| Haeret Lateri Lethalis Arundo Chapter Five |
"…So you only include the rows where the joined fields from both tables are equal," explained Mikagami, clicking and highlighting with the mouse. "So this means that the only records that are returned have matching values in the fields used to join the two tables."
"Ahhhh," said Domon, nodding vigorously.
"You don't see," said Mikagami flatly.
"Um, no. Can you rephrase that?"
"Gorilla," sniffed Mikagami.
"I'm paying you to tutor me, not call me names," sniffed Domon, mocking Mikagami's tone.
"Hey, Domon," interrupted a voice. "Forget that for a moment, I need to talk to you."
"He's on the clock and the meter's running," said Mikagami, not even bothering to turn around. "Wait until he's not on my time."
"Hold off, Mikagami, this is important," scowled Recca, dragging up a chair and sitting in it backwards. His arms draped across the chairback, Recca scowled at his two friends.
"What's wrong, Hanabishi?" asked Domon, looking puzzled.
"I think Hime's seeing another man," said Recca, raising his eyes to the ceiling melodramatically. "She stays out late, we haven't met up for dinner in ages, and Fuuko says she's always running around and doing things with him."
"You two had dinner two nights," said Domon, scratching the back of his head. "And then I thought you said you went out to have dinner with that cutie who keeps calling you. That would have been last night."
"Forget Tomomi," said Recca, dismissing that with a wave of his hand. "She wanted to study English, and it got late, and we decided to have dinner. Her treat."
"Did you study your English?" asked Mikagami, gazing thoughtfully at Recca.
His ears reddened. "What are you trying to say?" In a different voice, he began reciting, "The car drove down the highway. The train ran down the tracks. The airplane flew through the sky. The taxi cab had a passenger. The bus stopped at the light. The shop was in the harbor."
"Ship," corrected Mikagami. "The ship was in the harbor."
Recca scowled. "Anyhow, we studied. But this isn't about me. This is about Hime. I'm worried—what if she's trying to see another guy?"
"Has she mentioned anything to you?" asked Domon. "I read in a magazine that when women are on the prowl, they suddenly like having… changes… in their lives. Like for no reason, they'll change their style of dress. Or their haircut. Or their perfume. Or something like that."
"No, Hime's pretty much Hime," said Recca, pondering. "From what I get from Fuuko, she's really been interested in Shakespeare a lot more recently, and has even tried writing sonnets."
"Maybe you need to romance Yanagi back," remarked Mikagami. "If she's so interested in this new guy that she spends as much time with him as you say she does, you need to remind her that yes, you exist."
Recca scowled. "Hime's not going to leave me."
"But you just said that she—"
"Forget what I just said. You're not any help."
"Forget Yanagi," said Mikagami. "Why don't you take your Tomomi out to dinner. If she can run around, so can you. Take her to the Water Gardens. It's a really nice place."
"She's not my Tomomi. She's just in need of tutoring," insisted Recca.
Mikagami rolled his eyes. "Please," he said. "Who would ask for a monkey's help?"
"You just want to get your grubby paws on my Hime," accused Recca, looking challengingly at him. "I thought you got over your crush back in high school."
Mikagami shook his head. "Actually, I was supposed to go tonight with a girl, but she had to cancel at the last minute. I won a pair of free dinners there by calling in on a radio quiz." He reached into his pocket and handed them over. "I don't want them to go to waste and I didn't think that you'd want to go on a date with me, Hanabishi, but feel free to put them to good use. They're only valid for tonight."
"Thanks," said Recca, brightening. "I'll go invite Hime!"
Later that evening, Recca and Tomomi sat across from each other at their table.
"You look really good," said Tomomi, giving him an appraising look. "That blue shirt does wonders for your eyes." She smiled cheerfully.
"Um, you look nice, too," said Recca, fidgeting. Even wearing gray slacks and a button-down shirt, he felt uncomfortable and out of his element. He wished Hime had been home to go with him. However, she had been out of the apartment, and Tomomi had stopped by not long after he'd tried to call, and one thing had led to another, and he had ended up asking her out.
"You say the sweetest things," smiled Tomomi, perusing her menu. "Mm, I might try the stromboli… or perhaps the fettucini. I don't know. Which do you recommend?"
Recca laughed nervously. "I know 'cheeseburger' and 'roast beef'," he said, pronouncing them in careful English, "But I haven't taken Italian."
"You're so witty!"
Recca blushed and grinned. He hadn't been trying to make a joke, but if it she wanted to compliment him—by all means, let her.
The evening wore on, and they laughed and talked and ate their dinner. Recca was halfway through his chicken alfredo when he heard a familiar laugh coming several tables away. His vision was partly obscured by a potted plant, but by craning his neck just so, he could make out the familiar form of his Hime, looking quite elegant, and smiling in rapt attention at some guy sitting across from her.
His eyes narrowed.
Hime…