The Marvels

Ep. 19 | Collateral

The second date was going well. It was way too soon to declare love, but Vidya was close to it. She felt like one of those sappy, lovesick rom-com characters, the same ones she and Amber constantly made fun of. But art imitates life, and life imitates art, and lines get blurred until you become the very thing you once thought couldn't possibly be real.

She and Jonah weren't anywhere special this time; they were just ambling down the sidewalk and talking. The sun was blinding, not in a warm way but in a cook-everyone-alive way, but they didn't mind. For someone who'd never had a boyfriend or even a serious crush, Vidya thought she was doing pretty well.

Jonah had to pick something up, and Vidya chose to wait outside while he ducked into the store. She ground her shoe against a pebble and squinted at the sky. It was one big stretch of baby blue, uninterrupted by clouds. She tried to be indifferent—how rare was a pretty sky in California, honestly?—but it still amazed her that, if she wanted to, she could go up there. Just float and float and be there, minimal effort required.

Jonah came out of the store with a plastic bag. "Got it."

"What is it?" she asked as they kept walking.

"Just a costume my mom ordered for my sister to play dress-up."

Vidya could see a familiar hint of teal peeking out of the bag. "What kind of costume?"

"Frostbite."

Vidya hid her smile. It was a Frostbite dress, no doubt to replace the Elsa one that Emma had worn at the museum. She wondered if the hype would die down before Halloween, or if there would be dozens of little Frostbites running around trick-or-treating.

"Are you excited about the art gallery?" Jonah asked.

Vidya nodded, surprised and pleased that he'd remembered. "It's in a few days."

"Am I invited?"

"Everyone's invited. It's an open event."

"I know, but..." He bumped into her lightly. "Do you want me there? Would that be supportive or annoying?"

Wow. Vidya didn't think anyone could be so adorable that it hurt, but she was clearly wrong. "Supportive," she answered. It took everything in her not to giggle.

Jonah didn't say anything more about the gallery, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he was smiling at her response.

"Where do you think you're going after graduation?" she asked.

"University of Chicago, hopefully. You?"

"If all goes well, UCLA." Vidya shoved her hands into her pockets, gripping both her phone and her pager. It was a new nervous habit, and she was nervous now because she suddenly realized that starting a relationship in the middle of senior year wasn't the brightest idea, but it was too late to consider that.

"To think," Jonah said, shaking his head. "A few more months, and we graduate and say goodbye to the people we've grown up with."

"That's sad," was all Vidya managed to say as she tried not to think about how much she was going to miss Amber.

Her pager buzzed, and her grip on it loosened. She figured it would happen now that she got missions more often, especially on weekends, so she wasn't surprised. It was decent timing, actually—Jonah had an away game to go to, so their date would've ended in a few minutes anyway.

Vidya stopped walking. "I should get going."

"I'll see you at school," Jonah said.

For a moment, it looked like he might do something, maybe attempt a kiss on the cheek or a hug, but he just backed up awkwardly and raised his free hand in a wave. Vidya waved too, and then she went home. She didn't bother reading the pager message until she was already in her room, changing into her supersuit with Cool Kids blaring from the speakers. Better than Hello, but still not the right song.