The Art of Faking Straight

Chapter Nine

         "That's the point?" I yell after him, but he notices me catching up and breaks into a run, laughing.

         The boy is faster than I would have guessed, but with his gangly legs, I should just start assuming these things.

         He turns around when he hears me and says, "Finally we're on the same page!"

         I laugh, and not just because that's the kind thing to do. It's genuine for once.

         I silently hope that it's too late on a Friday night for anyone we know to be here. It's not that I don't like the thought, it's just that people talk. Even about silly things like two male friends being at Wal-mart on a Friday night.

         Friends.

         That's more than I even intended to be.

         That's all we'll ever be.

         He didn't mean to grab my hand.

         That was simply a body reaction to our arms resting on the same armrest.

         I think.

         I hope.

         Not.

         "You comin'?" Connor asks, then slows down so I can catch up. I hadn't noticed that I had completely just stopped walking until he mentioned it, way to look like an idiot.

         "Sorry," I say, then jog to catch up to him. He just looks at me expectantly, then motions with his head to hurry up. I oblige, happily.

         "So what are we doing anyway?" I ask when I am finally standing alongside him.

         "A little something, something."

         "That explains so much, thanks for elaborating," I say with obvious sarcasm.

         He laughs, then says, "Glad to know I'm with sarcastic company at least."

         I join in on his laughter, and soon I find myself following him to the home department area. Looking around, I see that we're surrounded by clocks. Out of all places in the store, he chooses this? What's the point?

        I begin to ask him, but he's already heading straight to work. He pushes buttons on a clock, then after achieving whatever the hell he is doing to it, takes to doing the same thing to the next.

         "Don't just stand there," he says. "Help."

         I look around, realize how late it is, then walk over to the alarm clocks. "What am I even supposed to be doing?"

         "Set them all to ring in ten minutes," he says simply, then moves on to his next clock victim.

         "But then they'll all ring," I say.

         He stops setting the clocks for a moment, then says, "That's the point. That's what they do. That's what we want 'em to do."

         Realizing how stupid I sound, I laugh, trying to make it seem as if I realized how ridiculous my statement was.

         "I know, but why do we want them to all ring?"

         He stares at me, then asks, "Why not?"

         I give in and take to setting the alarm clocks for twelve twenty, silently noting to stay clear of the area in a few minutes. I will not get kicked out for this, that would just be stupid.