Chapter 7
The next morning, Link succumbed to the lure of coffee. He would need the edge.
It was the heat of the liquid, more than anything, that first distracted him from his headache and the memories of the night's visions. He stifled a yelp as it scalded his lips and burned its way down to his stomach.
The drink was quite bitter too, even though he had tempered it with quite a bit of milk. He wondered, briefly, if this was all just some sort of trick to startle the body awake with a plethora of sharp, unpleasant sensations. But as he persisted, he felt hint of a nervous energy rising within him. As Irene pulled to a stop in front of his house, he could only hope that the energy would last.
"Wow, you look like someone poisoned your water supply and then set it on fire," Irene said as he opened the door to her car.
"I have a lot on my mind."
"Yeah, don't care."
It ought to be simple, he told himself as they passed through the residential district. All he had to do was find a girl, say "Would you like to get ice cream with me on Saturday?" and then go tell Zelda he had completed the task. And just so he could get it over with, he would do it before Chemistry. The first girl he saw, even.
A flood of profanity jarred him from his musings. He cringed as Irene threatened to do something quite improbable with an offending driver's windshield wiper.
"Hey, you're a girl," he blurted once she had settled. Link cursed himself almost as he said it. The first girl he saw, indeed. He really should have waited until he got to school to make that commitment, but now it was too late. A promise was a promise, even if only to himself.
"Wow, real thinker here. Thanks for noticing. It's not like we've been riding together for an entire damn week or anything."
Link swallowed, opened his mouth, swallowed again.
"Ice cream after school?" He cringed as he said it. Not one part of this plan was working out.
Irene chuckled, then swerved hard, barely making the turn onto 3rd Street.
"Are you trying to ask me out, kid?"
He nodded. With this luck, his voice would go and crack if he tried to say 'yes.'
She reached over and ruffled his hair, veering slightly right as she did so.
"Yeah, that's gonna be a no. Just… no."
Link looked down at his legs. If he had been asked this morning, he would have said that he didn't expect any girl to agree to go out with him. Yet, at Irene's blunt refusal, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. She hadn't even given a reason. He just wasn't good enough for her.
He sighed.
"You're doing that chipmunk thing again, kid."
But then again, with her attitude, perhaps it had been a blessing that she refused. He cracked a smile at his own joke, and as the trip wore on his mood gradually lightened. By the time he arrived, he was even willing to joke about his blunder.
"Not too late to change your mind," he told her as they walked together toward the building.
"If your goal is to get all the stupid out of you before school starts, I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that."
Once inside, they parted ways. Link hoped that Irene wouldn't be belligerent about the morning's incident, but expecting Irene to be nice was rather like hoping that a Remlit would be docile at night.
On the way to his locker, Link saw Aghreal walking away from a cluster of Gerudo that seemed to be her age. Her head was bowed, and her backpack sat high up on her shoulders.
"'Morning, Aghreal," he said, walking up to her.
She stopped and slowly raised her head. For an instant, her eyes were cold. Then, her shoulders relaxed, the muscles in her face loosened, and when she looked at him it seemed as though she wore a vacant mask.
"Unless this is somehow important, I'd rather not talk to you right now." Her voice sounded dull, but behind it there was a small edge that spoke of a fierce control. She continued walking, and Link stepped aside to let her pass.
His gaze turned to the other Gerudo. A number of them were looking at him, or perhaps past him toward Aghreal. Two allowed crude grins to spread across their faces.
Gerudo stuck together. That's what everyone said, and that is indeed what he had seen; with the exception of Aghreal and Nabooru he had never encountered less than four Gerudo at a time. It was certainly none of his business, but he couldn't help but wonder why she was separated. Surely it was not just because she had failed Algebra; people failed classes all the time.
For a terrifying moment he thought he ought to talk to the group, insist that they treat his friend better. But then he asked himself why they should heed a kid like him. If anything, his interference would only make things worse for Aghreal. At any rate, he didn't feel he understood Gerudo society nearly well enough to say anything useful. Best not to get involved. He continued to his locker.
When he saw Aghreal in Algebra, she had already reverted back to her detached self, lounging in her chair with arms crossed, and answering questions in a monotone.
As the period came to a close, he turned to her and said: "I really think I'm starting to get this. Much easier than last week."
Aghreal said "Good job" with a shrug, and left.
"What did I tell you?" Mike muttered in his ear.
Zelda joined him again for lunch. She did not eat with him every day, of course. She had other friends, after all, and he certainly did not begrudge her her efforts to keep up with them.
"Any luck?" she said, sliding in across from him.
Link pressed his lips into a tight smile and nodded. Zelda's eyebrows shot up.
"Already? Well then, it seems you're a bit more courageous than you thought."
He acknowledged the compliment with a tilt of his head and a faint blush.
"Who'd you ask?"
"Irene."
Her hand went to her mouth, not quite concealing the upturned corners of her lips as her shoulders began to convulse. Link slowly spooned chicken soup into his mouth until at last she regained her composure.
"What did she say?" she said, her voice not quite back under control.
"In a word: 'no.'"
"I'm sorry, Link. I really shouldn't be laughing at you like this. An interesting choice, to be sure. Although, I had really rather hoped that this would take a bit longer."
She pushed around her salad with her fork.
"So girls certainly aren't a problem. What does frighten you, then?"
Link thought. He could certainly remember any number of times he had been frightened in the past: going to picnics, the first day of school, and the nightmares stood out the most. But he wasn't sure he could get it all down to one thing and say: "This is what frightens me."
While he thought, Zelda sat quietly across from him, continuing her lunch. She glanced at him from time to time, but he felt no pressure from her to rush through his thoughts.
"I'm afraid of not being accepted," he told her.
Zelda smiled.
"But when Mike insulted your friend, you walked away from him," she said. "You aren't on the track team, even though everyone knows you would be quite the star there. And you struggle through Algebra, risking the scorn of your peers with every question answered, when you could ask to be placed in an easier class at any time.
"Are you quite certain that courage is a problem for you?"
He stared. He had never thought of it like that.
"Zelda, in that car with Irene, I was so terrified I couldn't even think straight. It was like my tongue was stuck to the inside of my mouth."
"But you asked her anyway. Less than a day after I told you to. You didn't even wait."
She reached across the table and placed a hand on his.
"It doesn't matter that you're afraid. You do the right thing anyway. That's exactly what Hyrule needs."
That's exactly what you need, he thought to himself. But for all he tried to be cynical, he could not stifle the warmth rising up within him. He respectfully slid his hand out from under hers.
"Maybe it's more boldness than just courage that I'm looking," Link said when he found his voice again.
Zelda nodded slightly as she chewed. When she swallowed, she said: "Either way, you'll still be doing things that make you uncomfortable. Any ideas?"
He told her of his encounter with Aghreal that morning. "So maybe I could confront her friends about it?"
Zelda rested her chin on her hands for a long moment.
"No, I think you were right to stay away. Being bold shouldn't mean being stupid. They'd see a Hylian sticking up for a Gerudo as being quite scandalous."
"Scandalous how? She's my friend."
"Hyrulian society hasn't quite forgiven the Gerudo for their role in past wars, I'm afraid," Zelda said. "Most are still somewhat distrustful. But they work so hard that they rise to the top anyway. It's become a point of pride. Gerudo take care of Gerudo. You understand?"
"So she shouldn't have to need my assistance with anything, is what you're saying."
"Exactly," Zelda said, nodding.
"People are so complicated," Link grumbled, slumping forward.
"Tell you what," Zelda said. "I'll see if we can't get you to join Nabooru and I when we work on. On the weekends, at least. Won't help with boldness exactly, but it'll keep you busy until you think of something.
I'm busy enough, he wanted to say, but he forced the thought back. He was supposed to be tough, resourceful, Hyrule's savior. He would find a way to make it work. Besides, even amidst the bustle of modern life, the Gerudo were still revered as masters of physical combat. Even if she did did not actually teach him to fight, training just a little bit under Gerudo would surely be an opportunity that few would pass up.
"When do we start?"
At the end of the day, he found Irene waiting for him by the front door instead of in her car.
"Kafei gonna mind if we take a detour?" she said as they picked their way through the parking lot.
Link shook his head. "I'm cool with it too, if you were wondering."
Irene just grunted and climbed in her car.
Neither spoke until they reached their destination. Link looked out the window and gaped. They were parked in front of Sandra's Ice Cream Parlor. He slowly stepped out of the car as Irene came around from the other side.
"Haven't had a date in forever anyway," she muttered as she passed him. He remained standing there for a moment, then hurried to catch up with her.
"Here's how this is gonna work, kid," she said as they stood in line. "I'm buying for both of us. You make any noise about it, you're walking home. You buy something stupid like a single-scope vanilla cone, you're walking home. You suggest sharing a banana split, you're walking everywhere. Capiche?"
Link nodded. He was certainly not about to turn down free ice cream.
He ended up with a small root beer float, while Irene chose a strawberry-chocolate sundae for herself. The pair walked to a small end table by a window and sat down to eat. Link eagerly began sipping at his float. It wasn't long before he heard Irene sigh.
He looked up, eyebrows raised.
"You've never been on a date before, have you, kid?"
"No, I did 'em all the time at the orphanage," Link deadpanned.
"Look, I'm gonna walk you through this one, because I'm nice-"
Link snorted.
"-but you're really gonna have to step it up if you want to keep the Princess's attention."
Link bolted upright in his chair. "No! That's not- We aren't-" he sputtered.
"Kid, you had a sleepover at the castle within a week of meeting her. It is, and you are. If you're smart, you will continue to be. Trust me, no one's going to mess around with the Princess's boyfriend."
She crossed her arms on the table and stared straight at him, as if waiting for him to deny it. He did not. What was he going to tell her, Zelda's really just using me to save the country from an unspecified threat?
When several moments of silence had passed, Irene relaxed back into her chair and took a bite of her ice cream.
"Now, you ask any adult, they'll tell you the point of a date is for two people to get to know each other better. They'd also be dead wrong. The point is for you-" She stabbed her spoon at him. "-to make me feel special, so that I'll continue to date you. You have five minutes. In real life, you'd have one. Go." So saying, she crossed her arms across her chest and glanced down at her watch.
Link took a sip of his float as he tried to think what topic might intrigue her the most.
"So, uh, your car's pretty awesome," he tried.
"Yes. I know. I bought it."
"Oh, come on, I'm trying," Link said, slapping the table.
"Not very hard. Four minutes, thirty seconds."
Link thought some more and tried again. "What colleges are you applying to?"
Irene yawned, not even bothering to cover her mouth, and looked down at her watch with an exaggerated roll of her head.
"What was wrong with that?" Link demanded.
"Nothing. It's just, you know, the question literally everyone and his dog's gonna be asking me for the rest of the damn year."
"But they wouldn't have asked you yet," Link said. "Not this early."
"It's as original as similes about sliced bread. Try again."
He forced himself to slow down. Leaning back in his chair, he sipped at his float while he eyed the girl across from him. Ideas bombarded him, but he forced them to wait. He would enjoy his root beer float, and then he would sort through the ideas when he was ready.
Irene squirmed. "This ain't a free show, kid. I know I'm pretty, but you've gotta say something."
Link smiled. He found her visible discomfort quite amusing. Perhaps he would just stare at her for the rest of the date. She certainly deserved it, for all her snark. But in the end, he was a nice person.
"What was the best part of your day?" he said.
Irene nodded noncommittally. "Mmm. Safe, mundane, but potentially interesting. Really great if she actually has something good worthy mentioning. Which, in fact, I do." She leaned in. "First test in Advanced Chem. Four people failed. I aced it."
Link blinked. "Wow, I never would have guessed that you were-"
"Kid, the next word out of your mouth better not be 'smart.'"
Link smirked. "I was going to say 'a geek.'"
"Look, a geek is someone who can't handle life outside the walls of the school," she said, rolling her eyes. "A geek does well in chemistry because he's so damn socially deprived that he thinks it somehow fascinating that Unopquanternion has two hundred-whatever protons. I'm good at chemistry because I decided it is a useful thing to be good at."
Link inclined his head. It was almost as if Irene were actually expressing something like an emotion, even if the emotion was just frustration.
"And why is it useful?" he asked.
She smiled. "Because if you can control chemical interactions, you can control the
world." For once, her biting tone was gone. She leaned in, speaking with a low, graceful voice.
"Chemistry is the secret to cancer, to restoring life to the desert, to the energy problem. But who dares to study it?" she said.
"And what secret are you hoping to uncover?"
She paused, idly twirling her spoon in her hand as she looked at him. She gnawed at the corner of her mouth.
"Aging," she said.
Link blinked. "Pardon?"
"I'm going to stop people from aging."
Link stared at her. He had no response to that. He had never even heard such a thing suggested before. Was she insane, or just too full of herself to know better?
"Um, that's incredible," he said.
"And you don't even care. Course not," she said, sighing. She scowled, and shoved a spoonful of strawberry-soaked chocolate into her mouth.
"You must be quite good at Chemistry then," he offered.
"Forget it, kid. Now you're just trying too hard."
Their banter turned to more mundane things after that: homework, favorite meals, her family by the southern border, holidays, anything at all that lacked substance. Irene did not pressure him again about making her feel special, and in truth he ended up paying more attention to his float than to her.
Once they were finished, they rose, and made their way outside.
"I don't suppose there's any chance of a good-bye kiss?" Link suggested.
Irene laughed and gave him a brief squeeze about the shoulders.
"You're cute, kid. I'll give you that much."
He attacked his homework with renewed vigor that afternoon, and finished before dinner. The evening was his, and for once he meant to enjoy it.
