My Only Hope

My Only Hope- Chapter 8

Enjoy, my peeps

After hours of driving, I was answered with, “New York,”

          “New York? Why?” I asked.

          From then, Sally replied, “New York has a high population. It would be harder to find us, and I doubt William Banks will want his men to make a scene in such a large crowd. Why, do you have a better idea?” She looked at me.

          “I guess not,” I replied.

          “You’ll have to forgive Sally. She’s just upset because she thought you wee a ten year old boy before we met you. It was some type of rumor going around because most of the scientists were not permitted to see, much less know about you,” Derek said.

          A blush crept upon Sally’s face, and I knew everything, or at least part of what Derek said, was true.

          The ride, like before, was silent. As it night, my eyes got heavier, and I was fast asleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

          I opened my eyes to see cities on the horizon. We were almost there. I smiled, for I had never been to New York. I had always wanted to.

          Sally looked to be still sleeping. I looked to find Derek, looking at me. He was smiling.

          “What?” I asked. What was he smiling about?

            “Nothing, you’re just pretty when you are smiling,” Derek replied, simply as if saying it were as easy as breathing.

          I blushed, and acted like I hadn’t heard him. He thinks I’m pretty? I thought No one calls me pretty; I’m as plain as they come.

            I glanced at him, and took the chance to observe his features.

          He was about a foot taller than me, meaning he was about six feet, maybe a little taller. His chin was well-defined, and his cheekbones, high. He had brown eyes that reminded me of cocoa. His hair was shaggy, with bangs that covered his eyes halfway.

          He stared back at me. We said.

          Derek broke the silence by saying, “We probably won’t get there for another half hour. You can go back to sleep if you want,”

          “There’s no use going back to sleep if I’ll wake up half an hour later. If you don’t mind, I’ll stay away and talk to you,” I said.

          “That’s fine. I would love the company,” He answered.

          “So, tell me about yourself,” I said.

          “What do you want to know?” He asked.

          “How about we start with your age. You said you got your license a week ago,” I answered.

          “Yeah, I’m sixteen, and an orphan. That’s how Sally and I met. When I ran away for the orphanage, I found Sally hacking an ATM. We’ve together ever since. She’s like a sister to me,” Derek said.

          “Oh,” was the intelligent answer that came out of my mouth. I had NOT been expecting that. I guess I hadn’t thought about it.

          “So, what about you? I told you my story, now you tell me yours,” he said, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

          “Before I was captured, I lived normally. Nothing special: go to school, play soccer, do homework, sleep, repeat,” I said.

          Derek laughed. It sounded like music.

          “Wow that does seem normal. I envy you,” he said.

          “You do?” I said.

          “Yes. You have a family who loves and you get friends to hang out with on weekends, and I bet you even have a boyfriend,” I said.

          “I don’t have a boyfriend,” I said in defense.

          With that, we entered the Big Apple.