February 10th, 2017

Kinsky, California, USA

Unlikely Alliance

At the end of the week, Lukas – as promised – went down to the Mulaney house. That’s what he had always known it as, at least. In reality it was Marion’s own home, that had no history for any of the Mulaneys other than Cole. But it was the only house any of the kids remembered.

Marion answered the door after only the first knock. Lukas, who still had trouble talking to the woman, gave her a polite nod as she answered the door.

“The chest is in his room, upstairs. On the desk.” The overweight woman pointed behind her, her curly hair parting from her shoulder as she moved her arm back. Lukas gave another awkward nod and walked in, taking his shoes off near the door as he always did.

Upon entering the bedroom, everything felt off. Lukas had been in there innumerable times before, but not once did he ever do it without Cole. He felt as though he was invading on a sacred space, a space where he was not welcome. Even though Marion told him otherwise.

As he walked up to the desk, he saw details he never noticed before – things that he’d always be caught by Cole’s voice or laughter before he ever got good eyes on. Pictures with Lukasf, or Kat, or the others – some even with Maria – mementos kept by a person who seemed to disdain the idea of them entirely. But perhaps the most surprising thing was that, in the corners of the room, there lay remnants of the pilot obsession he once had. Models of airplanes and posters of blueprints that Lukas thought were long trashed were never really gone. Just put out of sight.

On the desk, Lukas saw something he never noticed before: the chest. It was a plastic toy rendition of a pirate chest that Cole must have gotten when he was a child, stashed away in the closet until finally he had the chance to use it.

He noticed the chest had a four-digit lock. At first Lukas assumed that, given the nature of the chest, it would be simple just to pry open and that the lock was for show. However, after a few strong tugs, the chest proved to be more formidable than he thought.

“Uh… hey, Marion?” Lukas called out while he fiddled with the box.

A few moments later, Marion came to the doorway. “Yeah?”

“Did Cole ever mention a, uh… a code? There’s a code on this.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too. He never told me about it. Might be one somewhere, but I couldn’t help you find it.”

“Ah, it’s no big deal. I’ll figure it out.”

As Marion went back downstairs, Lukas stared at the box. A four digit code. Maybe Cole was making fun of the fact that Lukas was never really good at puzzles – or maybe it was as Marion said, and the code was located somewhere separate. Briefly Lukas considered just breaking the plastic with a hammer and getting in that way, but he quickly realized he had no idea what was in the chest and didn’t want to damage the contents. He had to find the code – it was all he had. 

After a few minutes of bruteforcing, Lukas went back downstairs, the chest under his arm. “I wasn’t able to figure it out, but I’ll keep guessing,” Lukas said to Marion as he passed by the living room she was at. “In the meantime, could you tell me if you find anything with four digits left by Cole?”

Marion nodded her head, her eyes on the TV.  “Alright.”

Lukas nodded in confirmation, said his goodbyes, then pulled up his hoodie to head back out to the cold North Californian air.

…

As Isaac jogged down his usual path, his mind was preoccupied with the same thing it had been since January. The Cole rumors.

In Isaac’s head, he was certain: Cole was innocent, and the entire thing was driven by either a stupid misunderstanding or a particular malicious actor. Now he just wondered which it could be, and how he could fix it.

So perhaps then it was chance that, as Isaac turned the corner to the Kinsky Diner, he saw in the window Lukas sitting in a booth alone, looking down at his injured hand. 

Isaac slid to a halt once he passed the window. He questioned whether it would be a smart idea to barge in on Cole’s best friend, who he knew hated him, in the middle of his lunch to tell him how he felt. Not known for his rationality, Isaac turned around and did exactly that.

As it turned out, Lukas had gone straight from Marion’s place to the diner. He figured if he got some food in his stomach, he might be able to think more clearly. For now the chest was hidden inside of his hoodie, now splayed into a pile in the seat next to him.

Needless to say, when he saw Isaac come into the restaurant, it was the last thing he needed.

At first he decided to ignore him, focusing on looking out the window. But quickly it became clear that Isaac was making a beeline straight for him – and, sure enough, the jock sat in the booth right across.

“Hey, Lukas-”

“Seriously, dude? Can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Wait! Wait,” Isaac turned his head to look around at the others in the diner, then went back to Lukas. “Listen, I know we… don’t exactly have the best relationship. But I’m not here about that. I want to talk about Cole.”

“…Cole?” Lukas asked skeptically.

“Yeah! I mean-” Isaac leaned forward. “I was friends with the guy too, yeah? I was told about the whole… rumors, and everything. And I think he’s innocent. You do too, right?”

Lukas didn’t answer right away, questioning Isaac’s intentions. He realized the boy didn’t have any reason to be lying.

“Right. I do.”

“Well, I bet if we put our heads together with some of the other guys, we might be able to convince the others of the same before things… you know, get out of hand. At least that’s what I’m thinking, right?”

Lukas had come to the same conclusion – he’d do better with help. But the inclusion of Isaac into this plan made things a little more complicated.

“Yeah… it could work,” Lukas replied rather tersely.

Isaac smiled. “Glad you understand where I’m coming from. So, you got any leads you’re currently working out?”

“I’d rather only discuss that stuff if the others were around.”

“Ah, right, right,” Isaac backed off from the table, realizing he was beginning to lean in a little too much. “By the way, as an olive branch… a couple of friends and I are having a party on Valentine’s Day. Nothing crazy, just a chill get together. If you want, you could bring Kat-”

Isaac caught himself before he finished. As he paused, Lukas looked at him expectantly.

“Actually… maybe another time, then,” Isaac finished. “Anyway, I’ll head out for now. Keep me in the loop. Hope your hand gets better, by the way.”

The last comment caused Lukas’ hair to stand on end. But he calmed down when he realized his hand was still gauzed up and he had been resting it visibly on the table. 

“Oh, yeah… I accidentally slammed it on something,” Lukas lied vaguely.

Isaac, who was now standing up, nodded. “I got a pretty nasty hand injury sophomore year playing football. Really sucks if it’s your dominant. Well, I don’t want to keep you from your food – peace!”

Just as quickly as Isaac entered the diner, he left. Lukas sighed, looking back down at his hand. He knew he needed all the help he could get, but he was also afraid that it might be too much to manage.

…

Kat was alone in the study of her parent’s home. Knowing that she’d rather make plans with Lukas in the upcoming week, she was trying to get as much off her plate as possible. While she was in the middle of focusing – or at least trying to focus – she got an unexpected, and perhaps unwanted, visitor.

“Your mother wants you to know that dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” Gordon declared from the doorway, in a rare case of him being off of work early. “It’s a roast she made with Emilia. They put a lot of effort into it. You’re still working on that Stanford scholarship, aren’t you?”

Kat sighed. Her father had a talent for asking the worst questions at the worst times.

“Yes, I am,” Kat said, turning around. “But that isn’t due for another month. I have some math I have to finish right now.”

Gordon nodded. “Just make sure you get those merit scholarships. I don’t want you to think that just because you can afford it doesn’t mean you don’t have to put in the work.”

Gordon was about to leave it at that, walking away from the door. But just before he left he heard Kat’s mutter.

“Some people can’t get there even with the work, you know.”

Gordon turned around. “Why do you say that?”

Kat, realizing she was caught, froze up. She questioned whether she should tell her father how she felt. But in that already rare moment, she did something she wouldn’t usually do – she kept talking.

“I have a friend at school. Ash. I think you’ve met her. Anyway, she’s one of the most talented artists I’ve ever seen. She got accepted into this really good school, the uh… Alto School, I think it’s called. Well, her parents don’t make a lot of money, but she spent hours and hours of work filling out every scholarship and grant she could. And that, with financial aid, still wasn’t enough. Now she might not be able to live out her dreams – not because she didn’t put in the work, but because it just wasn’t made for her.”

Kat looked back up at her father as she finished. To her surprise, what she said seemed to get at Gordon. His expression morphed into something she’d never seen before – anger, not at her, but at the system. It was something she didn’t know the conservative businessman could even muster.

“What about her parents?” Gordon asked sternly. “Her parents should be trying anything in her power to get her there.”

“I mean… I don’t know her parents all that well. I’m sure they tried to help, but…” Kat trailed off. “Maybe it’s too much of a burden for them.”

Gordon paused at the doorway. He was in thought, but seemed to have no intention to share it with his daughter. At some point he just nodded.

“Alright then,” Gordon finished. “Well, like I said. Dinner’s ready soon.” He walked out briskly after the comment.
Surprisingly, after the full exchange, Kat felt good. She leaned back in her chair and, looking up to the ceiling, felt as though a burden was lifted off her shoulders. It was the first time she had felt that way about her father in a long time.