Tempus [HIATUS]

Three- Acts of Bravery

THREE

´´Do you think it makes me look sexier? The cut I mean.'' Patrick gingerly traced the stitched gash along his cheek. He and Nate had been given the thumbs up by the shool nurse, and were busy leaving her office.

Nate rolled his eyes. ´´You make it sound as if you already are.''

´´Well, aren’t I?''

´´No.''

Pat stopped and frowned in mock hurt. ´´Well, I know I’m hot. The question is: Will a scar on my face have an added effect? I think the answer is ‘yes‘''

Nate rolled his eyebrows at him. ´´Look, some stuff went down back there that really doesn't make any sense, and I don’t know how you can not be freaking out right nouurgh'' the last word was suffocated in a strangled gulp as Nate saw Mara walk down the corridor towards them, hair swaying in rhythm with her hips. She flashed them a brilliant smile, which turned into a frown when she saw Patrick’s face.

´´Oh my gosh, Pat, are you alright!? What happened?'' The obvious concern in her voice stirred a jealous bone in Nate’s body. ´´Does it hurt?''

´´Nah, it just stings a bit. The nurse said it should be fine in a few days. I apparently got knocked by the guy flying through the window, and some glass.''

´´You were right next to the window when it happened, hey? Gosh, that’s so brave!'' Mara swooned.

Nate felt confused. Brave? All Pat had done was get knocked out. Nate had dragged him to safety. Well, relative safety.

´´Uhm'' he interjected, ´´I dragged him to the corner and kept him safe…''

Mara turned her huge, dazzling green eyes on him as if only really noticing his presence then. ´´You really did that? Even though that terrorist could have killed you?´´ Nate smiled, frolicking inwardly at her admiration.´´ Did you get hurt?''

´´No'' he admitted,´´but I did manage to prevent my face from being cut up?'' he added hopefully.  It was far better than actually getting injured, and Nate was sure Mara would appreciate that.

´´Oh well, I have to get going now. See you two later'' she winked at Patrick and walked away. Two pairs of eyes, one seeing things somewhat refractedly through its cracked spectacles, watched her sway her hips down the corridor.

´´I knew it'' Pat muttered, and slammed a fist into his palm.

´´What?''

´´This cut make me infinitely sexier!''

Nate allowed his eyes to survey his cranium again.  ´´But aren’t you concerned about how you got it?''

´´Hmmm?''

´´The scar.''

´´But I know. A terrorist jumped through the window next to me, and I got hit by the glass. I’m not about to complain either, dude. You saw what kind of magic this baby can work.'' He tapped his cheek and smiled with the other side.

´´  Yeah but how do you know he was a terrorist? Don’t you think that what they told you doesn’t match up with what you heard from me?''

Patrick looked at Nate as if he was mentally handicapped. ´´Didn’t you hear what the AGENT said? The guy was a terrorist!''

´´How are we sure those two aren’t?''

´´Because they said so, and they had badges. ''

´´Where?'' Nate couldn’t recall them showing any form of identification or something.

´´On their arms. They had blue patches on their right arms.''

´´Oh.''

They walked on, approaching the chrome doors of the exit. Nate couldn’t help but notice the slight height difference between Patrick and himself. Was it because he hunched a bit? Or was it Pat’s slightly curly hair that made him look taller? Nathaniel straightened his spine a bit, almost losing his balance from the heavy rucksack on his back. There isn’t really a difference, he thought to himself, we’re the same height. So why does he look so much more taller? Is it his shoulders? Quickly sidewards, Nate could see his friend’s shirt straining against them.

´´Something up?'' Pat frowned at him.

´´Huh?''

´´You were looking at me funny. It’s the scar, isn’t it? You’re not attracted to me too, now are ya?''

A  scrunched up eyebrow bridge formed over Nate’s grey eyes as he squinted at Patrick. ´´What the hell are you-''

´´Look Nate, I like you and stuff, but just as a friend. I don’t think we’d work out. Although,'' Patrick nonchalantly stretched and let his biceps flex´´ I know it looks like I do.''

Nate was left at a loss for words. He simply turned away from his friend and pushed at the door.

Walking out into clear skies and a clean, white city with flashing ads and towering skyscrapers made him once again wonder about a world without kits. He’d seen the documentaries, of course, but somehow the idea of acidic rains, the need to wear filter masks to breathe and long unpractical trips in cars that gave off toxic fumes just didn’t make any sense to him. He guessed people would probably just have thought of another way to teleport or something. Apparently, there would have been a whole bunch of wars over fossil fuels, too, which Nate found ridiculous. Why would anyone fight to make the world a dirty place?

They reached the kit stop in front of the school, a crescent shaped wall adorned with four monitors, the middle two of which were currently occupied by class elevens. Patrick held out his fist.

´´Cheers, dude. Check you tomorrow. And don’t fret about those agents and terrorists and stuff, ey?''

´´Cool'' Nate bumped his friends fist with his own, and walked over to the first monitor. He typed in his kitnumber and destination kitstop on the touchscreen, and an image of his twelve year old self popped up. As he did everytime, Nathaniel immediately tapped ´´Confirm'' before glancing around to check if anyone else had seen it. He didn’t have much of a reputation, but he wasn’t willing to risk it just because of his grandfather’s paranoia.

´´Ich sag’s dir, Junge, je weniger diese Arschlöcher von dir wissen, desto besser. You can’t risk them knowing too much about you'' his grandfather had told him the last time Nate asked to go have his profile renewed,´´ let them see what you look like and next thing you know they can name your girlfriend’s cup size! If you had one!'' he’d cackled.

The monoitor displayed a pin, and he entered it into the kit on his wrist.

Nate blinked.

                                                                        ***********

His senses never really coped with teleporting. The one moment, he’d be hearing children chatter and the City’s ads voicing their opinion on what facial cream would be perfect for him, the next he’d hear birds twirp and rustling leaves. He’d go from smelling ozone to smelling lavender fields,  seeing the monitor numbers change instantly. And there was always the temperature difference, or the feeling of either moving up or down really fast, depending on the relative difference in altitude. He always had to blink his way through it.

Then there was his kit of course, glowing a light blue. He pressed the release button on the side, and watched an aquamarine streak flash from his kit to the monitor.

ENERGY RELEASED DURING LOCOMANIPULATION- 179443634 JOULES. GRID FEEDING SUCCESSFUL

:-)

Nate rolled his eyes. The NWO’s public relations office just tried too hard. Nate turned away from the kitstop, which only had one monitor, and glared at the 2 kilometer path to his home. He could swear his grandfather was dead set on making life difficult for him. He switched his sneakers for the trainers in his backpack and started jogging.

Hey, I'll really TRY to update once a week. Don't have that many readers yet, so please share with and tell your friends and stuff, I would really appreciate it.
I hope you enjoyed :)