Shifting Plates

Prologue

     "Hey," she said casually, trying to mask the increasing beat of her heart as she neared Timothy.

     "Oh, hey Miranda!" Timothy responded, his thousand watt smile widening as she approached. "Good to see you, it's been forever!"

     "Yeah, tell me about it," Miranda responded, continuing the joke. It really hadn't been that long as they saw each other the previous week for the event's staff orientation meeting. "Has it been slow?"

     "Not really. Everyone seemed to be excited to see the compost demonstration at 9 am, so there was a small rush in the dining area for breakfast."

     Timothy watched as Miranda moved to his side of the waste station and put her backpack under the table. She took out her lime green water bottle and took a drink. She had just walked from her bus stop to the festival in the 80 degree weather; her throat was parched. Timothy of course knew this, but he was surprised at how easily she could stand so close to him after all that had happened. He wondered if she had forgotten. Maybe it wasn't that important to her. 'Well, since you're here, Jake wants me to report to headquarters to pick up a go-cart. It's time to check-in with the vendors. You'll be alright here alone for a bit, right?"

     "Yeah, totally," replied Miranda immediately, drinking in one last glimpse of his beautiful face before he left.

       Timothy knew she could handle the waste station by herself; this was definitely not her first rodeo, so to speak. She had been on staff for a year and was one of the better waste sorters. He asked the question as a courtesy rather than actual concern; in fact, if it were up to him he would stand next to her for the rest of her shift if he could. They made a good team and they always had good conversations that made the time fly by. Or, at least, he hoped it would still be that way.