Kindred by Stein Tammar

Author:Stein, Tammar [Stein, Tammar]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2011-02-07T23:00:00+00:00

I head to the newsroom to start putting together my article on Sweetwater Farm. As I’m transcribing quotes and getting down all my impressions, I’m also keeping an eye out for my young hoodlum, the new intern whose name I don’t know yet. The few people around the newsroom just shrug when I ask them about the high schooler. This guy, this bad-tempered, surly loser, is precious and special or he wouldn’t have been singled out. He’s also my mission, and I can’t lose sight of what’s really important this time. I’m not clear what I’m supposed to protect him from, but there’s no freaking way I’m letting him get hurt.

Frank is out for the day, so I can’t grill him about the new intern.

Around four-thirty, I see a slouching, shuffling form slink by. I pop up from my chair and hurry after it.

“Hi!” I call out. But the intern doesn’t turn around. I call out, a little louder, “Hi! You there, hi!” But he keeps on walking. I suddenly catch a glimpse of telltale white wires and earbuds. He’s listening to his iPod. With a final burst of speed, I grab a handful of his oversized hoodie. He spins around, eyes blazing at the touch.

I quickly release him and step back.

“Hi,” I say again.

He just stands there and stares at me, not removing his earbuds.

“I’m Miriam,” I say, offering my hand. “I work here?”

With insulting slowness he gives me a limp hand to hold. I can hear the music spilling out of the earbuds, a tinny beat that must be blasting inside his skull. He probably can’t even hear me, only see my lips moving.

“I just wanted to introduce myself, see if you had any questions?” I wait for him to turn off, or at least turn down, the music. But he just stands there. So I keep talking. “Anything you were really hoping to get to do while you’re here for your internship?”

He shrugs. I try for a direct question that needs an answer.

“What’s your name?”

“Jason,” he says. I’m surprised he can actually hear me.

“Well, hi, Jason. I’m Miriam—well, I guess I already said that. But anyways …” I’m trying way too hard to break through his complete opaqueness and probably coming across like a spaz. “Nice to meet you, Jason. I hope you like it here as much as I do.”

After another moment of mutual staring, I turn and head back to my desk, kicking myself for the lame introduction and plotting how to better get to know him. Jason is no Tabitha.

I feel like I’ve been bumped up to level II of difficulty without ever mastering level I. I don’t have a clear mission or even an easy subject to get to know. Not only do I need to figure out what to save him from, I need to break through to him in order to do that.

After finishing my notes, I put my story on hold for the rest of the day, focusing only on how to appeal to Jason.

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