In My Eyes

Civil War: Ch•1- Tarzan & Jane

                    "I'm walkin' here!" A New York man with an accent jumped in fright as a taxi nearly collided with him during the blue walk light. He banged his balled up fist on the hood of the taxi car. Behind the wheel, a middle aged women with a cigar flipped him off from her grimy window. A mom with her young son gasped at the sight of the middle finger and covered her curious boys eyes, quickly ushering him away. 

The girl in the cap smiled, taking in the intricacies that her city offered. That's certainly New York for you. I've called this city home since our old home in Malibu was destroyed. California was always my favorite place to live. Its culture was unique, ever evolving yet slow paced, at least from where I lived out by the sea. Before the West Coast, I lived in Virginia. Not much happens in the purple heart state, besides Jamestown and a mass production of Brunswick stew. I only ever explored the state on the rare instances where we'd leave Washington D.C. We meaning my mother and I, you know, before all of that happened to me. 

           I waited patiently for the crosswalk to turn white. In the mean time, I glanced down to one of the watches on my wrist to get a gage on the time. It said 2:58. It's almost three. Dad wants me back at the compound at three. Not good. I picked up the pace once the crosswalk turned and sped towards the sidewalk. The tower could be seen from from here, standing tall above the buildings near its neighbor, the Chrysler building. 

Lucky for me, nobody seemed to recognize me due to my disguise. I'm making good time.

          After stepping up onto the sidewalk and adjusting the cap over my head, the cell-phone in my back-pocket rang. My gut told me that is was dad, undoubtedly calling to ask where I am. I tapped the screen and brought the phone to my ear "hey, Dad" I greeted cheerily, slipping in between the maneuvering bodies that walked on the sidewalk in pursuit of my destination. 

          "Hey, Jessi, how are you? Where are you?" he asked instantly on the other end of the line, the two questions back to back without skipping a beat "It's almost three"

"2:59" I corrected lightly.

"Jes..."

           "Sorry- sorry" I glanced over my shoulder, checking to make sure that I was still on the right street. Sunlight seeped down from a neighboring skyscraper and hit my eyes. I pulled the sunglasses back to feel the warm rays on my face "Dad, I've been stuck in school all week, although it's been great because we were doing that robotics project-"

"How'd that go by the way?" Dad asked, interjecting in my explanation. That's how he typically is, cutting me off yet taking in every word that I say. 

"Fine. The pneumatic cylinder that you gave me worked like a charm. Anyway, all I wanted to do this afternoon was walk around the city and enjoy myself for once. You can't exactly put a time limit on something like that" 

"You know what? You're right, sorry kid, I'm just-" he fumbled with the right words to use to justify his paranoia. As a kid, he'd leave me at home in the Malibu mansion for days on end, but now, I can barely go five minutes without him. Ultron had certainly left an unsettling impression on him. 

          "Hey, look, it's fine. No worries-" I swiped my hand in the air "I'm on my way. I have to stop at the tower and grab a few things anyway"

"What are you grabbing? Can you grab my Margiela Oxfords? The ones with the heels?"

"Sure, and I'm grabbing a library book from school. It's overdue, told the ladies in the library to charge you"