“Cool. I like Bernard.”
Tao laughed. “Yeah, if you like senile old morons.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “He is definitely not a moron, nor is he senile. I’m sorry, but did you say you were friends with him?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, but even you have to admit he’s off his rocker.”
I shook my head. “He’s eccentric. Most bona fide geniuses usually are.”
He smiled at me. “You don’t like me.”
“I don’t know you. I don’t care one way or another for you.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but I can tell I annoy you.”
“You were rude to me in Austin and you’ve insulted my friend. So far you’re oh for two, Zhang.”
His eyes bugged. “You pronounced my name correctly.”
“Listen, is there a reason you stopped me? I’ve got to get back to Salinger and Bernard.”
Tao looked behind me briefly and shifted and put his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. Are you and Salinger, like, a thing or something?”
I shook my head. “No, we’re just friends.”
“Lily?” someone called for me. I recognized Salinger’s voice.
I felt my stomach grow tight. I wonder if he heard that?
“Just checking on you,” he said. “You coming?”
“Uh, yeah.” I turned toward Tao. “If you’ll excuse me, we’re gonna sit with Bernard in the bar upstairs.”
“Oh, really? You don’t mind if I join you, right?”
I looked at Salinger, unsure what to say.
“Uh, sure,” I told him.
All three of us climbed the stairs to the main lobby and crossed the marble floor to the small bar there. Bernard sat at a table, sipping a drink.
“You were gone forever!” he said to Salinger.
“I was only gone two minutes, Bernard. Stop being dramatic.”
Bernard leaned forward when I sat. He glanced at Tao but didn’t greet him.
“Young lady,” he said.
“Yes?”
“Do you know who this man is?” he asked me.
I coughed over a laugh. “Um, yes, I do.”
“This is the boy you will play in the final round.”
I turned to Tao. “I didn’t know you were playing this tournament.”
“When I found out you would be here and since you were explicit when you said you wouldn’t be going to Nationals, I just knew I had to come see you for myself,” Tao told me.
“Pish, posh!” Bernard interrupted. “She will be at Nationals. Why would you assume she wouldn’t be at Nationals?”
“Because she told me so herself,” Tao answered him.
Bernard stared at me like I had two heads.
“You are going to Nationals. Period.”
I turned toward Bernard and chose to ignore his demand. “Bernard, you don’t know if I will even make it to the final round.”
Tao and Salinger looked at me, both boys with totally different expressions on their faces.
Bernard rapped his knuckle on the table. “Absolute horse hockey. You are the best player here.”
Tao grinned at me.
“Well,” I argued, “Tao’s rating is so much higher than mine, Bernard. He’s the better player.”
“Wrong,” he said. I felt my face and throat flame. “You are the best player here, probably the best player nationally, and even more likely to be the best player in the world.”
He was giving me a panic attack. “Bernard!” I exclaimed. “You’re overestimating me!”
He looked at me, actually met my eye line, something he’d rarely done. “That is an untruth. I have perfectly estimated you.”
Tao watched me closely, very closely. He sat back in his chair, his head cocked to one side, tongued one of his eyeteeth, and smiled. He made me very uncomfortable.
“Excuse me, young man!” Bernard called out to the bartender. He stood and approached the bar, unaware of the tension at the table.
I looked toward Salinger, but he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at Tao.
“He’s overestimating me,” I said quietly, staring at my hands on the table.
“I guess we’ll find out,” Tao said, standing up. I looked up at him and he leaned over me, his hand resting on the table next to my own hands. “Don’t you dare lose in the first few rounds.” He stood upright again, stuck his hands in his pockets, and walked back through the lobby.
I watched him walk to the stairs then turned back toward Salinger. I was ready to say something to him but the expression on his face confused me. He almost looked angry at me. He couldn’t possibly be angry at me, right?
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
He looked down at the table. “Nothing,” he lied. “I’ll be right back,” he said, standing up and walking out.
“Wait! Salinger!” I called after him, but he ignored me.
I watched his back disappear under the stairs and wanted to chase after him, but I didn’t want to leave Bernard either. He sat next to me again.
“This man didn’t know what a sidecar was. Despicable. Calling himself a bartender.” I turned his direction. He looked around the table. “Where are Salinger and Tao?”
“I think I scared them off.”
“Unlikely,” he commented. “You’re not frightening.”
“I just meant I must have said or done something to offend them both.”
“You must remedy that then,” he said, sipping his drink.
“I don’t care so much to chase after Tao, but I do want to find Salinger.”
“Check his room.”
“We’re not staying here.”
“What? That is ridiculous. No, I’ll have none of that. Come here, young lady,” he demanded.
I followed him into the lobby.
“They had rooms available,” I explained, not sure what he was so upset about and taking a shot in the dark. “We just can’t afford them.”
“That is such a stupid reason to not do anything.”
I laughed. “Some would disagree with you, Bernard.”
He studied me. “I suppose. I’ve never really had that problem, though. My family was rich and I made a lot of money in tournaments before I left the circuit. I invested well.”
I stifled a giggle. “That’s wonderful, Bernard.”
We stood at the front desk until someone called us.
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“I’m getting you two a room.”
“No, seriously, Bernard, we don’t have the cash for this.”
“I know this, daft girl! I’m getting you two a pair of rooms.”
“Bernard! That’s too expensive. I can’t let you do that.”
He waved me off as he usually did.
“Mr. Calvin, a pleasure to see you again,” the desk clerk said, but I could tell he most definitely did not actually feel that way. “How can I help you?”
“Yes, I need two rooms.”
“Two more rooms?” he asked.
“Is there someone here who is not incompetent?” he responded.
“Bernard!” I kindly chided. “That’s rude.”
“It’s fine,” the clerk told me. “I’m sorry, Mr. Calvin. Yes, I can get two more rooms for you. Would you like the same number of nights?”
“I am only staying one night. That is the minimum and maximum. Are you sure there isn’t someone else here who might be able to help me? Not that inept bartender, though.”
I’m sorry, I mouthed to the clerk.
“One night it is,” the clerk replied.
He printed up a receipt and handed Bernard two plastic entry keys.
“Thank you, young man. You have performed satisfactorily.”
“My pleasure, sir.”
We walked off and Bernard handed me a key. “Here you are, young lady.”
“Thank you, Bernard. It’s really very nice of you.”
“I am not nice. I am merely making it so you will be closer to the tournament. I want to make sure you are at your optimal tomorrow.”
I smiled a knowing smile at him. “Sure, Bernard. Of course.”
Bernard and I walked around for a few minutes trying to find Salinger but people kept approaching us wanting to talk to Bernard, and eventually he became overwhelmed, so I walked him back to his room. I went to the front desk to have them take my and Salinger’s luggage out of storage and delivered to our rooms. We’d had them store it while we registered and had plans on taking it out before we left for our own hotel.