RIFT
THE ASIAN BOY LAUGHED AS HE pulled on his leather gloves and strolled out of the park, right by Sam. Right by Sam, who had just narrowly missed the little shouted proposition. The flirtatious smiles. The flattered blush on Gaia's face.
Ella had to sit down.
Why did he have to stop for that little girl? That could have been such a satisfyingly awkward confrontation. It might not have caused a rift, but it could have caused a crack. A splinter. A little hair-line fracture.
It would have been entertaining.
Ella glanced from Gaia's face back to Sam's. Each going off in an opposite direction. They'd missed each other. At least that was something. And it would have to be enough.
For now.
BEAUTIFUL CHOICE
SAM WAS VERY PROUD OF HIMSELF. He'd managed to walk right through the park to the other side in a straight line without even glancing at the chess tables. He'd been very good. He definitely deserved a lollipop or something.
He walked down Broadway into the heart of Greenwich Village, finally allowing himself to glance around as he went -- checking out the bizarre array of people milling all around him. A fake blond in a power suit walked by a guy playing a pair of metal garbage cans like drums on the sidewalk. Then a homeless woman hobbled past, yelling at him for making so much noise, and an obviously stoned college kid came to the drummer's defense, telling the woman she wouldn't know art if it bit her in the ass.
Sam chuckled and shook his head.
This
was a study break -- people-watching in the Village. If anything could clear his mind of equations and formulas, it was this. When he got back to the dorm, he'd be refreshed and ready to focus.
"Watch it! Watch it! Out of the way!"
Sam looked up just in time to jump out of the path of a messenger on a ten-speed doing mach twenty on the crowded sidewalk. He pressed his hand against a shop window to balance himself. There were laws against that these days, weren't there?
Suddenly there was an impossibly tiny Chinese woman getting right in his face. "You get fingerprint all over window!" she snapped.
Flinching, Sam pulled his hand away. "Sorry," he said.
"Get out of here, or you be
very
sorry," the lady warned, scrunching up her face angrily.
Sam took off down the street, shoving his hands under his arms. Suddenly people watching didn't seem very entertaining anymore. He ducked into the first shop he saw, just to get a breather from the bedlam outside.
Once he took a look around, he couldn't believe his luck. He'd fallen right into a specialty shop that sold board games. Lining one entire wall was a glass case filled with all kinds of chessboards, from the simple to the ridiculous. One pitted little metal American presidents against famous foreign leaders of the past. Another had intricately painted Disney characters dressed up as kings and queens and knights. Then there were marble sets and glass sets and ceramic sets. As Sam wandered along the case, he couldn't believe his eyes.
It was like Mecca for chess geeks. He wondered if Gaia knew about this place. He was sure she could spend hours in here.
Suddenly his eyes fell on a small wooden board on the bottom shelf. The squares were made out of dark cedar and light birch, and the pieces were carved down to the most minute detail. The whole thing had been shellacked and shined so that the shop lights bounced off the polished surfaces. It came in a small wooden carrying case that closed with a gold clasp.
The set was made for Gaia. It was beautiful, yet simple, and the girl who always seemed to be on the move could take it anywhere.
Sam rubbed his palms against the thighs of his cords and looked around. He hadn't even bought a Christmas present for his mother yet. Or for Heather. He never shopped until Christmas Eve, when all the salespeople seemed to want to gouge his eyes out just for walking into the store.
Was he nuts for thinking about buying Gaia a gift? He wasn't even totally sure how she felt about
THE ASIAN BOY LAUGHED AS HE pulled on his leather gloves and strolled out of the park, right by Sam. Right by Sam, who had just narrowly missed the little shouted proposition. The flirtatious smiles. The flattered blush on Gaia's face.
Ella had to sit down.
Why did he have to stop for that little girl? That could have been such a satisfyingly awkward confrontation. It might not have caused a rift, but it could have caused a crack. A splinter. A little hair-line fracture.
It would have been entertaining.
Ella glanced from Gaia's face back to Sam's. Each going off in an opposite direction. They'd missed each other. At least that was something. And it would have to be enough.
For now.
BEAUTIFUL CHOICE
SAM WAS VERY PROUD OF HIMSELF. He'd managed to walk right through the park to the other side in a straight line without even glancing at the chess tables. He'd been very good. He definitely deserved a lollipop or something.
He walked down Broadway into the heart of Greenwich Village, finally allowing himself to glance around as he went -- checking out the bizarre array of people milling all around him. A fake blond in a power suit walked by a guy playing a pair of metal garbage cans like drums on the sidewalk. Then a homeless woman hobbled past, yelling at him for making so much noise, and an obviously stoned college kid came to the drummer's defense, telling the woman she wouldn't know art if it bit her in the ass.
Sam chuckled and shook his head.
This
was a study break -- people-watching in the Village. If anything could clear his mind of equations and formulas, it was this. When he got back to the dorm, he'd be refreshed and ready to focus.
"Watch it! Watch it! Out of the way!"
Sam looked up just in time to jump out of the path of a messenger on a ten-speed doing mach twenty on the crowded sidewalk. He pressed his hand against a shop window to balance himself. There were laws against that these days, weren't there?
Suddenly there was an impossibly tiny Chinese woman getting right in his face. "You get fingerprint all over window!" she snapped.
Flinching, Sam pulled his hand away. "Sorry," he said.
"Get out of here, or you be
very
sorry," the lady warned, scrunching up her face angrily.
Sam took off down the street, shoving his hands under his arms. Suddenly people watching didn't seem very entertaining anymore. He ducked into the first shop he saw, just to get a breather from the bedlam outside.
Once he took a look around, he couldn't believe his luck. He'd fallen right into a specialty shop that sold board games. Lining one entire wall was a glass case filled with all kinds of chessboards, from the simple to the ridiculous. One pitted little metal American presidents against famous foreign leaders of the past. Another had intricately painted Disney characters dressed up as kings and queens and knights. Then there were marble sets and glass sets and ceramic sets. As Sam wandered along the case, he couldn't believe his eyes.
It was like Mecca for chess geeks. He wondered if Gaia knew about this place. He was sure she could spend hours in here.
Suddenly his eyes fell on a small wooden board on the bottom shelf. The squares were made out of dark cedar and light birch, and the pieces were carved down to the most minute detail. The whole thing had been shellacked and shined so that the shop lights bounced off the polished surfaces. It came in a small wooden carrying case that closed with a gold clasp.
The set was made for Gaia. It was beautiful, yet simple, and the girl who always seemed to be on the move could take it anywhere.
Sam rubbed his palms against the thighs of his cords and looked around. He hadn't even bought a Christmas present for his mother yet. Or for Heather. He never shopped until Christmas Eve, when all the salespeople seemed to want to gouge his eyes out just for walking into the store.
Was he nuts for thinking about buying Gaia a gift? He wasn't even totally sure how she felt about
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