Chapter 8

Wally got home at about 7:30 in the evening. He rang the bell and waited for someone to open the door. Joey opened it a few seconds later. Wallabee noticed the tired look on his brother's face. But there was something else there too – worry. "Hi Wally. Thanks for coming, man."

"Sure, you made it sound important," he replied as he passed through the threshold. "Where's Mom?"

"In the bath. Let's talk in my room, please."

They walked quietly past their father who was asleep in his chair with the remote in hand. They went up the stairs and turned left in the corridor. Wally dropped himself on his brother's bed, looking at him expectantly. "Spill," he said. "What's got you so worked up?"

Joey was really nervous now. He had always looked up to his older brother. Whatever opinion Wally had of him was of great importance. And now he was about to disappoint him. His body was shaking involuntarily, but he managed to find his voice and a little courage too. "I'm in trouble." Wally did not speak, but he sat up straighter so that he could look at his miniature self properly. Joey continued, "I've been doing weed…for a while now. And I'm up to my nose in debt." Wally's face was unreadable. Joey added, "I've got two weeks to pay up, or else I'm in deep shit."

Finally, Wally opened his mouth to speak. "You're already in deep shit." His voice was ice cold. "For heaven's sake man, what the crud were you thinkin'?" he asked as he raised his voice gradually.

"Shhh, Wally please," Joey reacted as he turned to face the door, worrying that their mother might hear them and come in any time. "I know I messed up. But please, help me," he pleaded.

"How much do you owe?" Wally asked, though he knew he didn't want to know.

"Five hundred."

"Dollars?" Wally squealed, his eyes as wide as saucers. "How the hell do you smoke five hundred dollars worth of weed?" His brother was mute, and looked just like a little boy being reprimanded for naughty behaviour. "I don't have that kind of money, man. SHHHIIIT!" He banged the side of his fist against the nearest wall as he stood up.

There was a sharp rap on the door. "Joey, are you in there with someone?" The youngest Beatles hurried to open the door, revealing his mother on the other side. "Oh Wally, you're home," she said happily as she went in to give him a hug.

"Hi Mom. How've you been these past few days?" he asked with a smile. Joey was amazed at how his brother's face had transformed so quickly to that of almost Christmas cheer. Just a second ago he was looking utterly unapproachable.

"I've been a'right. But I've missed you, love. Please tell me you're spending the night," she said as she gave him a look he simply could not deny.

"Oh, ok, I'll stay. But could I borrow the car later to pick Kuki up from work? Her shift ends at eleven."

"Sure, love," she said as she exited the room to go prepeare dinner, looking rather pleased with herself.

Wally turned to his brother and said in a somewhat murderous tone, "We'll talk about this later."

xxx

Kensei walked up to the entrance of Club Allure. The huge bouncers at the door gave him a curt nod as he walked into the building. He looked around the huge room before him which was lit by blue and purple neon lights. He scanned the bar then the dancefloor for any sign of his new recruits. He finally spotted a young handsome man having a drink with one of the regular visitors of the club. Kensei wondered if the young fellow would be successful tonight. He found his way up the stairs where he proceeded down the corridor toward the VIP room. The man guarding the door did not bother to waste a smile on the approaching visitor. Kensei stopped in front of him, raising his arms as he was quickly searched for a weapon. Satisfied that he was clean, the security personnel dressed in black granted Kensei access into the room.

As he walked in, he stopped by the mini-bar to pour himself a drink. He then walked up to Greg Richards who was sitting on the couch with one of his favourite boys. Greg stood up, straightening his suit as he did so, and shook Kensei's hand. "Kensei, it's been a while."

"Indeed," Kensei replied as he looked down at the boy who was still holding on to Greg's left hand, caressing it ever so softly. "I'm here for my money. I can see one of the new boys is doing pretty well for himself," he said as he walked over to the tinted windows and looked down at the bar where his recruit was still drinking with his potential client.

"Of course. You always knew how to pick 'em," Greg said as he took a drag from his cigar. He then freed his left hand from the grasp of the boy and clicked his fingers at one of his security men who was seated in the shadows, virtually invisible. The man brought his boss an envelope from a cabinet in the corner of the room. Greg then handed it to Kensei, who unceremoniously opened it to count the bills. Having confirmed the amount, he put the envelope in his jacket pocket. "Good," he said. "Till next time." He shook Greg's hand and turned to leave. But the latter spoke. "Can't I offer you a good time tonight?" he asked in reference to the two girls who were seated on the couch opposite Greg's.

Kensei sighed. "Not tonight."

xxx

The next day, Hoagie attended his micro-economics class; a class he shared with Eva. He looked around for but could not spot her. He was barely paying attention to what the lecturer was saying. All he had on his mind was Eva, and whether she was actually OK, all things considered. No sooner was the class dismissed than he ran out, dialing her number. As he walked toward the cafeteria, he waited for her to pick up. His call went unanswered, and he began to panic. Please don't do anything stupid, he thought as he ran up the stairs where he knew he would find Nigel.

Upon reaching the top landing, he quickly spotted his bald friend. "Dude, please tell me you've spoken to Eva," he said as he dropped his bag on an empty chair. "Uh..hey," he added as Nigel gave him a stern look. Hoagie had failed to acknowledge the presence of his friend's classmates that were seated with him at the table. "Hey," they greeted back in what might have been thought to be a rehearsed chorus.

He looked back at Nigel, waiting for an answer. "I spoke to her," he said calmly.

"And?" Hoagie asked impatiently.

"She'll be alright. She just needed a shoulder to cry on. But you should go see her, to smooth things out as best you can." Then he added as an afterthought. "Lizzie will take care of her."

Hoagie took to his heels again. "Take care of my bag, will ya?" He couldn't really hear what Nigel's response to that was, though he didn't care. A few minutes later he was standing outside Eva's room, waiting for her to open the door. "Eva, come on," he pleaded. "I know you're in there. I can hear your phone ringing," he added. He had been at the door for a while. So he called her but she still didn't pick up, hence he could hear said phone ringing. "I'm not leaving till I see you."

Finally, the door opened slowly. But he was instead met by a bespectacled girl. "I think you should go," she said.

"I think I should come in, Lizzie." He craned his neck so that he could see into the room. When he saw Eva, she was lying in a foetal position on her bed. He forced his way into the room, and as Lizzie began to protest, he shot her a deadly look that shut her up. "Can you excuse us…please?" Lizzie didn't move an inch.

The girl on the bed rose from her position and sat with her legs crossed. "It's OK," she told her best friend quietly.

When Lizzie left, Hoagie approached Eva slowly and sat down right next to her. "I'm sorry I snapped at you yesterday," he said quietly. He looked at her face. She had bags under her eyes, and her eyelids were painfully swollen. "I was afraid that you actually tried to kill yourself."

She laughed humorlessly. "I didn't mean it. Well, I sorta did. When I said I was gonna die, I did feel like I would. My heart was heavy…It still is."

"I'm sorry." Hoagie slowly reached for her hand, unsure of whether she would let him touch her. When she didn't withdraw from him, he brought her closer to him and hugged her tight. "I'm sorry," he reiterated.

She just shrugged her shoulders. She felt so empty. "I'll be OK, eventually. I don't know when that will be. But I'll have to be OK."

"That's the spirit," Hoagie said, then immediately wished he didn't. Stupid, stupid, he thought. "You've got to attend class, you know."

"I will. I only skipped out on this morning coz I needed to sleep off a hangover. I'm not missing any more classes," she said, a little more enthusiasm in her voice, though it was clearly forced. "I'll be alright."

"Please don't hate me," he pleaded, not caring how pathetic he sounded at that time.

"I could never hate you Hoagie, even if I tried," she said with a watery smile. "Now you go out there and live your life. Shoo!" she said with a wave of the hands.

Hoagie gave a little laugh, and hugged her tight one more time. "Take care of yourself, eh?" he said.

She nodded vigorously, then asked cautiously, "Friends?"

"Friends." He gave her a small wave and left. He had never felt so relieved in his entire life as right then. He walked out of the corridor into the sunlight with only one person on his mind.