Chapter 7 - Reese
I walked back towards town, having finished my deliveries for the day. It was strange to think that it had only been a few weeks since arriving here, yet I was quickly feeling at home. C.C. had kept me busy, just as she promised. Every morning she came to the restaurant with the day's deliveries and other miscellaneous work for me to complete. Every evening I was in the restaurant, helping Ririka with serving and cleaning. Every few days Ririka or I would have the night off, so we would serve sandwiches (which even I couldn't mess up) when she was off, and C.C. would chip in and help if needed when I was off. It was a very simple system that worked well for all of us, and I found myself becoming incredibly close with both women.
"Heya Reese!"
I turned toward the voice that interrupted my thoughts, and saw Corbin at his usual stand selling his apples. I bounded over quickly to say hello.
"Hey Corbin! Long time no see!" I said with a huge smile. This was another person that I couldn't help but befriend. Not only was he the first person that I met here, but he was such a kind old man that I couldn't dislike him if I tried. "One apple my good man," I said as I placed some beri on the stall.
"Sorry my dear," he answered as he reached under the stall and handed me an apple from his bag. "but your beri are no good here."
"Then consider it a tip, for the outstanding service!" I replied. This was a ritual that we completed every time that he came to town, and we both enjoyed it. We stood there chatting for a few minutes, when I noticed someone's hand reaching for an apple. I stepped to the side, so that Corbin could complete his sale, but noticed that he had a scowl on his face. I turned back to the newcomer, and saw the back of a blond headed guy followed by two marines in uniform. I also saw that he was munching on an apple.
"Hey!" I yelled after him, furious that he would steal from my friend, right in front of me.
"Hmm?" he and the marines with him stopped and turned to look at me. I took in his unfortunate bowl style haircut, wondering if it was because he lost a dare, or if he thought it actually looked good.
"You have to pay for that!" I scolded him as Corbin grabbed my arm and pulled me back to the stall.
"It's fine Reese, don't make a scene," he said quietly. Was he kidding?! No way was this jerk going to take advantage of my friend simply because he was walking around with some marines. I turned back to speak again, and saw the blond guy right in front of me, continuing to eat the apple, with the marines flanking him.
"Were you speaking to me?" He asked condescendingly.
"You bet I was!" I sneered back. "Even if you have the marines with you, it doesn't make it alright to steal from others!"
"Steal? Me?" He asked innocently with a hint of malice behind it. "I wouldn't say such things when you obviously don't know who I am." He turned to Corbin. "Did I steal from you old man?" He asked while taking another bite of the apple.
"N-no, please enjoy an apple as my gift." Corbin answered. I turned to gape at him. He was letting this jerkwad get away with stealing from him?
"Ah, you see?" the guy turned back to me with a smug expression. You should watch your pretty little mouth, or you and your… friends will regret it." He laughed, and I'm sure he enjoyed the look of disgust and anger I was sporting. "Yes, you wouldn't want to upset me, you wouldn't like the consequences." With a final parting shot, "See you around, sweetheart!" the three of them turned and continued on their way.
I turned back around and crossing my arms, glared at Corbin. He smiled at me sheepishly, and then took on a stern look and glared back at me.
"How could you just give in to him like that?" I demanded.
Corbin shook his head and said, "You don't understand Reese, there's a delicate balance that we must maintain here so that we can keep the town safe."
"You're right, I don't understand!" I yelled back, and before giving him a chance to explain, turned away and stalked over to the restaurant and went inside.
I walked to the back of the room and over to C.C.'s table. She wasn't there but her paperwork was, so she obviously would return. I needed to understand what that whole scene had been about, but I was too angry to let Corbin explain it. It didn't take much to let my temper get away from me, and I had to reign it in quickly before I lost it. I'd apologize to Corbin later.
After a few minutes I began to calm down, and waited as C.C. returned to the table. She looked at me and raised her eyebrow in question. I must still look angry to get that reaction from her. I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself down again before looking up at her. She smirked and I could tell she was amused, but when I didn't smile back, she became serious and sat down opposite me.
"C.C." I began, "I need you to help me understand what just happened outside." Ririka walked over as I explained what had gone on at Corbin's apple stand, and how upset and angry it made me. As I was retelling it, I got fired up again, but not as badly as the first time. "Why did Corbin give in?" I asked when I finally finished, "Who was that blond moron?"
C.C. and Ririka glanced at each other, and without a word Ririka left and returned with a drink that she placed in front of me. She sat down and gave C.C. a nod. I waited and sipped at the juice she had brought me. I had a feeling that I wouldn't like what they were going to tell me.
"It's not something we're proud of Reese." Ririka said quietly. "But we decided awhile ago that we couldn't afford to fight back. We assumed that if we made the captain look good, he would get promoted and would leave our island for good." She kept her eyes downcast.
"He is the son of Captain Morgan, the leader of the marine base here on the island." C.C. added. "He is basically a bully, with the might of his father as the threat behind him. We let him do as he pleases, because if we do not, it brings the captain's wrath down on us."
"The marine captain punishes the townspeople for not giving his son whatever he wants?" I demanded, outraged on behalf of my temporary home.
"Not exactly," C.C. replied. "He is… a little unstable," she said in a lower tone of voice so that only we could hear her. "He sees traitors everywhere and takes every opportunity to punish us. We couldn't care less about his son, he is a minor nuisance. We really want to be rid of the captain."
"He's that bad?" I asked in hushed tones.
"Worse," Ririka answered, also more quietly. "Even the marines are afraid of him."
"Well, that explains the two following that creep around," I said. "This whole thing stinks!" I yelled suddenly.
"Yes, it does." Ririka said, as they both lowered their eyes. "But it will not last forever. We're simply enduring it for now.'"
There was a quiet pause before the door to the restaurant slammed open, and the blond we were just speaking of walked in with his escorts. He looked around with a look I couldn't decipher, but I realized I didn't really care. He was rude and obnoxious, and I just wanted to ignore him. Since it was technically my night off, I stood and followed Ririka back toward the bar and sat on a stool next to Rika, Ririka's daughter. I may as well have dinner while I was here, rather than coming back later.
"What are you up to Rika?" I asked her.
She looked up from her paper and smiled at me. "Hi Reese! I'm glad you're back! Do you want to draw with me?"
I could hear the blond moron making some sort of commotion behind us, but I just ignored it. I shifted to look down at Rika's paper. "What's that?" I asked. "It looks like a horse flying over a rainbow?" She had a natural talent, and it was obvious what she had drawn even for one so young.
Rika's face took on an even bigger smile at my question. "Yes!" She said. "It's a horse with wings that can fly anywhere. One day, I'll find one and going flying all over the sky!" She raised her left fist in the air to emphasize her excitement.
I giggled at her exuberance. "Did you know that there is a name for a flying horse?" I asked her.
"There is?" Her eyes went wide and her mouth gaped open.
"Yep," I answered. "It's called a Pegasus."
"Pegasus…" she looked thoughtful, and then grinned. "That's awesome!"
"Pegasus, how ridiculous." We turned around, and saw the blond right behind us, sneering. "There is no such thing." I gave him a dirty look, noticing that his friends were sitting at a table several feet away, and talking to each other. I guess I wasn't the only one trying to ignore him. "You shouldn't tell stories to little kids, they'll believe anything," he added.
"I wasn't telling a story." I replied, and turned back around to face the counter with Rika following suit. "So Rika," I asked, "What else should we draw?"
"Um…" She glanced between me and the blond behind us who was starting to look red in the face. "You can draw whatever you want Reese."
"Okay," I nodded. "But… I think I need an idea or two to choose from." I smiled and nudged her shoulder.
Rika giggled. "I've got plenty of ideas!"
"Phew, I was worried I wouldn't be able to think of anything to dr-"
"Hey! Don't you ignore me!" I turned to look at the blond, glaring at him for interrupting me. His face red, he glared back and I was reminded of Rika throwing a tantrum when she didn't get her way.
"Excuse me sir, we were just leaving." I said. "Come on Rika, let's go see what C.C. is up to."
"Okay Reese!" she replied. She jumped off her stool and took my hand, and we walked away. Rika may have thought that we were looking for C.C., but I was simply looking to get away from the moron. I glanced back and saw him stomp his foot, fuming at us.
The next day, I was still annoyed at the whole situation. C.C. gave me a delivery to make at the marine base, and I tried to refuse, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She lectured me a bit about keeping my promise to her, and I found I had no real excuse. I could only hope that I didn't run into the moron today.
I walked through town with a large pack on my back. I started guessing what I was delivering; it was a game I played constantly. C.C. would tell me about most deliveries, but was strangely silent about the marine ones. The couple of marines I've managed to befriend also refused to talk about the deliveries, but that was because they were ordered not to look at them as well. I assumed it was something that C.C. was embarrassed about, and given our conversation yesterday it was easy to guess that it was most likely money that the marine captain demanded from the townspeople.
As I came to the gate of the base I was happy to see my friend Greg standing guard. I gave a small wave, and walked up to talk with him.
"Hey Greg, nice day, huh?" I asked.
He smiled and replied, "Hello Reese. It sure is." I smiled. It had taken over two months to get him to finally call me by my name. "Another delivery?" he asked me.
"Yep. Do you get to see me for any other reason?" I teased.
"One of these days I figure you'll come to finally join us," he teased back. He was the only marine I had told about my future plans, but he was also the one to tell me to hold off on joining yet. There were reasons that he refused to tell me directly, as he felt his captain would see it as treason, but he warned me all the same. He was one of the few people on the island that I actually trusted.
"Sorry, not today." I grinned back at him, as I took the pack off my back, and put it down in front of Greg. "Maybe next time."
"Ah well, can't blame me for trying," he smirked at me as we enjoyed our little joke.
"So when are you coming into town next?" I asked. "I still owe you dinner at the restaurant like I promised."
"And I told you that you don't owe me anything," he replied.
"I say I do." I argued.
"Fine, fine. I know when I'm beat." He put his hands up in mock surrender. I can make it, hmm, three days from now, will that work?"
"I'll plan on it," I smiled again, and turning, waved goodbye. "See you then!"
"Until then," he answered, waving back at me.
Marine Recruit Greg picked up the pack that Reese had left at his feet, and began to walk it into the base. He called to his fellow guard and asked that he watch both posts for a few minutes. Greg whistled under his breath as he hefted the bag on his shoulder.
"That Reese is quite pretty, isn't she?" a voice asked.
"She sure is," he answered before he realized he was speaking. He stopped and turned to the source of the voice, and saw Captain Morgan's son, Helmeppo. His good mood vanished as he saw the look on the kid's face.
"It's fairly simple," Helmeppo said with a smirk, his arms crossed over his chest. "You speak to her again, and I tell my Daddy about your traitorous actions."
Greg's face showed no emotion, but Helmeppo could see the fear in his eyes. It had been a gamble to bluff like that, but based on the fear he saw, the marine had done something. He didn't need to know the specifics, he just needed the man to think he did. His smirk grew as he looked at Greg.
"I think we understand each other, yes?" Helmeppo asked. "I'd hate for Reese to see you being executed."
"I understand," Greg responded quietly. He had been wracking his brain to think of a way out of this trap, but he couldn't put his or Reese's life in jeopardy. It would be easy to avoid Reese in the future. He adjusted the bag on his shoulder and continued to walk into the base, dejected. He no longer felt like whistling.
