ROOM 7
Chapter Thirty: The Date
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The morning after the parents left, the room was chaos.
Yuri was running around, throwing clothes out of his closet. "WHERE IS MY BLUE SHIRT?"
"You're wearing it," Mica said.
He looked down. He was wearing it. "Oh."
Ci N appeared beside him. "The probability of you finding a shirt you're already wearing was 0 percent. You exceeded expectations."
Yuri stared at him. "Is that a compliment?"
Ci N opened his notebook. "It's an observation."
Yuri walked away, muttering.
Lyra was on the couch, watching Alex fold laundry. He folded shirts. He folded pants. He folded socks. He folded everything into perfect squares.
"You're very good at that," she said.
He looked up. "At folding?"
"At making things neat."
He held up a shirt. "It's just folding."
She watched his hands. The way they moved. The way he smoothed the fabric. The way he placed each piece in the drawer.
"It's not just folding," she said.
He looked at her. She looked at him. Neither of them said anything else.
Ci N walked past. "Page 259. Laundry folding. Moment captured."
Lyra grabbed a pillow. Threw it at him. He caught it.
"You have a catching problem," she said.
"You have a throwing problem."
"I have a Ci N problem."
He tucked the pillow under his arm. "The worst kind."
He walked to his bed. Sat down. Opened his notebook.
Rakki watched him. "You're documenting everything."
"I'm documenting everything."
"Even laundry folding?"
He nodded. "Especially laundry folding. Alex folds shirts at 47 seconds per shirt. His efficiency has improved by 12 percent since the crash. The probability of him folding Lyra's shirts within the next—"
She closed his notebook. "Ci N."
He looked at her. "Yes?"
"You're impossible."
He smiled. "You like it."
She didn't answer. She sat beside him. Watched Alex fold. Watched Lyra watch. Watched the room move around them.
---
Part One: The Plan
Jay was in the kitchen, making coffee, when Keifer walked in.
He didn't say anything. He just stood there. Watching her. She poured two cups. Black. No sugar. Handed him one.
"You're staring," she said.
"I'm observing."
"Same thing."
"It's not the same thing."
She looked at him. "What's different?"
He took the cup. His fingers brushed hers. "I'm observing you. Not the coffee. Not the counter. You."
She didn't move. Didn't breathe. "Why?"
He smiled. "Because I can."
She grabbed a napkin. Threw it at him. He caught it.
"You have a catching problem," she said.
"You have a throwing problem."
"I have a Keifer problem."
He tucked the napkin into his pocket. "The worst kind."
He drank his coffee. She drank hers. The kitchen was quiet.
"Jay."
"What?"
He set his cup down. "Let's go out."
She looked at him. "Go out where?"
"Anywhere. The park. The café. The museum. Anywhere." He paused. "A date."
She stared at him. "A date."
"A date."
She opened her mouth. Closed it. "We've been on dates."
"We've been to the amusement park. We've been to Tagaytay. We've been to the hospital. We've been to—"
"Those weren't dates."
"What were they?"
She thought about it. "Being together."
He stepped closer. "Then let's be together. On purpose. With a plan. A real date."
She looked at his face. At his eyes. At the way he was looking at her like she was the only thing in the world worth seeing.
"Okay," she said.
He smiled. She smiled. The kitchen was bright.
Ci N appeared in the doorway. "Page 260. Date confirmed. Probability of hand-holding: 98.3 percent. Probability of kissing: 97.2 percent. Probability of—"
Jay grabbed a napkin. Threw it at him. He caught it.
"Your aim is improving," he said.
"Your face is improving."
"My face is the same."
"It's improving at being annoying."
He smiled. Walked away.
Keifer looked at her. "We're never going to have privacy, are we?"
She picked up her cup. "Never."
He picked up his cup. "Good."
She looked at him. "Good?"
He took her hand. "They'll document everything. We'll have proof. For when we're old. For when we forget."
She squeezed his hand. "We're not going to forget."
He squeezed back. "I know."
---
Part Two: The Preparation
The room exploded when they announced they were going out.
"A DATE?" Yuri shouted.
"A date," Keifer said.
"A REAL DATE?"
"A real date."
Yuri grabbed his hair. "THEY'RE GOING ON A DATE."
Ci N was writing. "Page 261. Date announcement. Reactions recorded."
Lyra sat up on the couch. "Where are you going?"
"The park," Jay said. "The walking path. Behind the business building."
Lyra's eyes went wide. "The park? The one Ci N asked about? The one with the—"
"The park," Jay said.
Lyra looked at Ci N. He was writing. His pen was moving fast.
"You planned this," Lyra said.
He looked up. "I facilitated the conditions for dating. There's a difference."
"There's no difference."
He smiled. "That's our difference."
Care appeared beside them. "You need to dress up."
Jay blinked. "It's a park."
"It's a date. There's a difference."
"There's no difference."
Care grabbed her arm. Pulled her toward her closet. "We're finding you something to wear."
"I have clothes."
"You have black. You have gray. You have more black."
"I like black."
Care opened the closet. Stared at the rows of dark colors. "This is a crisis."
"It's a wardrobe."
"It's a crisis."
Ash appeared behind her. "I have a dress. Blue. It would look good on you."
Jay shook her head. "I don't wear dresses."
"You're going on a date."
"I don't wear dresses on dates."
"You've never been on a date."
Jay opened her mouth. Closed it. "Fine."
Ash ran to her closet. Came back with a dress. Blue. Soft. Short sleeves. It reminded Jay of something. Something she couldn't place.
"It was my grandmother's," Ash said. "She wore it on her first date with my grandfather. He proposed three months later."
Jay stared at the dress. "I can't wear your grandmother's dress."
"You can. She'd want you to."
"Why?"
Ash smiled. "Because she loved love. She'd want you to have something beautiful for your first real date."
Jay looked at the dress. Blue. Soft. It reminded her of something. The shark. The sky in Tagaytay. The way Keifer looked at her when he thought she wasn't watching.
"Okay," she said.
Care and Ash exchanged looks. Lyra was already crying.
Ci N wrote in his notebook. "Page 262. Dress acquired. Probability of Keifer noticing: 100 percent."
---
Part Three: The Park
The park was quiet.
The walking path wound between trees. The sun was setting. The light hit the leaves at an angle. The air was cool. The world was gold.
Jay walked beside Keifer. Her hands were in her pockets. His hands were in his pockets. Their shoulders touched.
"You're quiet," he said.
"I'm watching."
"The trees?"
"The light. The way it hits the leaves. The way it makes everything gold."
He looked at her. "You're wearing blue."
She looked down at the dress. "It's Ash's grandmother's."
"It's beautiful."
She looked at him. His eyes were on her. Not on the dress. On her.
"You're staring," she said.
"I'm observing."
"Same thing."
"It's not the same thing."
She stopped walking. He stopped beside her.
"What's different?" she asked.
He stepped closer. His hand came out of his pocket. His fingers touched her sleeve. The blue fabric. The soft cotton.
"I'm observing you," he said. "Not the dress. Not the path. You."
She didn't move. Didn't breathe. His fingers traced her arm. Her wrist. Her hand.
"You're wearing blue," he said.
"You said that."
"The first time I saw you. You were wearing red. I spilled wine on your shirt. I apologized. You called me 'that Watson boy.'"
She stared at him. "You remember that?"
He took her hand. "I remember everything."
She looked at their hands. His fingers were intertwined with hers. His palm was warm. His grip was steady.
"I wore red," she said. "You wore blue."
He smiled. "I always wear blue."
She looked at his shirt. Blue. The same blue he wore to every family dinner. The same blue she'd been seeing for years.
"You planned this," she said.
He squeezed her hand. "I didn't plan anything. I just—" He stopped.
"You just what?"
He looked at her. "I just wanted to be here. With you. On a path. At sunset. Wearing blue."
She stepped closer. Her hand was in his. Her shoulder was against his chest. Her face was inches from his.
"You're impossible," she said.
He smiled. "You like it."
She looked at his lips. He looked at hers.
"Jay."
"Keifer."
"Can I kiss you?"
She laughed. "You're asking?"
"I'm always asking."
"What if I say no?"
"Then I'll wait."
"What if I say yes?"
He smiled. "Then I'll kiss you."
She looked at his face. At his eyes. At his mouth. At the way he was looking at her like she was the only thing in the world worth seeing.
"Yes," she said.
He kissed her.
---
Part Four: The Return
They walked back to the room as the sun set. The path was behind them. The trees were shadows. The lights were coming on in the city.
They didn't talk. They didn't need to. Her hand was in his. His hand was in hers. The dress was blue. The shirt was blue. The sky was gold.
When they reached the door, he stopped.
"Jay."
She looked at him.
"I'm going to marry you."
She stared at him. "What?"
He touched her face. His fingers traced her cheekbone. "After university. After we finish. After we wait. I'm going to marry you."
She didn't move. Didn't breathe. "You said we were going to wait."
"We are."
"You said we were going to talk about everything after."
"We are."
She looked at his face. At his eyes. At the way he was looking at her like she was the only thing in the world worth seeing.
"That's not talking," she said.
He smiled. "That's promising."
She grabbed his shirt. Pulled him down. Kissed him.
The door opened behind them.
"THEY'RE BACK!" Yuri shouted.
Jay pulled back. Keifer pulled back. The whole room was watching. Sixteen people. Sixteen people who'd been waiting.
Ci N was writing. "Page 263. Date concluded. Hand-holding observed. Kissing observed. Promising observed."
Yuri grabbed his hair. "HE PROMISED? HE PROMISED TO MARRY HER?"
Ci N nodded. "Probability of marriage: 100 percent. Probability of waiting three years: 89.7 percent. Probability of—"
Yuri pointed at him. "HE'S EIGHTEEN."
"He's eighteen," Felix said.
"HE CALCULATED THE PROBABILITY OF THEIR MARRIAGE."
"He calculated the probability of their marriage."
"WHILE THEY WERE ON A DATE."
"While they were on a date."
Yuri grabbed his hair. "I CAN'T. I CAN'T WITH THEM."
Ci N smiled. "That's acceptable."
---
Part Five: The Night
The room was quiet.
Lyra was on the couch. Alex beside her. Her eyes were closed. His hand was in hers. She was sleeping. She'd been sleeping for eight hours. The longest she'd slept since the crash.
Ci N was on his bed. Notebook open. Pen in hand. He was writing something. His forehead was wrinkled. His lips were moving.
Rakki watched him. "What are you writing?"
He showed her. Numbers. Times. Dates. Kisses. Nine of them in four days. Each one documented. Each one calculated.
"I'm tracking them," he said. "The kisses. The probability of a tenth kiss tomorrow is 98.4 percent. The probability of an eleventh kiss is 97.1 percent. The probability of—"
She closed his notebook. "You need to sleep."
"I'm not tired."
"You've been calculating all day."
"I've been documenting."
"Same thing."
He looked at his notebook. At the closed cover. At the numbers inside.
"They went on a date," he said.
"I know."
"To the park. The walking path. The one I suggested."
She smiled. "You suggested it."
He nodded. "I suggested it. The probability of them going was 94.7 percent. The probability of them holding hands was 98.3 percent. The probability of them kissing was—"
She kissed his cheek. He stopped.
"You're impossible," she said.
He smiled. "You like it."
She didn't answer. She sat beside him. Watched the room settle. Watched Yuri get into bed. Watched Felix close his notebook. Watched Freya put her camera away. Watched Erdix help. Watched Ash fall asleep. Watched David eat his last chips. Watched Care and Cole hold hands. Watched Lyra sleep. Watched Alex watch her.
Watched Jay and Keifer sit on her bed, the shark between them, their hands together.
"They're going to get married," Ci N said.
Rakki looked at him. "In three years."
He nodded. "In three years. I calculated it."
She took his hand. "You calculated it."
He looked at his notebook. At the closed cover. At the numbers he couldn't see.
"One hundred percent," he said.
She squeezed his hand. "One hundred percent."
He smiled. She smiled. The room was quiet.
---
Across the room, Jay lay in her bed. The shark was beside her. Keifer was beside her. His arm was around her. Her head was on his chest.
"You said you're going to marry me," she said.
"I said I'm going to marry you."
"In three years."
"In three years."
She looked up at him. "You promised."
He looked down at her. "I promised."
She smiled. "Good."
He kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes. His heartbeat was under her ear. His hand was in her hair. The shark was beside them. The room was quiet.
"Keifer."
"Yeah."
"Today was a good day."
He pulled her closer. "Today was a good day."
She smiled. He smiled. The room was dark. The city was bright. The world was waiting.
From across the room, Ci N's voice: "Page 264. Good day recorded. Probability of more good days: 100 percent."
"Ci N," Jay said.
"I'm sleeping."
"You're talking."
"I'm sleeping and talking. My brain works at one hundred sixty percent. I can do both."
"Ci N."
"Goodnight, Mother. Goodnight, Father."
She smiled into Keifer's chest. "Goodnight, Ci N."
The room was quiet. Sixteen people. Sixteen people who were something to each other. Something that didn't need a name.
Jay closed her eyes. Keifer was beside her. The shark was beside her. She was his. He was hers.
They had three years to wait.
They could wait.
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End of Chapter Thirty