Aaron chucks the pillow back without a word, his eyes burning in Kenji’s direction. He seems both shocked andangry, and he leans forward in his seat, his elbows balanced on his knees, the heels of his hands pressed against his eyes.
“You are a plague upon my life, Kishimoto.”
“I saidyou’re welcome.”
Aaron sighs, heavily. “What I would give to snap your neck right now, you have no idea.”
“Hey—youhave no idea what I just did for you,” Kenji says. “So I’m going to repeat myself one more time: You arewelcome.”
“I never asked for your help.”
Kenji crosses his arms. When he speaks, he overenunciates each word, like he might be talking to an idiot. “I don’t think you’re thinking clearly.”
“I’m thinking clearer than I ever have.”
“You really thought that would be a good idea?” Kenji says, shaking his head. “Here? Now?”
Aaron’s jaw clenches. He looks mutinous.
“Bro, this is not the moment.”
“And when, exactly, did you become an expert on this sort of thing?”
I look between the two of them. “What is going on?” I say. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Nothing,” they say at the same time.
“Um, okay.” I stare at them, still confused, and I’m about to ask another question when Kenji says, suddenly:
“Who wants lunch?”
My eyebrows shoot up my forehead. “We have lunch?”
“It’s pretty awful,” Kenji says, “but Nazeera and I have apicnic basket we brought with us, yeah.”
“I guess I’m up for trying the contents of the mystery basket.” I smile at Aaron. “Are you hungry?”
But Aaron says nothing. He’s still staring at the floor. I touch his hand and, finally, he sighs. “I’m not hungry,” he says.
“Not an option,” Kenji says sharply. “I’m pretty sure you haven’t eaten a damn thing since you got out of fake prison.”
Aaron frowns. And when he looks up, he says, “It wasn’tfakeprison. It was a very real prison. They poisoned me for weeks.”
“What?” My eyes widen. “You never t—”
Kenji cuts me off with the wave of his hand. “They gave you food, water, and let you keep the clothes on your back, didn’t they?”
“Yes, but—”
He shrugs. “Sounds like you had a little vacation.”
Aaron sighs. He looks both annoyed and exhausted as he runs a hand down the length of his face.
I don’t like it.
“Hey— Why are you giving him such a hard time?” I say, frowning at Kenji. “Just before he and Nazeera showed up you were going on and on about how wonderful he is, and n—”
Kenji swears, suddenly, under his breath. “Jesus, J.” He shoots me a dark look. “What did I say to you about repeating that conversation out loud?”
