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“Hey, Lance,” Ryan called out, spotting his friend from across the cafeteria through the herd of teenaged high school students. He ran over to Lance before blurting out, “Did you see the new girl, she is so smokin’…”
Lance, who was sitting at his usual table in the middle of the cafeteria, was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt, his favorite, and a pair of blue jeans, along with a pair of white Adidas classics. He liked the sweatshirt so much that the one that he was now wearing was actually a replacement for one that had become slightly faded.
“Literally or figuratively?” Lance interrupted in question as he scribbled down notes for his composition homework.
“What…?” Ryan responded puzzled. “Hey man, I told you to stop using those big words with me.”
“I’d hardly call ‘figuratively’ or ‘literally’ big words, Ryan,” Lance said as he continued to write feverishly in his notebook, “and yes, I saw her yesterday afternoon. She was with the Principal.”
“Ah, so no chance to take a shot at her then,” Ryan chuckled as he nudged Lance with his elbow.
“Okay, two things, who does that anymore, not even my parents do the whole ‘wink and a nudge’ thing,” Lance started, “and I’m kind of already seeing someone, remember?”
“The emphasis being on ‘kind of,’ my man,” Ryan jibed. “You and Keri are so on again off again, it drives me nuts. She is hot, man, I’ll give you that, but I hate seeing you during one of your off periods.”
“Hey…” Lance was about to say something back. He hated it when people attacked his personal life, which Ryan knew, and his anger was starting to show.
“Besides,” Ryan said, quickly recognizing his friend’s temper was flaring, “that new girl is so, so hot. I’d like to show her a thing or two…”
“Oh, please,” Lance laughed. He didn’t like to be angry, and was glad Ryan had changed the subject to the fresh blood, “the only date you’ve ever even been on was with my little sister, and that was to the Homecoming Dance.”
“How is Eva, anyway?” Ryan inquired, taking the opportunity to talk about his favorite subject. The two had hit it off during the dance, but Ryan hadn’t yet called her for another date. And the dance had been almost seven months before.
“She’s still waiting by the phone,” Lance replied, “broken hearted.”
“Really?” Ryan asked eagerly. He liked Eva, and not just from the feeling he got in his…heart, but he had been afraid to call her after they had gone to the Homecoming Dance months before.
As if in response, Lance’s little sister, Eva, who was only really a year younger than Lance, so she wasn’t really that little in comparison, trotted by, chatting away with the large group of guys that trailed behind her. Ryan and Lance watched dumbfounded as the group passed by.
Lance turned back to Ryan, looked at him for a moment, then back to the passing group of boys trailing his sister, then back to Ryan.
“She hides her pain well.”
Lance stopped writing for a moment to glance at his cell phone. There was a new voice message from Keri, and, depending on her mood, it was either going to be a sweet, loving message or it was going to be how much she wished Lance was dead. Lance hoped for the former, but dreaded that it was the latter.
She really is a sweet girl, Lance thought, she’s just been so screwed up in her life, she just doesn’t know how to react sometimes.
The message was more on the kind, loving side than death wish, and Lance looked at the time once the message had finished playing. Class was about to start, so he’d have to call Keri back later.
He hustled to get his homework into his backpack and looked over to find that Ryan had sat down next to him and was staring off into space.
“Hey man, we’ve got to get going,” Lance stood up and pulled on Ryan’s arm to get him to move. Ryan wouldn’t budge. “Come on, man, snap out of it. It creeps me out when you do that.”
Lance knew Ryan was daydreaming about Eva, wishing that he was the only guy that she had been talking to, and it gave Lance the willies to know that Ryan was fantasizing about Lance’s little sister.
“Oh, what?” Ryan said as the school bell sounded. “Oh, shit man, we’re late. Why didn’t you warn me?”
The crowd of students was now non-existent as all of the other teens had already made their way to class.
“I would have,” Lance sighed, “if I thought you wouldn’t have tried to make out with me…”
“Well,” Ryan started, as the two walked to class, “there is a bit of family resemblance…”

“How’d your parents come up with the name ‘Eva,’ anyway?” Ryan asked, leaning over his desk in the history classroom. Posters of significant dates lined the walls in a haphazard manner, lending an insight into the way the teacher taught the class.
“I don’t know,” Lance whispered his reply, “probably something historical, like mine, or biblical.”
The conversation about Ryan’s growing desire for Eva had transcended the creepy, awkwardness of Ryan wanting to make out with Lance. However, it was also disrupting the history class, and, while Lance had been quiet, it had been apparent to the teacher that Ryan had not been so silent.
“Yes, yes, Mr. Doherty, we all saw you with Ms. Maxwell at the Homecoming Dance last fall, but I doubt Mr. Lance here wishes to discuss your gross desires for his younger sibling,” Mrs. Sinclair said in her usual monotone voice. “And quite frankly, neither do I.”
The rest of the class either suppressed laughter or openly expressed their appreciation for the deep shade of red Ryan had turned. Mrs. Lois Sinclair may have the boring, stereotypical historian voice, but she did not always talk like it.
“Now, if you’ll pay attention, we will continue our lesson…” the educator began as Lance’s thought drifted elsewhere. Usually those thoughts were of Keri, but now they turned to the new girl. Ryan had been right about one thing, she was an incredibly attractive girl; yet there was something very strange about her, something that Lance just couldn’t put his finger on. He snapped back to reality as the bell sounded, signifying the end of class.
Shit! Lance thought to himself as he scrambled to stuff his books into his bag. As he hurried out the door, he found Ryan waiting for him in the hallway.

“What happened there, man?” Ryan questioned as they walked briskly to their next class. The two friends shared the first three classes of the school day, much to the chagrin of their teachers, which also allowed for long, in depth discussions which were usually about what every teenaged male talked about; namely sports, video games, and, of course, girls.
“Oh, I was just thinking about something,” Lance replied, darting between students as the made he and Ryan made their way through the crowded halls. The students in the hall were huddled close together to allow for easier conversations, yet the middle of the halls were still clogged, which always seemed to amaze Lance when he thought about it.
“Let me guess,” Ryan said between students, “You were thinking about your precious Keri?” The halls were beginning to thin out as the masses made their way to class.
“Actually, no,” Lance said, surprising both himself and Ryan.
“It was the new girl then, right?” Ryan guessed again.
Lance stopped suddenly and stared Ryan straight in the eyes.
“How much do you know about her?” Lance asked, hoping Ryan had possibly heard something about her, bizarre rumor or otherwise.
“Oh man! It was about her?” Ryan exclaimed in shock.
“Shit, man, keep it down. The last thing I need right now is to have Keri think I’m fantasizing about some other very hot girl,” Lance blurted out. He paused for a moment, then restated his previous question, “So, what do you know about the new girl, anyway?”
“Other than she’s a very hot girl with a weird ass name, which is Rain, in case you hadn’t already heard,” Ryan said. “Then nothing, not a thing.”
“Isn’t that a little weird? Granted, she’s only been here a day, but we don’t know anything about her, where she’s from, why she’s here, why now so late in the year? Nothing.”
“Okay, okay, calm down, Lance,” Ryan soothed. “I think you’re just getting paranoid about Keri and that’s making you go crazy. People move all the time. It’s not always as neat and clean cut as a summer vacation or a semester break.”
Lance was about to suggest more evidence when an announcement came over the P.A.
“Would Lance Maxwell please report to the Guidance Office,” the monotone voice said before repeating itself.
“Aw, shit, man, what’d you do now?” Ryan wondered aloud.
“Nothing, I think,” Lance replied as he turned around and trudged back to the Guidance Office. As he approached, he was surprised to see the new girl, whose name, Ryan had told him, was Rain, standing next to Principal Decker, talking quietly.
Rain and the Principal turned as Lance opened the door and cautiously stepped inside the office. The large, ‘L’ shaped room was lined with chairs, with a couple of end tables thrown in for good measure. Large, ominous windows also wrapped around the exterior of the room, looking out into the halls. A high counter overlooking the reception desk was placed in the corner with doors leading to the various counselors’ rooms.
“Ah, speak of the devil,” Principal Decker announced as Lance walked towards them. The Principal offered his hand to Lance.
“What’s happenin’, Colonel?” Lance gave the principal’s hand a quick shake. The ‘Colonel’ bit was a reference to an old television show that Lance had watched while growing up. He also knew that it irritated the heck out of the Principal to be referred to as ‘Colonel Decker,’ though with how the Principal looked, Lance wouldn’t have put it past him to have actually been in the military.
“I believe you’ve met our newest student, Rain?” Principal Decker asked rhetorically, as he had been there when they ran into Lance outside his office the previous afternoon.
“We have…briefly,” Lance said as Rain nodded her head in agreement. The young, blonde teen was wearing a denim miniskirt with a top that buttoned down and a pair of pink and white running shoes. Lance briefly thought of the ample bosom that rested just underneath the simple buttons before shaking the feeling off.
I have a girlfriend, Lance told himself. He might have had a girlfriend, but he was still a guy
“Well, I was thinking that since the two of you have already met, you wouldn’t mind showing Ms. Rain here around,” the Principal concluded. Lance noticed that Rain was blushing, though he thought he hadn’t been that obvious when he was checking her out.
Lance smiled awkwardly, “It would be my pleasure…”
“Good, get started then,” Decker interrupted as he turned and walked towards the door. “I’m sure you two will get on famously.” He smiled at the two teens as he held the door open for them to leave. They took the hint and walked out of the Guidance Office.
Lance and Rain slowly made their way down the open hallway in an awkward silence. He did not know what to make of the situation, and he was glad that it was Rain who spoke first.
“Is he always that creepy and ominous?” she asked slyly. That broke the ice. Lance had only briefly run into Rain the previous day and hadn’t really met her, yet Principal Decker had acted like the two students were childhood pals, which made Lance a bit suspicious, not to mention unnerved. Heck, Lance hadn’t even known her name until Ryan had mentioned it.
“Only when there’s a new student around. He thinks he’s being friendly and outgoing, but he just comes off as, well, creepy,” Lance explained, feeling some of the tension leave his body. He felt more at ease now that they had opened a line of dialogue.
“So, what’s your last name, anyway?” Lance asked, trying to sound like he cared, but was afraid that it just came out sounding snotty.
“I don’t have one,” Rain said quietly and quickly, obviously upset by Lance’s tone of voice.
“Oh, uh, can I ask why not?” Lance inquired. He paused to point out the science hall, the sophomore class’ lockers, restrooms, and an office. Though, Lance admitted to Rain that he never did find out what that office was used for, which elicited an awkward laugh.
“I suppose I can tell you, since it will probably get around eventually anyway,” Rain started. “I’m an orphan. I’ve been to so many homes that I’ve never really felt comfortable taking a name. And before you ask, I was found in the rain, so that’s where my first name came from…”
“Oh, well, I’m…” Lance started to apologize.
“Sorry?” Rain snapped. Lance stopped walking and Rain turned to look at him. He was surprised that she looked genuinely angry, as he didn’t think he said anything to upset her this time.
“Well, yeah,” Lance replied weakly. “How’d you…”
“Know? Because everyone is always so god-damned sorry,” Rain blurted out. “I’m old enough to take care of myself now. I can finally stop moving around and just live a normal life.”
“Uh…” Lance just stammered.
“God, now I’m sorry,” Rain apologized, starting to walk again. “I didn’t mean to just blow up at you like that.”
“No, it’s alright. You must have heard this same thing hundreds of times,” Lance said. “I didn’t mean to pry, and I promise, I won’t tell anyone.”
“That’s okay, really, I’d rather it spread around now than have to repeat it a bunch more times.”
Rain smiled at Lance and he just smiled back at her, as though in a daze. Then he snapped out of it when he realized what time it was. He was afraid that he was going to miss a test in biology, and his grade could not afford that.
“Look, I have to get going, I have a test in Bio that I can’t miss. But hey, if you ever need to talk or hang out or something, give me a call,” Lance said as he scribbled his cell phone number on his notebook before tearing out the page and handing it to Rain.
“Thanks, I will,” Rain smiled as she took the paper, folded it, and put it in the pocket of her skirt. Lance beamed back at her, “And thank you for showing me around.
“No problem,” Lance replied as he waved goodbye, turned and hurried off down the hallway.
As soon as Lance was out of sight, Rain pulled a cell phone out of the pocket where she had put his number and scrolled through her address book. She stopped and clicked on a number marked ‘home.’ She listened to the answering machine message before speaking.
“Hey, I ran into that guy you wanted me to meet, I’m not sure he’s my type though, we’ll see how it goes.” Rain said before snapping the phone shut. She threw her backpack over her slender shoulder and walked to class.

The test, as it turned out, was cancelled, as the teacher had called in sick. Whether or not the teacher was actually sick or just hung over, none of the students could be sure of.
“I was at a party this one time, and she was there, drunk off her ass,” a student had claimed at one point. Presumably, the young male who had reported this ‘vital information’ had also been intoxicated, so the accuracy of the information was certainly suspect. That, however, did not stop the rumors from spreading about the young science teacher’s wild weekends.
That meant the days’ class, due to the teacher’s absence, would be a video day. Whenever a teacher suddenly called in sick, the school would usually send in a substitute armed with a quasi-educational video tape.
“Okay, okay, settle down, class,” the substitute teacher, an older man who was bald with a mustache, said. “I’ve had most of you in other classes before, so you all know how this works.”
Even though he was old, the sub still had a reputation for being mischievous. He also did not tolerate students who fell asleep in classed and used the infamous warm water trick with varying results. Nowadays, however, as he had gotten in trouble for that little prank, he no longer used a bowl of water; instead, he would just use a spray bottle that he kept in his briefcase.
“Today’s video is entitled “Genetic Evolution: Revealing the Powers.’ I trust most of you have already seen this one, but watch it anyway.”
It was true, most of the students had seen the video already, and they quickly turned to whatever they had been doing before class began.
The video was a recording of a famous news report covering the rumors of individuals with genetic variations and played on people’s fears and hopes about superpowers. At the time of its initial broadcast, it had been one of the most popular programs to date, especially with the adolescent male crowd.
Lance feigned interest as the video went on and heard such clips as, “With genetic mutation comes the possibility of extraordinary abilities. Perhaps one day man will even be able to fly…”
At that, Lance turned his focus back to earlier. He was trying very hard to make something of the time he had spent with Rain. She was breathtakingly gorgeous, but it was deeper than that. He was intrigued. The girl was an enigma. She seemed so warm and friendly, but, at the same time, also a bit hostile.
He knew that he shouldn’t even be spending as much time thinking about it as he did, but he couldn’t help it. He had to remind himself that he already had a girlfriend, although an occasionally psychotic one, but that didn’t deter from the fact that the cared deeply about Keri.
What Lance hadn’t known was that one of Keri’s friends had seen Lance and Rain together in the hallway, and would soon report back to her in an attempt to gain Keri’s favor. The video was winding down, Lance could tell, and he heard the final line.
“It could even begin with you…”

Lunch time, Lance thought as he munched away at his sandwich, was normally a peaceful time. At least, it usually was, but that day’s lunch break was a continuation of a somewhat disconcerting pattern.
The discussion had started out innocently enough to him, though everyone else at the table could tell what was coming.
“So, what’d you get called down to Guidance for, hun?” Keri asked, while Lance slowly chewed away at his sandwich. It was peanut butter and jelly, which Lance was sick of. He motioned to wait a moment while he took a drink of water. Ryan and Eva looked at each other and gave a look that screamed, Not this again!
“So, I had a really good time at Homecoming,” Ryan said, attempting to ignore the conflict brewing beside him. I really want to ask you out again, too, he added to himself.
“I did too,” Eva said back, thinking and I really want you to ask me out again.
Lance finished chewing and swallowed before answering Keri. “Principal Decker asked me to show the new girl around the school.”
“And?” Keri prodded.
“And, I showed her the school,” Lance replied. Now he knew what was coming, but it was already too late. He was in for it and there was nothing he could do about it now.
“Nothing else happened?” Keri asked. “You didn’t kiss her, did you?”
“What? No!” Lance replied, getting annoyed. “We were in the middle of the hallway at school.”
“Well, then what was on that note you gave her?” Keri inquired. She was trying to keep herself from sounding angry.
“My phone number…”
At this point, the surrounding lunch tables were pretending not to be listening in on Lance and Keri’s argument, which was getting more heated by the second.
“You gave her your phone number?” Keri yelled at Lance.
“Yes, she’s had a tough time, and I told her she should could call me if she needed to talk.”
“Oh, and you just believed her little sob story?” Keri was fuming. How dare Lance show any kind of affection towards any girl that wasn’t her?
“I spent maybe twenty minutes with Rain, why would she lie to me? And besides, you get guys’ numbers all the time,” Lance said, remaining calm. He had that way about him, that when Keri got angry, he was able to keep cool under the pressure.
“That’s different,” Keri said. “They’re my friends, and since when is it ‘Rain’?”
“Not every guy who talks to you is your friend,” Lance shot back. Now he was starting to lose it. “And ‘Rain’ is the only name she has.”
“You still don’t…” Keri started, before Lance abruptly cut her off. Something had struck Lance before and now he knew what it was.
Most of the students in the lunch room had stopped eating and were now paying strict attention to the fight at Lance and Keri’s table in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, Ryan and Eva were still trying their best to ignore the bickering, but that was increasingly made impossible.
“Wait, how’d you even know that I gave her that piece of paper?” Lance said accusingly. “Were you spying on me?”
“No, Derrick told me, and I’m glad he did,” Keri replied matter of factly.
“Derrick told you? That little bastard only wants to get in your pants,” Lance said, which was true, Derrick had been trying to get some from Keri since she and Lance had first started going out.”
“Not every guy is trying to get in my pants…”
“No, some are trying to get under your shirt, too,” Ryan interjected, immediately regretting having opened his mouth.
“You stay out of this,” Keri yelled back. Ryan put his hands up in mock surrender and Eva stifled a giggle. Eva found it cute, not to mention entertaining, when Ryan would throw in his own commentary onto her brother’s fights.
“No, not every guy, but Derrick is,” Lance said, ignoring Ryan’s interruption. “Along with all your other guy ‘friends’.”
“Don’t you ever dare talk about my friends that way,” Keri said. She was livid now, and her eyes seemed to bulge slightly from her head.
“You defend them more than you do me,” Lance said, which was also true. “All you ever talk about is how you spend so much time alone with those assholes…”
That ended the fight. Everyone knew where Lance had been going with this, and they also knew what Keri was going to do in response.
As if on cue, Keri drew her hand back and slapped Lance hard on the face. He noted that it didn’t really hurt, but it was sure to leave a nasty mark.
Ryan and Eva were both thinking that they could not figure out why Lance would bother putting up with Keri, but they had both tried to talk to him about the relationship, to no avail.
They also knew that the fight would blow over, however, and that Lance and Keri would pretend to forget that it had ever happened.

Later in the day, after classes had ended, Lance prepared for track practice. His preparation mostly consisted of throwing on a pair of shorts, running shoes, and an old t-shirt. After he had changed clothes, he ran out of the locker room and literally right into Rain.
“Woah, I’m so…” Lance started.
“Don’t,” Rain warned.
“But, I am.”
“I know,” Rain said, forcing a smile. She frowned when she saw the red welt that was on Lance’s face. “What happened?”
“Hm? Oh, nothing, just a little argument with the girlfriend,” Lance admitted, trying to return Rain’s smile. He didn’t know why he was being so honest with this girl that he had just met. “It will go away in a day or so, don’t worry.” Lance started walking out the door to get to track, and Rain started to walk with him, which was when Lance noticed her outfit.
Rain had changed into a pair of short shorts that hugged her bottom and a shirt that did the same to her upper half. Though, Lance did find it odd that she was wearing the same pink and white shoes that she had been wearing earlier, since most athletes have a pair of shoes just for working out.
“You’ve joined the track team, I presume,” Lance stated.
“Yep, it’s the only thing I’ve been able to do in high school,” Rain said, bouncing a little as she walked. She certainly looked happier and freer as they headed out to the track. “So, what was the fight about, if you doing mind me asking?”
Lance did mind, but seeing as how Rain had already shared a much deeper and embarrassing secret with him, he was all but forced to answer truthfully.
“It was about you, actually,” Lance replied quietly. He didn’t know how she would take that little piece of information, and he hoped she wouldn’t take it the wrong way.
“Oh?” Rain replied intrigued. “What about me?”
“It was nothing. One of her friends saw us talking in the hall and Keri overreacted,” Lance explained. The two teens approached the track, meaning they would soon have to separate and head over to their respective teams.
“That’s some reaction,” Rain said, referring to the discolored mark on Lance’s cheek.
“Yeah, I think I might have deserved that one,” Lance admitted. Rain looked at him with a questioning look. “I might have implied that she’s a whore.”
“Good one,” Rain mocked. “We don’t take kindly to that.”
Lance laughed and started to say goodbye as he walked towards where the boy’s team was gathering. He turned suddenly and said, “You can still call me if you want.”
“And risk incurring Keri’s wrath? No way!”
“Don’t worry about her, she’s a nice girl. Most of the time, anyway,” Lance assured Rain.
“I’ll think about it then,” Rain promised as she started to walk towards her team. “See you later.”
Lance smiled broadly as he joined Ryan and the guys at the starting line on the track. Ryan was one of Lance’s co-captains for the varsity team, as well as a member of his mile relay team and a fellow hurdles runner.
“Keri’s going to kill you, you know,” Ryan said as he and Lance headed to the front of the group. About half the seniors on the varsity team had also been elected as captain, so they switched off leading the team through the warm-ups and workouts. As soon as Lance broke free of the rest of the team, he took off down the track and set a nice, slow pace for the warm-up laps. The warm-up was half a mile, which gave Lance and Ryan plenty of time to discuss the day’s events.
“Oh, I know,” Lance said. The girls were gathering on the track, but hadn’t yet started their own practice. Lance spotted Rain in the group. She stuck out like a sore thumb as she wasn’t actively engaged in conversation with the other girls.
“I say go for it,” Ryan said as they continued their run.
“Go for what?” Lance asked back. He picked up the pace as he didn’t want any of his teammates to pass him. After a less than stellar junior season, Lance was that much more determined to excel this year.
“Rain. She totally digs you man,” Ryan said, puffing a little bit. He hated Lance for things like this, the fact that Lance felt that he had to be better because of what happened last season. Still, Lance’s recovery had been incredible, and his efforts to improve continually impressed the coaches.
“Oh, sweet,” Lance replied sarcastically, “Because I totally hadn’t noticed. But, as you said, then Keri would kill me, and then Rain, and then me again.”
“Okay, I get it,” Ryan said, “But do you really want to keep repeating today’s fight at lunch?”
That was a sore spot for Lance, both literally and figuratively.
“She’s not always like that,” Lance argued.
“True,” Ryan replied predictably, “Sometimes she’s mean.”
Ryan was dead serious with that comment. They both knew that Keri could be incredibly loud and vicious when she really got angry.
“Ha, ha, that was a good one,” Lance replied dryly between breathes. He was starting to sweat now, which coincided with the end of the run.
The rest of the guys’ practice ran smoothly, with the individual events breaking off from the group after the main workout had been completed. The predictability and routine of the schedule would drive a normal person insane if it weren’t for the variety of workouts the coaches had designed.
It wasn’t until Lance had started doing run-throughs for the hurdles that something out of the ordinary broke the routine of his training. Members of the girls’ team were also going through their practice with the hurdles, and, sure enough, Rain was with them. The coaches were trying to see what events she would be good at, so they had her run through a variety of events.
Lance pretended to be working on his own stuff and not staring at Rain as she prepared to run.
With the blow of the whistle, Rain and one of the other girls, who Lance had thought of as one of the faster runners on the girl’s team, took off down the track. If she had been fast, the girl sure didn’t look like it when compared to Rain.
Who is this girl? Lance though as Rain walked back to the coach, winking at Lance as she passed. She’s been here one day and she’s already taken the top spot on the girls’ track team. Lance paused in his thinking and admired her beauty. Not to mention she’s a stone-cold fox.
“Hey, Lance,” Coach Berger, the girls’ hurdles coach, called out. “I think she might have just broken your record.”
“Ha,” Lance laughed. “Well, we may have to test that out sometime then.” The girls ran against hurdles that weren’t as high as the boys’ team, which led to faster times. Lance could never figure out why the hurdles for the women were lower, because he thought guys would have a lot more to lose if they couldn’t make it over one cleanly. Besides, guys also weren’t as flexible, as Lance’s injury from the previous season had proved.
“Well, we’re just glad to see you healthy after last season,” Berger said before turning to two girls that had been standing behind him. “Ok, Amy and Christina, you’re up…”

The boys’ and girls’ teams finished practice at different times, so Lance didn’t get a chance to talk to Rain again that afternoon, and that night he had to go to work at the local grocery store. Lance hated his job, even more so when he had to work after practice. There was nothing more that Lance wanted to do than just flop into bed and relax.
It wasn’t all that bad at work though. Lance liked most of his coworkers and it was Thursday, so the store wouldn’t be that crowded. He just disliked some of the customers, the ones that were complete assholes, and he never liked dealing with his bosses, most of whom were named ‘Aaron,’ oddly enough.
That night wasn’t any different, though Lance thought his car had some trouble starting as he drove off to work. This wasn’t the first time his car had acted up, so he didn’t think much of it at the time.
Lance spent most of the night explaining away the mark that Keri had left on his face. Sometimes to coworkers, many of whom had either heard the two fighting or had heard about it from someone else, and sometimes to customers, either parents of a student who had witnessed the ordeal or was just curious as to how such a handsome young man could have such lady troubles. The responses he received were a mix of ‘things will get better’ to ‘dump her ass, you can do better.’ And it was true, he probably could do better, but he wasn’t ready to give up on this relationship that he had worked so hard for. He had even given up a scholarship to a good school so that he could attend one closer to home to be with Keri, much to his parent’s chagrin.
Lance’s focused shifted back to work as a crotchety old woman said, “Hey! Those plastic bottles are going to break right through the bag.”
No, they won’t, Lance thought of saying, instead, he just gave the customer a forced smile and said, “I’ll double bag that for you then, ma’am.”
He proceeded to scoop a second plastic bag around the first.
“No! I want them in separate paper bags with two plastic bags around them. And I’m not a ‘ma’am,’” the woman scolded.
Lance didn’t know how to respond to that, as he wasn’t allowed to respond to customers as though he were actually a person. He wanted to tell the woman that that was the dumbest request he had ever had, but he knew that he couldn’t. The customers were all gods in the eyes of the management, and nothing Lance could ever do or say would ever change that.
Instead, Lance just did what the woman wanted and said, “There you go, have a good night.” The customer glared at him as she walked past as though he had told her to eff off, grabbed her bags, and walked out the door.
The cashier, a man only a year or two older than Lance, walked over and chuckled, “So I hear things got a little rough with the girlfriend, heh heh heh.”
Lance understood the implication and sighed.
“I wish,” he replied, “Might’ve made my day a lot better.”
“Eh, so what was this fight about, then?” Tom, the cashier, asked. “Did you look at her wrong, or did she catchy you looking at another girl?”
Tom, being two years older than Lance, had gone to the same high school, but hadn’t really done much beyond that. He also had hair as short as Lance’s and wore glasses.
Lance sighed again, “More of the second one. I had to show a new girl around the school today.”
“Oh…is she hot?” Tom asked with a grin. This is how most of their conversations turned out.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Lance admitted, “But it’s not like that.”
“I know,” Tom replied, “You’re entirely devoted to the jealous wench.”
Tom and Lance had worked together for a couple of years, so he let comments like that slide most of the time.
“Exactly”
Tom noticed that there was a line forming at one of the other registers so he jumped back behind his own and called a customer over.
“Paper or plastic?” Lance called as the customer unloaded her items from the cart.

Later on in the evening, after the crowd had died down, another one of the baggers came over the chat with Lance and Tom.
“Hey, Lance, that new girl at school was in here earlier asking about you,” he said, “Wanted to know about some injury you got last year. Didn’t know what she was talking about.”
Tom responded, “How could you not hear about that, it was only one of the worst injuries a guy can get.”
“Okay guys, that’s enough talking, it looks like you don’t have enough to do,” the manager, one of the Aarons, interrupted. “Brian, the bathrooms need cleaning again, let’s take a walk.”
Aaron, a middle-aged man with a mustache and a potbelly, led Brian away from the check out lanes and Lance went to refill the paper bag stands. He considered himself lucky that he had not been chosen to clean the bathrooms. Though, he really did hate having to refill the paper bags. They were large, heavy, and the wrapper they came in was perfectly smooth. He hadn’t been able to figure out why, as surely the people who made and sent out the bags would surely know the bundles of bags would be difficult to handle.
“All right, Lance, you can go home now,” one of the women in charge of the front end announced.
“’Bout time,” Lance shot back as he went upstairs to punch out.
He bounded down the stairs as quick as he could and was out the door in a flash. He trotted out to his car, eager to get home to bed.
Lance opened the door to his car, got in, and tried to start up his vehicle, but he found it wouldn’t turn over. He popped the hood and got out of the car. Lance took a look under the hood, but it wasn’t like he knew what to look for, anyway. Still, he didn’t think it would hurt just to check around inside.
Lance heard them coming, so he wasn’t surprised when one of the drug dealers walked up behind him and asked, “Hey man, having some troubles? Maybe you need a lift?”
“No thanks, I think I’ve got it,” Lance replied as he checked the battery. He had his hand wrapped in a cloth that he kept around for such an occasion. A wire connected to the battery appeared to be loose, so Lance carefully reattached it. He did his best to ignore the men who were now standing behind him, one on either side.
“What, you don’t want our ‘help?’” the second dealer asked.
Lance removed the rod holding the hood up and slammed it down hard, “Nope, all finished here. Appreciate the offer though.”
“I don’t think you get my meaning,” the first dealer said as he revealed a small bag of a drug that Lance couldn’t identify. “This’ll take all your troubles away.”
“As I said, no thank you, now, I’ve really got to be going,” Lance said as he turned to get into his car. Lance was already thinking that these guys were unusually aggressive as the closest dealer reached out and pushed Lance into the side of the car.
“We’re gonna get paid either way, hot shot,” the second dealer said as he went to grab for Lance’s wallet. Lance, not one to take anything lying down, pushed himself up from the car quickly, surprising the drug dealers as he shot back up onto his feet. The first dealer kicked Lance in the back of the leg.
It hurt, but Lance knew there was no turning back now. The thugs wouldn’t be satisfied with just taking his money. They would have to hurt him, as a statement, and to recover whatever respect they thought they had lost due to Lance standing up to them.
Lance, down on one knee, noticed that the second man was coming around to his front.
Big mistake, Lance thought, as the man went to kick Lance in the chest. Lance caught his leg and pulled the man down as he brought his own elbow down onto the back of the dealer’s neck. The man cursed as he collapsed to the ground, allowing Lance the moment he needed to regain his composure.
Now that he was back on his feet, Lance turned his attention back to the man who had kicked him in the leg.
The dealer took a swing at Lance, who dodged out of the way enough that the punch just grazed his shoulder. This also led to an opening as Lance moved with the punch and swung around, landing a hard back hand to his attacker’s face. Lance followed that up with a swift knee upwards into the man’s gut, knocking the air from his lungs.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Lance said as he once again turned to leave, only to find himself staring down a barrel of a handgun. Lance hadn’t noticed the other guy get back up and draw the weapon, which he would now pay for.
“Nice try, hot shot,” the thug said as he squeezed the trigger. The sound of the shot echoed in the dark as Lance squeezed his eyes shut.
When he realized that he wasn’t dead, Lance opened his eyes in surprise. Instead of blowing a large hole in his face, the bullet was hanging in the air in front of his face. The tiny piece of metal was surrounded by what looked to be ripples in the air.
His attackers, both the one with the gun and the one Lance had already taken care of, looked equally shocked, which caused the gun to drop out of the man’s hand.
“What…what are you?”
Lance took a step towards the shooter and he ran off, followed quickly by the man that Lance knocked to the ground.
Not wanting to be around when the police showed up, Lance jumped in his car and thanked God when it started. He quickly put it in gear and drove home just as fast as he could without seriously breaking the traffic laws.
What Lance hadn’t noticed was that there had been someone watching the whole ordeal with great interest.

After getting home, Lance’s mind was racing. He took care not to wake anyone in the house as he ran up to his room.
What the hell just happened? Lance couldn’t figure it out. He should have been dead, but there he was, sitting in his room.
Though he had much to think about, the events of the night could not compete with the complete and utter exhaustion that had swept over his body.
He barely managed to pull off his clothes and toss them onto the floor before he passed out.