Numbers Ascending

by Rebecca Rode

  Malachi couldn’t help but return the grin. “Maybe.” Would Andreah show up tomorrow? He had to wait twenty hours to find out. Twenty hours was a really long time. He grabbed a piece of untouched chicken, holding it by the bone, and started to gnaw at the meat.

  Dad glanced toward the door, making sure they were alone. “This is where most fathers would give some kind of pep talk or discuss their own experience with girls. But I’m reluctant to do that. My dating experiences were a little . . . unconventional. Your mom exploded into my life and never let me go.”

  Exploded was an interesting way to put it. Had Andreah exploded into Malachi’s life as well? He liked to think so. “You guys fought in a war together. You sure the explosions weren’t the literal kind?”

  He chuckled. “There were those too. Like I said, our relationship wasn’t a common one. We had harder struggles than most, but I think the intensity of those struggles made our bond stronger in the end.”

  Malachi put down the empty bone and reached for another. “Like I said, I barely know her.”

  “That’s where it usually starts.”

  Malachi tore a bite of chicken off the bone and set it down, pushing the plate away. “Okay. Well, I’m heading to bed.” Not that he could sleep anytime soon, but he wasn’t sure he could handle more questions.

  “Leading a country is hard, Malachi. It requires everything you are and sometimes even things you aren’t. You’ll need a partner to give you strength and support you when nobody else does. Whether that’s this girl or another, we support you. Really.” He leaned forward, a twinkle in his eye. “But our support wanes considerably after curfew.”

  Malachi chuckled and rose from his chair. “Got it.”

  Dad grabbed the plate, pushed back from the table, and strode toward the incinerator. “Dinner together tomorrow, then? I think your mom was planning to be here. All three together at last.”

  Fates. Tomorrow, of all days. He kept his voice light, nonchalant. “I may have something going on tomorrow.”

  Dad placed his plate in the sink, frowning. “Well, we’ll do it when we can.”

  Malachi showed up at the park long before the sun dipped over the horizon. He told himself he simply needed time to think. He wasn’t sure which possibility made him more nervous—Andreah coming, or not showing up at all. Children played on the playground equipment, and the sound of laughter and parents calling to their offspring hung in the air like a happy memory.

  He’d spent his childhood at this park. The equipment was different, having been replaced several years ago, but he recalled being content here. While mothers lined the benches, it had always been Dad or the nanny who brought him. Mom was always too busy. Every day was an exception, an excuse, a reason she couldn’t be with their family. It hadn’t bothered him much as a child, so why did it bother him now? He was almost sixteen years old. Another couple of years and he’d officially become mom’s successor. Nobody would treat him quite the same way again.

  Was that what drew him to Andreah—some sense of normalcy? Of being seen as a person rather than the heir to a throne he wasn’t sure he wanted? His parents always said it was his duty, his privilege, his responsibility. But his parents had chosen this. He hadn’t. And if he rejected it, there would be nobody else to take it on.

  The sky took on a pink hue, painting the clouds in brilliant purples and blues. Only a few minutes until the sun disappeared and darkness fell upon the city. Most people would walk home from work, their heads down and their thoughts heavy, never noticing the brilliant sky above. He would have. At least, before he met Andreah.

  He scanned the park again, looking for a girl with out-of-control curls and a cunning smile. She was nowhere to be seen. A quick look up and down the street revealed only parents clasping the hands of their children, heading home for dinner. Family dinner. Something Malachi was missing right now.

  He was a fool. All those guys who’d surrounded her at school, and then the group at the arcade—she had plenty of male attention. What made him think he had a chance? His identity certainly hadn’t impressed her. He recalled her discomforted expression at his invitation and how quickly she’d walked away.

  The sun touched the earth and began to descend.

  Malachi watched the park empty as the sky grew dark, gray and black overtaking its brilliant blues and purples. As blackness emerged victorious and the colors faded for good, his hope faded with it. The playground was silent. He was alone now.

  She wasn’t coming.

  He shoved his hands into his pockets and started for home. He wanted nothing more than to disappear into his room and stay there for a very long time. With any luck, his parents would be gone and there would be no questions.

  I don’t care whether my parents are there or not. I’m not some child who needs comforting. I’m the future leader of a country.

  “You don’t look like you’re in the mood for an astronomy lecture,” Andreah said, falling into step beside him.

  He nearly tripped as his heart skipped a beat. “Just thinking about something.”

  “I get sad when I think about astronomy too, but it’s because I’m contemplating my role in the universe and I feel insignificant. I’m guessing that isn’t the case here.”

  On the contrary. Somehow, this girl he barely knew had nailed it without even trying. He chuckled to himself. “You are not insignificant. You’re the first person who’s ever defeated Numbers Nemesis.”

  “In this generation, maybe. I bet there were hundreds who conquered it a century ago. Doesn’t that worry you? That we’re getting dumber as a country or something?”

  “Their generation started a war that killed off almost everyone. I wouldn’t say we’re the dumb ones. Particularly this one girl I know.” He snuck a sideways glance at her. She wore only half her hair up tonight, leaving the rest to tumble wildly over her shoulders. She looked like a gust of wind had picked her up and thrown her halfway across town. After his neat, orderly life of tended gardens and constantly sanitized surfaces, Andreah was delightfully and refreshingly real.

  She nodded. “Kate Manwaring, I know. She’s pretty brilliant.”

  They both laughed and fell into an easy silence. He avoided the corner that led home and took the long route instead. If she noticed, she didn’t seem to care.

  “I have a confession to make,” he said, slowing to a stop on the sidewalk. She halted and turned to face him. The same street lamps that made it difficult to see the stars lit her face in a way that seemed mysterious and comforting at the same time. “I don’t walk in that park very often anymore.”

  “I know. I asked around.” There was that discomfort again, except it was more embarrassment this time.

  “Because I’m so intriguing, you had a thousand questions.”

  “Because I don’t often meet guys I don’t know alone in the dark.” She gave me a pointed look. “Lucky for you, everyone admires you and you have no criminal record. I checked that too.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “So you don’t meet guys alone often. Just on occasion.”

  “Only when they make offers I can’t refuse. Science lectures are my weakness.” She grinned shyly and continued walking.

  Something in him did a somersault as he hurried to her side. As he did, her hand brushed his and set his heart flipping all over again. When it came around again, he was ready. He caught her hand, sliding his fingers down her wrist. Her fingers moved to intertwine with his. If it weren’t for the molten fire burning through his veins, it would have felt like this happened every day. Like their hands belonged together.

  Their pace slowed. He couldn’t tell who had initiated that. When they drew to a stop once more, he realized that they’d reached his front gate. Despite his best efforts, their walk was over.

  “I should walk you home,” he said, but she shushed him and tilted her face up to the sky.

  “I see two planets,” she finally said. “Do you see them too?”

  He followed her gaz
e, but all the stars looked the same. “Of course. They’re the white ones, way up there. Kind of blinky?”

  She snorted. “If you look close enough, planets look almost pink. These two are Mars and Venus. If you see one, you can often see the other.”

  “Cute. It’s like they’re buddies.”

  “I call them cautious lovers. Never quite touching, but crossing paths often. Keeping each other in sight while they live their lives.”

  Malachi squeezed her hand, which remained in his despite having reached their destination. A rare boldness flared in his chest. “Maybe they both want more but they’re afraid to say so.”

  “Maybe they want a few hundred million years to decide what they want.” She tore her gaze from his and examined the gate. His ridiculous house loomed in the distance, far larger than any of the neighbors’ homes. If he ever had a choice, he would build himself a modest home in the country—far away from the city and its judging pairs of eyes. If he had a garden, it would be to grow food, not flowers that only existed to show off. And it would have dozens of windows to observe the sunsets.

  An image of him standing inside his future house, his arms around Andreah, sank into his mind. It was so startling that he nearly dropped her hand. They weren’t even sixteen yet. Upon graduation, Andreah would get an invitation to Neuromen and he would spend the rest of his life in a tiny corner office followed by, someday, the Copper Office itself. They would never see each other again.

  Except they had time together, right now. Months or even years that he intended to seize rather than letting them slip away.

  He caught sight of two familiar figures in the kitchen window and smiled. “Do you want to come inside for a while? My parents think I’m the smartest teenager in the world. It would do them good to see that’s not true. I’m sure there will be ample opportunities for a science lecture or two.”

  She pursed her lips together. At first, his stomach plummeted. Had he just invited a strange girl to meet his parents? Did she find him too forward? He imagined her dropping his hand and running down the street, screaming for help from the psychotic Hawking heir.

  But then he noticed her shoulders shaking. She was laughing.

  “Let’s save the lectures for another night. If you have any food, though, I may take you up on that. I haven’t eaten dinner.”

  “Neither have I,” he admitted, and pushed the gate open. “I’m sure we can find something. I have to warn you, though. My parents may stuff you so full that you need a ride home.”

  “Perfect. I’ll be less tired for our lecture tomorrow night. You are going to show, right? You wouldn’t stand me up?”

  He grinned. “Nope. I’ll definitely be there tomorrow night.”

  And, he knew, for every day after.

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  About the Author

  REBECCA RODE is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her published fiction includes the Numbers Game and Numbers Game Legacy trilogies, the Ember in Space series, and several novellas. She is also a freelance journalist. Rebecca has four children, two cats, one husband, and a ridiculous number of books. Visit her at AuthorRebeccaRode.com.