The Seven Day Gangster

Chapter 13

"Oh my God, did you see the dead mummy on the street just now?"

I looked up in a start to see Nathan coming quickly into the room I was in.

I had been perusing through a rather boring Sports Illustrated magazine, forcing myself to look over the only available reading material I could find. I turned another page then thought about what Nathan had just said.

I craned my head. "A mummy? What are you talking about?"

Nathan stopped walking and just stared at me. "I said puppy, not mummy. Dude, check your hearing. How did you even hear that? They don't even sound remotely the same."

I scowled. "Yes they do. Next time just clarify your words and annunciate them or something."

Nathan opened his mouth to respond but then closed it suddenly. He shook his head. "Wow. Your inability to hear just ruined the whole sob story thing I was going for."

I looked up at him. "Sob story?"

He shrugged. "I was trying to see if you would get all emotional thinking about a dead puppy and maybe start crying from that. It was a far throw, I know, but I just wanted to scope out what kind of stuff made you upset. But clearly, you can't hear well enough to even reach that point of thought though." He crossed his arms and sank into the couch opposite me.

I glared at him. "I can hear fine, thank you very much." Nathan raised his eyebrows.

"And," I added, ignoring the look on his face. "If I would cry that easily from a fictitious dead puppy story, then why the heck would I make a deal with you in the first place?"

Nathan shrugged. "Like I said, it was a far throw." He thought about it for a second. "Actually, you might be the kind of girl who could cry from thinking about a dead mummy or something. So I guess your deafness might have worked out to my advantage. For all you know, I might have opened up a new emotional side to you that you never thought about before. In love with mummies and you never knew it." He mused over his words, nodding.

I stared at him. "That doesn't even make sense. Mummies are dead. And I would, would never cry—" I sputtered indignantly. "That's just gross. That's not sad at all. This conversation is so pointless."

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "Whoa there, there's no need to get all upset by this. Don't worry; there was no mummy out there at all. I made that whole story up," he said, in a falsely soothing voice. He leaned over and patted my shoulder.

I pulled back my shoulder automatically. "What? What are you talking about?" I managed to say. "Why are you patting my shoulder? I'm not getting upset. Your story didn't even make sense. I'm not upset at all."

Nathan raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Whatever you say. You know, I never pegged you as a necrophiliac, Arianna."

I opened my mouth, having absolutely nothing to say.

"Arianna's a what?" Sam strode into the room, a textbook tucked under his arm. He glanced at me with a questioning look in his eyes then back at Nathan, who was smiling.

"It's nothing," I said quickly, not wanting to continue that ridiculous conversation anymore. "Anyways—"

Nathan shook his head and cut me off. "I wouldn't say it's nothing. Arianna's been exploring her love life; finding new interests she never knew she had and that kind of stuff."

He shrugged nonchalantly and gave me a sideways glance. I glared at him and focused on my magazine.

Sam gave us a strange look then flopped onto a nearby chair. "Alright; you guys are weird." He cracked open his book which looked a lot like my Economics textbook and began reading.