Re-Wired by Greg Dragon Page B

performance.
    Once the show was over, Priscilla met Brad by her car and they stood outside talking for a long time.
    “Are you aspiring to be a professional dancer?” he asked. It seemed like the right kind of question to ask, but as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he felt stupid for asking them. Priscilla had her degree and was working; shouldn’t it be obvious that the dancing was a hobby?
    “That would be awesome if I could, but no. I like what I do and I’m a little too old to be pursuing that. Not to mention the pay isn’t that great for dancers, not unless you’re with the big names. They don’t want girls my age, trust me.”
    “Your age? You’re like twenty-three. Is that considered old for professional dancers?”
    “No, but it’s too late in the game for that sort of career change. So, did you like the show?”
    “Oh yeah, you were amazing. There were people on their feet cheering for you, and I can tell that you are the one most of them came to see.”
    “Look at you, you flatterer. Thank you!”
    He spoke with her some more before she got into her car and drove away. He was even more attracted to her now that he had seen her dance, and he went home happier than he’d been in a very long time.
    The next day she came into the café and ordered a cappuccino. He didn’t take the order since he was heating up a customer’s pastry. He saw her in line and she winked at him and he didn’t know how to react to it. When he made her drink he used the machine to place a heart inside of the foam. He called her name and she came up to him and he told her there was a surprise inside.
    “A surprise? What did you do to my drink?”
    “I put a little something extra inside. Take a look.”
    “Let’s see,” she said. She opened the lid and smiled. “Aww, is that a heart?”
    He nodded and looked around to make sure that his manager was not within earshot. She sat down and did some work on her computer while Brad stared at her whenever he could, looking away quickly whenever she would catch him. He loved her confidence; she was everything that he wasn’t. He liked that she knew how he felt about her but didn’t get creeped out or resort to games like many others would. Near the end of his shift she turned off her computer and walked up to him to let him know that she was leaving.
    “Would you like to come over tonight and watch a movie?” she asked. “Maybe have dinner?”
    “I would love to,” he replied as they strolled out to her car. But he couldn’t help but feel a little déjà vu with the Mika situation of the past. He got in his car and followed her home, and they arrived at a new apartment complex.
    “Welcome to the mansion,” she said playfully.
    He hovered behind her as she walked to the door and let him in.
    “What do you do for work?” he asked as he removed his shoes and sat at her bar.
    “I’m a pharmacist. Uh, and I don’t cook alone, so get up, come over here and start chopping up these carrots.”
    He loved her personality and the way she could playfully make demands and he just had to comply. She was making shrimp fried rice, so she had him handle the vegetables while she did the cooking. When they were finished she handed him a bowl with a decorative set of chopsticks. They settled down on a mat in front of her television to watch an old, classic movie by the name of Splice . The movie was about two scientists that played god and developed a genetic mutant from several animals. The mutant grew into a beautiful girl with a scorpion-like tail, and due to the way she was raised by her scientist parents, she began to transform into something else completely. It struck a chord with Brad and he wondered if Tricia was undergoing the same thought process as the creature Dren in the movie.
    When it was over Priscilla was laughing and wondering why Brad looked as if he had been scarred.
    “Well, that was freaky,” she said as she prodded him in the ribs. “This movie proves