impromptu rendezvous [Tom]

Lieutenant DiNiro Richter

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The cold just bites right through my thin jacket and I try to pull the fabric tighter around me but it’s a futile attempt to block out the chill. It’s not a very far walk back to the shop but, considering the cold, it’s nearly too far. I shove my hands deep into my jacket’s pockets, fingers curling tightly together to try to keep warm but they’re tingling and I can’t seem to get the circulation flowing back through them.

That’s the least of my worries, though; Bean’s helper person (Captain, right?) is walking along with me like an escort. I can’t help but cast a sideways glare at him. It’s not his fault that Bean sent him to escort me home but I can’t fight off the sneaking suspicion that Bean thinks I’m incapable of defending myself. Like I’m just that little vulnerable puppy he mentioned earlier. I’m not weak, Bean. I may have not been the top of the class at Career training, I may have not have been able to ward off the larger bullies in school, but that does not mean that I’m weak in any way. I was either outnumbered or out-sized, and just because Bean can handle himself and still be shorter than me doesn’t mean I have no fight in me.

”You don’t have to walk me anywhere, you know,” I grumble, but he ignores me. ”What, does Bean think I need someone with me at all times?” Again he doesn’t respond and I set my jaw, fighting back the useless anger that is building up.

My gaze turns to the empty District Square – actually, it’s not empty at all. There’s another boy at the other end of the Square, looking just about my age and quite possibly my escape from this guy. I start heading toward this stranger boy but Captain follows, so I stop and wheel around to face him. ”That guy’s my friend, you don’t need to come with me any further.” He doesn’t seem to buy into it so I press further. ”The shop is just on the other side of those buildings, beyond the street.” I glance back at the stranger boy and offer a friendly smile and wave as if I really do know him, trying my best to convince Captain that I wasn’t pulling his leg. ”I’ll be fine; he lives just beside the shop so you can go back to Bean. And tell him that I don’t need an escort, I can take care of myself.”

Without another word I turn and trudge off through the snow toward this boy I have been pretending to know. ”Hey, what’re you doing out this late?” I ask, and then in a very quiet voice I add, ”Please just pretend that you know me, I’m trying to get rid of that guy back there.”

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