"No way."
"What?"
"You're thinking of other states. In New York, it's eighteen."
"Sixteen isn't okay?"
"It's possible, but it requires consent from both sets of parents."
"..."
Kim blinked, looking at the dead-serious Gwen. She was momentarily stunned. "God, Gwen, my dear best friend, you don't actually have that thought, do you? Is it worth it?"
Sitting opposite them, Locke had no desire to speak.
Fine then.
People usually talked behind his back when saying bad things.
'Do you think just because your dad is a retired agent, I won't touch you? You wait. If you don't go on that trip to Paris next year, I'll personally pack you up and mail you there myself.'
However... Locke blinked. "You can get married at sixteen in New York?"
Gwen, after playfully swatting Kim a few times, rolled her eyes and nodded. "Every state has different regulations regarding the age of marriage."
Standards varied across the federal states. Some required you to be a legal adult, twenty-one. New York set it at eighteen—if you want to marry, marry. But at sixteen, you needed parental consent. At fourteen, you needed parental consent and a court order. Even next door in the rural areas of New Jersey, the age for girls to marry was as low as twelve.
Kim asked curiously, "But how do you know all this?"
Gwen replied, "I'm a New Yorker. Is it that strange for me to know?"
Kem nodded. "I'm a New Yorker too. Why don't I know?"
"Are you a 'God of Study'?"
"Uh..."
Gwen's casual remark instantly silenced Kim. She wasn't. At least, not a God of Study. At Midtown High, the only ones worthy of that title were sitting right next to her and directly across from her.
Gwen saw this and smiled. She was a scholar; wasn't it normal for a scholar to know a little bit about everything? She had been flipping through psychology books lately. She felt... it was quite a good subject.
While they spoke, Cindy and Kahn approached from a distance.
"Wow!" Cindy walked over with a smile. "I just got here and heard you guys talking about such an explosive topic. What's up?" She looked at Locke. "Are you and Gwen heading to City Hall to get married?"
The Coke in Locke's hand nearly slipped. 'Good grief. If we were discussing this in a high school cafeteria in the East, the parents would be storming the school by the afternoon.'
Cindy laughed and immediately changed the subject. "Even if you wanted to go to City Hall, you won't have time. We're leaving."
"Leaving?"
"Yeah." Cindy bit into a fry and nodded toward Gwen. "Mrs. Cord saw me and told me. We're leaving tomorrow morning."
Gwen was surprised. "Why so fast? Last Friday they said we were leaving this Friday."
Cindy shrugged. "The weather. They're predicting a massive blizzard in a few days. To avoid it, they moved the trip up. The competition is set for December 5th, and we'll be back on the 10th."
Locke checked his phone. "Eleven days from now?"
Tomorrow was the end of November, so indeed, eleven days.
Cindy nodded. "So, unfortunately, the date for you and Gwen to get your license has to be delayed. But hey, going to Maine and bringing back a first-place certificate and a trophy isn't bad either. We're counting on you two."
Gwen gave Cindy a massive eye-roll. "Then what about you and Kahn? What are you going for?"
Cindy chuckled. "Kahn and I are going to cheer you on!"
Gwen: "..."
As a member of the upper-middle class of Wall Street, Cindy didn't actually have a "snobby girl" attitude—at least not toward Locke and Gwen, who were her equals in terms of money or grades. After all, it was undeniable: there was a distinct class system that people pretended didn't exist but could definitely feel.
Kim's father, the retired agent, didn't have much money. But... Kim's stepfather was rich—a big-time entrepreneur.
...
In the afternoon, after their AP Math class, Locke and Gwen went to the office to find the chemistry teacher and the chaperone for tomorrow, Mrs. Cord. Cindy and Kahn were already there; their elective teacher was out sick.
Half an hour later, Locke and Gwen handed over photocopies of their driver's licenses to Mrs. Cord. She would be purchasing the plane tickets tonight. The meeting time was 9:00 AM tomorrow at the airport.
In the parking lot, Locke got into the car. He watched Gwen climb into the passenger seat, rubbing her small hands together. He turned on the heater. "I'll pick you up at 8:00 tomorrow morning?"
Gwen asked, "Is that enough time?"
It had snowed today, and it didn't look like it was stopping soon. Tomorrow morning was likely to be a nightmare of traffic jams. New York's terrible traffic was legendary.
Locke started the engine. "One hour is plenty."
In the face of Advanced Driving Skills, traffic jams simply didn't exist. If he put on his sunglasses, his car could navigate even the most clogged streets. Even if he damaged other cars, he'd be long gone before anyone could find him.
As they drove toward the school gates, Gwen suddenly told Locke to wait. She rolled down her window and looked at Kim, who was standing at the entrance. "Kim, why are you still here?"
Kim looked at the car and sighed. "My dad's car broke down halfway."
Gwen said, "Get in, we'll give you a lift."
Kim's eyes lit up. She opened the back door and hopped in. The blast of the heater made her let out a sigh of pure relief.
Locke pulled back onto the road. "Where is Mr. Mills' car?"
"Brooklyn Bridge."
"Perfect." Locke smiled. "Gwen and I were heading toward the Brooklyn Bridge anyway."
Since their first visit to Chester's Lovers' Restaurant, Locke and Gwen had been going about once a week. It had to be said, Chester's steaks were truly delicious.
In the back seat, Kim pulled a scarf out of her bag.
Gwen turned around, curious. "Why didn't you put that on while you were outside?"
Kim laughed. "Cold!"
When it's that cold, you'd rather keep your hands in your pockets than reach into an icy backpack for an icy scarf.
Gwen shook her head. "Couldn't you have waited in a classroom?"
Wrapped in her scarf, Kim blinked. "Too cold. I forgot that was an option."
Gwen's mouth hung open. Locke couldn't help but let out a knowing smile.
No wonder Kum was always a target. She was so ditzy that a scammer would probably feel they were failing at their profession if they didn't try to trick her.
Soon, as they approached the Brooklyn Bridge, Locke immediately spotted a man on the opposite side of the road. With the hood of his car up and a phone to his ear, Bryan Mills—Kim's biological father—looked like a very honest, ordinary man.
"Dad!" Kim got out of the car and called out to Bryan, waving. "Over here!"
Bryan looked toward the voice. Kim made to cross the road, but Bryan yelled, "Stay there! Don't move!"
Kim stopped, and they watched as Bryan navigated his way across the moderate flow of traffic.
Locke, who had stepped out of the car with Gwen, watched the scene. He reflected that Kim was truly the one daughter in all of American cinema you absolutely do not mess with. Just look at this. If anyone ever got involved with Kim, the first hurdle would be Bryan Mills' all-encompassing investigation.
Locke suspected that if Bryan really investigated him, he might actually leave some traces behind. Locke had met Bryan a few times; Bryan didn't want to get to know Locke deeply, and Locke felt the same about him.
Bryan walked over, hugged Kim, and asked, "Are you frozen?"
Gwen and Locke looked at each other.
"Mr. Mills," Gwen spoke up first. "Is your car still not fixed?"
Mills finally snapped out of "protective father mode" and hummed. "The insurance company said because of the weather, all their personnel are out. Might be a while longer."
"Can your car... still start?"
"Yes."
"Alright then."
If it could start, it meant the heater worked. If the heater worked, Kim could stay warm inside.
Gwen nodded and said to Kim, "Well, we'll head off then. See you after the holidays."
Kem nodded. "Bye, Gwen."
Locke shook hands with Bryan Mills. "Goodbye, Mr. Mills."
With that, Locke and Gwen got back in the car and drove off.
Earlier, Gwen hadn't suggested driving Kim all the way home because Kim had said it wasn't necessary. And taking Kim out to dinner with them? No way. Chester's was a "Lovers' Restaurant." Taking Kim along would be awkward. Gwen didn't suggest it, and Locke wasn't about to.
In fact, if Locke were driving alone and saw a classmate at the gates, there was a fifty percent chance he'd pretend he didn't see them. If it were a friend, that chance dropped to twenty percent.
But this was Kim.
To avoid having Mr. Bryan Mills—the legendary father—think he had any designs on his daughter, Locke would raise that chance to a hundred percent.
The rule remained: Don't touch John Wick's dog, and never touch Bryan Mills' daughter.
Whoever touches them is asking for trouble.
***
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