down early and we were on our way back by four o’clock.
We sat next to each other on the return trip, still talking. In the back of my brain, however, I was trying to find an excuse to see her again. She nixed the idea of going to the Natural History Museum the next day (she’d already seen the current exhibits), and also shot down my suggestion of going to the zoo (she didn’t like the idea of animals in cages). At that point, I was ready to take the hint when she suddenly caught me off guard.
“Are you doing anything later tonight?” she asked.
Too surprised to say anything, I just shook my head no.
“Well, a couple of us are going to see the new Starcrosser movie. Do you want to come?”
“Sure!” I practically shouted, completely overeager and with what was surely a stupid grin on my face.
“Great!” She blurted out an address that I automatically memorized and repeated back to her. “You can pick me up at seven.”
I stared off into space, momentarily struck dumb by what she had said.
Pick her up at seven?
Pick her up?
As in drive ?
Chapter 8
My grandfather was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down his cheeks.
“It’s not funny!” I screamed, although in truth it was somewhat comical.
I had a hot date with a pretty girl in just a few hours, and I was going to ruin it before it even got started. Despite all my powers, all my abilities, all the things I could do, I had failed to complete a pivotal rite of passage for teens. I had never learned to drive.
Speaking frankly, it was a skill I had never needed before. If I needed to be somewhere, I could either teleport or run there. A car, for me, was a slow method of transport. Now my arrogance was coming back to haunt me.
“I’m sorry,” my grandfather said between chuckles, “but I just can’t teach you how to drive in” - he glanced at his watch - “two hours.”
At that point, I left my grandfather’s apartment in disgust and turned to Braintrust, calling him in desperation. Unfortunately, he was of the same opinion as my grandfather: there just wasn’t enough time to teach me.
“However, I do have some good news,” BT added. “I was able to get some information on your stalker.”
For a moment I was confused about what he meant, and then it dawned on me. “Oh, Pinchface.”
“Yes. His name is actually Reilly Kubosh. He’s a finder.”
“What does that mean?”
“He finds things - people for the most part. Tracks them down.”
“How?”
“No one knows. My understanding is that he has some sort of power that helps him. Maybe it’s smell, maybe he’s psychic…who knows?”
“How’d he get on to me?”
“It’s hard to say, but from what I’ve been able to learn, he needs a starting point. He needs to know either where his target’s been or where he’s going to be. But after he crosses the target’s path, he’s locked onto them and can’t be shaken off.”
“Is he dangerous?”
“Not from what I’ve learned. Maybe he just wants the reward.”
“In that case, why wait until now to go for it? That reward’s been out there for a while.”
“Again, maybe he didn’t have a starting point before.”
“So the question is, who gave it to him?”
We sat next to each other on the return trip, still talking. In the back of my brain, however, I was trying to find an excuse to see her again. She nixed the idea of going to the Natural History Museum the next day (she’d already seen the current exhibits), and also shot down my suggestion of going to the zoo (she didn’t like the idea of animals in cages). At that point, I was ready to take the hint when she suddenly caught me off guard.
“Are you doing anything later tonight?” she asked.
Too surprised to say anything, I just shook my head no.
“Well, a couple of us are going to see the new Starcrosser movie. Do you want to come?”
“Sure!” I practically shouted, completely overeager and with what was surely a stupid grin on my face.
“Great!” She blurted out an address that I automatically memorized and repeated back to her. “You can pick me up at seven.”
I stared off into space, momentarily struck dumb by what she had said.
Pick her up at seven?
Pick her up?
As in drive ?
Chapter 8
My grandfather was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down his cheeks.
“It’s not funny!” I screamed, although in truth it was somewhat comical.
I had a hot date with a pretty girl in just a few hours, and I was going to ruin it before it even got started. Despite all my powers, all my abilities, all the things I could do, I had failed to complete a pivotal rite of passage for teens. I had never learned to drive.
Speaking frankly, it was a skill I had never needed before. If I needed to be somewhere, I could either teleport or run there. A car, for me, was a slow method of transport. Now my arrogance was coming back to haunt me.
“I’m sorry,” my grandfather said between chuckles, “but I just can’t teach you how to drive in” - he glanced at his watch - “two hours.”
At that point, I left my grandfather’s apartment in disgust and turned to Braintrust, calling him in desperation. Unfortunately, he was of the same opinion as my grandfather: there just wasn’t enough time to teach me.
“However, I do have some good news,” BT added. “I was able to get some information on your stalker.”
For a moment I was confused about what he meant, and then it dawned on me. “Oh, Pinchface.”
“Yes. His name is actually Reilly Kubosh. He’s a finder.”
“What does that mean?”
“He finds things - people for the most part. Tracks them down.”
“How?”
“No one knows. My understanding is that he has some sort of power that helps him. Maybe it’s smell, maybe he’s psychic…who knows?”
“How’d he get on to me?”
“It’s hard to say, but from what I’ve been able to learn, he needs a starting point. He needs to know either where his target’s been or where he’s going to be. But after he crosses the target’s path, he’s locked onto them and can’t be shaken off.”
“Is he dangerous?”
“Not from what I’ve learned. Maybe he just wants the reward.”
“In that case, why wait until now to go for it? That reward’s been out there for a while.”
“Again, maybe he didn’t have a starting point before.”
“So the question is, who gave it to him?”
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