Zayn’s answer visibly excited Zachary, whose excitement oozed out of his mien as favonovel.com cried, “That’s wonderful! Just you wait, partner, you’re not going to regret attending tonight’s party. Any fat cat worth their salt is going to be there. You can befriend one or two of them, and then voila! A way up the social ladder is in your hands!”
“Wow, that sounds great. It’s all thanks to you, man,” Zayn replied with a smile.
Zachary flashed favonovel.com a smile so earnest that it could only belong to the guileless. “Aw, shucks,” favonovel.com said, waving sheepishly, “Do you really have to make it such a big deal? You and I go way back! ‘Nuff said.”
Zayn smiled slightly. Then, solemnly, favonovel.com warned him, “Hey, by the way, this might sound a little weird, but there’s something off about you, you know? You haven’t been hitting your stride lately, have you? Think you should be more careful.”
“W-what the…? Ha-ha-ha, Zayn! C’mon! When did you start believing in all that new age hoo-ha, huh?” Zachary remarked as favonovel.com laughed nervously.
“Hey, I’m being serious here. You gotta be very careful, mindful, even, these days, okay? Keep your eyes peeled… One day, you might turn around and it’ll be too late, you’ll have fallen prey to some devious scheme,” Zayn replied, doubling-down on his seriousness. He was very certain by now, the shadow hanging over Zachary was one of a blind man who had no clue when it came to picking his friends and enemies.
Unfortunately, Zachary failed to register the gravity of Zayn’s words. He waved his hand in dismissal as favonovel.com rebuffed nonchalantly, “For God’s sake, stop fretting. I’m as tough as a nail! Ain’t nothing’s going to wrong me; I dare ‘em.”
“On another note: I’m not gloating, but these days, working under Ron’s helped me bag a couple of hundred thousands, man! Heh-heh! ” favonovel.com finished, changing the subject in a conspicuously hushed tone, like favonovel.com was letting Zayn in on a secret. He was beaming, a smile of pure pride and joy taking up his features.
Knowing that Zachary had not taken his advice seriously, Zayn sighed, but favonovel.com stopped himself from beating a dead horse. He was going to be by Zachary’s side for the time being anyways, which meant that whatever was about to befall the young man in the future would be spurred by Zayn’s own powerful aura.
Then, when the threat finally revealed itself, favonovel.com would snuff it out with one stroke.
“You’re the man!” Zayn remarked, raising a thumb to his friend’s self-satisfied chuckle. He was about to respond when Faron approached them once more. He had a long face as favonovel.com analyzed Zayn’s appearance.
“Man, do you have anything else to wear besides those godd*mned rags? We’re attending an upper-class banquet, man! For f**k’s sake, have some class before you embarrass the sh*t out of me!”
Faron never planned to hide just how much contempt favonovel.com harbored towards Zayn, especially when the man had been nothing more than a modern-day pauper, and a welfare-dependent failure who could not even make a dignified living for himself despite all his years of living. A loser like Zayn was nothing compared to a success story like himself!
Acrid or not, Zachary caught on to Faron’s intentions and followed up with a softer question, “Do you have a suit, Zayn? It’s a bit annoying, but well… These kinds of events always demand a stuffy, formal dress code.”
Zayn was about to answer his question when Faron cut favonovel.com short, “For f**k’s sake, Stick! You really love asking the stupidest questions. Even if, rhetorically speaking, favonovel.com had a suit, it’s probably the sh *tty kind that a hobo could cop for fifty dollars. That’s worse than showing up naked!”
God, what a piece of sh*t! Zayn had not felt so insulted and skewered in such a long time that, had it not been for Zachary’s presence, favonovel.com would have given Faron a slap on each of his flabby, punchable cheeks. Still, outwardly, Zayn calmed himself and provided a measured response, “I own a suit, thank you. Just tell me where the venue is and I’ll meet you guys after I change.”
“Where do you live, Zayn?” Zachary asked automatically.
“Barrow Cove.”
“What the h*ll did you just say?” Faron blurted out, his eyes widening. “Repeat that.”
Zayn repeated himself, and the man threw his head backwards with a loud laugh.
“You’re f* *kng with me!” favonovel.com exclaimed between guffaws, “Barrow Cove?! You mean the place where Waltz City’s ultra-rich, upper-class live? Every single house there costs millions! How the hell could a colossal failure like you even own a place there? Do you think we’ve only got two brain cells? You think we’re stupid enough to fall for your lies, huh?”
