Ruben is dressed in finery that there’s no way in hell he should possess, and his hug lacks the distinct ‘slum odour’ that used to characterise our embraces.
‘Ruben, this is Benny. He’s the?—’
‘Just Benny,’ he interrupts smoothly, stepping forward and offering a hand before I can say his title. ‘Pleased to meet you, Ruben.’
As the three of us stand there, I can hardly take my eyes off my old friend. He looks every inch an aristocrat, decked out in fine tailoring with his hair coiffed to perfection, although the way he fiddles with the bottom of his shirt almost gives it away.
Though frankly, the nervousness only makes me more overjoyed to see him. It’s a far cry from the arrogance that normally fills the High Hold.
‘You know,’ Ruben says to me after a moment, ‘I’m pretty sure it’s rude to stare.’
‘Sorry.’ I let out an awkward laugh. ‘I know, I know. It’s just … you look good. How do you look so good?’
‘Well, that’s a backhanded compliment if I’ve ever heard one.’ He grins, taking any sting out of his words.
‘No, no, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that … your clothes, your … everything?—’
‘I don’t look like I’m from the slums anymore? Figures since I now have a place in the third,’ he says with quiet pride.
With everything that’s happened over the last day, I thought I was done with surprises. But this has me beaming in shock. ‘You’re kidding? The third ring? How?’ I’ve heard of people moving from the slums to the fifth – it’s rare, but it happens – but to move all the way to the third…?
‘Come in,’ I say, realising we’re still standing in the doorway. ‘I need to hear everything.’
As he moves forward, it’s Ruben’s turn to stare in wonder, and he gapes at the magnificent house I now live in.
‘Gods, Rosey. How the hell did you cope so well in the slums if this is where you grewup?’
It’s a good question. All these years, I’ve told myself I’m good at adapting. I had to be. The slums taught me that survival belongs to those who bend first and break last.
But the High Hold is a different beast entirely. Here, everything is polished and sharp-edged, built for people who have never had to learn how to endure.
Adapting to this place will not be about hunger or cold, but about remembering who I am when every smile around me has a dagger hidden behind it.
The danger here is not that I will fail to belong. It is that I might succeed and lose myself in the process.
Still, I give Ruben the only answer I can. ‘I’m good at adapting,’ I reply with a brittle smile.
Having Ruben here reminds me that it’s true; I’ve dealt with change before. I can do so again.
‘Come on in. Let’s sit,’ I urge, dragging him into the dining room. He may as well eat while he’s here, and it’s not like there isn’t more than enough to go around.
‘How did you get into the third?’ I ask again as I push him into a chair. Before he can answer, I ask, ‘Are you hungry?’ I point to the ridiculous spread Summer has prepared. ‘Please, help yourself.’
‘No, no, I’m good,’ Ruben replies.
‘Youare.You aredefinitelygood,’ Benny mutters beside me.
I elbow him, hard, then ignore Benny and face Ruben pointedly. ‘How are you here? How are you…?’ I gesture to his fine clothes as words fail me.
‘Looking so hot?’ Benny finishes for me. ‘I think that’s what she’s trying to ask, right, Rose?’
I roll my eyes at him.
‘I think Rosey will agree I’ve always been hot,’ Ruben says, flashing Benny a quick smirk. ‘But if you’re talking about the clothes and my miraculous transformation, that’s easy to explain. I took a bet – several actually – and they paid out. Very,verywell.’
‘You bet? On what?’ The question has barely left my lips when I realise the answer, and my hand flies to my mouth. ‘Ruben. You didn’t?’
His smile widens as he offers a slight shrug. ‘I knew you wouldn’thave entered unless you could win. So I sold a few things – well, yeah, everything, actually. I also called in a few favours to get a bit more, and then I bet on you to win. And well, here we are.’
