The Girl in the Loop - Enoch O'Connor

Into Town With Victor

Before the loop was created, around 1938 or so when Enoch was 14 or 15, he was dragged into town by his friend, Victor Bruntly.

Victor was a bit older than Enoch was, and he found just about every girl he met to be very pretty. He was a ladies' man, to say the least. Good at sweet talking girls.

Enoch, on the other hand, not so much. He struggled when it came to flirting or even social interaction in itself. Especially when it came to girls. He was able to talk to Victor, though. They were good friends.

Usually, Enoch would spend most of his time holed up in his room, playing with his peculiarity, practicing, and perfecting it.

But, one warm June day, Victor sporadically decided to drag him to the town despite his protests. Enoch had stayed up past lights out the previous night and was very groggy and tired. He wouldn't usually mind getting some fresh air with Victor, but he didn't want to go out today.

"What are we even going to do there?" Enoch had whined in his Scottish accent.

"Go for a walk? Prank some poor kids? Maybe spot a few pretty ladies along the way?" Victor responded, smirking at the end. He hadn't really planned on doing any of those things. Except for the last one. He figured he could help Enoch find a nice girl. One that might be able to crack him out of his thick shell and get him to talk.

Most people saw him as closed off, that he didn't want to talk to anyone. But as his best friend, Victor knew what it was. He was shy. Of course, Enoch spoke to and of Victor like a brother. Which is precisely the reason they wouldn't dare get mushy around one another. Plus, Victor was his only friend, and although they'd never spoken about it. Victor could tell that he was starting to feel lonely. He needed some excitement. A lovely lady ought to do the trick.

Enoch was unsatisfied with the answer, but he accepted it, too tired to argue.

The walk to town was short, only about 10 or so minutes. As they arrived, Victor thought of the possible places they could go that girls might like to go to as well, and he thought of excuses to use so that Enoch would come with. He decided they would start with the clothing shop, claiming that Horace had requested a few things when he found they were going out to the town. 'Girls like clothes.' Victor thought.

Enoch only sighed and followed him around the corner, passing a few other buildings before walking into their destination. The shop was filled with racks of dresses, suits, and sweaters. There were a few mannequins that held their finest pieces. The walls of the shop consisted of shelves that held fabrics of every color and type in many different patterns. There was also a display of threads, a color of string for every shade of fabric on the shelves. Everything was organized by color, creating a satisfying gradient.

Victor pretended to browse through the colorful threads as Enoch trailed behind, looking bored. Victor kept glancing around, trying to be subtle.

A few moments later, as Enoch was examining a few sewing needles, Victor tapped his arm, nodding in the direction of a pretty blonde girl wearing a dress colored a soft brown. Her facial features were round and soft around the edges. She was looking at a light blue piece of fabric, probably wondering how much she would need for whatever it was she was working on.

Victor leaned to him to whisper, "She's pretty, don't you think?" He smirked.

Enoch glanced at the girl who was now checking the texture of a pastel flannel fabric. "I guess so." Enoch said, still sounding and looking a bit bored. He went back to his needles, wondering if they would be a help for his peculiarity.

Victor tried to convince him a bit more before giving up, seeing as he wasn't getting anywhere. Ultimately, Enoch had decided to buy a couple of the needles he had examined, and Victor had picked out a couple of threads for Horace. Horace hadn't really asked for anything, but it wouldn't hurt to get him a little something anyway, plus, as far as Enoch knew, that was the whole reason they had entered the shop in the first place.