Free Time's Daughter by Anya Breton Page A

me?”
    “ All right, that’s it .” I
stomped a foot like an angry toddler and waved him away with an
equally pettish gesture. “Get out of here now before I undo this
and scream like the girls in that movie we just
watched.”
    Surprisingly he actually listened. Alex sprinted to
a car parked at the far end of the lot where there were no lights.
Once he was seated in the car I exhaled—a long intentional movement
that coincided with my wish for everything to return to normal.
    My friends picked up precisely where they’d left
off.
    “ You can borrow mine,” Melissa
said.
    Ash sneezed, shook her head and then started for her
Jeep. “I want to concentrate on William. Not on taking photos.
You’ll have to live vicariously through someone else.”
    Rocking onto the ball of her left foot, Melissa made
the usual post-movie suggestion. “Do you want to go for ice
cream?”
    Jenny lifted her arm. “I’m in!”
    “ Yeah, sure,” Jen said.
    “ Ash?”
    “ I guess.” She sighed
melodramatically. “But I can’t stay long. I want to be rested for
tomorrow.”
    It was automatically assumed that I’d be going
probably because Melissa was my ride. I’d had enough money for the
movie thanks to a donation from Mom’s tip jar. There wasn’t enough
for a sundae. It was just as well. I was sick to my stomach after
the latest run-in with the new kid.
    I slid into the passenger seat of Melissa’s
family-sized sedan while Guy took a seat in the back. She was mute
for much of the drive. I attributed it to a combination of the
camera on us and my anti-Ashley behavior.
    Halfway to our destination she spoke. “Are you
working tomorrow?”
    “ As always,” I grumbled.
    “ That sucks,” she said in
distraction.
    “ Yeah.”
    It was the extent of our conversation until we got
to the restaurant. Ashley did most of the talking while the rest of
us laughed at the appropriate pauses. Everyone but me ordered
desert. I picked water.
    “ Sugar this late will keep me up all
night. I have to work in the morning,” I said lamely. There was
little point in the explanation. They all knew what the real reason
was.
    I tapped my finger against the table during one of
Ash’s William-related monologues and scanned the room in boredom.
Half the restaurant was filled with people from school who had
probably turned up from a football game or the movies. But there
was a figure in black with black hair seated in the far corner. I
stopped upon finding familiar eyes fixed on me.
    Alex really was following me!
    What did he want now? I’d have demanded an answer if
it wouldn’t have caused a scene. What did he think would happen?
What kind of mischief could I get into at a restaurant? Food
theft?
    I dropped my gaze back to the table and sipped my
water while the others gorged themselves on whipped cream and hot
fudge. Several minutes passed before I realized an important note.
Alex was without his cameraman. How had he managed to get rid of
him?
    Melissa and I were the first to leave. I couldn’t
help glancing behind us several times to see if I was being
followed. The only thing I could see was Guy lugging the
camera.
    The ride back to the apartment was quiet. Melissa
wished me luck at work then left quickly. I had the sensation that
I was being watched but I couldn’t see anyone around us as we
walked into the building. Guy hovered near me while I unlocked the
door.
    “ I won’t be leaving until nine
thirty so you can sleep in a little,” I told him.
    “ See you tomorrow.”
    My mom was readying for bed but lingered long enough
to hear about my day. I left out the part about being stalked by a
psycho and the fact that I’d stopped time.
    She had enough on her mind. I didn’t want to worry
her by bringing up the topic of Chronos again. The one time I’d
mentioned my dream she’d nearly had a panic attack. What would she
do if I told her it hadn’t been a dream?
    Minutes later I sat on my bed and contemplated what
I was going to do.