Tempus by Tyra Lynn Page B

going to like the new and improved me.
    As I headed for the main entrance, my phone rang.  It was fun to pull out my phone to answer, as if I had always had one.  I tried not to make a production out of it, but I couldn’t help myself.  Now I was acting weird.
    “Hello.”  I answered, elongating the ‘oh’ sound.
    “Jessie!  You got a phone!”  It was Julie.
    “Ohmigod, yes!  Dad left it for me this morning!  You should see it!”  I went outside and sat on a bench near the front doors.  We laughed and talked over each other for the next fifteen minutes, until I heard the monster approaching—the sound was unmistakable.  I had been sitting with my head down, shielding my eyes from the sun with my hair while we talked.  Julie would be back tomorrow, and we made plans to spend the day together.  I told her goodbye, hung up, and slipped my phone back in its case.
    I looked up, and Steve was watching the people coming out the doors.  He was raised up in his seat, looking over heads and into the mall entryway, searching for someone.  I wondered if Alecia was back, since this was her favorite place on the planet.  I walked over to the truck and climbed up, opening the door and tossing in my bags.
    “Who ya looking for?”  I asked as I took my seat.
    Steve appeared to choke on his own tongue for a second.  “J-J-Jessie?” he managed to stammer.
    “God, Steve, WHAT?”  I snapped.  The last thing I wanted was for Steve to ruin my very good day by being an idiot.
    “J-Jessie.”
    “Juh Jessie WHAT?”  If he did that one more time, I was going to hit him in a green eye, maybe even both of them.  Then I noticed the actual look on his face.  It was definitely shock, but it was something else.  It was as if he didn’t even know me, like some stranger had just climbed in his truck and made themselves at home. 
    I opened the door and started to get out.  I had no idea where I thought I was going.  Just out.  Out is where I was going.  That snapped him out of his stupid stammering.
    “Jessie, wait!  Stop!  Close the door!”  He all but shouted the words at me.
    “Why, Steve, so you can make fun of me?  So you can tell me how ridiculous I look?  So you can tell me what Dad’s going to say?”  I was furious with him for ruining my mood, so I slammed the door and glared at him.
    His eyes darted to my lips and back up.  It was almost too quick to notice, more like his eyes ‘flickered.’  He took a deep breath and said, “Hold on just a second.  I need to move.”
    Steve drove the truck around through the parking lot and pulled into a space.  He just sat there while I continued to glare, but I wasn’t quite as angry as I had been at first.  I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but I could tell his mind was racing by the expressions that crossed his face.  If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was having a conversation with himself.  My dad had those sometimes—internal conversations.
    “Okay.  I don’t know what the hel... heck to say.  Umm.”  He ran his fingers through his spiky hair.  I hoped it poked him.  “Okay.  I tell you what.  Are you hungry?”
    “That’s a question.  You don’t tell a question.”  I said sarcastically.
    “Yeah.  Well, are you hungry?  I thought maybe we could stop at that Mexican food place on the way home.  I’m seriously starving .  You have to be hungry.  Are you hungry?”
    My stomach decided to answer for me, long and loud, regardless of what my plans may have been.  I was honestly starving too, so I nodded my head and turned to look out the window.  I knew I was acting juvenile, but I was annoyed.  If it had been any other guy, I would have said his reaction was because he liked what he saw.  I didn’t read Steve well, and I knew that from experience, so I had stopped trying a long time ago.
    “So, you did something different to your hair.  It looks really—it’s pretty.  It sparkles.”  He