There's No Time

Chapter 6

Still 6:04 a.m. We'd been driving for a while; I couldn't tell you exactly how long for obvious reasons. We slowed down as we approached the mall, to my disappointment. When we were about halfway to the mall, I lifted the plastic shield of my helmet and enjoyed the wind—wait, not wind. Wind is moving air, and the air was obviously not moving. So I guess I enjoyed the motionless air, scattered with snowflakes, hitting my moving face. The speed had been exhilarating.

 As we got closer, it occurred to me that not many stores would be open in the mall at six in the morning. "Where are you actually planning to go?" I asked Andrew.

The same thing must have dawned upon him as well. "Oh..." He said, slowing down. "Crap. I guess I'll just have to manage with the stores that are open." We eventually made it to the mall, and Andrew parked at the food court entrance. We made our way through the tinted glass doors. The warm air pulled us into the empty mall.

I had never been to the mall at such a depressing time before. The whole building was pretty much empty. Nearly all the stores' security gates were closed, making it look like a jail. Even at the stores that were open, most employees were nowhere to be seen. I felt like the employees were prisoners in this jail. Except they were getting paid.

I looked around for a place Andrew might want to go. "Not much you can do, huh?” Or rather, not much you can steal, I thought.

He shrugs, “I guess not.” We ventured further into the food court. “But I wouldn’t have stolen anything anyway,” I glanced at him. “If you really didn’t want me to.”

I considered this. “I really don’t want you to.” He didn’t respond, and I didn’t really expect him to. But what he said made me happy for some reason. I guess it made him seem like less of a douche.

I watched in confusion as Andrew approached an Auntie Anne's pretzel bakery. “Are you hungry?” I asked. I had never frozen time when I was hungry. I’d always eat and then do whatever I would do when time was stopped.

“Mhmm,” He said, examining the menu, looking over the employee that stood counting ten dollar bills with the cash register open and vulnerable. I suppose Andrew didn’t have the choice to freeze time when he wasn’t hungry.

“Do you have money to pay for that pretzel your eyeing?” I asked suspiciously as I too looked at the salted pretzel he stared at.

He smiled, reassuring me. “Yeah, don’t worry.” He took out a five dollar bill and dropped it on the counter before disappearing around the corner. I frowned, looking after him, wondering where he’d gone.

He soon reappeared in the back behind the counter, carefully avoiding the guy counting money. As he grabbed his pretzel, he asked, “You want anything?” This took me by surprise. I hadn’t thought that the guy who went to the mall to steal stuff would offer to buy me a pretzel. Then again, I thought, he said he wasn’t going to steal anything…

After regaining my composure, I replied, “No, thanks. I’m fine.” He nodded and took his pretzel with him into the back. While he was briefly gone, I carefully moved the five dollar bill from lying on the counter to the open cash register. Silently apologizing to the employee with the money, Sorry if I messed up your counting.

Andrew came from around the corner just then and motioned for me to join him at one of the many empty tables.

After we sat down, he broke the pretzel into two halves and offered one to me. “I said I didn’t want any,” I said with my eyebrows raised and my head tilted.

He shrugged and took a bite of his half. “I thought I should offer you some anyway.” That made me smile. He wasn’t that bad after all. I took the half-pretzel from his outstretched hand.

While Andrew worried about whether I should eat or not, I worried about whether anyone would notice a missing pretzel. Then I realized that I worried about something else, too.

I knitted my eyebrows and looked down, realizing that this thing resembled a date. As I nibbled on the warm pretzel, I tried to figure out if this counted as one. I’d never experienced one before, but I had read enough books, and watched enough TV to recognize the similarities between a date and whatever this was. Soon after, I realized that this couldn’t possibly count. I’m stuck with this almost-stranger while time is stopped. Of course this isn’t a date.

I shook my head for asking such a stupid question. Then it hit me again that Andrew and I were nearly strangers. I should get to know him better, I thought.

Why? I asked myself. I frowned. I didn’t really know why. It just seemed like something I should do. Then I realized that if he warmed up to me, I could get him to keep quiet about my ability more easily.

“So,” I said, starting with the small talk. “You’re a senior, right?” He looked up from his pretzel.

“Mmm,” He swallowed. “Yep, and you’re…” He squinted his eyes, trying to figure out about how old I was. I turned my head both ways so he could get a better look. He smiled. “A junior?” I nodded. “You’re kind of small, so I thought you might be a sophomore,” He took another bite.

“Yes,” I said sighing. “I know I’m small. You don’t have to remind me.” People told me in some way that I was small all the time, even though there are plenty of other small people to talk to. Whether it was a harmless joke or an offensive joke, people always managed to mention it. I was only five feet tall, and weighed about 100 pounds. I have no clue if 100 pounds is a lot or too little. All I know is that there are people taller than me who weigh much less, and people shorter than me who weigh much more.

“Hey,” He said defending himself, “I have nothing against small people.” He was smiling. “Not midgets, not dwarves, and not short girls like you. Be proud. Other people wish they were as small as you.”

I didn’t know what to say in response to that at first, so I half smiled. “Yes, well…” I laughed. “I’ll be sure to take pride in my smallness.”

We talked and talked until all the pretzel was gone, and I forgot the pretzel was ever there. I realized that talking like this made it seem more like a date than ever, but I didn’t really care. Talking to Andrew was different than talking to anyone else. I’d finally made a decent friend. I involuntarily smiled—I was glad it was Andrew.