The SVE Club

29. Favors

On her way to school the next morning, Sam contemplated a Chinese finger trap that her sister had given her earlier at breakfast. Despite having handled one before and knowing its secret, the simple object still fascinated her. Unaware of the world around her, she latched and detached the tube of fabric around her index fingers as she walked leisurely.

"Are you stuck?" someone asked.

Sam looked up and broke into a grin. White Flame stood on the sidewalk ahead, waving awkwardly. He walked towards Sam.

"I got your texts," he said. "So what's up?"

"I can't believe you actually came!" Sam exclaimed, her index fingers still trapped. "Don't you have school?"

"Well, ISH is pretty lenient about schedules. They won't mind if I'm a little late," White Flame said casually. "Anyway, was there something you wanted?"

"I... I just wanted to talk," Sam stuttered. She seemed to be in disbelief that she was once again conversing with her idol. "We didn't really have a lot of time in the library. And I never got a chance to really thank you for helping me make that call."

"It was nothing. From what I recall from when I first met you, you'd have done the same for me."

"So you do remember that day?" Sam asked as she continued her route towards school. "The time Opal Empress gassed the mall?"

White Flame walked beside her. "Mostly. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, though," he answered. "Let me see... You got separated from your family. Didn't have a cell phone at the time."

"Right."

"I found you hiding in the children's play area of all places, tucked under a slide with a mop you'd stolen from a janitor's cart. Still not sure why."

"Why not?" Sam laughed.

"And you weren't scared at all," White Flame recounted. "I told you to stay with me and then... then..."

"I asked you for your autograph," Sam reminded, pointing at him as best she could with her finger trap.

"Right, and I promised I would give it to you if we made it out of there alive. That's when we ran into Empress."

"And that's when you proceeded to smack down that rotten villain and send her to a jail cell, just like the class B Dynamopsych you are!"

    "It wasn't just me. You helped."

    "I don't think poking her with a mop when she was already down counts," Sam laughed. "I'll never forget that day, you know."

"I won't either," White Flame said. He suddenly looked down at Sam's trapped fingers. "You like that thing, huh?"

Sam shrugged. "I was just... thinking about what it means. How it's similar to life."

"Feeling philosophical today?" White Flame asked, the jagged scar between his eyes briefly creasing. "Whatever, I'm in an optimistic mood this morning. Lay it on me."

"The more you pull away from your problems," Sam said, looking at her hands, "The harder it is to let them go. But if you confront them, it's easier to fix them."

White Flame clapped slowly. "Very nice. Are you going to release yourself from the finger trap now?"

Sam held her hands up to White Flame. "I would. But it would be a lot cooler if you disintegrated it."

White Flame's smile disappeared. "I shouldn't," he said.

"Please?" Sam implored. "My sister has dozens of them. She won them at school. I want to see you in action again!"