by Drew Hayes
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Vince said politely, shaking his hand.
“You too, kid, and that is some grip,” Gerry replied. “They making all you kids into ultra-soldiers?”
“Just basic Hero training,” Vince said, an unwitting smile coming to his lips.
“Yeah, well, with training like what they’re giving you, I’m glad I’m not a criminal. Four years of this and you’ll be able to take on an army,” Gerry quipped.
“Maybe, but we’ll all hope we never have to,” Vince said.
“Damn right, kid. So Nick, you know any good burger joints around here?”
“A couple,” Nick replied. “But Gerry, Vince and I sort of made plans already.”
“Well then, Vince can come along,” Gerry said with a big grin.
Vince took a step back and raised his hands. “No, no, I really couldn’t. You two go enjoy yourselves. I’ll call Alex up; his parents aren’t coming in ‘til tomorrow so we can have still have unsupervised fun.”
“You sure, kid? We got plenty of room in my car,” Gerry said.
“Really, Vince, you’re more than welcome,” Nick reiterated.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Vince said. “You guys have fun, I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Nick said hesitantly. Vince nodded emphatically.
“I guess that’s that, then. Good to meet you, Vince,” Gerry said, stepping over to the door. He and Nick walked wordlessly up the hallway. Only after they had stepped outside, checked to make sure the door was secure, and done a visual sweep did any words pass their lips.
“Good kid,” Gerry commented. “He the one without any family?”
“Yup,” Nick confirmed.
“You know he was lying about the other friend, right? He’s going to sit in there alone all night.”
“I know, Gerry. We invited him, though.”
“We could have pushed harder.”
Nick shook his head. “Wouldn’t have done any good. I slipped up and let him see how glad I was to see you. Vince could have never infringed on our time after something like that. He wouldn’t have budged no matter how hard we pushed.”
“Huh. Quite a guy you befriended there.”
“Whatever you say. Ready to get some food?” Nick asked.
“Sure, my car is over that way,” Gerry said, pointing past a garish stretch limousine and a few people dressed to the nines standing around it.
“Crap,” Nick said. “Let’s circle around. The blonde wearing black is another dorm mate of mine and I’d really rather not get drawn into talking with her or her dad.”
Gerry let out a low whistle. “She’s quite a looker. Which one is that, the flyer or the telepath?”
“Flyer,” Nick replied.
“Alice, then. And the guy with here is her dad. Any idea who the other girl is?”
“Not a clue about her name, but she’s one of the few female juniors in the HCP,” Nick replied. He had long ago compiled a mental list of every face he saw below ground as well as what class they belonged in.
“She must be some kind of powerful bitch,” Gerry observed. “Your friend looks pretty uncomfortable.”
“She’s fine,” Nick said, brushing it off. “Let’s go eat.”
“Campbell, if you think she’s fine, we need to go back over how to read body language and I mean now.”
“Fine, so she’s miserable and trying to hide it,” Nick replied. “That’s her problem; I’m off duty on the friend act.”
“Isn’t this the girl who saved your life?” Gerry asked.
“Yeah, on the mountain. Why?”
“Heavens above, kid, what do you mean why? The girl you owe your life to is practically biting back tears and you want to sneak by so she can’t see you.”
Nick sighed. “You know, for a con man, you sure have strict moral code.”
“The key part of con man is the word ‘man.’ You have to have empathy with your fellow human beings or you’re just a sociopath, and they make the shittiest con men alive,” Gerry pointed out.
“So what do you want me to do? Go slash the tires of the car so they can’t go to dinner?”
“Interject yourself, give her someone familiar she can lean on in the middle of shitty situation,” Gerry said.
“How? I wouldn’t do that. I mean... the me that they know wouldn’t do that. Hell, he wouldn’t even know how,” Nick said.
Gerry shrugged. “You got your license to work solo a long time ago. It’s not my job to figure out the angle for you.”
“No, it’s your job to tell me when to break my cover for no good reason,” Nick snapped back.
“Campbell, right now you’d be dead in the ground if not for that girl. There’s your good reason. If you can’t see how you owe her at least a little help when she’s upset, then maybe basic human empathy is something you’ve already lost touch with,” Gerry said simply.
“Damn it,” Nick cursed, taking off his sunglasses and handing them to Gerry. “Give me those back tonight. Lunchie and Munchie’s Burgers on 22 and V. One in the morning. And you are so buying after this shit.”
“Deal,” Gerry agreed as he watched Nick stride off across the grass.
* * *
“-so that’s why I’m holding myself in seventh place,” Beth said, concluding her story. “I could go higher, but right now I just feel like those other six need the self-esteem from it more. I mean, I’m already so blessed, why be greedy?”
“A very kind gesture,” Mr. Adair said. “You’re quite the caring girl.”
“Indeed,” Alice agreed. She wasn’t gritting her teeth yet, but it was becoming an effort. It was strange; she’d been the good little daughter for so long without even trying. Yet after only a few months at Lander, living in this role felt like getting dental surgery without anesthetic. She didn’t know what could have changed so much in such a short time. Had Alice been a touch more introspective, it might have occurred to her that the answer was herself. Perhaps she would have arrived there anyway, but at that particular moment a considerable interruption to her thought process occurred.
Alice felt an arm curl gently around the small of her back. At the same time a hand cradled her chin and pulled it in close. A pair of lips landed lightly on her cheek before she was released from the silken net of the grip that held her. She turned her head and found herself looking into a pair of brown, utterly foreign eyes. She was surprised, though not nearly as shocked as when she pulled back her gaze and saw the face that owned those eyes.
“Sorry I’m late, darling,” Nick said, giving her a comforting smile. “I got caught up at the study session for physics.” Nick turned away from the stunned-into-silence Alice and faced her father.
“You must be Mr. Adair. I must say it’s an honor to finally meet you, sir. I’m Nicholas Campbell, Alice’s boyfriend.”
94.
“A pleasure,” Mr. Adair said, his eyebrows lifting. “Forgive my surprise, my daughter never mentioned that she had a suitor.”
“Yes, we only recently decided to make things official, so there hasn’t been much time to tell anyone,” Nick said. “It took me quite a bit of work to show your daughter I was worth having.”
“Good to hear. A man who won’t put in the work is a man who won’t stick around when things get hard,” Mr. Adair said.
“I couldn’t agree more, sir.”
It was at this point that Alice’s brain finally snapped back from the certainty that she was having a truly awful nightmare and sprang into action. After it entertained a few violent, murderous scenarios for how to deal with Nick, it decided to focus on more plausible solution instead.
“Honey,” Alice said in a voice dripping with sweetness. “Can I speak with you for a minute?”
“Only if your father and his guest will excuse us,” Nick said deferentially.
“By all means,” Mr. Adair said.
“Um, sure,” Beth chimed in.
“So kind of you b
oth,” Nick said. He took Alice’s arm in his and walked away from the car. When they were about forty feet away Alice turned to him with a huge smile on her face. From a distance it was good camouflage, but if you were too close the murder in her eyes gave away its falsehood.
“Any last words to your testicles before I separate them from your body?”
“Only together for a few minutes and already you know I love the kinky stuff,” Nick replied.
“Nick, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Helping, believe it or not. You looked so helpless dealing with that bitch that I decided to jump in and help.”
“I wasn’t helpless.”
“Fine, miserable then.”
That one Alice had a harder time disputing, so instead she went after Nick’s methods.
“So how exactly does you being my boyfriend help?”
“I can be charming when I want to be. Besides, I thought it might just be nice to have a friend along. I mean, you’ve been looking forward to your dad coming since you found out. From the size of the car and the way that girl is dressed, I’m guessing it isn’t the family affair you were expecting. I just figured if I were in your shoes I’d rather have a friend than face such a disappointment alone,” Nick explained.
“That’s... surprisingly sweet-intentioned,” Alice said. “You’re not secretly the shape-shifting kid, are you?”
“Would the shape-shifting kid know you used to have a very well-justified fear of heights?” Nick asked.
“Touché,” Alice said. “I still don’t know how comfortable I am with you pretending to be my boyfriend, though.”
“Look, I’ve already made the play and you went with it. So now we’re either together, or you get to explain how your friend took pity on you and pretended to be your beau to your father and that oh-so-lovely young woman.”
“Damn it. You’ve got a point.”
“Hence why I made it. Anyway, you got anything else? We need to wrap this up and walk back before it seems like we’re up to something,” Nick pointed out.
“There is one little flaw in your plan. We’re going to a business dinner, and you weren’t invited. I appreciate the sentiment, but you won’t be able to tag along once Beth’s dad gets here.”
Nick threw back his head and let out a genuine laugh. “That’s nothing to worry about.”
“Why not?”
“Trust me, I’ll be there at your father’s insistence. Just wait and see.”
“Okay, wow me, jerk,” Alice said with a more sincere smile. “Oh, and one more thing. I like the way you look without your sunglasses.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Nick replied. “But thanks.”
* * *
“Where is everyone?” Mr. Transport asked as he stepped into the living room and once again found Vince sitting by himself.
“Out with parents, or parental figures,” Vince said, mindlessly surfing through channels on the television.
“Ah. I surmise Nick received a surprise visitor?”
“Yeah, a tutor that he’s apparently pretty close to,” Vince replied. “He was really happy to see him, so they went to spend some time together.”
“You didn’t tag along?” Mr. Transport asked.
“Nah. It’s family, and I got the feeling Nick didn’t get to see him much. I wouldn’t have felt right intruding.”
“Very respectable. What will you do instead?”
“Nothing too exciting. I think I’ll go grab dinner at the cafeteria and catch up on some homework,” Vince said, standing from the couch and turning off the television.
“I see,” Mr. Transport said. Those were productive, responsible activities. They were an excellent way to deal with loneliness or boredom. He should retreat now and leave Vince to his plans. He shouldn’t get too involved, after all.
“Vince, your comment about eating off campus got me thinking about how long it’s been since I dined out myself. I’ve got a craving for a delicious sandwich shop I know. Would you care to join me?” Mr. Transport asked.
Vince looked wary. “That’s okay, Mr. Transport. Campus food is fine.”
Of course the boy wouldn’t want to accept pity. Mr. Transport tried to adjust his thinking; what would Mr. Numbers do in this situation? He wasn’t entirely sure what the answer was, but the thought did lead him down the thought path to an excellent solution.
“I understand,” Mr. Transport said. “It’s just that Mr. Numbers is at a meeting and I do hate eating in restaurants alone. I always feel somehow out of sorts, as if I don’t belong as a solo diner. Silly I know, yet the sentiment remains.”
“No, I get that,” Vince said. “I guess I can come along. Eating alone does kind of suck.”
“Much appreciated,” Mr. Transport said. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
“I’ve already got my shoes on, so I guess I’m ready to-” Vince said, then noticed he was standing in the sunshine, white sand beneath his feet and a crystal blue ocean before him.
“-go.”
95.
“So how have things been since the holidays?” Mrs. Daniels asked. She and Hershel were sitting in an Italian restaurant a few miles off campus. It was a quaint place with fair prices, good food, and comfortable chairs.
“Not too bad,” Hershel replied. “Roy’s actually been working hard in the combat class.”
“Roy will tell me all about what he’s been up to at length tomorrow, sweetie. I want to know how you’ve been doing.”
“Good, I guess. The classes aren’t bad so far, and there’s this river trip during spring break that looks like a lot of fun.”
“That’s nice. How about with girls? You talked a lot about you friend Mary over the break,” Mrs. Daniels pried.
“Well... we did sort of dance a couple of weeks ago.”
“A nice start. Then what happened?”
“Um, nothing. That was it, we danced a few weeks ago,” Hershel said, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable.
“I see.” Mrs. Daniels said. She took a long sip of her white wine. “Darling, you know I don’t want to intrude into this new life you’ve made for yourself, but would you be open to a little motherly advice?”
“...sure.”
“An object at rest will stay at rest. An object in motion will stay in motion, unless it is acted on by an opposing force. Time is a tremendously effective opposing force,” Mrs. Daniels said.
“I’m not sure I follow you,” Hershel said.
“Son, if you have momentum then don’t let time erode it too much. You danced with Mary, and from the smile when talking about it, you took it to have a romantic connotation. A girl expects a little continuation of courting after moments like those.”
“So you’re saying I should have asked her out?”
“I’m simply letting you know what a woman generally anticipates in the courting process,” Mrs. Daniels said with a soft smile.
“Gotcha,” Hershel said. He thought about her advice for a moment. “One thing. Roy never really does that. I mean, he’ll go for days without calling or even responding to the texts of girls he goes out with.”
“What your brother does isn’t really courting. It’s more... well, I can’t think of a polite word for it. Just trust me that I know more about nice girls like Mary than Roy does,” Mrs. Daniels said.
* * *
“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Mr. Transport said, admiring the blue waves crashing against the sand.
“Actually, yeah, it kind of is. Must be really far, though, given the fact that it looks like noon here and we left at dusk,” Vince pointed out.
“Very astute. We’re indeed some ways from home. Don’t worry, I have no intention of leaving you for any type of trial this time,” Mr. Transport said.
“Glad to hear it,” Vince said, genuinely hoping Mr. Transport was telling the truth.
“I’m sure. The sandwich shop is down the beach a bit. We can walk there in twenty minutes or so.”
“Sounds good,” Vince said. “Just curious though, you’re a teleporter, why not teleport us right to it?”
“Because then we wouldn’t get the experience of walking there,” Mr. Transport said.
Vince cast his eyes out at the ocean once more. He had to admit, he could definitely see the appeal of taking the scenic route.
* * *
“That was delicious,” Mrs. Daniels said, pushing away her plate.
“I told you,” Hershel said. “This place is awesome.”
“It was; you made an excellent choice, dear. After this I’ll sleep like a baby tonight.”
“You’ll need it to keep up with Roy tomorrow,” Hershel said.
“Of that I have no doubt,” Mrs. Daniels agreed. “Speaking of, you boys worked out a schedule, right?”
“Yup. I’m here tonight and Sunday before you leave in the afternoon. Roy gets all of Saturday. It adds up to around a full day each,” Hershel explained.
“Sounds very fair.”
“It is. Roy’s actually been a lot more amiable lately,” Hershel said. “I think the training is giving him a place to take out a lot his... energy.” Hershel narrowly avoided using the term ‘anger’. It seemed closer to badmouthing someone than making a report.
“I’m happy to hear that. I hoped you boys would start getting along again eventually,” Mrs. Daniels said. “Most siblings are friendlier in their older years, anyway. I was counting a lot on growing up to help that process.”
“Might not have been a bad bet.”
“Your mother has her moments,” Mrs. Daniels said. “And I know a thing or two about dealing with strong-willed boys.”
* * *
“You’re right, this sandwich is ridiculously delicious,” Vince said, the cheese oozing down from his first bite and running along the plate.
“I don’t often hop across the globe for poor cuisine,” Mr. Transport said, tackling his own meal.
“Is going farther harder?” Vince asked.
“Not for me,” Mr. Transport said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ve heard others say distance creates difficulty for them, but it’s all the same to me. A mile or on ocean, I go there in a simple jump.”