Hidden in the Blood: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 5)

Chapter Fifteen: Al, Fall, 1998-Summer, 1999?

One time, after class was over and they were leaving at the same time, he worked up the courage to say, "Agnes, I like that you like to pair up with me, but may I ask why you choose me and not the others?" He purposefully didn't say and not another woman.  

She smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm kind of nervous about asking the others. When I was in high school the girls tended to be mean to me. You have a nice, open face, and I don't think you'd ever be mean or dismissive."

"Oh!" he said. "Well, no, of course I wouldn't. It costs nothing to be kind."

"Yeah, I know, right? So why do so few people want to make the expense?"

He chuckled. "You have a real way with words. I noticed that when you practiced your technique on me. You don't dumb it down. I have a feeling you like kids and would be great at doing Storytimes."

She smiled again, and he felt his heart flutter a little. "Is programming what you want to do, Al?"

He grimaced and said, "No, not really, but I thought it would be a good skill to put on my resume. I think reference work is more up my alley."

She nodded thoughtfully. "It's good that you're thinking broadly, though."

"I'm thinking about applying at my local library for shelving jobs, just to get my foot in the door, and then I can work my way up."

"Yeah, me too! I live in Richmond, so I'm going to try Richmond Public Library, maybe Vancouver too."

"I'm in Coquitlam."

"Whoa, that's far away, do you drive?"

"I have my license, but I don't have my own car. I take transit."

"Yikes! Hey, look, if you ever need a ride somewhere, I drive, so, you know, even to a Skytrain station, I can take you..."

He stopped in the middle of the hallway, and she walked on a few steps before noticing and stopped too. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing, sorry, it's just... that's very generous of you. Are you sure?"

She brightened. "Yeah, of course!"

"It would save me a lot of time, just to get to the Skytrain. I'd never ask you to go all the way to Coquitlam." 

She shrugged. "But I could, you know."

"No, really, that's too far."

She placed a hand on his arm. "Here's the thing, Al: if I wasn't driving you, I'd be going home, and I can't stand my parents, so I don't want to go home."

He blinked in surprise, and he liked her hand on his arm. "Oh! Well, at least let me pay for gas. I can pump it myself, you know, I used to work at a gas station."

She chuckled and removed her hand from his arm, offering it to shake. "Deal."

They shook.

They drove together that very day, and every day after that when they had class together. She took him all the way home, and Al pumped the gas. While she drove, they chatted about everything, and he finally felt able to talk to a woman, because she made it so easy. He even told her about his years growing up in Queensborough and about the LSDC, and he realized that not since he was down in Queensborough with Rachel and Lauren did he feel so at ease with a member of the opposite sex. Marnie was different; with her there was the age difference to consider. Agnes was roughly his age, or maybe a few years younger (he didn't ask her so he was just estimating,) so they were on a more equal footing.

It took until the last day of their class, after they left their final exam, before Al worked up the courage to ask, "Agnes, while we're driving, if we happened to stop at a coffee shop or a restaurant along the way, would that be weird?"