Chapter 15: Five Star Reviews

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Five Star Reviews

The system’s words stung.

Jared sat on the couch with a crushed piece of bread in his hand and let them sink in. He wanted to argue.

’It’s not the same. I didn’t ask for it.’

[Neither did Julius’s little brother.]

Jared didn’t answer.

On the screen, the credits rolled over a slow shot of the Golden Bear Guild’s banner rippling in the wind. A soft piano outro faded into silence. Zoey sat curled in the corner of the couch, sighing happily at the final frame.

Then she blinked, glanced at the clock, and sat up.

"Is there something else you’d like to watch?" she asked.

"Not really."

"Okay." She stood, brushing cracker crumbs off her lap. "Give me a second. I’m going to warm dinner."

Jared looked up. "Dinner already?"

She smiled and simply said, "Yes."

"It’s barely evening."

"I know. But I have to get an early sleep after witnessing that." She spread her hands. "Can you blame me?"

"I guess not."

"A top rookie from the top guild says he wants to work with you," Zoey said, her eyes lighting up again. "Mom and Dad are going to be so proud."

"You might not take the offer, they might not want you to take it but the fact you’ve already been acknowledged...."

She padded into the kitchen. Jared stayed on the couch for a moment, then he heaved himself up and followed her to the doorway.

She was already ladling soup into a pot, humming something off key. He leaned against the frame and folded his arms.

"Yeah," he said. "That’s only if I accept their offer. I’d rather work under Mom and Dad."

She went still. The ladle hovered over the pot.

"That was always the plan," Jared said.

At least, that was the plan of the original Jared. The memories were very clear on that point. A father who had a guild of his own, a mother who ran its training division, a family business with a gold plated sign on the door. It was the only road he’d ever been shown.

Zoey set the ladle down very carefully.

"That was your plan," she said. "Not mine."

"What?"

"I always wanted to work alongside Julius. You know this." She turned around, wiping her hands on a towel. Her tone was light, but her eyes were steady. "The only thing that would make me settle for our parents’ guild is if I somehow don’t make their tryouts. And I will. I just have to awaken first."

Jared shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"I will."

"But I’m not going to work for those guys," he added. "The Golden Bear people. They seem like dicks."

"Language."

"Like that’s not accurate."

"You’re not working for them," Zoey said, folding the towel over her shoulder. "It’s with them. There’s a difference. You would think that after awakening an SSS Rank beast, you’d have a bit more confidence."

"I have confidence."

"You have attitude. It’s not the same thing."

He glared at her. She glared right back, unbothered, one eyebrow raised.

"Whatever, man," Zoey said. She turned back to the stove. "Keep living in our parents’ shadows. Suit yourself, as you said."

Silence settled over the kitchen.Jared opened his mouth, then shut it.

’That landed.’

[Ouch.]

’Quiet.’

[I’m just saying, she got you. Twice.]

"I’m sorry," she said. "Can we just watch something? I don’t want to fight. Not tonight."

Jared let his arms fall. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay."

She smiled, small and relieved, and went back to the stove. Ten minutes later she was carrying a tray into the living room, the smell of steam and spice trailing behind her. She set it on the table with a flourish.

Two big bowls of ramen, rich and steaming, noodles thick and glossy under a layer of soft boiled egg and green onion. A platter of crispy fried chicken, golden and glistening. A bowl of garlic fried rice.

A plate of pan seared dumplings with a little dish of dark dipping sauce. Pickled radish, sesame cucumbers, and a pile of buttered corn. A tall pitcher of cold tea sweating on the side.

Jared stared.

"You made all of this?"

"I warmed some of it." She dropped onto the couch and handed him a pair of chopsticks. "I made the rest. Don’t tell anyone how much I enjoyed it."

"This is incredible."

"I know. Eat before it gets cold."

He did. The ramen was rich and salty, the broth thick and deeply savory, and the chicken crunched loudly enough to echo. He ate half a dumpling in one bite and nearly cried.

’This is so much better than hospital food.’

[Your standards are so low.]

’It’s a compliment.’

[To the food or to your past?]

He grabbed the remote and began scrolling through a menu of titles. The screen glowed with posters, ratings, and thumbnails. He scanned a few reviews, skipped a dozen, and finally stopped on a film with a stark black poster and a single golden gate burning in the center. A rating glowed beneath it.

9.5.

"That one," he said.

"What is it?"

"Some movie about gates. It says 9.5 on a review site."

"That’s a very high number."

"I know."

"Only one way to find out how legit that score is."

He pressed play.

’Here’s to hoping this world has an equivalent of Scorsese or Nolan,’ he thought, settling back into the cushions with his bowl balanced on his knee.

The lights dimmed. The music swelled.

The movie began.

* * *

3 hours later, the credits crawled up the screen.

Neither of them moved.

Zoey was curled into a ball in the corner of the couch, a blanket pulled up to her chin, tears streaking down both cheeks. Jared sat on the other end, his hand pressed against his mouth, his eyes bright and stinging. Empty bowls littered the table. Somewhere in the second hour, the dumplings had disappeared.

’That was beautiful.’

He wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist and tried to look as if he hadn’t been crying.

’That was genuinely beautiful.’

He almost compared it to a film from his old world. The words were right there, ready to go. It was just as good as, he thought, and then stopped himself. Hard. He pressed his lips together and let the thought hang unfinished.

’No. Wait. I’m not sure. I’d have to sit with this for a while before I know whether it stacks up.’

A little pride slid in behind the caution. ’But it’s close. It might be close.’

Zoey sniffled, wiping her face on the blanket. "You chose a more than solid movie," she said, her voice cracking. "That was fun."

"Fun?"

"Okay, not fun. It wasn’t fun. It was devastating. But it was good. It was a masterpiece."

"It was."

"I can’t believe the ending."

"I know."

"The way it talked about beasts travelling through time to save their world, how they tied it into the gates that ravage our own..." She flung out a hand. "It’s obviously fictional, but the director cooked so hard. I fell for the world the moment they stepped through the first rift."

Jared nodded slowly. He hadn’t expected to agree with her so completely.

"Yeah," he said. "The first rift scene. That was perfect."

Zoey yawned, loud and long, and covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes were red rimmed and half closed. She looked exhausted.

"I’m so tired," she mumbled. "I wanted to be asleep hours ago. And then you picked that."

"You could have said no."

"I could have." She sat up, stretched, and pushed herself off the couch. "Good night, Jared. Don’t forget we’re going out early tomorrow."

"I won’t."

"Then say it."

"I won’t forget we’re going out early tomorrow."

"Good." She drifted toward the stairs, dragging the blanket behind her. "Don’t stay up too late."

"I won’t."

He listened to her footsteps fade. A door closed upstairs. The house settled into a deep, easy quiet.

He cleaned up the table and carried the dishes to the sink. He turned off the lights one by one. Then he climbed the stairs to his own room, his legs heavy, his eyelids drooping.

’What a day.’

He changed, flopped onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling.

[That was a wild day.]

He didn’t answer.

His eyes were already closing.

[And yet you have a hundred thousand mana in your blood that you’ve barely touched. That’s a lot of waste. There’s plenty you could be doing with it. Training. Experimenting. Reading the manual I’m definitely not going to write.]

"."

[Hello? Rex? Anyone home?]

His breathing slowed. His hand slipped off his chest and landed on the blanket.

[You’re not answering.]

[Unbelievable.]

The panel hovered in the dim room, glowing patiently above his sleeping face, for a very long time.

[Lazy. Going to sleep this early.]