Part 2 (1/2)

Sasha's freakiness was on full display last night. She had the misfortune of losing control in front of a cute guy too.

As she replayed the night's events over in her mind, she realized that she may have convinced Evan that nothing unusual happened. He seemed to accept her reasoning that the bullet went off target because the robber had bad aim. She hoped that lie stuck.

Sasha was confident that he didn't suspect anything freaky was going on. It was hard to explain what was happening when Sasha, herself, didn't know.

She hoped she'd see him again. He was unlike anyone she knew. She wasn't interested because he was good looking. There was something special about him. He was super brave last night and didn't even know her, yet he risked his life for her. He could have taken off out the back of the cafe and left her with those thugs. He didn't and that impressed her.

She liked to think she wasn't shallow. She still had a crystal clear image of Evan in her head. He was working diligently behind the counter doing what baristas do. His light brown hair stood up in an almost military style haircut.

When he drove her home, he didn't speed or do what other boys do to show off or pretend he was a race car driver. He just did what he had to do.

She had to tell Cady about last night. Cady had been with her when the man jumped them in the park and the blue sparks first appeared. Maybe she could help her figure out what was going on.

She dialed the number and it rang a dozen times before a sleepy voice said h.e.l.lo.

”Did I wake you?” Sasha spotted the clock. It was 10 a.m.

”Who is this?” Cady asked. Sasha frowned stunned.

”It's Sasha,” she said uncertainly. Was Cady playing with her?

”Oh, right,” she said unapologetically. ”Why are you calling me so early?”

Sasha cleared her throat nervously.

”Something happened last night,” she said and told Cady about the robbery. She decided to hold back talking about Evan. He was her secret right now. ”So the blue sparks reappeared.”

”What sparks?” Cady said yawning.

”You know, the blue sparks that appeared when that guy jumped us in the park,” she said.

”I don't know what you're talking about,” Cady said sounding unpleasant.

”You know, when the guy demanded our phones and wallets,” she said clarifying.

”I know a guy jumped us in the park,” Cady said sounding annoyed. ”I kicked him and he ran off. What about it?”

Sasha didn't know what to say. That wasn't how she remembered the attack. She saw her cup fly at the guy with supersonic speed. She didn't remember Cady kicking the guy.

”I don't remember you kicking him,” Sasha said uncertain. How could they have recalled the night so differently? ”I threw a cup at him and there were blue sparks.”

”And I don't remember blue sparks,” Cady said. ”Really, Sasha, blue sparks? What is that code for?”

”It's not a code,” she said feeling tears of frustration fill her eyes. ”Just forget it.”

Cady sighed. ”Maybe that joint we smoked was laced,” she said.

Sasha remembered Cady smoking but she didn't touch it. She didn't answer for a minute, trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe Cady's memory was cloudy. She should probably just drop it before Cady started to think she was crazy.

She'd been feeling that way a lot lately. Her insecurities were getting the best of her and she worried about losing Cady as a friend. It wasn't like she had many friends other than Cady and Jenna, her next door neighbor. Jenna and Sasha used to be super close but grew apart when they got to high school. Sasha met Cady a few months ago and they became fast friends almost immediately.

Lately though Cady seemed to disagree with almost everything Sasha said and did. It was frustrating and Sasha didn't know how to fix it.

”Moving on,” Sasha said. ”Are you coming to my birthday dinner?”

Her birthday was in two days and her mother wanted to throw her a party. It wasn't a party a 17-year-old would like. It was more of a party for her mother as most of the guests were her friends. Sasha hadn't invited anyone yet.

”When is it?” Cady asked.

”Two days,” Sasha said. ”I was thinking-.”

”No can do,” Cady cut in. ”I've got a thing.”

”A thing?” Sasha said wondering what could be more important.

”I set it up weeks ago,” Cady said defensively. ”Don't jump over me because-.”

”Forget it,” Sasha cut her off.

There was silence on the line. Sasha tried to get beyond her hurt feelings. It was a struggle. She would do anything for Cady. Didn't Cady feel the same way?

”Ok,” Cady said sounding defeated. ”I'll try and come and push back my thing.”

Sasha's heart leaped in her chest. ”Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” she said.

”You're going to owe me.”

”I know.”

Sasha heard rustling on the other end of the phone and voices in the background.

”I gotta go,” Cady said in a rushed voice. ”Later.”

Sasha leaned back onto her pillows relieved. At least she had one friend coming. Should she invite Evan?

”Sasha have you decided where you want to have your birthday dinner? I have to make reservations,” her mother said walking into her room. She pulled a gold tube out of her purse and applied a dark burgundy lipstick to thin lips while gazing at her reflection in the closet mirror. She took out a tissue and blotted.

Willow Bean and her daughter shared the same dark hair and brown eyes and little else. Sasha a.s.sumed she got most of her personality traits from her father, an organized and introverted engineer. He was the complete opposite of her mother.

Willow Bean was an awesome and frightening figure at times. She was strong-willed, and steely in her focus which made her a successful real estate agent. She had a dozen realtors working for her and was one of the top agents in the state. Sasha had no plans to follow in her footsteps. It was a career that required lots of smiling and cajoling, two things that Sasha wasn't very good at.

”Have you invited your friends? You know you can't wait too late. People have lives and make plans,” her mother said. She'd finished with her lips and moved to fluffing her hair.

Her mother thought she needed a friend for every occasion. She had several close friends who worked in her business. She'd never said how she met them. Sasha imagined they were from college, bonded over drinks and saved each other from letches. That didn't explain how her mother knew Dominic, who had to be at least 80.

”Don't worry about it mother,” she said. ”I need your help with something else.”

Her mother turned from inspecting her reflection. ”What's that?”