"No, I love it; I was just a little surprised, is all." Xeno laughed slightly. He'd never made a mood-board before, but Haiden's perfectly organised one was enticing. He'd have to look into it when he had the chance.
Xeno provided some alibis for people in Astronomy, but he found it was difficult to work out where everyone was all the time. That kind of organisation was only from someone like Jess. "I'm sorry, I'm not much help. I'll get back to you, though I know someone who can help." he hoped she would still be willing, despite their argument. "I can text you?" he suggested, but the other man seemed lost in thought.
"When we narrow down the suspect list, we should interview them individually." Suggested Haiden, tucking some of his longish, curly hair behind his ear.
"What, like an interrogation?" he asked, eyebrows raised. Immediately, his mind flashed to images of old police films, criminal suspects with a harsh bright light shining over them, and a pair of officers barking questions at them. He cracked a smile. "Which one of us is gonna be the bad cop?"
"No-" Haiden paused and chuckled a little. "No, not like that. I mean it should be like a conversation. It should flow well; they shouldn't even realise they're being.."
"Interrogated?"
"Interviewed!"
"Hiya, Xeno, can I take your order?"
The pair of them jumped like co-conspirators caught in the act. Xeno's head whipped around to see Matt, with a pen and paper in his hands.
"Oh, hi, Matt, I'll get a double mocha latte and a-"
"Chocolate chip biscuit? Yeah, I figured. You've ordered the same thing every day since you started coming here. And for your friend?" he asked, turning towards Haiden.
He hesitated for a second before blurting out, "Could I get a hot chocolate, please?"
"Of course you can." Matt said, "Is that everything?"
"That's everything; thank you," Xeno said, smiling at the man.
After Matt had walked away, Haiden inquired; "How did you know him? So well, I mean?"
Xeno shrugged and replied, "I come here decently often."
When their drinks came, the conversation relaxed from work to general. Xeno noted that small talk with Haiden didn't feel forced- he was actually quite witty. When the time to pay rolled around, Xeno insisted on covering it. He told Haiden that it would be "payment for coming to fix his car".
The pair began walking to his car, which Xeno found was parked a little ways away from the cafe. He couldn't place the make of the car, but it was forest green and looked a little like a Mini. Haiden unlocked the car and opened the door for Xeno, and the pair of them started driving to Xeno's house.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
"What kind of car do you drive?" asked Haiden.
"I drive a Zoe, It's light grey. I`ve had it for a couple of years now, and even then it was secondhand."
"And what did you say was the problem?" He asked, cocking his head slightly as though the gears were already turning.
"It won't start. I keep pressing the little button on my keys, and it refuses to go."
"I'll see what I can do, but I'm no expert on electric cars. Where do you live, anyway?" he asked. They were rapidly approaching the roundabout that split Willowheath roughly down the middle.
"It's near the Morrison's? I'll guide you from there, but you can just drive there and I'll get you to my house." He replied. Why is it so hard to give directions in a town you've lived in for your whole life?
When they eventually reached his flat, they went into the car park and looked at Xeno's car. Haiden took some tools out of his car and opened the front of the Zoe. He had no idea what he was looking at, but he trusted that Haiden did.
"When did you first notice it?" he asked, cocking his head to one side as he tried to figure out the workings of the car.
"Just this morning, I have no idea what's wrong with it." He replied, leaning on a fence railing next to his parking spot. Despite being early October, the sun was almost unpleasantly warm, shining down from directly overhead. Luckily, the pairwere shaded by an old maple tree, its golden leaves twisted as if to shield them from the rays.
After a couple of minutes of poking around, he couldn't seem to find anything wrong with the car. "Can I see your keys?" he asked, looking back at Xeno, confused. "From what I know about electric cars, they shouldn't go wrong like this."
Xeno handed them over, and Haiden popped them open effortlessly and rubbed the battery between his palms. When he replaced it, he could unlock and turn on the car.
