Blinq And You'll Miss It (gxg)

Chapter Six

               "You're sure you want to order that?" Lela asked as we sat at a corner table in Blackstone's Steakhouse.

"Oh, yeah," I assured her. "I skipped lunch, so I'm really hungry." I'd just told the waiter that I wanted the 48 ounce bone-in ribeye after we'd shared a pair of yummy lobster bisques. She'd ordered a more moderately sized filet mignon that no doubt was delicious.

She cocked an eyebrow as I tried to keep an innocent look on my face. "I guess you really like to eat, huh?" Her own face was a little less innocent as she twirled her tongue around the paper straw in her glass of water.

I gulped, trying desperately not to stammer as I replied. "Umm, yeah. I like that. Right. Like, all the time. Me and eating, that's right!"

She snorted, blowing a little water out of her glass before she covered her mouth with her hand. "Kamella, I'm just teasing, okay? I'm sorry if I went too far. But seriously, that is a ton of food you'll be putting away. That steak is meant for two."

"I've always had a high metabolism," I told her, happy to change the subject. "Pretty much every meal I eat a bunch. But really, anything more than that has just been a fantasy."

She nodded slowly, then let a soft smile flit across her lips. "Maybe we'll be able to learn together sometime. How about this, when is your birthday?

"That is in three weeks actually. September 12th." I saw her eyes widen in surprise before she smiled again.

"That is so cool! Mine is September 10th, and Jewel's is the 13th. Maybe we should have a joint party?"

I could see why she thought that was surprising, but I liked the idea of a party. "We can absolutely do that. Probably not at my place though, my mom would never let me host."

"No problem. Jewel's mom would let us do it for sure." She leaned back, stretching as she looked me over. "This is nice, just spending time together. What do you like to do for fun?"

"My family is pretty busy, I'm the youngest by ten years, so I do a lot on my own or hang out with my best friend Libby. We'll usually end up doing anything from video games to movies or something completely different." I couldn't exactly say she was my suit designer and supervillain support! "I'm also taking a lot of art classes, but I haven't had a chance to do anything like that at home, as much as I'd like to." Me doing art would probably be frowned on, as it wouldn't be a good part of learning to help my mom in supporting my brothers.

"Do I know your friend? Does she go to our school?"

"Nope. She graduated early. She actually goes to MIT, but they let her do all her classes online. I think she might have already got her degree, but she's probably working on another one. She's insanely smart."

"Can I meet her some time?" she asked brightly. "I mean, if she's your bestie, I should make a good impression, right?"

"I'll see," I promised. "She was excited to hear I was going out with you, so I bet she's okay with it. But she's also very particular, so we'll have to see how we can make it work."

"Oh, I get that. Jewel is the same way, which is why it's so odd to see her with Louis."

"No, I think I get it. Libby gets fixated on things too, and sometimes they're not the best. But usually, she moves onto something else sooner or later. But that is why she's so amazing too, because she can learn something insanely complex in just a day or two, or get so focused that she can accomplish a project that would take most people a week in just an hour or two." I could do that too, but I moved so fast, and could fire my brain synapses faster to help, so I cheated. Libby had her own innate superpower.