THE PHOTO TRAVELER (THE PHOTO TRAVELER SERIES - BOOK 1)

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

It’s Yogi.

      I wheel around in surprise and quickly sneak Alanna’s photo back into my pocket.

      “I can tell by your eyes,” she laughs.

      She’s wearing a slightly fitted plain black v-neck t-shirt and khaki cargo pants. Her hair’s shaven in the back and spiked up on top. Her earrings are little green frog faces, and her blue mascara brings out her unexpectedly blue eyes. I guess I hadn’t really been able to make out their color the other night in the park.

      I decide it’s best to play dumb, so all I do is look confused and say “I’m sorry?” as if I don’t know what she’s talking about.

      “It’s okay, dude,” she says in her funny, animated voice. “I’m one, too!”

      “What? So why didn’t you say anything to me in the park?”

      “Oh my God… like are you serious? “Why didn’t you say anything to me that night? Hello! It’s not exactly information you offer to strangers unless you know.”

      “This is awesome!” I hug her and then step back awkwardly. “Sorry! It’s just that I haven’t met anyone else like us yet. This is so cool!”

      “Super cool!” she agrees loudly, and wiggles her tongue from side to side rapidly.

      But then I remember—someone’s after our vials, and they may stop at nothing to get them. Could it be Yogi? No way. She’s just a kid like me. She can’t be a murderer? And she wouldn’t approach me out in the open like this. Maybe she knows something that’ll help me.

      We sit down at an empty table. There’s something about her that makes me trust her. Maybe it’s just that I like the idea of being able to experience and explore traveling with someone my age? Maybe so, but thinking like that can get me killed and I cannot afford that.

      “So what’s your deal?” I ask her. I need to find out more about her but I don’t want to make it obvious that I’m grilling her. “Where are you from? From what I know, there are only a few of us.”

      She holds up her hand. “Whoa! Slow down, sparky!... I’m on your side. You probably know about the Pashners? That’s my family. I’m the only one left. Everybody else was murdered in a fire, by whoever it is who’s bringing us down one by one to get our vials. All I want is to find out who’s behind it and put an end to it before they take me out, too.”

      “That was your family? How do I know you’re telling the truth? I thought that all of the Pashners died.”

      “Look, if I was really after you, I’d wait for you after work and slash your throat. I mean, come on! I mean, do you seriously think you’re sitting here having coffee with a murderer?” She flips her hands at me in her quirky way, and I feel my body relax. A breath of relief seeps from my mouth and my muscles across my body begin to loosen. Maybe she’s just trying to survive, like I am? But still, how do I know she’s telling the truth?

      “Well, hot coffee can be a lethal weapon!” I smirk.

      She giggles, and the tension vanishes from my body entirely. I start telling her how I’ve only just found out about traveling.

      “I can’t believe it!” she explains, pulling at her spikes with both hands and playfully crossing her eyes. “You are so missing out! It’s the best thing ever! Your life has officially changed forever!”