Heroes | ✓

· of mysteries ·

Cyrus Floyd sat in the booth at the back of Grease, taking small bites of the unhealthy but delicious cheeseburger in front of him. Faith should have been at the small diner a few minutes ago but she still hadn't turned up.

He sighed as he looked at his watch again, noting that it was almost 3pm. And that he might have to leave soon so he could go home and get in some work done. After all, nobody was going to help him remember his lines for the play he was going to be a part of soon, an independent production.

Just then, Faith came rushing through the diner's door, the bell above chiming to signal a customer. She dropped her backpack into the seat opposite to Cyrus and settled down in the seat.

Cyrus watched her with an amused grin as he continued digging into his cheeseburger and she took a few seconds to take deep breaths from all the rushing into the diner.

After ordering a cheeseburger and a milkshake for herself, she took out her spiral notebook. Cyrus narrowed his eyes at it, that thing she wrote about the yearbook in. He noted she looked tired. He also knew that it was enough to just send out a mail with a google form asking people to fill in their yearbook quotes or a simple introduction. But she was not having it. She wanted to do it her way. He had tried convincing her but she had empasized on I want to get to know people for people, personally. Even if it's just a bit about them. How will I do that using a google form? Where is the connection?

She had been right. But he could now see the effects and he couldn't imagine how taxing it must have been for her, the past few months. Despite her denying it.

He bit his lip as he thought of something that he hadn't told her before. And without thinking twice, he started,"Do you know I used to have stage fright?"

Faith's head whipped up from her spiral notebook, her mouth open and then quickly closing and chewing the morsel of cheeseburger in her mouth as she shook her head,"No, I didn't know."

"I was in 4th grade. My parents thought it was normal to have stage fright at a smaller age when they had signed me up to play a part in a children's play."

"Hey! I took part in a school play in 4th grade too. Sorry, continue."

Cyrus smiled as he continued,"They wanted me to experience the whole thing and see if I like it. If I didn't, they just were going to drop it. I didn't mind then. I had never performed in a play before. And I was actually excited in the very beginning when they had told me about it. But as the play's opening timing started approaching, I became a lot nervous. I was anxious and I was just bouncing and fidgeting bsckstage. I clearly remember when one tiny girl in pigtails, who was also a part of the play, had come up to me to tell that I shouldn't fidget because it was distracting her. I had told her that I couldn't help it because I possibly might have stage fright. I did have stage , I just didn't know till then. Because I'd never performed in front of an audience before. She had narrowed her eyes at me for a moment and then shrugged while telling me that imagining just my parents out there could maybe help. That was what she had done when she'd first performed in front of an audience."

He could see Faith's eyes widening as she realized who the girl was.

He smiled and continued,"Believe it or not , it actually worked. More than the actual advice though, I think I appreciated the empathy more. The others had just been giggling about how I was scared before going on stage. I know we were all just kids and everyone did stupid things then, but you were the one who actually eventually helped me overcome my stage fright. You set that ball rolling. And I'm really grateful for that."

Faith had been listening to this with  rapt attention and he could see her eyes glass over as she relived those moments.

"God, Floyd, 6 years we've been friends - and I never knew. How did I not recognize you?"

He shrugged. She looked away and then back him, relatively seeming less tired now (to which he thought Mission Accomplished),"You're so full of mysteries. I think I have you all figured out, know everything about you and then you tell me something like this."

He smiled again,"Gotta keep you on your toes, right?"

Faith smiled and rolled her eyes good naturedly,"You're one of the best mysteries out there, Floyd. So glad I have you as a friend."

"Right back at you."