27- Little brains

Same date. September 12, 2016

Same world: World I

I finish my meal before this annoying guy who won't stop smiling and bobbing his head while eating. Dakota finished a few minutes ago, but she was rereading the letter; I guess to organize her thoughts.

I insist that all of this is happening relatively fast.

"Oh, now, yes," he touches his stomach, expressing satisfaction on his face. "Where do you want to start with your round of questions? I must confess, I'm very excited."

Oh, damn. Another idiot who doesn't take important things seriously. How stressful! I limit my contact with humans because of people like him. They don't bring me any peace at all.

I only made an exception with Faven, but… it was because it was Faven. That makes sense to me.

"Here it says that you're more involved than we are in 'his matters'," Dakota starts. We both focus our attention on her. "What are these matters about, Torn?"

He continues rubbing his belly and keeps smiling widely.

"How do I know that I can trust you?"

"Don't answer a question with another question," I mutter.

He laughs. "I just met you. Don't expect me to spill the beans just because you claim to be his friends. Anyone can come and say that. Your news was public, you know? Everyone who has been studying since last semester knows it. You'll have to convince me."

It makes my stomach churn to hear him talk like that, but I have to admit that he's right. Because of my impatience, I went straight to the point and took a risk with someone I don't know. This guy is being impertinent, strange, and extremely inquisitive, but his point is very important. Still, how do we earn his trust without compromising our information?

Oh, if this is how Dakota felt about earning my trust, I was such a jerk.

"Does everybody know about the orphanage?" she speaks again.

"Interesting. Go on," he makes a hand gesture.

"You're not going to play that game with me, Torn. Remember that we're studying the same major."

"You're a few semesters behind me."

"You know my name and my last name. And you could figure out who Eron is. You don't need any more confirmation. Now you're just playing with us," she drops both arms on the table and leans forward. "Or am I wrong? I'm all ears. Now I want you to convince me. A name is not enough for me."

Oh. The pieces have moved. Dakota seems to know how to play this game that this guy Torn started. Just out of curiosity, I observe Torn's expression, who smiles with a certain air of satisfaction.

"You definitely were one of the best for a reason, Dakota Laurent. Now, he mimics her position and also leans forward. "Can I read the letter?"

"Nice try," she tells him. "You can do better. I'm sure of it."

She "earns" a satisfied smile from the guy.

"Faven didn't make a mistake when talking about you. You are very assertive in your matters. You know how to extract information to your advantage, don't you?"

"The information I want is not for my advantage, Torn. I want to clear my best friend's reputation. I gain nothing from that," she assures. A small shiver runs down my spine. "It depends on you if you want to contribute to this or not. If you decide not to, we will find a way to solve it on our own. I'm not going to beg for a man to feel happy, okay? It's not about you and your satisfaction. It's about my best friend. I want him to truly rest in peace."

This side of Dakota Laurent is completely new to me. She doesn't hesitate to say those words. She exudes serenity, but her confidence doesn't go unnoticed while doing so. I don't know if it's because I'm not the recipient of her persuasive power anymore, but I'm almost sure she didn't apply that persuasion technique with me. She trusted me enough to spill the beans. With Torn, she wants him to give her trust.

It's strange for someone to trust you so much when they barely exchanged words with you, but I just noticed that it's not that she's too trusting, but because of Faven, she decides to trust me. Plus, she obviously followed my trail for several months. She just met Torn. His reaction is natural.

"Okay, okay," he leans back and drops into his seat. "You convinced me, alright? But give me a moment. I really didn't expect you now. I need to form my own ideas."

Dakota also sits back in her seat. I expect a satisfied smile or something, but she merely nods as if she doesn't care. I like her and find her serenity very attractive after attacking like that, but it's not something I will admit out loud.

Being able to take advantage of her appearance, for the kind of guy Torn seems to be, Dakota uses the weapon of learning. Can I be as convincing with music topics? If she had talked to me like this when we first met, maybe she wouldn't have needed to tell me her story.

Well, there's no way to know now. Things happened as they did for some reason.

"We'll all meet at this address at five o'clock," she slides a piece of paper across the table. The "breaker" guy takes it between his fingers. "If you have a problem with the schedule, now is the time to speak up."

"I work at that time," he comments. "I can't go over there. There must be another alternative."

"Fine. That's understandable. Then we'll wait for you to finish work. I'll pay for the coffee at that place. Do we have a deal?"

He takes a deep breath. I see him hesitate when responding but eventually say it confidently, "We have a deal," Torn says. He sounds resigned.

And like that, once again, Dakota Laurent gets what she wants.