Play Pretend

2: Friendship

2: Friendship

Connor Rogers

The day came unexpectedly fast. I got up early and left the house before nine and made my way slowly to the other side of town. I had left a note in the kitchen, telling Carrie of my whereabouts, just in case she would fret about my sudden disappearance.

“Hello,” I said to the officer at the lobby, leaning against the counter slightly in attempt to peer into the inside of the building.

“Do you have a problem, sir?” I straightened up quickly when I noticed the questioning stare from the officer.

“Er… No,” I cleared my throat, “I’m Connor Rogers; I have an interview today?”

“One moment,” he brought up some files on the computer screen and started scrolling through all the information.

“Sergeant Simmons will take you in a moment,” he said after a while, “please take a seat over there.” He nodded at a few chairs that were lined up at a corner, one of them already taken up by an Asian around my age.

“Er… Thanks,” I said, before heading over to sit.

The man had a black Dan Brown book in his hand, and his black brows were furrowed as his brown eyes skimmed quickly through the pages. His black hair was styled up into a messy quiff, and he was in simple jeans and shirt.

I sat down next to him and took out my phone, trying my best not to peer into his book. I brought up some online books and started reading.

“Sherlock Holmes, huh? You're a fan of crime fiction?”

I looked up, turning off iBook to find the man still reading his book. I frowned; since when did he look over?

“Name’s Jason Wong, by the way. I’m here for an interview,” he introduced, eyes staying passionately on the page.

“So am I,” I returned, surprised, “I’m Connor Rogers.”

We shook. “Nice to meet you, Connor,” Jason replied, slipping his book into his bag pack.

“So what do you do?” I attempted to make conversation.

“I’m a football coach in a local public middle school, actually,” he said, his voice laced with pride, “you?”

For a moment the words were stuck in my throat. It would make me sound like a pathetic human being if I told him I was unemployed, but in truth, I was pretty pathetic already.

“Oh you know, what college kids like me would do for a living in the moment,” I decided to say.

“You’re unemployed, aren’t you?”

My eyes widened, “How–?”

“Your eyes gave it away,” he explained smoothly, as though he had seen it a hundred times, “and that shrug is a dead giveaway. Most people shrug when they lie.”

“Are you an underlying detective?”

Jason laughed, “I wish. That’s partly why I’m here actually. My observation skills come in handy.”

“So can none of your students get past you?” I asked, amused.

“Nope, not one of them,” he laughed, shaking his head.

I grinned, “The world sure is lucky to have someone smart like you.”

“Hey, c’mon man, I’m sure you’re not all muscle,” Jason tapped his forehead pointedly.