II AFFABLE FREAK II

05 - FLICKER

Ethan was working in his garage, fixing one of the cars. He loved meddling with automobiles ever since his teenage days. He completed his degree in mechanical engineering and started to build his dream into reality. Little by little he worked on his first engine, and after lot of presentations one day finally a man liked his idea.

Soon he was famous in the automobile industry, inspiring younger generation now. He liked it when people claimed him to be the reason behind their start up. Although he had everything now, he still likes to work with broken cars.

He was lying on the floor, toiling with a 1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner convertible, only his legs visible below the car. Ethan heard few slow footsteps towards his garage. He kept working but then he saw a pair of worn out converse beside the the vintage.

"Um.. Excuse me Sir. Can I meet Mr. Sebastian?" A timid voice enquired politely. Ethan was curious but not surprised. Many college kids came to him, for interviews or advices on their projects. He never declined, knowing he also wanted to be heard once.

But what got him curious was her way of addressing him. The girl didn't know he was the owner himself, apparently assuming him to be a regular mechanic. Others would treat his assistant like he was an inferior to them. Ethan didn't like that and Mike, his assistant, was like a little brother to him thus entrusting his garage while he was working in his showroom.

Ethan tried to play along, putting some grease on his face and slide out. The girl looked at him with raised eyebrows. To clear the confusion he spoke up, "I'm sorry, but Mr. Sebastian isn't here today." The girl was definitely not happy about it yet smiled politely at the guy in front.

"Whatever it is, I may help you." Ethan asked her making her eyes sparkle with hope for a moment.

"Thank you so much. I'm Riley...Riley Jones." The girl introduced herself cheerily shaking his hands. "I've been working on something for the last six months after I graduated and I think it could be the next big thing in the market. And I wanted Mr. Sebastian's honest opinion about it."

Ethan was amused. Riley reminded him of his younger self who was just as excited as her.

"May I look at it once?" He asked. She nodded surprisingly, maybe no one cared to look at it till now. He went through her idea and he admits that it was quite impressive but has a lot of room for improvement.

"So, do you think Mr. Sebastian would like it?" Riley said with her puppy eyes. Ethan looked up from the file. "Maybe. But aren't you scared he might just steal your months of hardwork." He asked to see her reaction.

The girl looked at him for a few moments and then chuckled. "This man, I came to ask help from is the same boy who was one of the best students of his university, participated in numerous workshops with his fascinating ideas and earned himself one of the highest spots in the revolution of automobiles. I have admired this person from my college days, and I can't make myself to question his integrity." She said with a calm smile.

His heart just moved at her words. Everyone has always commented about how successful he was now, the big tycoons he worked with, the fame he was surrounded by. But only his brothers and baby sister were the ones who babbled proudly about his days filled with his sweat and passion, striving for a chance. He never expected that from a stranger.

"Um...so sorry I ranted my whole idea to you and yet I don't know your name Sir. " She asked carefully, when he was staring at her but she didn't know what to call him by.

Ethan came out of his moment. "Huh? Oh yeah...about your idea. I'll talk to him and let you know." Riley's face lit up like the sun, unknowingly melting his heart.

They exchanged numbers. That's when he realized he didn't introduce himself. "And you can call me

Andy... Andy Summers." The guy said with an innocent smile.

While working your way up, hurdles may seem endless but it's always the last one which makes you feel 'It was worth it'.