CHAPTER 9

Ultimately, Tyler's greatest respect for Mike had come just over a year ago, during the winter storm of 2014. With the entire city iced in and the interstates clogged with abandoned vehicles, Mike had been walking from his apartment to the Baptist church across the street, checking in to see if there was any assistance they required to help Atlanta's stranded travelers. As he made his way back, he had seen Tyler with a group of three of his friends from the public school he attended at the time. Clearly a rough crowd, Mike overheard them talking about all of the cars stuck on the interstate as easy targets for "free samples," as they called them.

As Mike approached the group, clearing his throat in the process, the group scattered, except for Tyler. Staring silently at Mike, Tyler knew he was likely in big trouble. Realizing that the kid was easily the youngest of the group, being subjected to peer pressure was a constant threat. Mike called Sandra, letting her know that he had met up with Tyler while out walking, and that Mike would make sure he got home safely before dark.

Mike explained to Tyler that there were some things he needed to see. While talking with his friends, Tyler didn't have any reason not to go along with them. Mike planned to give him just that. As they walked along the main road leading to the interstate, Mike stopped at one car with a middle-aged man leaning against it. The man introduced himself as Carl. He worked construction around the city as an independent contractor, and explained he got paid in cash every Friday, with no option for direct deposit. It being Saturday, Mike could safely assume that he had his pay from yesterday in the car with him. Mike asked him what would happen if someone were to come along and steal that money from his car. As Carl eyed Tyler, he could tell what Mike was getting at, and confirmed that losing that money would result in him falling behind on his rent and having to make some tough choices between paying his heating bill or being guaranteed to be able to buy enough food for his family of six for the week. Mike thanked Carl for his time and insight, shaking his hand as they parted.

As the pair walked back towards the apartment complex, they stopped by the convenience store in the Shell station nearby. Approaching the counter, Mike could see that Syed was working that day, a man he had met and conversed with on several previous occasions. Mike noticed that his shelves and fridges were surprisingly well stocked as compared to the other gas stations in the area, which were well picked over. Asking Syed how it has been for him since the weather arrived, the immigrant from Pakistan described the great lengths he had gone to over the last day and half to prevent looting and shoplifting. He had been acting almost in a dual role, both as bouncer and cashier, to ensure his livelihood was not taken from him due to the extreme circumstances. Only one attempted shoplifter had been successful, with Syed showing the bruise on his shoulder from the scuffle that ensued as the thief barreled past him during his escape.

Thanking Syed, Mike could tell that Tyler was processing all of this information. As they approached their apartment complex, Mike asked Tyler what he had learned in the last hour. Tyler now realized that, in stealing what wasn't his, he would also be taking money, food, and the ability to live away from another person; a person who worked hard for what they had. Still, Tyler knew that saying that to his friends was likely to result in them turning against him, with Mike confirming he was probably right, and that it sounded like he needed new friends.

Mike decided to leave the decision of whether or not to tell his mom up to Tyler. Thinking about it the entire walk through the apartment complex, the boy decided to tell his mom the truth. While Sandra was disturbed at the behavior his friends were encouraging, she was eternally grateful to Mike for providing the positive influence her son desperately needed. Thankfully, she was able to get her kids into a successful charter school the next fall, resulting in a much more positive social environment for both of them.

Snapping back to reality, Mike finally acquiesced. "All right, I'll make an appearance. And, is it ok if I bring a plus one?"

Sandra cocked her eyebrow. "Plus one? There's a girl in your life I ain't found out about… yet?" She peered around Mike to catch a glimpse of Melody, who smiled and waved at her.

Mike laughed and rolled his eyes. "You'll meet her at the pool. We'll probably be there in about an hour or so," Mike said, glancing at the clock. That would put them there around 5:30.

She shrugged, responding in her distinctive southern drawl, "Alright, alright, we'll see y'all later!"

"Bye, Sandra." Mike locked the door behind him. He turned to find Melody waiting in expectation. "So yeah," Mike finally said, "That's Sandra, my neighbor. Sweet lady."

Melody nodded. "I can tell. So, what, oh what can we do for a whole hour?" The look on her face got more seductive by the second.

Shaking his finger at her, Mike replied, "Well personally, I haven't had a shower and a shave yet today, so I think I'll do that real quick. Gotta look presentable and all, right?"

Putting on her best pouty face, she whimpered, "Why do you keep resisting my advances? That's just so hurtful and mean and…"

Before she could finish, Mike grabbed her tight, planting a heavy kiss on her lips. As they parted he eyed her smugly and said, "First thing you gotta know about me: that pouty face has no effect."

She rolled her eyes in response. "And the second?"

"If we start something like that now, I'm pretty sure we'd never stop," Mike said with a wink.

Melody giggled. "That's probably true. Anything I should do while you shower? Want me to clean up around the house or anything?"

Mike shook his head. "No way, you're not my housekeeper. Why don't you browse through my video game collection, or maybe check out what's on TV? Develop those interests and whatnot, ya know?"

"Sounds great," she said, kissing him on the cheek before sending him off to take his shower.

Mike stripped down in his room, then made his way to the shower and turned the water on; stepping inside once it had warmed up. As he relaxed under the flow of warm water, he suddenly had an important thought. Sandra will want to know about Melody! Where she's from, how we met…

At first, he thought of immediately starting the conversation with Melody, but decided against it. Hey, Melody?

What's up? Enjoying your shower?

Yep. Real quick, help me remember to ask you something when I get out, ok?

You got it.

Mike finished up washing his hair and shaving, shutting off the water flow once he was done. He toweled off and combed his hair, then slipped on a red polo shirt and khaki shorts. Putting his glasses back on, he rejoined Melody in the living room. She had found his Nintendo 3DS.

"Playing Pokémon eh?"

"Yep," she said, smiling. "I can see why you like this game. It's got lots of strategy to it. Like a giant game of chess."

Mike nodded. "That's one of the reasons I'm so good at it. I can out strategize almost any human opponent."

She giggled. "Nice. So what did you want to talk about?"

"Yeah, I had the thought in the shower that Sandra is going to want to know about you. How we met, where you're from, that sort of thing. What do you think we should tell her?"

"Anything you want. We can always formulate a perfectly crafted backstory for me. That sort of thing is covered under my powers of anonymity and privacy. How do you think we would have met under normal circumstances?"

Mike thought for a moment. "Honestly, probably with online dating sites. It's a pretty mainstream way of meeting people nowadays."

Melody flashed that perfect smile. "Sounds great. To ensure that our story can be corroborated, I can use my powers to create online dating profiles on a website where we would have met. Sounds good so far?"

He nodded. "Yep. Probably should make it one of the free ones though. Anyone who knows me knows I would never sign up for a paid dating website, since I'm pretty sure they're just a bunch of rip-offs. Let's do it."

Tingle. Flash. "Done. We now both have online dating profiles, set up to show an appropriate amount of correspondence before meeting."

"Ok, cool," he said. "Now, what about where you're from?"

"Sure, I can create the specifics of my background. That would allow me to blend in appropriately with modern society, ensuring our anonymity. My origin would obviously need to reflect my lack of family, since I can't just create people out of thin air. The easiest answer to that will be to make me an orphan. You'll need to decide where I am originally from, as well as a last name. Once those are settled, I can fill in the rest of the blanks myself."

"Alright, let me think… let's make your last name Roberts, and you originally come from Houston, Texas. If you can, see if you can develop a sweet little southern drawl; ever so slight, nothing extravagant. Let's say you're twenty-five. At that age, you'll likely need some form of degree or training for whatever we say you do for a living. Is that enough to get you started?"

Melody closed her eyes for a few moments. "That should work perfectly. Leave the rest to me. Is that an official wish?"

Doing his best impression of Patrick Stewart, Mike replied, "Make it so."

Tingle. Flash. "All set hun," she said with a wink.

Her new accent sent chills up his spine. "Ooh, that's sexy…"