Characters: Sophia, Jesse, Marcus
Location: East Shore High
Day 4 - 2:58 PM
Sophia’s cell phone jingled in her pocket for the eighth time in the past hour. She started to reach for it, but Jesse’s hand touched against hers and he gently pried her fingers away.
“Leave it alone,” he said. “Whatever your dad wants to tell you, it’s something you won’t want to hear.”
The phone continued to ring. Eventually, it switched over to voice mail and Sophia stared out the car window at East Shore High. School was letting out and children were running to catch the buses or crossing the streets with heavy backpacks weighing them down or talking to their friends in the parking lot or just leaning against the old school building with nothing better to do. A calm autumn breeze drifted by, scooping up a cornucopian of leaves that fluttered down the streets.
Sophia sighed and pressed her hands against the glass. “I’ve gotten used to it… My father never has anything good to say.”
“Then why do you still live with him? There’s a spare bed at my apartment, you know.”
“Jesse, you sleep in the spare bed.”
“Always have room for another.”
“Don’t be like that.”
The car stopped at a red light and Jesse let go of the wheel. “Be like what? We’re both lonely, aren’t we?”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s what you always say.”
“Then I’m just tired.”
“You always say that too. I’m tired of you being tired.”
“So am I.”
“Then just let me take you home. You can sleep there.”
“I don’t want to go home.”
“Well, we can’t keep circling the school all day! I don’t like this place. I didn’t like it before I dropped out and I don’t like it now.”
Sophia didn’t respond. She watched the children crossing the street and then leaned her head back, staring at the passing clouds through the sunroof in the car. There was one cloud, bigger and grayer than the rest, which seemed to be swelling up over the sky like smoke. Her eyes followed it, wondering where it came from, where it was going, what it would bring.
“Baby, are you okay?” Jesse asked. The light turned green and he started up the car again.
She shook her head, but never moved it from the seat. “No, Jesse, I’m not okay. I just saw the body of somebody I used to work with cut into pieces and I don’t know why.”
“It’s that damn Neverquest game. I told your dad that the world wasn’t ready for that kind of virtual reality.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
“Well, it did! An innocent person died. The cops will shut that place down before the day is over.”
“Are you kidding?” Sophia asked with an almost sardonic laugh. “My father will never report it to the police. He’s not going to risk losing a business that he’s invested millions in.”
“Then we’ll report it.”
“You want me to turn my own father in?”
“For the safety of thousands of people, yes. Sophia, do you realize what could happen if Neverquest was released in the open market? What if your friend was only the first to die? Why are you sticking up for your dad? It’s not like you love him anyway.”
“That’s none of your business!” Sophia snapped. “How I feel about my father should be no concern of yours.”
“The man is a greedy tyrant! He cares more about money than you. He always has, Sophia. You can’t change his heart.”
“…That doesn’t mean I don’t love him.”
“Do you?”
“Do I what?”
Jesse gazed into her eyes. “Do you love him?”
“Would it matter?”
The car screeched to a halt, coming within an inch of smashing into the rear bumper of a school bus. Jesse and Sophia were jostled about in their seats, but the seatbelts snapped them back into position. Then they looked at each other, Sophia narrowing her eyes, and then turned away.
“…Take me home,” Sophia said at last.
“What? You said you didn’t want to go home.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Damn it, Sophia!” Jesse slammed his fists against the steering wheel. “Why do you keep doing this!?”
“Just turn the car around and take me home.”
“It’s too late now. We’ll have to wait for all these buses to move.”
Sophia unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle. “I’ll walk then.”
“It’s ten miles away.”
“I wouldn’t want you to go out of your way. God knows you do for everything else.”
“Sophia, don’t do this…”
But she had already stepped out of the car. The wind caught her hair for a moment, blowing it across her face, but she brushed it away and stepped onto the curb. A few dry leaves crunched underneath her sandals.
Grunting, Jesse put the car in park and stuck his head out of the sunroof. “Sophia! Sophia, come on. It’s going to rain.”
“Then I’ll get wet,” she yelled back. She turned her gaze to the black horizon and then the blacker pavement, where she saw a young man wearing a beige polo shirt standing by the back entrance to the school. She squinted through the wind. Nobody was supposed to be back there. And was that…
“Marcus?” she whispered to herself. “What’s he doing here?” She started walking towards him, sweeping another strand of her away from her eyes. Then their eyes met. It had to be Marcus. She was sure of it. She could sense his Canadian geekiness from a mile away.
“Marcus!” she cried, walking a little faster now. The loose chains hooked to her jeans banged against her thighs. Marcus stared at her for a moment as if he wasn’t sure what to do and then took off in the opposite direction. Sophia matched his speed and followed him as he ducked behind an old delivery truck. The wind picked up. As Sophia rounded the truck, the wind caught her and slammed her against its side.
Pushing off the truck with her palms, Sophia chased Marcus into an alley behind the school. A seven-foot high fence blocked their only means of escape. Gasping for air, Marcus looked over his shoulder and saw Sophia approaching. Her footsteps began to slow down as she drew closer.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you were checking up on the houses. Did you find the right one? Did you find the—Marcus! Marcus, get back here!”
It was too late. Marcus threw himself against the fence, scrambling over it like a drunken squirrel up a tree, and hurled his body back to the ground. He landed hard on the cement. But whether he was hurt or not, that didn’t stop him. Jumping to his feet again, he sprinted down the rest of the alley with his arms flapping. He never once stopped to look back at Sophia, who only stared in wonder as the hair danced across her face.
Giantess World
