Peppermint

Interlude 9 - I'm With The Band

Leaning back in the seat next to Josh, Firdaus checked her phone as Ahmad drove them, plus Michael, down to San Jose. No messages. Of course. From whom would she have expected said messages anyway? She wasn't in contact with her family or her friends back home, and everyone who would've been in contact with her, regularly, was in the car right now.

"Everyone." Only two people, in fact. And unless they were making it a point of keeping secrets from Michael now - which she wouldn't blame them if they were - there was no good reason for Ahmad or Josh to text her constantly rather than actually talking. Socially anxious as she often was, texting was too much of a crutch sometimes. She needed to talk a little more often.

For the moment, though, she didn't.

Maybe instead, she'd distract herself with a bit of a look back at her old life. New comments on her fanfics, perhaps. Any haters, she'd ignore, but reliably, there was quite a bit of appreciation in her inbox. It meant a lot to her, and it hurt that she couldn't acknowledge said appreciation while she was away on mission.

For years, she'd lived life a little afraid of the outside world. But her fandoms encouraged her to eventually live like more of her role models and faves. Like a Winchester, or Supergirl. So when Josh one day came to her and asked her to join him, she pretended to hesitate while considering that the only choice she wanted to make was to say yes.

Naturally, she got some resistance to her decision, but those were more from online friends than real-world ones. Those online friends who did resist, she had no problem cutting them loose. The rest, they were very understanding and patient. Hufflepuffs allying with the secret Gryffindor she was.

With her battery running low, she tucked her phone back in her pocket and leaned over to Josh. "D'you got any of those charging pods?"

"What? Oh, those..." He reached over the back of the passenger seat and tapped Michael's shoulder. "You got them?"

"Got what?"

"The charging pods. You know, those ones they make with Second 'Verse tech?"

"I run the Third 'Verse. Why would I want any of that Second 'Verse shit?"

"Your 'tech,'" Firdaus scoffed, "is mostly cryogenic chambers, isn't it? Everything else might as well be just the same as-"

"Keep your hair on!" Michael cried as he reached into his messenger bag. "I've a pod right here!"

Firdaus took it, but not without glaring at him for a second. She'd never met Michael before, but now that she had, she disliked his attitude. He reminded her of a few people she'd known in fandom online. People with a certain sense of entitlement. People who couldn't, for the life of them, see a candle flicker of positivity in their lives and therefore took it out on everyone else. Being depressed was one thing, but it wasn't an excuse for being a dick, and Michael had to learn that sooner rather than later.

Ahmad brought the car to a halt and cursed to himself fluently in several languages. Firdaus didn't even recognize several of them, but given that "bloody hell" showed up once or twice, and Josh and Michael winced every few words, she could make an educated guess.

"Blocked again?" She didn't even need to look up, though, to know the answer to her question.

"Yep." Ahmad bonked his forehead on the steering wheel, jerking up again after he accidentally honked the horn.

Josh failed to stifle a small giggle. "Love, Simon."

"I know you love to speak fluent pop culture," Michael commented dryly, "but maybe not in a serious situation?"

"It's my coping strategy, brother. One of them, anyway."

"He's not wrong," Firdaus said. "I'm on his side here, Blondie."

"Hold on, guys and gal." Ahmad redoubled his grip on the steering wheel, allowing everyone to hear the squeak of the tires on the wet tarmac. "I'm probably gonna get us lost, so Michael, put on the GPS for me."

"You're gonna need another charging pod for that," Michael said. "Don't you know that-"

"Yeah, tell that to the hacker." Ahmad threaded the car, needle-like, into the narrowest gap in the next lane in which it could possibly fit.

"I thought you designed tattoos."

"My hacking is freelance. On the side. The artistry is my primary career. Update your dossier, Mikey." Ahmad took the exit, straddling the edge of the leftmost lane so half the car was over the asphalt and the other half was over a grassy embankment. Thankfully, this particular ride had four-wheel drive, though that didn't make the ride any less bumpy. All three passengers - the human, the archangel, and whatever Josh was, for Firdaus still couldn't say for sure - reached for the handles above their respective doors.

"Are you enjoying this?" Michael seethed at Ahmad.

"I sure am." Firdaus smirked at the sight of Michael's consternation. "Don't be such a Malfoy, Mikey. Haha, I like that! Mikey Malfoy!"'

Michael dramatically threw his head into his hands. "I should've just stayed home today."

"And done what? Checked on a bunch of people in pods? Welcome to the colony ship Covenant," Josh said with another snicker. "Hope nobody minds when you vomit up an alien embryo and sneak it into the cold-"

"Seriously!" Michael turned around like an angry parent. "I'm not taking this any better than you guys are. Your needling me is not helping."

"Well, what would help?" Firdaus asked. Sincerely, she hoped she sounded.

"Being quiet so I can think of something to help you guys myself." Michael turned around again, facing forward. "Help me help you, you know?"

Firdaus sighed through her nose. "True, we don't really have a plan. I'm just going along for the ride at this point. Literally and figuratively."

"Not a very good way to live your life, is it?" Michael asked.

"Sometimes, not having to plan shit is rather freeing," Firdaus said as she leaned back in her seat and stared out the window again. Her last sentence allowed her breath to fog up the window. "You should try it sometime."

"If I did," Michael said, "that's how the bad guys would win."