The Transtempus Penalty (ERERI//RIREN)

Chapter 10

The next few days of the school week were a rushed blur, and soon I couldn't get the word Homecoming out of my mind. It was only a week away, and it was everywhere I looked. Banners were plastered in the hallways, and different girls were all pandering for the other student's votes for Homecoming queen. The crew had decided to go as a group, so that we could carpool, and Marco said that he would drive us in his van exchange for his admission. The catch was that he had to be somebody's date, since he had already graduated, and so Petra stepped up to the plate and asked him to the dance. Krista and Ymir had no apparent interest in going to the dance, so they would stay back at home and set up the afterparty while they waited for us to come back from the Homecoming activities.

At the end of the week, however, Isabel, Farlan, and I were growing increasingly nervous as we hadn't heard from Hanji yet, and by the time the next Sunday rolled around, we were in a full blown state of panic. Isabel and I were in hysterics, wondering if we were stuck in the seventies, having to live through an entirely different era all over again, but at different ages, while Farlan tried to assure us that maybe Hanji had missed a day. We wouldn't know until another twelve days had passed, and there was no use in getting worked up until we knew for certain that something was wrong. I certainly had developed an appreciation for Farlan's easygoing level headedness while he talked us down, reminding us that we'd been back in time for more than a month and there hadn't been a hiccup yet.

While I laid in bed that night, I decided to throw myself into my work, so that I would have a lot to report to Hanji by the time we heard from her again. I came to the resolution that Monday at school that I would finally work up the nerve to talk to Levi about the night time conversation that was now more than a week behind us. I waited until the end of the day and headed towards the open garage on the edge of the campus. Despite it being nearly October, it was still sweltering during the day. I could feel the hot asphalt singeing me through the soles of my shoes, but other than quickening my pace, that specific predicament didn't have much of a remedy. I finally stepped into the shop, which was about fifteen degrees hotter than it had been outside, and suddenly I realized why they had the doors open. There were large fans placed just outside of each station, but other than that there was no cooling system attached to it. As soon as I stepped inside, I was hit with the smell of motor oil mixed with the sweat of every person inside. Scanning the area, I found Levi in the corner, his back to me while he screwed a bolt into an old Harley Davidson with a small monkey wrench. He had removed his shirt, just as many of the other boys in there had. It was too hot in there to keep anything on that wasn't absolutely vital. As I approached him I slid onto his work bench, crossing my legs and waiting for him to turn around.

While I loitered around his workplace, I watched him working, with laser-like focus on the engine of the bike. It was raised up on a jack so that everything was at eye level to him while he pushed on the handle of the wrench until he was satisfied that the bolt was tightened. Not stopping to turn around and grab another bolt, he pulled one from his pocket and I decided that I would give him a few more seconds before I got his attention. During that time, I couldn't help but notice the slick perspiration that drenched his neck and shoulders, his hairline absolutely soaked as well. I could hear quiet grunts of exertion escape his lips while he worked, and I watched the muscles in his back flex and contract while he wound the second bolt into place with the wrench. Finally, when he produced a third bolt from his pocket, I decided that I would say something, as it didn't look like he was going to look behind him anytime soon.

"Well, hello there," I said sarcastically, snorting at myself while I clasped my interlaced hands over my knee.

"Jesus Christ!" Levi snapped, flinching and dropping the wrench on his foot. "Fuck!" he snapped, whipping around to see who had startled him, but relaxing his tensed muscles when he saw that it was me, but after seeing him drop the wrench on his foot, I wasn't of much assistance as I had been laughing since it had happened. "You really need to stop that."