The table erupts in boos.
“Not Ada!” Henry Bellinger begs. “We love her. And she’s the only one who knows all the rules!”
Obviously. Nobody who knows Waterfall plays it on purpose. Still, the ‘We love her’ line has me widening my eyes at Ada. She smiles sunnily back at me like a sex robot returned to factory settings. Like she doesn’t remember Henry Bellinger once told her she’d make a great cum dumpster.
“Come on,”I tell Ada. “I really need your help.”
She stands, her fake-smile firmly in place. “Sure. Can you please let me past, Henry?”
“Aw, don’t go, Ayyyyhdaaaahh,” Henry whines, running his fingers through the ends of her long, dark hair like he’s fucking Hamlet or something.
“Hands,” Jake barks from his chair. “And get moving.”
Henry sulkily lets go of Ada’s hair and steps out of the booth to let her pass. As she exits, desire sharpens every feature on Jake’s face. He looks like he wants to devour her.
No more discounted drinks for you, buddy.
Ada follows me to my office willingly enough, slumping into my spare chair, a cloud of white, mint-flavoured smoke haloing her face as she draws on her vape.
“Okay, Mastermind,” I say, shutting the door. “What’s the game?”
Ada grins up at me. A real smile this time. “I’m gonna fuck them up good. Full Jonestown these idiots.”
I groan, snatching the vape out of her hand and taking a drag. “Why? I mean, I know why, butwhy?”
“Because they’ve got it coming.” Ada holds out her hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll stop short of actual murder. Probably.”
I take another hit off the vape and lift it over my head so she can’t reach it. As long as I have her Ice Mint ElfBar, Ada won’t resume her destruction. Unless she’s got another one in her shorts…
“As if you care,” Ada says, straining her fingers for the vape. “Every dude in that booth is a class-A cunt, and you know it.”
“Not all of them! Jake’s nice.”
“Who?”
I squint at Ada. She doesn’t seem to be joking.
“Jake Graves-Holland?” I say. “He was in our year at school?”
“What kind of a name is that?”
“A famous name! He’s an All Black!”
Ada rolls her eyes. As an Australian, her appreciation for the All Blacks has always been below even the most rugby-disinterested Kiwi. “Good for him.”
I gape at her. “You really don’t remember Jake? He was the most popular guy in our year.”
“Hate to tell ya, Cee, but I spent the majority of my time at Pukekohe High in a fugue state. If you didn’t personally bully me, your face was pretty much walls.”
My stomach swoops. Just hearing the word ‘school’ reminds me of Will Sharpe. I glance at my now-closed laptop and wince at the memory of Davis catching me with my pants down.
I puff Ada’s vape, and when she jumps to grab it, I raise it over my head again. “No.”
“What the heck, Cecelia? Nicotine!”
“In a minute. I need to tell you something.”
Ada sighs, and I wait until she’s settled back into her chair before I let the question burning my brain tumble out. “Did you know our school’s centenary reunion is next month?”
