Beyond The Sky

36

The last few hours go by, and the final dismissal bell rings sharp. Finally! I race to my locker and quickly put my stuff away and grab the stuff I need to take home with me. I exit the building, heading toward my little car in the parking lot.

Not to brag or anything, but I think I'm the best driver in my family.

The rest of them are nuts.

I turn my car on and the radio starts playing one of my favorite songs. I sing along to it, probably loud enough that the whole school can hear me, as I pull out and head towards Arlo's previous 'workplace'. After the song ends it's a pretty silent drive with me focusing on the road. I eventually turned into the driveway of the station and shut my car off. I step out, my feet scraping against the blacktop. A few of the firefighters come out at the sound of my feet. "Lance! Hey, buddy," a male voice says, recognizing me. It's been so long since I've been around I'm surprised they still remember me.

"Simon, right?" I look up at the dark-haired man in front of me, trying to remember who was who.

"Sure is. Hey, Andy!" He calls, "Come look who came to visit!"
"I'll be there in a sec. Can I grab Gizelle too?"

"Sure thing."

I look around at the place. "Place hasn't changed much since I was last here."

"Doesn't change too much," Simon explains, "the only thing that's changed in the past year is Gizelle becoming chief."

"Oh, good for her. What happened to... um... your previous chief?"

"Naomi?"
"Yes, her."
"She got transferred to another station. She moved to another town and couldn't stay with us."

"I see. I'm sure she's doing just fine."

"I'm sure. Gizelle does such a good job, though."

"Glad she does." I smile as Andy and Gizelle come closer to Simon.

"Lance!" Gizelle shouts. "So good to see you!" She squeezes me into a hug.

"Gizelle--'' I start. She's got me in a tight squeeze. "Personal-- space."
She lets go. "Sorry."
Andy laughs. "I can tell someone really likes you and missed you."
"I knew she enjoyed my company, but I didn't expect that much." I stretch, still uncomfortable from the squeeze.

"You have to have some sort of reason for being here," Simon starts, "and I know you're not here with Arlo."
"No..." I sigh. "But I need some advice. From someone who isn't biased about Arlo."

"Huh?"
"It's hard to explain. You guys got a while?"

The three stare at me, and then look at each other. "Yeah, we've got a bit. What's up, kid?" Andy finally says.

"So before I go into details, I just need to ask: did you guys know of Arlo's soulmate?"
"He found his soulmate?!" Gizelle exclaims. "Oh my gosh... Poor girl..."
"He did, yes. The day before he died, actually." I sigh again. "That's why I need some advice."

"What's up?" Simon asks.

"Well..." I begin, sighing slightly, "He had asked me to text her - his soulmate, Serena - just moments before he took his last breath." I pause, look up at the three, then continue. "I did, and then decided to take matters into my own hands and text her from my own phone. I found her number in his phone and texted her." I pause again.

"I continued to text her for about a month until we finally met up in person. Only a few hours later, though, did I actually realize I could see some color."

The three of them -- well, mostly Gizelle -- gasp.

"It's not full color though. I can see about .... Mmm, let's say 10 percent of it all. It's still very... dull. But it feels really funny to me." I close my eyes, sighing. "Because this is Arlo's past soulmate we're talking about. The world's starting to accept us as soulmates, and I'm kind of uncomfortable about it."

"That's crazy." Andy pipes up. "Have you talked to... Serena, was it? ...About it at all?"
"I brought it up to Serena, but she had told me she hadn't seen any color herself."

"That's really strange, actually." He puts his hand up to his chin in thought. "I'd hope she'd see some soon."

"Me too. I'm sure she's struggling with it too. It's just so weird."

"I'm sure she would be. Well, I'd say to give her a shot - meet up with her again, talk to her about how you feel and see what happens."

"Thanks, Andy. That's what I was hoping to do anyway, so I'll just give that a shot just like I was planning to."

He nods. "Any time, Lance. Feel free to come back whenever you'd like - as long as we're not busy. Especially if you need soulmate advice - all of us have been through that, and mine and Amber's situation was similar to yours. I'm so lucky to have her, though."

Simon glares at him. I don't know whether to laugh or be confused. Simon starts to speak, but I manage to cut him off before some sort of argument breaks out.

"I'm sure I'll drop by again." I nod in response, ignoring Andy swooning over his soulmate, and start to shuffle back to my car as Simon and Gizelle wave goodbye.

I guess he's right, I think as I sit in the driver's seat and start my car, I just have to be honest with myself. And Serena.