Saturday, May 1, 2004

Update, then more SOL
Well...I got my yearbook. Eh. It's okay, i guess; I'm not in it, nor did I expect to be. I'll just get the signitures and carry on with my life.

Tonight is Grad Night, which means I'm going to spend the entire night in the Magic Kingdom at Disney. ^___^ A Simple Plan will be there. Yay.

So, I'l be tired tomorrow, and most likely won't update the site.

By the by, if anyone wants to see me argue about the Second Amendment, go to the 'Gun Control' thread in the Otaku Lounge.

Anyway, more Sol.

VII

Simon was in the bad section of town, but he still didn’t care. He was confused and disoriented, and really not sure what he was doing. The events of the last half hour kept swirling in his mind. None of it made any sense!

He ran past a homeless shelter, and then stopped cold. He listened again, and verified his suspicions: it was Her! Susan was inside the shelter. He was confused, of course, but he needed to talk to her. He needed to talk to somebody, anybody, and he knew she would listen.

He wondered into the shelter, hiding his right arm under his jacket. The first thing he noticed was that it smelled like people. It smelled like huddled masses of people. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell; in fact, after all of the strange, alien things Simon had experienced, it was rather comforting.

There was a dingy hallway, and Simon followed it towards the source of Susan’s voice. As he got closer to the partially opened door at the end, he realized She was laughing. Simon grinned; he loved to hear Her laugh.

He peered through the door; it opened into a cafeteria. Behind the buffet line, Susan was one of the people serving food to the homeless patrons waiting patiently in line.

Perhaps Simon was biased, but Susan seemed to be the most cheery, pleasant person in the serving line. She greeted each person with a hearty smile, and asked how they were. She seemed to know many of them by name, and took to the task with a zest all Her own.

Oh my God, Simon realized. This is what She had to do. This is why She couldn’t go out with me. Good Lord, She’s amazing…

Susan finished serving Her last patron, and took off Her hairnet and gloves. “I’m going to take a break for a few minutes, Tony,” She told the man apparently named Tony; he had a look that suggested he was in charge of the place.

“Sure, Suzie,” he said, grinning. “Go check on the boat, can you?”

“Sure.” As She walked away, She saw Simon in the doorway. “Simon? What are you doing here?”

Busted, Simon thought. Best to tell the partial truth. “Well, I was walking by, you know, just walking, and I thought I heard you, so I came, and, well, here you are…”

She smiled, showing those perfect teeth again. “Yep, here I am. My church group volunteers here every week, and I always show up. Tomorrow, we’re taking some of the people in the shelter on a fishing trip. Do you want to come with me and see the boat?”

“Okay.” He followed Her out back, where a respectable fishing boat was waiting. “Nice boat.”

“Yep. It’s Tony’s. He lets us use it for the fishing trips. Sometimes, it’s the only fun the people in the shelter get. It’s really rewarding.”

Simon snickered while at the same time making sure his jacket covered his metallic right hand. “I should have known you’d be involved in things like this.”

“We have to help those in need, Simon,” She said. “’There but for the grace of God go I’.”

Simon sighed. “Sometimes I think God forgot about me.”

“Don’t ever say that, Simon. God has a plan for everyone. I just know you’re destined for something important.”

“You’re just saying that. I mean, come on, what would I do?”

“Well, all you really need to do is to live the best way you can.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure…when it comes to the Bible, there’s a lot of debate on that part. The one thing I know for sure is that you always need to help others, no matter what. That’s what I’ve dedicated my life to doing.”

Simon thought for a second, regarding Rena and Von. “Hey, hypothetically, if you’ve got someone who needs help, but to help them would really complicate things on your end, should you do it?”

“Absolutely. Think about it; you might be the only one who can help out.”

“I didn’t realize it was so cut and dry…”

“Simon,” She looked into his eyes, and his heart skipped a beat. “If you have the opportunity to help anyone, in anyway, it’s your responsibility to do so. That’s why I’m going to be a missionary when I graduate college. I’ll be able to help people all over the world.”

“A missionary?”

“Do you think that’s stupid?”

“No way.” He flashed a smile. “In fact, I think you’d be the best damn missionary ever.”

“Thanks, but please watch the language.”

“Sorry.”

She checked Her watch. “I’ve got to go back. Are you going to be okay with you hypothetical problem?”

Simon considered for a moment. “Yeah, I think I am. Thank you.”

She turned, then stopped and turned back. “See? You needed help and I gave it to you. That wasn’t so bad.” She grinned.

Simon snickered. “All right, I get the idea. I’m gonna’ book. See you Monday.”

“Bye.”

As she went back inside, Simon climbed into the boat. If he was going to help Rena and Von, he wanted to be cautious; that Tybalt guy sounded dangerous. He checked underneath a floorboard of the boat, and found a pair of emergency kits. He opened one up.

Perfect. It had a flare gun. Simon mentally acknowledged what a strange weapon of opportunity a flare gun was, but if worst came to worst, he’d probably need it.

He hid it under the folds of his jacket and hopped off the boat. Now, he thought, time to find those two again. Man, is Susan persuasive or what? Hope they’re not getting into any trouble.
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