Convergence - The Last Science #2.2 - Heroes and Villains

B2: Chapter 28 - Staying in the Spotlight - III

  Jeremy walked in through the front door. His eyes scanned the whole restaurant in an instant, before Hailey had even gotten halfway out of her seat. He hurried back to their corner, taking the seat across from them.

  "Fast food? Really?"

  Hailey shrugged. "Jess grew up in Rallsburg. She never went out much, so she actually likes it."

  "That's Jessica Silverdale, then?"

  Jessica looked up, gave a little wave of greeting, and returned to her food. Hailey sighed. "Yeah, this is Jessica."

  "And she can't understand a word I'm sayin'..." Jeremy shook his head. "I'm sorry."

  Hailey had been ready to launch into the story for the umpteenth time. "How'd you know?"

  "I talk to a lot of people." He shrugged.

  "...You said you wanted to talk about something?" Hailey prompted.

  "Yeah— Jesus Christ..." Jeremy looked away as a gaggle of teenage kids appeared out of nowhere. They rushed up to the table, bags and backpacks in hand, notebooks out.

  "Oh my god, that's Hailey Winscombe."

  "Can you sign this?"

  "You're the coolest!"

  Well, I guess someone still likes me... Hailey put on a smile and turned to them, signing the offered picture—a press shot of her landing on the red carpet before the interview. "Thanks, guys."

  "Russell Wallace is a dick," added one of the girls.

  "Yeah, that was bullshit. Don't let it get you down, Hailey."

  "I won't." Hailey handed the pen back. "See ya around."

  They retreated, chattering away about how lucky they were.

  "How d'you pull that shit off?" asked Jeremy, as soon as they were gone. "Whenever some fucker calls me out in public, I just get shit on. Everybody loves you."

  Hailey shook her head. "It's not everybody, trust me."

  "Yeah." Jeremy took a sip of his drink. "I heard about your deal with the FBI. Not the specifics though."

  "...Okay?" Hailey frowned. "Is something wrong?"

  "I dunno. I just want to make sure you're not gettin' screwed over." Jeremy shrugged. "I'm tryin' to look out for my friends, here."

  Hailey smiled. "We're friends now?"

  Jeremy grinned. "Fuck you, 'course we are. You're the only fuckin' awakened I trust so far."

  She laughed. "Who have you been running into? You must have the worst luck."

  "Ever met a kid named Jonathan Hudson?"

  He met up with that guy? "The theater kid, right?" Hailey grinned. "When I first met him, he didn't know I could do magic too."

  After a few swapped stories at Jonathan's expense, Jeremy got back to the topic at hand. "Seriously, Hailey. When you went in, you brought a lawyer, right?"

  She nodded. "The best one my mom could find on short notice."

  "What did you agree to? You sign anything?"

  "Yeah." Hailey nodded. "It said I got pardoned for anything I might have done in Rallsburg, which wasn't really anything anyway, and made it more legal for me to fly around on my own. I agreed to help them out on anything that came up related to magic, but it's not compulsory. If I can't show up, there's no penalty."