Wednesday morning rolled around. I woke up to an e-mail from Swartz, asking me to meet him on Friday night at the mall. I replied saying I'd be there. I had the night booked off anyhow, so I figured I'd roll out there and see what was so urgent he needed to meet Segs and I without giving us a clue as to why. I spent the morning after designing my costume completely. Then I went out and bought all the materials I figured I'd need, as well as a sewing machine, and called up my friend Sarah. I was hoping to convince her to come over that night, and maybe give me a few tips about stuff, since I hadn't sowed anything since Home Ec class in Grade 8. I mean, I wasn't bad, but I wasn't good either. Unfortunately she was busy tonight but could come over the next morning. Okay, so no crime-fighting tonight. I wasn't willing to risk running into the cops again without a mask an name.
I was off work, since I had called in sick, in antcipation of making the costume, but now that it wasn't happening till tomorrow, I didn't know what to do with myself. Normally, I'd call Seguin or Swartz, but neither one was answering my calls, which was weird enough in and off itself. Jesse was off in Arizona with the rents, and Melis had to babysit. It was nights like this that I wished Dan was still here.
"I wonder, does Dan have a power too? That'd be cool. I mean, probably not, but it'd be awesome if he did. Oh well, I guess I'll check out the worship service at the church at 7. Better then sitting at home all night," I said to myself. Old habits and such. Someday I'll have to stop that.
I showered up, and choose out some of my nicer clothes. I always preferred to look nice when going out to these things. I guess it was my way of being prepared, since you never knew when you'd meet a cute girl. Not that I did much of the going up to said cute girl thing. Never really been one to be over-confident like that. I put on my best casual shoes, and walked out the front door.
I started to get out my car keys, when I had a thought; I could save myself the gas, and just "flash over". Plus, I could use the practice with it, if I was ever gonna do more then just straight lines.
"Meh, why not," I mumbled.
I flashed my way there, stopping at most corners. Luckily, there was no traffic, so no one noticed me. I guess that's one of the benefits of living in a small town. I even managed to take a corner without having to pause. I was getting better at this!
When I got to the edge of the church parking lot, I started walking for the doors, incase anyone was around. I noticed Brian's car. Good. Atleast he's making a show of trying. Hopefully he holds out. I walked into the front doors, and into Hammacher Hall. As I hung up my coat on the coatrack, I glanced around to see if there was anyone I knew. I saw Brian and his family starting to walk in, and Beth glanced at me, giving me one of her smiles. Glad to see things were still good there. Id have to make a point to talk with her after the service.
I made another quick glance around the hall, saw no one I cared to talk with, and started heading for the door. Maybe I'd see more people I knew once I got in. I was hoping maybe Phil or Andrew were somewhere inside. Right before I got to the door, I heard my name from behind me.
"Greg Taves? Is that you? I haven't seen you in ages." The voice was definitely female, but one I didn't instantly recognize. Hmm, interesting. I turned around, wondering who it could possibly be. My jaw literally dropped.
There standing by the side door, was the cutest girl I had ever seen. She was about a slender 5'5", with blond hair that ended and the just below the shoulders, and brown eyes. I mean, I'm normally a sucker for blue eyes, but man, these eyes where appealing. And they glinted green when the light caught them. She wore a blue tanktop, with black pants, and a three-quarter lengths black coat, that she held in her hands. She gave me a slender smile, almost a smirk, and it was then that I remembered my jaw was still hanging open. She laughed as I closed it. God, I knew that smile from somewhere. Where though, I had no clue at the moment.
"Um, hey. Ya, it has been a while? How's it going?" I said. I was running through my memories at the moment, trying to figure out why I couldn't for the life of me remember a girl as stunning as this. And how did she know me?
"Ya, it has. Alittle more then 4 years, since the day you quit. Never was the same once you left. I only stayed on for another week. What have you been doing since?" she said, still giving off that amused little slender smile of hers. She finished hanging her coat up, and walked over to me. Okay, so I knew I had worked with her at somepoint. What was I doing 4 years ago. Short Stop. Right, Short Stop. Okay, who'd I work with there?
"Um, not too much. Did some school, some working, some saving the world. You know how it is," I found myself saying. That got a laugh from her. Humour, that's good. For some reason, even though I was clearly off balance, my confidence was still there, and I hadn't blanked on making conversation yet. "Ofcourse, even I can take a night off to come check this out. What about you? What have you been upto since the Short Stop days?" Good, let her know you know where it is you know her from.
"Oh, nothing quite as epic as saving the world. I've just been doing the school thing since. Almost done too. Soon I'll be a full-fledge graduate, and then maybe I'll think about joining in saving the world. I mean, if I can manage the time. Been eating much cheese-wiches lately?" she asked, smirking.
Cheese-wiches? What the hell is she.. Oh my God! No way. This couldn't be the girl it had to be. The girl who used to always used to bug me for my habit of eating toast with just cheese in the middle. The girl who I helped out with her history. The girl I remember was 17, cute, but in a younger sister kinda way, and fun to hang around. Heck, my old car was the first car she drove. There's no way it could be her, but then she smiled again, and I knew forsure it was her. The smile was the same, but the woman who stood before me was completely different then I remembered her. She'd definitely grown up to be a beautiful woman. Maybe I just never noticed how pretty she was before cause I was 20, and had a girlfriend. I never was into younger girls then.
"Ofcourse, Katelyn. How else would I get both my dairy and grain servings each day? Your right though, it's been a while since we've seen each other. Too long, if you ask me. You've grown up to be a beautiful young lady," I said, making her blush, and catching myself off-guard aswell. What was I doing? I'm never smooth. This is usually where my confidence falters, and I say something really dumb, and then go 'Nice to see you again, bye' and walk away. But for some reason, I felt more confident today. In retrospect, it musta been because of the powers. They made me feel like I could tackle anything. They were an answered prayer for me. My most ridiculous prayer, one that I never thought God would answer, was. Why should I be sweating anything else when He had saw fit to grant my most ludicrious wish. Clearly, He had plans for me.
"So, Kate, shall we go in and sit down together? I'd be my pleasure to have your company in there," I said, with a smirk of my own, extending my hand in invitation. Her blush deepened abit, and then she took my hand.
"Well, Greg, it's nice to see that you haven't lost your touch for making a girl feel special. I'd love too." I looked into her eyes before I turned, and they glinted green. We turned and walked in. Ofcourse, I held the door for her on the way in. Old habits die hard.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment