XI

"Claretta, where are you from?" asked Sinta.

She glanced at the tray I was holding. Then said "oh" before I could answer. Secretary Joe and I took our seats and put this tray of food on the table.

"Here's some pasta for Secretary Joe." I picked up the plate of pasta on the tray and handed it to Secretary Joe.

"No need. That's your food," said Secretary Joe.

"No. I took this on purpose for Secretary Joe. I just wanted some lasagna."

Secretary Joe still refuses my pasta. However, I forced him.

"Secretary Joe, please accept this pasta. I'm even bothering lobbying the kitchen staff, you know! Originally they didn't want to make pasta anymore, so it wasn't in the stand," I coaxed.

I cast the same move as I did to Alex. Put on a puppy eye facial expression. For more power, I focused my eyes on Secretary Joe. Finally, Secretary Joe melted and accepted the pasta I gave him. Even though he has other food but he eats this pasta right away. Seeing Secretary Joe gobble up the pasta first made me happy because my struggles of waiting and lobbying were not in vain.

"Claretta, I wonder why you can be separate from us?" asked Sinta while looking at me.

I'm too lazy to tell the reason. Apart from that, I don't have a close relationship with her; I don't want to be judged by her. I looked at Secretary Joe and he was aware of my trait. He stopped eating and cleared his throat.

"How's the food here?" Secretary Joe asked.

"Good," we said at the same time.

"Anyway, I want to ask Sir. Tomorrow there will be a briefing from what time?" asked Sinta forcefully.

She immediately asked about the briefing that would be held the next day. This time I really support Sinta. From under the dining table, I made a "yay." expression with my hand.

"So we have a briefing from 9 am to 1 pm," explained Secretary Joe.

"Wow, wait a minute?" I responded.

"Then after 1 pm, is there any other event besides the briefing?" asked Sinta.

"Nothing. After that, it is your free time. You can go wherever you want," Secretary Joe replied.

Sinta and I looked at each other. It thrilled us to hear Secretary Joe's explanation. In my mind, there are many places I want to visit such as Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Urban Light, Sunset Boulevard, Walt Disneyland and so on. I can't even stop smiling at all the places I want to visit. Then I realized. I don't want to be seen as weird. But I saw that Sinta also seemed to dream.

"Okay… since you've all finished eating. Let's go back to our respective rooms," Secretary Joe interrupted.

Secretary Joe seemed to notice both of us and made us aware of the reality. We finally came back to reality and immediately left this place.

***

I, Sinta, and Secretary Joe have arrived at our respective rooms. Secretary Joe advised we should rest so we wouldn't be tired during the briefing the next day. After sticking the card on the door, I put my bag in the room's corner and immediately lay down on the bed. I looked at the ceiling of this room and spread my arms. I suddenly realized something.

"Gosh, I forgot to reply to the message from S. S!"

Then I walked to the corner of the room, where I put my small bag and suitcase, to pull out my cell phone. I point my finger at the Sudabay app and open a message from S.S. I read the message slowly.

[No. I have no intention of catfishing you at all. I'm real.]

This is the last message I read, but I didn't have time to reply. Then I read the message after.

[I can prove that I am a real person, not a scammer. We can make a call as proof.]

I was a little surprised to read the message from S. S because he was so bold in this message. He wanted to make a call with me without hesitation. I'm still a little wary of S.S. In addition, this application does not have a phone or video call feature.

Ding!

There's another message from S.S. Because I still haven't closed the conversation bubble with S. S, automatically the incoming message is immediately read by me.

[This is my number +1 917 710-XXX]

I looked at the number he gave me. To cross-check, I looked up code number 917 on the Google search engine. Some posts appear in the top searches on Google. Then I read the writing aloud.

"The area code 917 is a telephone area code in North America covering several areas of New York City namely The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island."

I'm getting more and more suspicious of S.S. The app says he lives in Los Angeles but the number says 917 is the New York City area code. It reminded me of some scammers who could use American numbers with the Fake Number app. This application can make users feel like they have a real phone number. Users can call someone with the number given by the app. I don't know how the app works and what happened to the actual owner of the number. However, all of that is beyond my realm.

[YOU LIED ABOUT LOCATION IN THE APP!]

I typed in capital letters and sent messages with a bit of emotion. S. S has too many secrets. Starting from the initials to the location. He's covering himself up, and that's a bummer.

Ding!

[I'm not lying about the location. The first time I created an account on this app, I was in Los Angeles. I originally work in New York and often commute between Los Angeles and New York.]

S. S explained the reason the location he put in the app was incorrect. I know some apps don't show real-time location even though the person has moved their location. Hearing S. S's explanation, I want to believe it but I'm not one to be easily fooled.

[If you are a real person, not a scammer or a catfish, why are you using your initials?]

I still force him to tell me the reason he only wrote his initials. It's an easy thing for ordinary people because a name is an identity that shouldn't be hidden. It's a different story if he commits a crime so that his reputation is tarnished.

[Well I'll tell you the reason I used the initials.]

I read the message S.S sent me. I'm satisfied that finally, his defensive wall is crumbling a bit. If likened to a parable, he is a person who has a house with very high and thick walls while I am a person who wants to break in. I tried to use tools to break down the wall, and it worked. Although I don't know, if the wall crumbled because of my efforts or because it was time to fall bit by bit.

[As you know, the user of the Sudabay app is a man who plays Sugar Daddy and a woman who plays Sugar Baby….]

The dots are still visible. S. S still hadn't finished typing and waited it out.