“I mean... I really want to get it done.”
“Hmm. Aren’t you tired?”
He shook his head.
“You certainly know how to stay focused; I’ll give you that.” She smirked faintly. “A few more minutes. But then we’re outta here. I’ve got an important home life, you know. My dogs need to be fed.”
“Yes, ma’am...”
He finished up the welding, screwed the jaw into place, stuffed the helm in his bag, and exited the building with Ms. Trent.
“You okay to get home?” she asked.
“Y-yeah, I’m fine.”
“You sure? We’re not supposed to give students rides, but I can’t just let you walk home in the dark.”
“No, really. I, uh... I mean, uh... my parents should be here soon.”
“Then you won’t mind if I wait with you.”
He grimaced. “Uh... th-that’s not necessary.”
“Oh, I insist,” she said.
He sighed.
“They’re not coming, are they?”
He had to think of something. Lying wasn’t working. He decided to try a version of the truth. “No, they’re not,” he said. “I’m not going home yet. I h-have somewhere else I want to go first.”
“Aha. Somewhere you’d rather not tell a teacher about, is that it?”
He nodded his head to the side a little. “Y-you could say that...”
“Alright,” she said. “It’s not my business. But stay out of trouble, Hector. You’re a good kid.”
He watched her go out into the parking lot and drive off in a white compact.
He pulled out the helm as he started walking and held it up to inspect. He hadn’t been able to look at the finished product very closely before leaving the workroom. He turned it over in his hands.
‘Wow, this looks like shit...’
Garovel laughed. ‘Are you done?’
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
Hi! I'm new to this story, just started reading tonight (saw your ad on Improbable Island). Just wanted to throw in my two cents and say that so far it's paced really well, the characters are really well developed and relatable, and that as someone coming to terms with his own anxiety this story may be exactly what I need to read right now... More than once, Hector has already given a voice to the thoughts I'm sometimes not willing to face on my own, and Garovel's guidance sometimes seems a godsend. I'm sorry if that makes me seem really self-absorbed, I know your story is obviously your own and I'm looking forward to seeing how far down the rabbithole goes, but I just wanted to thank you now for writing this, and for writing it so well.
ReplyDeleteWelcome. That is very encouraging to hear. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much. :)
ReplyDeleteHector is a good boy
ReplyDeleteGiving me the chills
ReplyDeleteRaised a Death Flag right there
ReplyDelete"Stay out of trouble" and"you're a good kid" in the same paragraph????
Now that's just asking for it