The Mechanics of Being Human by S. E. Campbell

Author:S. E. Campbell [Campbell, S.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Astraea Press, LLC
Published: 2014-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

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While Gavin, Bo, and Mute played another round of laser tag, Zelda sat at the table across from Fawn eating a piece of pizza with pepperoni and extra cheese. The girl picked up the pizza, put it into her mouth, and grease drizzled down her chin. She grinned at Fawn and wiped the grease away. After she was done chewing, she wiped her hands too.

"I'm sorry we ruined your date." Zelda shook her head. "To be honest, it was Bo's idea."

Anxiety hit her like a rock. "What? You did it on purpose?"

"Yeah, well…" Zelda shrugged. "We won't do it again. It was just, Gavin has been through a lot, you know. He's an attractive guy. A lot of the cheerleaders and other girls at school are after him. He's always ignored them. Then one day he comes to school raving about how adorable his next-door neighbor is and how she's the most amazing person he's ever met. Bo may act like an idiot, but he looks out for his friends. He's like a dog—a little goofy and not always the smartest, but loyal as anything. He just wanted to make sure you weren't somebody who would hurt Gavin. It sounded like an okay idea, so Mute and I went along with it. I should have figured Gavin wasn't stupid and wouldn't choose a bad girl to like."

Zelda's words eroded her anxiety. So this was what real friends did. They protected each other. Suddenly, Fawn couldn't help but feel envious. She wanted relationships like Gavin. She wanted a group of people to have fun with who would protect her at the same time. "I see." Fawn stole a glance at the laser tag arena. "You wanted to protect him. I understand."

"I like you, though." Zelda grinned and took a slurp of her coke. "I think Bo and Mute do too. I thought you might throw a fit or something when we showed up, but you seemed pretty cool about it. That's what I meant by we won't do it again. Though I would love it if you came with us this Saturday to a show."

It took Fawn a moment to realize what Zelda was doing. Zelda was reaching out to her, giving her a chance to enter her world. A world of friends. If it meant having people to be with, she would have gone rat hunting at the stroke of midnight.

"I would love to." Her heart pounded in excitement. "What kind of show? An art show? My mom talked about a home show once."

Zelda snorted and dark cola spilled from her nose like a pipe, dousing the table. As Fawn winced, Zelda continued to laugh even as she placed her fingers over her nostrils and her cheeks became blotchy and red.

"I was going to suggest we come up with a nickname for you," Zelda said when she had finally recovered from her bout of laughter and her nose explosion. "I think Fawn fits you just fine, though. You are like an innocent baby deer.

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