyband on steep heels and embraced him as if he was a nephew, just as he had told me.
His face remained tepid, hiding his annoyance. All he offered was a pat on the back with one arm while the other hung limp.
“Do you remember me?”
He squinted. I hoped he would at least try to win her over with feigned enthusiasm, but all he offered was a dry stare and “nah.”
The woman giggled. “It’s been a while, I guess. I was sorry to hear about your parents. I truly loved those two. They were such great people.”
Boyband nodded.
Her laugh was uncertain. She looked up, eyes locking with Naoma as she approached with an extended hand. “Hihow, I’m Veren.”
Naoma shook her hand. “Mei. This is Alyosha, my husband, and our son, Yuze.”
“Wow, it’s such a pleasure to meet you all. Why don’t we come sit and make ourselves more comfortable? Mistress Kamina tells me you have some questions regarding the school’s curriculum?”
“Something of the sort.”
Veren sat on a padded swiveling chair while we sat close to each other on a white couch next to her. Boyband remained standing.
Naoma was quick to adopt her mean-girl attitude. I had to fight to keep my smile hidden as I saw the condescension build in her glare. “I asked for a representative of the Zingang Board of Education and I was given a meeting with you. If Mistress Kamina remains a blockade, perhaps you could help?”
“As a fellow parent, I understand your concerns. This must be quite frustrating–”
“Enough with the HR talk. I see that this is going nowhere. I need to speak with someone who directs the curriculum. If you can’t offer that, I’m afraid this is a waste of time.“ She started to stand.
Veren returned the condescending joviality. “Sit. Why do you think you deserve to speak with someone of such authority? Why should we conform to your idea of a proper education?”
Naoma remained standing and crossed her arms. “I never suggested you change your curriculum, I only wish to know where it comes from.”
“The board.”
“And what determines what they teach?”
“What are you aiming for, Misses Mei?”
“A school worthy of my son. As a parent involved in this school’s decisions, maybe you could offer some advice?”
“What kind of advice? I’m sorry, but I’m quite lost as to what you want.”
Naoma rolled her eyes, but I saw her clenching her hands behind her back and clicking her nails.
Zeg. This was going nowhere. What had we expected coming here?
To walk to the Board of Education and find some informant?
We had gone in without a plan and now found it biting us back.
Playing covert parents was a waste. Once again we had leaned into a story hoping it would lead somewhere, only to find a dead end.
We had looked at the missing children in Arabasia from the wrong angle.
Perhaps this was our Teru. Where we had sought the Correction, we instead found an oddity in the Eclaine’s choice for Boyband’s school.
“I came here for you.” Veren pointed at Boyband. “You know that, right, Boyband?”
I saw the slight pulse of Gui aura behind him. “The zeg did you call me?”
“Don’t think we don’t know what you want,” Sanna said from behind.
We moved to the side of the room to keep both women in view.
“Choosing a school was an obvious flag,” Sanna said.
Veren’s smile was more confident and knowing than Naoma’s act had ever been. “Perhaps you could have passed if the Eclaine heir hadn’t announced himself prior to your arrival.”
“The zeg is happening?” Boyband asked.
“Your act failed,” Sanna said. “Once you made the move to speak to a higher authority, I called in–”
“Someone butt-hurt because my parents weren’t corporate shacs like them?”
Veren laughed. “After we cleansed the council of your parents, I filled their spot.”
“So who the zeg are you?” Boyband asked.
Veren opened her mouth, not to answer, but to extend her jaw beyond human limits. Cybernetic cords flashing with blue light kept her head together while the fragments split into an open-mouthed abyss. Her appendages extended, held together by similar cybernetics.