chpter 005

“Hottie.”
Click!
“So not.”
Click!
“Hottie.”
Click!
“Passable.”
Click!
“Hottie.”
‘So that’s what single people do in their spare time…’ I thought to myself. ‘Rate random actors on the tube.’

“Hey Kat. I don’t think what you’re doing is very normal. In fact, what you’re doing these days aren’t very normal.” a voice said behind me.
“Yeah. Well, Dave, normal is overrated.” I replied to my brother.

Just because he’s in his early twenties & technically, owned the house I’m sharing with him since my parents left the house in their wills doesn’t mean he’s the boss of me.
Much.

“Woah. I’m just saying… You gotta be out there more, ya know? You’re not the kind who’d just stick their butt on the couch, changing the channel every 5 seconds. It’s worrying.”
I turned around & looked at my brother.

Some people think it’s a mystery why my brother’s single - I mean, he’s passable enough. The whole gruffy thing works for him.
& he’s pretty nice - no attitude or anything.
& no, he’s not gay.
As far as I’m concerned.
But let’s not go there.

It’s just that… If you lost your fiancee in a murder, would you still be sane or commited enough to go for another person?
Maybe you would. I wouldn’t know.
But for my brother, it’s just a little too much to handle.
So he’s not much of a people person, if you get what I mean.

The last time he went out - for groceries - he nearly attacked the cashier woman, thinking she’s the person who killed Maria, his fiancee.

So I was kind of touch that he’d care for someone - especially if that someone was me.
& not his would-be assasin of his late-fiancee.

“Oh, Dave… That’s so sweet you care about my sanity level.” I said, truly touched by his concern.
For some reason, Dave looked kind of embarrassed & said awkwardly, looking down, “Well… Yea, you too. But I meant the remote could be damaged. A remote isn’t all that cheap, you know.”
I rolled my eyes & turned back to the TV.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m not a big fan of ice cream, I’d have probably finished three tubs of it.

"Did you go to that Soul Transferrence place?"
"It's The Soul Swap, Dave. Get with the lingo." I corrected him with a wave of my hand.
"Whatever."
"& no, I haven't. I mean, it's just a stupid trend for some hot little cafe where people sip tea & listen to their fortunes being told from leaf-reading! How could I resist?" I gasped.

Silence.
Seriously. My brother has no sarcastic bone in his body, let alone humour.

"Did the pizza guy arrive yet?" he asked, breaking the awkward silence.
I shook my head just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" I said, jumping off the couch & running towards the door.
"So... How much is i-"
I didn't finish my question.
& it's not because the pizza guy was the ultimate hottie I've seen off-screen.

It happened to be because the pizza guy was no other than mysterious ol' Grant.

"20 bucks." he said with a wink.
A wink!
The nerve of this guy.

I mean, because of him my boyfriend - even though he isn't - dumped me!
If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been "sticking my butt on the couch" but hanging out with Chaz.

& how many odd jobs can a guy have?
I mean, he didn't look like a kid who needed money.
He seemed loaded - if the authentic Ripcurl shorts were any indication to his financial status.

"How many jobs do you have?" I said, trying to play it cool.
"A few."
Why did I wanted to hit him when I heard that line?
Because he said the exact same thing at the golf course? Before the whole fiasco cold-shoulder-from-Chaz thing got out of hand?
Why?

He cleared his throat.
'Finally. An apology.' I thought.

"Um... I kinda need the payment for the pizza. Nothing in life is free, you know. & my shift ends pretty soon." he said.
"Huh. Right. Cash." I digged into my pocket & put two 10s onto his palm.
"Thank you." he said with a nod.

We stared at each other for a while at the doorway.
One part of me was hoping like mad that my brother'd come by & clear his throat, breaking this somehow hypnotic moment.
A bigger part of me was secretly pleading that that didn't happen.
Fate listened to the stupid part. No interruptions from my brother.

"Look. About that golf thing..."
"No, there's no need to apologize." I said, putting up my hand.
"Apologize? Why would I want to do that? I was just about to say that I kinda enjoyed it." he said with a grin.

'Ugh! How big-headed is he?!' I thought to myself disgustedly.

I took my anger out onto the door by slamming it into his face.
Yea, hopefully his head would deflate to a size of a normal one.










"Chaz! Hey, Chaz!" I yelled as I saw the noticeable red hair, most likely ignoring me.
Again.

This time, I managed to catch up with him.
"Chaz, what's up? Why're you ignoring me? Come on..." I said, shaking his arm playfully.
He snatched his arm away from my grasp, as if I'm some murderous disease that could spread in the blink of an eye.

"Right. I'm supposed to not ignore you after being hugged by a guy?"
I kept silent, trying not to burst in tears, let alone yelling at him for how wrong he is.
I mean, we were standing in the hallway. I don't want to make a big drama outta this.

Even though I keep thinking it is.

"I wasn't being hugged by the guy. He was just giving me pointers." I whispered urgently into his ear - which was a difficult feat, seeing as I'm just at his shoulder-height.
"So why didn't he let you go after you hit the ball? Or better yet, why didn't you push him away from you?" he said, facing me. I looked into his eyes & there were so many I could see - anger, disappointment, betrayal.
& something I just couldn't put my finger on.

I opened my mouth, hoping for a smart reply since I doubted whether my mouth was attatched to my brain or not but he cutt me off.
"Look. We're over, ok?" he said & left me standing there in the hallway.
Again.

First thought which came to mind: 'Boys are stupid.'










It was Phys Ed. In the girls' locker room, I didn't see Leia & her clones.
Usually they'd be cat-walking around the place with their too-short shorts & extra-tight T-shirt, flaunting something... Well, I'm a little too polite to say it here.

I didn't know why I bothered.
That the L&C weren't there, showing off their body to all rejects like me.
Maybe it was because I had no life.

Whatever.

I tied my hair into a ponytail, put on my trackbottoms & the school's T-shirt & went out into the field.
Oh. There's the miserable trio now, I thought as I saw three girls with identical blonde hair, one standing in front of them, the others behind.
Typical, typical L&C position.

Something was glinting at Leia's wrist. I looked closer.
It was my bracelet! The one which Chaz gave to me right after the prom!

I lost it since it was so loose, but it fit perfectly for Leia.

So maybe I was still burning from that "coincidental" situation I had with the missing Grant.
Or maybe I was still bumming from that dismiss from Chaz because of Grant.

I don't know. Your pick.
Whatever it was, I got fed up & approached Leia.

Shaking her shoulders with every sentence, I said, "Why do you always have to take my stuff? Huh? Why? Why can't you just stop being such a dog & leave me & Chaz alone? Why?!"
Only I didn't say "dog".

She gave me a blank look. Then, broke into tears.

"I'm so so-sorry... I didn't mean to..." she said & abruptly stopped.
"Here you go. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings." she handed the bracelet over with a big grin.

A grin. As if she was featuring in a Colgate ad.

Something was definitely up. I ran to a shadowy corner & pressed one of her many buttons on her wristwatch - one of her most pride posessions.
A holographic image of the Chief was being projected from the watch.
He was busy with some papers but she cleared her throat.

"Um... Chief. Yea, sorry but something's up with one of the..."
The what? Most voted-dog? Most wannabe?
Most weird?

What?

"... The sorority girls. She's acting... Weirder than usual." I said.
The Chief looked at me & finally said in his strict voice, "Then, do come to the headquarters immediately."









"Long time no see, eh doc?" I said jokingly, pretending that I was talking to Bugs Bunny instead of my boss.
"Yes, it has been a long time no see." he said as he kept staring ahead at the window-like monitor screens, his back facing me - or rather, his leather armchair facing me.
Finally, he turned around.
"Kathleen." he said, ignoring my wince. "Do you remember the previous issue I had discussed with you?"
I nodded mutely, trying my best not to frown at the thought of being paired up with some bum.
"Kathleen, I think you have to get over this prejudice of having someone to assist you in your missions. Do remember that the Agency works..."
"As a team." I joined in & rolled my eyes - when he turned around, of course.

He started walking back & forth. He stopped abruptly & cleared his throat.
"Well, then. Agent AZ27, I'd like to introduce you to your new partner, Grant Fender, also known as Agent ZX12."
Just like how I first laid eyes on Grant, he stepped from the shadows, just like Darth Vader when he met Luke Skywalker.
He may as well made the freaky breathing noises to add more drama in his appearance - I doubt I'd have been more astonished.

Right after he said, "Hey. Seems we've met before.", everything went black.