Mister mystery and his mischief

John Leblanc

“I thought I already told you not to eat in here.”

Matt warns, almost running me over as he walks into Rachel's to put away the set of lights I got for him.

“And who says I'm in?”

I lean back against the door frame, finding it kinda funny at the look he casts at me. I bring the apple to my mouth, taking another good bite of it, and Matthew rolls his eyes, turning his back to me and disappearing from my field of vision as he enters the practice room a few doors ahead.

Instantly, I relax my posture and take a deep breath.

Okay, I can't take it anymore.

I spent the late morning and most of the afternoon with my best friend, just pretending that everything was fine, when, in fact, everything is a huge mess. I'm bursting with curiosity!

Not that I'm a gossiper or anything like that, but the question that keeps popping into my head is: who was that girl?

I've known Matthew long enough to know that he doesn't have any friends that I don't already know about. His friends are my friends too. Plus, Matt looks like a Pandora's box of how sociable he is – and I poured all the irony in me into these last part, by the way.

Seriously, I don't know where he would be without us, but at the moment what worries me most is not just the fact that there is a “new friend” in his life, but how he is doing with all of this. There is no way he could haven't seen it, because, come on! It was literally in the girl's face.

So, as soon as we were alone, I made it a mission to ask him about it, but guess what? He changed the subject. And when I tried again, he cut me off and said something else over the top. And again, and the justification was that he was “busy” and we would talk later.

Honestly, I didn't even know that someone needed to be focused to organize CDs on a shelf, but okay, it was obvious that it was just an excuse to cover up that he didn't want to talk about it right now. So I respected his space and to ensure that I could keep to it, I left him in the practice room to get some fresh air while I enjoyed my lunch.

I know that even though it's a fruit, just an apple is not one of the healthiest lunches in the world, but it was what I could come up with so little time in the morning. And at least chewing it keeps me entertained, because my head feels like it'll explode at any moment.

Maybe Matt already knows what I want to talk about, which is why he is dodging all my efforts at dialogue. But, honestly, I can't. I need to know what happened in this morning, or I won't even be able to sleep properly tonight.

And speaking of him, Matthew walks out of the practice room again and past me, this time with the empty light box in his hands. He walks decisively over to my pick-up truck, and I don't think twice before walking over to him.

“What's up?” I ask as I approach him, taking a bite of my apple. “Are you done?”

“Yes.”

That's all he mutters, putting the things he was carrying, in the back of the pick-up truck.

“And can I ask the reason for you packing up all those CDs?”

I decided not to be too thirsty and ask something simple and unrelated to what I really want to know.

“Scott always complains that he can never find the CDs he likes on the shelf, so since there's some time left over, I decided to tidy up the mess that he doesn't even dream of knowing it's his own girlfriend who makes.” He snorts.

“Yeah, Molly is pretty messy.”

I say, nodding in agreement, and then a silence hangs over us. Matt has his back to me, concentrating on tying things to the door of the truck, so they won't fall off or fly away when I start the car, so I believe this is a good time to question him.

“So…” I begin, analyzing his possible reactions. “That girl…?”

I leave the sentence in the air, hoping he will understand.

“Which girl?”

The tensed shoulder muscles only prove to me that he is lying and has chosen to play dumb.

“The girl from earlier today.” I reply, and only then do I realize. “Wait. Was some other girl here?”

“I truly hope not.” Matt says, still not looking at me.

“All right, then who was she?”

“I don't know.” He says simply. “I don't know her.”

I narrow my eyes, analyzing his bodily reactions. He seemed indifferent. Too indifferent even.

“She's probably new in the neighborhood.” He adds, still indifferent.

“You've really never seen her before?” I ask just to make sure.

“Why?” he looks at me for a moment, before returning his attention to the ties. “Have you?”

“No, I haven't.” I deny quickly. “I'm just… I'm just asking.” I smile, and before I end up missing another opportunity, I finally ask. “Have you noticed that she looks a lot like…”

I can't finish my sentence, because Matthew slams the door, startling me. I look at him and see that his jaw is clenched.

Yeah, I don't think I will get a concrete answer this time.

“Thank you for today.” He says, finally breaking the silence that has settled in. “I've wanted to take the radio in for repair for days, but it would be impossible to carry that thing on the motorcycle. I don't know what I would do without you.”

The sudden change in mood doesn't surprise me, so I smile.

“Without me or without my truck?” I raise an eyebrow, relaxed. Matt smiles mischievously and takes the apple from my hand.

“The truck doesn't drive itself, does it?” He laughs and takes a bite of the fruit.

“That was my lunch.” I mutter, crestfallen.

“Go on. Mr. Norris is waiting.” Matt slaps lightly on the blue bodywork of the car.

I just smile minimally and turn around, settling into the driver's seat. As soon as I close the door, I remember:

“Oh, are you going to the bar tonight?”

“No, I'm not.” He denies it. “I have to do some things.”

It wasn't as if I didn't already know that he would say a generic answer like that, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

“Yeah, I understand.” I nod. “Good luck with your… things.”

I say and turn the key, starting the engine. I honk the horn twice and accelerate, finally moving the car. I watch Matt cringe in the rearview mirror until he completely disappears from my field of vision.

It was obvious he was lying – if you don't know him, buy him – but I'm used to his ways, so I didn't insist. I know he likes to be alone and usually isolates himself when he is having a bad time.

At first, I was very insistent that he talk and tell me what he was feeling. Until the day I was ignored. I was angry and didn't talk to him for a few days, but when I found out the truth, I think I just understood and started to respect his space.

I held the steering wheel with one hand to reach the button that turns on the radio, and soon a familiar melody flooded the car. The guitar solo sends a shiver through my body and I immediately turn the volume up to maximum. It is one of my favorite Guns N' Roses songs.

I get carried away and start tapping my fingers on the steering wheel with the extended intro. When the first lyric comes out, I can't help myself and sing along with all my lungs. I am not the least bit ashamed of what I am doing, because everyone knows me around here – and even if they didn't, no one cares.

Since I was a child, I have always heard older people say that living in a small town is depressing and disgusting. Personally, I disagree. Here in Sturgis, for example, everyone is always in such a good mood that it is a pleasure to live. In the stone jungles, people look like a bunch of undead walking through the streets, which deeply disgusts me.

I stop the car in front of Norris’ electronics store, which, as the name suggests, is an electronics store – and it is Norris'. I jump out of the car and slam the door, going to the dumpster to get the stereo that Matt put there. I was concentrating on removing the tarp covering it, but my attention was caught by the figure standing across the street from a marketplace with the phone hanging from his ear. I literally stopped all my movements to look at her.

Matthew's reaction was frustrating to say the least.

There was no denying that the appearance of the girl who showed up at Rachel's in the morning was surprisingly intriguing, which made me wonder about the possibility that he had known of her existence for some time. He wouldn't keep any of that from me. Or would he?

I look around, trying to think coherently, but as soon as I see the girl taking the first steps to leave, I act on impulse and cross the street. I approach her from behind and end up hearing part of her conversation on the phone.

“Okay, Dad.” She sighs. “Don't worry, I know what a little onion is, and no, I'm not going to get lost in the neighborhood. I'll be right back, okay, I love you too, bye.”

As soon as she put her cell phone in the back pocket of her pants, I take the opportunity to make myself present.

I didn't want to startle her, so I gently put my hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. When she turns around, her eyes widen subtly. She probably remembered me, so I gave her a slight smile.

“We haven't had a chance to be introduced yet.” I hold out my hand. “My name is John, but my friends usually just call me Johnny.”

She returned the smile, still a little disconcerted.

“My name is Anastasia, but everyone just calls me Ana.” Finally, she shook my hand. “I'm sorry about earlier. I just moved here, and I didn't mean to sound rude, but I simply hate arrogant people.”

“Arrogant people? What do you mean with that?” I frown and she takes a deep breath.

“Your friend accused me of peeking into other people's lives.” She rolls her eyes.

“Matthew said that?” I smiled and put my hands in my jeans pockets, staring at her.

“Is this his name?” She arched her eyebrow. “Good. Always good to know the name of your enemies.” She forced a smile and I burst out laughing, but my mind soon came back to me.

“So, you really don't know each other!”

“No.” She says as if it's obvious. “I just moved here, remember?”

“That's right. But then, how did you find out about Rachel's?” I frown.

“I was walking by and heard the music. I just walked up to see what it was and was enchanted by the dancing of those girls.” Admit it. “They are very good!”

“Oh!” I nod. “Do you like to dance?”

“Yeah, let's say I do.” She says enigmatically.

I end up laughing nasally and look away, with a somewhat crazy idea in mind. Matt is sure to kill me if he finds out, but I think I want to pay to see his face in the end.

“Are you free tonight?” I shoot, and as soon as I see his astonished look, I laugh and try to correct myself. “Don't worry, I'm not a monster.” I raise my arms in surrender. “You can ask anyone here!”

“Does everyone here know you?” He asks, surprised. I nod and shrug.

“But, then…” I moisten my lips. “Do or not?”

“That depends.” She looks at me and smiles mischievously. “What's the point?”

“I thought you could join us and go somewhere to do something.” I narrow my eyes.

“Wow, mister mystery! What kind of secretive stuff is that?” She debauched, making me laugh. I stare at her, biting my lower lip to remove the dead skin from the area, and lower myself to stand at her height.

“You'll only find out if you accept it.” I whisper and straighten my posture to see her face.

She has her arms crossed, and her expression is neutral. She has been silent for so long, analyzing me, that I almost regret the proposal. But finally I heard a sigh from her.

“That's fine.” She said simply, making me relax my shoulders.

I arch my eyebrows in disbelief.

“Really?”

“Yes.” She shrugs his shoulders. “Unless you've changed your mind.”

“Definitely not.” I laugh nasally. “Give me your cell phone.” I indicate the device, which I knew was in your pants pocket. She takes it, but before handing it to me, she narrows her eyes.

“If I give it to you, you won't run away, will you? You know, I went for a morning run today and my legs are still feeling a little numb.” She grimaced, but handed me the unlocked device.

“No, I'm not going to rob you.” I give a straight smile as I dial my number. “I'm just calling my cell phone to save yours later.” I said, and after it called the first time, I ended the call and handed the phone back to her. “Later I'll text you, so we can make better arrangements, ok? I have a lot of things to take care of right now and…” I moisten my lips, smiling with funny. “You need to go home before your father thinks you got lost in the neighborhood.”

“Did you hear that?” She whimpers.

“Should I pick you up at home later to you don't get lost?” I mocked and she rolled her eyes.

“I never got lost, okay? That's my dad's exaggeration.” Snort. I shrug and spin on my heels.

“See you later, Ana.” I said, and didn't look back to see if she was looking at me. I just crossed the street and continued what I was doing before.

This will be fun.