Masks

Chapter Seven

Tim had promised to walk me to work that day considering everybody else seemed to busy, Kelly and Mitchell were at some kind of family dinner with Kelly’s parents and Walden had to go shopping with his mum. The walk with Tim was nothing to snub though aside from his horrendous sense of humour and a slight arrogant charm that was slowly being revealed.

                “And this is Abby and I,” I said. I showed him a picture on my phone of me and my best friend from back home. He’d filled the conversation with talk about before I moved and Abby seemed to be the only thing I was comfortable talking about.

                “She’s cute.” Tim smirked. “Think I can get her number?”

I reached out to whack him on the arm but he caught my wrist before I could and laughed.

                “Don’t be such a pervert.” I glared. “Especially when it comes to Abby. I will hurt you.”

                “Oh I’m so scared,” he said rolling his eyes and snorting a laugh.

                “Rude,” I huffed and jogged on a head. He laughed and caught up with me in no time.

                “You know,” I frowned, “we’ve spent a lot of timing talking about me. What’s your story?”

                “Oh please,” Tim laughed, “you haven’t given me a clue about your story. All I’ve got from you is divorced parents and an attitude.”

                “Oh how you read me so well,” I muttered with an eye role. “Seriously, if you expect me to share then you have to too.”

                “Okay, okay.” He held up his hands in defeat. “You want the whole sob story?”

I nodded.

                “My dad was a firefighter back when superheroes and villains were first emerging. They worked together a lot more back then in the actually crime fighting aspect. So some villain, well High Voltage, which was stupid because he was just this kid who was trying to prove to everyone that he mattered, started a fire in this warehouse and so Dad went in there. He never came out. The building collapsed around him and the person he was in there saving died from smoke inhalation. High Voltage got off scott free and I was out a dad.”

                “I’m sorry Tim,” I sighed.

                “It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll get my revenge one day.” He gave a lopsided grin. “And I’ll do it the right way. The good way.”

                “Good for you.” I smiled.

                When Tim had left me to work I found myself stacking games once again. People wandered in every now and then but it seemed as a newbie that I couldn’t be trusted behind the register and so Max ended up handling the customers. It was odd seeing him for a split second, not be friendly and sociable and yet not be rude and vague either. He almost behaved like an actual person.