SAVE POINT 50
Reloading An Attempt to Talk to Girls...100%
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Dormouse
Why'd I ask to do this? Just me, opening my big stupid mouth too late again...too late to catch Maude before she ran out the coffee shop door. ...Or maybe it was that I'd waited on purpose. I'd wanted Maude to be gone, somewhere deeply subconscious and engrained in my body, because I knew I'd never have the guts to face her.
Apparently, I only feel I can face this girl.
Maude's friend—the one sitting alone at a small table near the door, the sunlight filtering through the window there and lighting up hordes of freckles dotting her angular, pale face. Her skinny fingers roll a coffee cup around in her hands, the edge dancing on the fake wood of the table like she's drumming out a rhythm or...just insanely bored. But, curtained by straight, brown locks of her chin-length bob, her eyes are far away.
Lost in thought somewhere.
...God, I knew I'd do something stupid like this! —Miss the one opportunity to talk to the girl I've been crushing on forever. And in the real world, no less! Maude had walked straight out that door—straight out! She probably hadn't even seen me...
God, I'm such a hopeless basket case when it comes to humans with two chromosomes.
Girls.
I meant girls.
Why can't my brain even function normally?! I have to be all intense and analytical and overthinking all the time—
With a huffy sigh, I try to push down the self-depreciating thoughts before they render me immobile again. I have make my move before it's too late and talk to Maude's friend. Rosabella's watching and probably that lame-ass dragon too. ...Maybe they're even having a good snicker behind my back at my expense. 'Poor Dormouse—completely incompetent when it comes to girls.'
—God, I hate being micromanaged.
And I hate when the haters are right.
Maude's friend is definitely more approachable than the blonde, at any rate. Thank God. Any more intimidation today and I might keel over. She's just the friend. Her face is oddly pleasant and relaxing...for a girl. It's like spotting the nicest cheetah ever in the wild, and my shoulder's slump forward a little with relief as I take a few timid steps towards where she sits.
She turns inquisitive eyes up at me as my shadow crosses over her table.
"Uh—hi," I start.
Admittedly, not my best work.
The girl's delicate brow creases and she flashes a smile at me, but it's a little more faded than it seems she's capable of. "Oh," she bustles, her hands waving in front of her, "I already have a coffee but, thank you."
I blink at her, feeling confused and sluggish as I watch a blush control her cheeks.
She blinks back. "Oh, my gosh, I'm sorry, I just thought—" her words come out jumbled and rapid as her hands explain mid-air again. Her flush only deepens—candy-apple color now—"I usually come in here with my friend, and she gets hit on constantly—people asking to buy her a drink and she has to turn them down 'cause she has a boyfriend and all, and I just figured—"
"Maude has a boyfriend?!" I blurt.
Oh my God, I just said that.
Out loud.
Oh my God, Maude has a boyfriend?
I'm too late.
Who am I kidding, I've been too late for my whole life! For my whole life, I've never had the guts too—
But the girl's speaking. Her fairy-like face tangles with perplexation for a second, "Yes—wait, how do you know Maude?"
And that awkward moment ensues. ...When a stranger's staring at you and you're staring back at a stranger and they expect you to talk, but you're all up in your head and want to clam up and run in the opposite direction...
Yep.
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And I open my mouth to speak, but I guess it's not fast enough—
"You know what, I could do with another coffee," the girl interrupts.
And her statement makes me want to melt into the floor further because—
"I don't have any money to buy you one," I admit, the words leaking too easily out of me and probably making me look stupid...again.
The girl shrugs with a disappointed smile, "It's okay, I don't either. Maude took it with her. She keeps a stash of Earth money for—" She breaks off, her eyes widening as she realizes what she's just said. Her expression looks like she wants to crumble into herself.
My sentiments exactly, but...well, I've never wanted to alleviate someone's uncomfortableness as much as I want to right now. I sink into the chair across from her, leaning forward. "It's cool," I tell her, whispering quickly, "I'm from The Game."
Relief smooths her face over like an answered prayer, "Oh my God, thank goodness," she gushes, "...I guess that's how you know Maude?"
"Yep. We—we trained together."
I definitely said that too quickly. I lower my eyes to the table stand on the floor, chewing on my bottom lip and trying to forget about the blonde which really isn't happening...
Probably can't happen.
Shit, I am such a fool. I should have known she was 'taken'. All the cute ones usually are...
"So, you're a guard?" the freckled girl guesses, shyly-—maybe skeptically—as she looks my thin form up and down.
"A warden," I throw back, liking that I can finally use that line. I haven't really used it on a girl before because...well, I don't usually talk to them.
It has the reaction I'm looking for. Her eyes get huge again which makes me feel kind of badass for a minute. "Why're you here?" she probes, casually, but I can see she's going to analyze my response. Her eyes are sharp and intelligent; I can almost see myself reflected back at me in their gloss.
"Business," I say, folding my arms for a minute like I'd imagine a mob boss would do and keeping myself tight-lipped—also like a mob boss would do...someone powerful. "Why are you here?" I ask instead.
The girl doesn't seem to care about the mob boss bit or looking official. She lets a sigh rake through her shoulders and spins her coffee cup on its side on the tabletop between her two spindly-fingered hands. "Break...well, actually," she amends, glancing up from her makeshift spin-the-bottle, "it was Maude's break and my end of shift. We guard the trading portal and other traffic in the area, you know. My name's Mimi, actually, and you are—?"
She speaks so fast—is it a nervous thing or just her thing? Her hand is extended across the table, waiting for me.
"Dormouse," I grasp her fingers quickly, surprised at how cold they are.
She smiles.
And it suddenly doesn't feel weird sitting there, shaking a stranger's hand in the middle of a Dunkin Donuts.
"Original," she says, smiling, "I like it."
Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone smile as much as her. ...Or else, I've just been hanging around with Joy for far too long...
...But the girl had said she guards the trading portal and dimension traffic...
"Hey, wait, can you trace people?" I rush, "I mean like, you patrol the portals. Do you know who comes and goes?"
"Of course," the girl pipes, "Kind of our job. You learned this in training, didn't you? I mean, I was probably a class or two behind you and in a different sector, but I learned it. Or were you asleep that day?" she jests.
"No, I just—" my heart jumps in my chest. My hands suddenly feel shaky even without the caffeine—excited, "So, did you happen to catch the last person that came through the portal—"
"Yeah, it was you two," she waves at the table where Rosabella sits in the back, "that's why we even ended up at this area to grab drinks—"
"But there was another," I interrupt her, sweating again, but for different reasons, "before us. A man. Maybe he didn't use the trading portal?"
The girl takes a minute to think and, then, waves her hand at me easily, "Oh yeah, he set off all the alarms because he had an escaped prisoner tag on his title, but I couldn't stop him before he jumped. Of course something like that would happen on my watch." She leans her chin into a distressed hand, propped up on the table, blowing hair out of her face, "My manager's going to have my head—"
"Where did he go—the escaped prisoner," I fumble, trying not to completely fidget out of my chair which seems easier contemplated than done.
The girl looks me straight in the face, "Here. He's here too. In New York somewhere wandering arou—oh!"
Her exclamation is because I've leapt from my seat.
I've grabbed her arm.
"Come on!" I rush, "I need you for just a second—"
Despite the skinny girl's protests, I drag her to the back table where Rosabella and Sparo lounge. My feet and tongue can't move fast enough—
"Guys!" I spout, looking between their two surprised forms, "This is Minnie—"
"Mimi," the girl corrects swiftly, with a half wave although her fingers still dart to mine, pinching at her bicep.
I messed up her name? I am such a klutz!
"Oh I hate when people do that—I'm sorry," I sputter, "Listen, Mimi, I need you to repeat exactly what you just told me to them."
My eyes flash between everyone, expectantly.
"Oh...okay," Mimi says unsurely, "The last portal transfer before you guys was an escaped prisoner who, also, transferred, here—New York," she repeats when it doesn't seem like there's much of a reaction.
"I knew it," Rosabella whispers determinedly, "I knew he'd come here."
"She's got some places narrowed down where we might want to search," Sparo says, nodding to Rosabella, "Starting with a McDonalds two blocks up from here."
The corners of Mimi's eyes crinkle, "Wait, you're looking for this guy? This prisoner?"
"You bet your ass we are," Sparo snarls.
Mimi runs a I-can't-believe-it hand through her short, brown hair, "Oh my gosh! I—I'll help you! Man, it'd be such a feather in my cap to say I turned this guy into the Game Wardens. I might get my old slot back! I'm off my shift. Oh, please let me come!"
I can't believe she's so exuberant about the whole thing...
"Sure," Rosabella nods.
...And, just like that, we're finally onto something...