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NAME: RONALD SILVERTON
Last Mortal Age: 67
Occupation: Truck Driver
Current Rating: 6.71/10
Name: Padma Koval
Last Mortal Age: 82
Occupation: Teacher
Current Rating: 7.8/10
Name: Rosita Padilla
Last Mortal Age: 77
Occupation: Air Traffic Controller
Current Rating: 7.74/10
For the last few hours, I've been obsessively flipping through random spirit guide profiles, looking for a rating that compares to Taishi's 9.86. So far, I haven't found anyone who ranks as high as he does. He might be a pain in the ass, but I'm feeling pretty impressed right now. My instructor seems pretty elite.
With Alyx's help, I successfully manifested a LightTab, which is basically Heaven's version of a tablet. It's bright white, ovular, and lighter than air. It's a pretty awesome device.
Alyx, who's been listening to her music all day, suddenly pops out one of her earbuds and requests, “Look up Wilma Dawes!”
“Okay.” Within a few seconds, I pull up the appropriate spirit guide profile and read aloud, “Wilma Dawes... eighty... housewife... six point six out of ten.”
“Oh man. That's not a very good rating, is it?”
“It's not too bad. It seems about average.” I'm telling the truth. Most spirits seem to cap out at a six or seven. I haven't found too many nines yet, let alone, a nine-point-eight-six. Taishi's truly in a league of his own.
“So your guy is hot and he's good at what he does?” Alyx sneers at me. “That's totally not fair!”
“He's kind of a jerk, though.” I'm stricken with a sudden craving, so I manifest a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. I'm getting a lot better at manifesting. Taishi's insults must have motivated me.
“Oh well. I'd rather have a hot jerk than a nice old lady. Is that bad?”
Ignoring her question, I suddenly shout, “Oh my god... look at this one!” With giant eyes, I show her the profile on the screen.
Name: Jim Stone
Last Mortal Age: 47
Occupation: Gunsmith
Current Rating: 3.8/10
“Three point eight?” I exclaim. “That's the lowest score I've seen. Poor Jim. What happened?”
“I have no idea,” Alyx apathetically replies as she pops her earbud back in. Apparently, she wasn't as shocked as I was.
So, am I going to be rated someday? What if I'm the next Jim Stone? What if, somewhere down the line, some new girl is staring at my profile, wondering how I tanked? That's a terrifying thought.
I wonder if Jophiel has a profile? He's not technically a spirit guide, but maybe he's listed?
It takes me less than three seconds to find my answer.
Name: Jophiel
Last Mortal Age: n/a
Occupation: Archangel
Current Rating: 9.97/10
Aha! Finally, there's someone better than Taishi! 9.97 sounds pretty amazing, but it's kind of funny to think a high-ranking angel would get anything less than a ten out of ten. How in the heck does someone get a perfect score?
I start to search for Amber, but a knock on the door interrupts my fun. I already know it's Taishi. We're heading to London to keep an eye on Cynthia.
When I answer the door, he looks as straight-lipped and smug as ever. I wonder if he ever smiles?
“Are you ready?” he asks.
“Yeah.” When I glance back at Alyx, she's watching my instructor with a predatory grin on her lips. If she thinks he's hot, she can have him.
All of a sudden, we're drifting back down to earth. As usual, Taishi never warns me—he just whisks me away. When we reach our destination, we're in a crowded capsule on The London Eye. Cynthia's standing nearby, reading a book called Best London Eats.
“Oh, wow!” My eyes swell to an abnormal size when I see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament for the first time. “That's amazing!”
“It's alright,” Taishi blandly responds.
“I always wanted to go to London... or anywhere in Europe, really. Paris, Madrid... anywhere. Being dead makes travel easier, huh?” When I see him nodding, I ask, “Do you travel a lot?”
“Only when I'm on a job,” Taishi answers with a sneer. He sneers a lot. I'm starting to think a sneer is his nose's natural state.
“Do you ever get excited about anything?” I ask.
He gives me a one word answer. “Rarely.”
“So, what's the deal with Cynthia? What are we supposed to do now? Are we supposed to... follow her around the city or something?”
“That shouldn't be necessary. She seems fine.” Taishi crosses his arms and closes his eyes. He's so bored by London, he doesn't even care to see it. “She might need a helping hand when she goes to meet that Colton fellow, though.”
“So, like... we're supposed to help her meet him?”
“Precisely,” Taishi answers with a nod. “It shouldn't be too difficult.”
Good. I hope it's easy. I'd like to start off with a 10/10 success rate.
When our capsule descends and the tourists shuffle off, Taishi and I trail behind them. In the corner of my eye, I see a little boy waving to us, so I ask, “Umm... Taishi? Can that kid see us? Is he a medium or something?”
“No. That's Jack. He's a spirit guide too.” Taishi increases his pace and motions for me to follow. “Don't pay attention to him. If you show interest, you won't be able to get rid of him. He talks too much.”
“Oh my god! He's just a little kid, though! Why are you being so mean?”
“Little kid,” Taishi repeats my words with a disgusted snort. “Don't be deceived by his appearance. Jack might look small, but he's centuries old.”
“Oh.”
“Cynthia doesn't need us yet. What do you want to do?” Taishi drags a hand through his glossy black hair. “I can either take you back to Home, or we can do a little sightseeing of our own.”
“Oh my god... sightseeing!” I cry. “Would you really go sightseeing with me, Taishi?”
“Sure.”
To be honest, I'm shocked. This seems a little out of character for him. I thought he'd want to ditch me as fast as possible.
When we reach the busy street, Taishi effortlessly manifests a motorcycle, as well as a change of clothes for himself. Apparently, he thinks motorcyclists should wear black leather coats. If I could, I'd wear one too, but I can't. I'm still wearing the outfit I died in. Until I can manifest new clothes, I'm stuck with a painful reminder of my last night on earth.
“Get on,” Taishi commands as he mounts his new bike.
And then it dawns on me. In a few seconds, I'll be straddling the bike, squashed against Taishi's back. I'll probably have my arms around him too. Why did he have to choose a motorcycle, of all things? Why not a car or a truck—or a lorry, as the British would say.
As I climb on behind him, I try to suppress my groan, but a tiny grumble slips out. As my arms reluctantly engulf his waist, I ask, “Where are we going?”
He fires a question back at me. “Where do you want to go?”
“Maybe... Buckingham Palace or something?” I suggest.
Taishi doesn't respond to my suggestion—he just speeds away without warning. With a surprised squeak, I tighten my grip on his waist. I've never ridden a motorcycle before, so it's a little unnerving. Still, I need to chill. Even if we crash, it's not like I could die a second time.
Taishi races down the congested London street, splitting lanes as he surges forward. He knows he's invincible, so he's driving faster than most. On the way to Buckingham Palace, he takes us past Trafalgar Square, which I recognize from the movies. I wish I could get off and look around, but I already picked our destination, so I don't ask him to stop.
“Are you alright back there?” Taishi barks the question over his shoulder.
“Uh... yeah. I'm still alive.” I chuckle at my faux pas. “Well, I'm a spirit, so I'm technically not alive... but you know what I mean.”
At long last, we reach the residence of English royals, and it's just as grand and massive as I expected it to be. When Taishi stops the motorcycle, I get off and rush over to Buckingham Palace's gate.
“This is incredible!” I exclaim. “I never thought I'd visit London. I wish I was here with my family, but... it's really cool.”
Once again, my instructor shares his underwhelming opinion. “It's alright.”
My brow furrows as I spin in Taishi's direction. “Oh my god... does anything impress you?”
Taishi shakes his head. This time, he doesn't even bother with a one-word answer. He looks so bored by everything, it's starting to get on my nerves.
“Oh, look at the guard in the red coat and the fuzzy hat!” I squeal. Of course, Taishi doesn't bat an eye. Even though his lack of reaction is frustrating, I say, “Thanks for taking me here.”
“Sure.”
“Where else should we go?” I stroke my chin as I ponder my own question. “What are some other major sights in London? The wheel... Big Ben... the Palace...”
“Tower of London?” he quietly suggests.
“Okay! Yeah! Let's go there.” I'm already climbing onto his bike, so I hope he hasn't changed his mind about sightseeing. “Do you know how to get there?”
“I've been all over the world, Riley-san,” Taishi tells me as he revs up his bike. “I could take you anywhere.”
“Wow. That's... impressive.” When I catch myself resting my cheek on his back, I almost die from shame. I hope he didn't feel me getting cozy. “How long have you been doing this?”
“Doing what?”
I don't know what to call his line of work. “Spirit, uh... guidance?”
“Too long,” Taishi sighs. “If I can keep my rating up, I'll have a shot at becoming an archangel... so don't ruin this for me.”
“Wait... I can affect your rating?”
“If you fail your field tests... yes. If you fail, I fail. We're a team.” Every word from Taishi's lips sounds a bit like a groan. Sighing again, he adds, “So like I said... don't mess this up.”