Transfusion

Chapter 10

That night, I worked on my meditation exercises. 

I hadn't had a chance to do them since the initiation, and I really needed to learn how to control my emotions, and feelings of distress under pressure.

That is what all of it came down to really, keeping my heart beat steady, a metronome counting in my head, between every inhale and exhale. Being able to stay laser focused, no distractions, no hesitation. I've learned the hard way, that when my ability was involved, these conditions had to be met. The distraction of fear was not an option, no matter what kind of crazy, shitty situation I was in, staying calm was essential, or my ability wouldn't work. 

Meditations help, sort of. In truth, I didn't know much about my abilities at all, in fact, I try to avoid using it, unless it was an emergency. After all, I didn't know if there were any side effects to freeze framing.

 That's what I've taken to calling it. I'm not comfortable saying that I'm stopping time, that sounded ludicrous, like something out of a cheesy sci-fi movie. I'm not sure what really happened anyway, does time stop for everyone? Does it ever catch up? But then again isn't time just a social construct...Just thinking about it made my head hurt, and I didn't even want to think about the possibility of time-travel; that's a tangled mess for another day. All I can focus on right now is the fact that my ability has kept me alive, and will probably be helpful in the near future. 

Sighing, I continued to sit cross-legged on my bed, with my eyes closed.

 I stayed still until all I could hear and feel was the inhale and exhale of each breath, and the beating of my heart.

-----

The next day in Econ, Sander decided that after football practice, he wanted to hang out at the pizza place downtown, and even invited me. That made my job easier. I wasn't sure if Elias was asked to come or not, but if he hadn't he'd probably just invite himself, and no one would mind.

I had zoned out on Sander's conversation with some of his friends, but when one of the girls nearby, a petite blond, asked me a questioned I snapped out of it.

"So, is there anything going on with you and Elias? You guys seem...close."

I couldn't really read her tone, but her face was pinched. Sander was also waiting for my answer.

"Oh, it's nothing like that." I said with conviction, "We're just neighbors, and since I don't have a car at the moment, he's been kind enough to give me a ride." Not even close to the truth.

She nodded as if that totally made sense, and was satisfied with my answer.

----

It turned out Elias did know where Sander would be after football, and half the school as well. Apparently, Sander's idea of hanging out was having a gathering of all his friends. 

The digital clock on Elias's car read 5:30, and the leather smell of the seats permeated the air, as Elias drove through downtown. The area was quaint and very pretty, with family owned shops lining up the block on either side of the road. At intervals, sparkling lights lit up the street and created a warm atmosphere, along with the bubbling fountain at one end. 

Almost enviously, I watched as teens walked the streets, laughing with their friends, and looking genuinely happy. That might have been me, before I'd lost part of my memory and my life splintered apart.

We parked in front of a large, stucco walled establishment, with bright red words letting us know we were at Parker's Pizza. I expected Elias to get out of the car, but instead he turned off the engine and studied the building, scanning each window, and doorway.

As if he knew I would ask, he said, "I'm looking for any weaknesses in the building, you'd be surprised the places people could hide in, especially those sharp shooters. Those are a dime a dozen, in our line of work."

He was right of course. Now I could see why Leon regarded him so highly, a lot of things could be said about Elias, but not taking his operations seriously was not one of them.

Before he stepped out of the car, he looked straight at me, "By the way, I don't need to remind you that getting involved with the target is never smart, do I?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked honestly bewildered.

He smirked, "Don't tell me, you're oblivious to our dear friend, Williams' little crush on you."

What was he trying to imply?  I really did not like the annoying smug look on his face. "That's ridiculous. Where is this even coming from? Trust me, the only reason he even talks to me is because I'm new."

"Attention like that is only reserved for cute girls, new girl or not."

I hadn't even processed what he said before, Elias slammed the door and walked through the entrance of the pizza place. Hurriedly, I followed him, but before I entered I thought I saw a shadow at the edge of my peripheral vision. Looking around, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but the feeling of being watched didn't fade. 

-----

The interior of the restaurant was cozy, with it's dark red booths and orange lighting.  All around, young adults sat in booths talking and eating pizza. The place was packed, and if anyone tried to make a move on Sander here, commotion and chaos would be unavoidable, but that didn't mean it wouldn't happen. 

When I saw the group of people from my school, at one of the larger tables, Sander waved me over to the spot right next to him. I could hear Elias's smug voice ringing in my ears, but quickly pushed it out; this didn't mean anything. I've long since learned that just because someone was being nice to you, didn't mean there were feelings involved.

I stayed vigilant, watching our surroundings closely for any sign of disturbance, I could tell Elias was doing the same. Pretending to get up, and grab some food at the salad bar, I instead walked over to Elias and told him about what I thought I saw outside. He nodded, taking the information in a stride. We both knew that when you felt like you were being watched, chances are you were.