Psychic Paper

Fruitloops-Shawn

I moan and cover my face as the afternoon sun creeps through the Psych window shades piercing my eyes. Forgetting I'm on the couch I quickly roll over and plummet to the ground with a loud thump.

"Shawn what are you doing in there? Shawn!" Gus storms in and walks over to me. He crosses his arms and stands over me. Amused at how pissed he is, I stare back at him and begin to laugh as I turn over on my side. He just shakes his head and sighs before walking away.

I pull myself up and wander over to kitchen. Mindlessly I grab at a box of fruit loops and sit down at the center table. I begin to tear away the close tabs Gus so neatly folded together, when something catches my eye. In the corner of the red box is a yellow promotional star suggesting that "Each box comes with a collectible prize"

I close my eyes and think back to the last case I worked. We were involved in a case with the deadly thorn burg virus.The memories of adrenaline and fear still linger in my mind. Juliet sitting in the hospital bed, the thought of loosing her had become reality. I remember the scene perfectly and begin to get lost in my thoughts as I recreate it.

Jules sat in the sterile hospital room fiddling with her blue gown. We have the cure, I think to my self, she's not going to die. I still can't get my heart beat to slow down. I have to tell her, I've never been more sure of something, I have to. I can hear my footsteps echo though the halls as I approach her room. The seconds slow down as I placed my hand on the cold door handle. I take a deep breath and confidently walk in. I pause as I step through the doorway. Her blue worried eyes meet mine as I shift closer to her bed.

Before I can back down I blurt out "Jules I've gotta tell you something" her eyes fill with worry as she sits up and responds "What is it Shawn? You did find the cure right?" "Yeah of course I did Jules, but that's not what I wanted to talk about."I pause to collect myself then continue "When I was dressed in catchers gear screaming and running from dogs in the middle of field I realized two things. One I had a piece of beef jerky in my pocket so I threw it to the side and suddenly the dogs weren't interested in me. Two, that some things are too important not say." I finish weakly Juliet giggles and responds "Okay so what needs to be said" "Jules-" I begin.

Suddenly Gus comes rushing in and says "Um, excuse me Shawn-" annoyed, I wave it off and quickly say"not now Gus" I turn back to Jules, her eyes are wide with dread. "This will only take a minute." He eagerly points out. I look pleadingly at Gus and say through gritted teeth "Can it wait? I'm about tell Juliet something important." At an attempt to get rid of him I say commandingly "Why don't you go down to the cafeteria and get us some tricolored jello?" Refusing to leave he begs "Shawn!" "Please! I've gotta get through this man, come on," I argue. I find myself at a loss for words. I yank the mask from my mouth and blurt out "Look Jules, there are things that you need to know and I need to say them-" quickly Gus interrupts and spits "Juliet you don't have the Thorn Burg virus" Confused, Juliet and I, in unison, respond "What?" I sharply turn my head back to Jules as she continues with, a tone of disbelieve in her voice "Wait are you kidding? "No your doctor just told me." Gus tells us. I stare at him as a feeling of disbelief washes over me. The doctor waves through the window and gives Juliet a dramatic thumbs up. "ohmagod" Juliet quickly says straightening up. "That's right looks like you have more time than you thought.." Gus points out I stare at him my jaw slack. "OHMAGOD!" Juliet repeats as she springs out of bed a smile spreading across he face. Giddy with happiness she laughs as she wraps her arms tightly around me. I stand frozen by shock. She releases me as she screams "Oh my god! I'm so happy I'm not gonna die in this disgusting room!" She begins to tear the wires from her as quickly as possible. The cables fall gracefully to the ground. A tinge of excitement in my voice I begin "That's so so, good" I pause to collect myself "but I... I still want to say what I was going to say if that's okay..." I manage to get out. The excitement quickly drains from her face as she responds "Sure.." An awkward silence hangs in the air. Her concerned eyes meet mine. I take a deep breath before I begin "uh Jules okay um how do I say this.." I trail off. My heart begins to race as try to grasp the right words.

"You know how when we were kids there were all those cool prizes at the bottom of cereal boxes?" I breathlessly ask. She smiles and nods as she says "Yeah" confidence builds insides me as I continue "Okay, well there were two types of kids; there's the kid that flipped the box over and opened it from the bottom and grabbed the prize right away, and then there was the kid who waited patiently and ate bowl after bowl of cereal until the prize just tumbled out on it's own." I pause and decide to add some humor to lighten the mood, "There's also a third kid named Mikey who will eat anything including the prize, but he's not really important right now." She laughs a little and says "Okay...And?" This is my time I can do this, I think to myself. "I didn't wait. I didn't wait for my decoder ring or my frankenberry action figure when I was a kid... So what am I waiting for now?" I say almost in a whisper. Her head tilts slightly to the side as I continue "All I know is I don't want to miss out on the prize..." I stare at her hoping she understands what I'm saying. My body tenses as I wait for a response. "what are you trying to say Shawn?" She asks gently. I open my mouth, but no words come out. I stutter and fumble over my words as I reach for a conclusion. I'm done I can't do this I decide, it was stupid to try. "I...I don't know.." I whisper. My eyes drop to ground to avert meeting her soft gaze.

Suddenly Lassie bursts in and begins to pepper Juliet with congratulations. I see this as an opportunity to leave. Swiftly I sidestep out of Lassie's way to exit the room. I stop outside the window that leads to her room and meet with Gus. Defeated I tell him "Don't say anything..." I stare at the sterile tile below my feet. I glance back at Juliet's room to see her intense blue eyes concentrated on me. Her eyes meet mine, but instead of looking away, her mouth slightly parts turns up into a small smile.

I continuously run the details through my head. Alternate possibilities crowd my brain.

I snap back to reality as Gus says "Shawn? Shawn? SHAWN?" I blink as I look up at him "What? I question trying to clear my mind of Jules. "You've just been intensely staring at the box of cereal for the past ten minutes. I didn't know if you were just mad at the cereal or extremely confused" he teases. Hastily, I launch into a long excuse, "I just disagree with the cereal Gus. I mean it promises a prize but it doesn't say what type of prize, it could be an extra piece of cereal for all we know. I just think they need be more specific and stop raising people hopes man..."

I begin to stand up as I hear my piercing Thriller ringtone go off. The music fills the office, lifting my spirits. In a mock singing voice I begin to chant along to the song. My hands snap along with the beat as Gus and I moon walk across the office. I'm about to launch into a full on dance when I realize, this is a ringtone someone's actually trying to call me. My feet skid across the floor as I slide over to my phone. The glowing screen reads Jules. I shove the memories to the back of my head as I carefully pick up the phone.

"Hey Jules" I say trying to act as nonchalant as possible. "Hey Shawn, Chief Vik wanted me to give you a call we've got a case that's well... Fit for you" Juliet happily informs me. Confused I push on through the conversation with "What do you mean fit for me? Do you mean fit for me like someone stole a pineapple and Lassie doesn't care enough to solve it; or fit for me as in a case that you actually need my charm and fantastic skill set for?" Juliet laughs a little and responds in a light tone "Just come down here Shawn, I'll explain later"