Part 261: Day 52
Seth sat down on the beach, in his favorite breakfast eating spot. He calmly munched on his cereal, which to his dismay, he was growing use to NOT eating with milk. He wondered when he would arrive back in the world, would he forever eat cereal without milk? Then he realized, it wouldn’t matter, cause he would be consuming bacon, eggs, toasts, waffles and every other breakfast food he has missed for the longest time.
Seth then pulled out his journal and then picked out his photo of him and Tanya . . .and technically Kate. It wasn’t his friend he was staring at, it was the features of the love of his life. He was missing her very seriously. Almost to the point, where he felt like caving in to “female comfort”. The wet dream he had about Kate still haunted his mind. He leaned up and saw Jilly walking along the beach, in her same shorts. Seth rubbed his forehead, wondering truly how long he could hold out? Then he felt someone sit down next to him with a familiar perfume scent. “She’s pretty,” Mandy pointed toward the picture.
“She’s my queen,” he said, handing her the photo.
“I had always hoped I would find a man who would treat me like a queen,” she replied, looking at the picture.
“Boone would have treated you that way, Mandy.”
“I know,” she sighed, smiling and handing him back the photo.
Seth took the photo and tucked it back into his journal. He then picked up his glass and took a drink of his juice. Mandy immediately saw that it was indeed juice. “What is that?” she asked.
“Mango juice.” He replied.
“How many did you have to squeeze to get that glass full?”
“Enough to realize it won’t be worth the effort a second time.” He chuckled, “You want to try some?”
“No, thanks. I am actually feeling kinda queasy.”
Seth then patted his lap. “Well, hop on, I’ll burp ya.” He smiled.
“Funny,” she said, playfully pushing him.
“Maybe you are dehyrdrated? You sure you don’t want the rest of my juice, I don’t mind.”
“No, really, Seth, it’s fine. I just came over to ask you for a big favor.”
“What’s up?” he said, getting curious.
“I . .uh . . .need you to keep Sawyer off my back.” Mandy tucked one strand of hair behind her ear.
Seth then slowly bent his eyebrows inward. “What has that redneck done to you?” he asked.
“No, it’s nothing that he’s done. It’s what I am about to do to him,”
Seth shook his head, “I . . .don’t understand.”
Mandy took a deep breath and stood up. “I’m gonna steal from him.” She confessed.
Mandy and Seth began their walk down the beach, toward the area where Sawyer’s tent was. A few of the survivors were unsure what to make of what they were seeing, the young friends walking in the opposite direction. At any other time, they would have thought nothing of it; two friends on a stroll in the morning sun.
However, Seth was carrying his sword.
Mandy slowly began to creep up to Sawyer’s tent. She expected to find the southern man sitting inside of it, deep into the trivia calendar. But the tent was nothing but empty. “Thank God, he’s not here.” She said, walking into it.
Seth then joined her inside the tent. Mandy immediately started to open up all the suitcases that Sawyer kept by his side. She began to sweep through the giant piles of tissues, sun tan lotions, razors, magazines, socks and various other stuff that he had been hording for trading value. Seth rested his sword on his shoulder as he looked over her rummaging. “What are you looking for?” he asked.
“C’mon, Sawyer, I know you have to have one. You are a damn pack rat.” She said, throwing stuff aside.
“Mandy, I said, what are you looking for?”
“I will know it when I see it.” She said, finally answering his question.
“Which is WHAT, exactly?”
“HEY!” Sawyer said, running up to his tent, seeing them both inside.
Seth then immediately got into his way. The taller redneck looked down on him; with face that read mostly irritation than hate. “You wanna tell me what you are doing inside my damn tent, boy?” he asked.
“Just browsing,” Seth smirked, “You take credit cards?”
“Very funny. You both know how this works.”
“Yeah, yeah, “ Mandy grunted, “I know all about your leave a penny, take a penny, mentality, Sawyer. But trust me, what I want, you honestly don’t need.”
“How the hell would you know that?” he demanded.
“I just know.” She said, still searching.
“Well, what the hell do you need?”
“NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!” she screamed, searching through the last suitcase.
“This is my stuff so you are making it my business, little girl-“
Sawyer took a step forward, but immediately Seth slammed his sheathed sword across his chest. The redneck gazed at him, and he couldn’t have looked more offended. “You want a piece of me, surf boy?” he glared.
Seth slowly bent down his eyebrows and gave the redneck a return mean glare. “I’ve ALWAYS wanted a piece of you.” He hissed.
“Sword or not, you will pay for this.” The southern man warned.
“GOT IT!” Mandy said, standing up.
Seth turned to see what Mandy had but she had already turned away and headed out the tent. “Come on, Seth,” she called.
Seth turned back to the redneck. “Well, it would seem our time at S-Mart has come to a close, “ he chuckled, “Thanks for playing and have a nice day.”
Seth turned and walked through the opposite end of the tent. Sawyer grunted as he finally walked in. He wasn’t sure what they took and probably wouldn’t be able to find out; cause he never kept an inventory lately. The only real problem Sawyer thought about was that if anybody saw what Seth did, would they try to roll over him as well? The redneck calmly sat down and then checked on the item to his right. He calmly removed the beach towel to make sure his shotgun was still there.
Come and get his stuff without trading? The next person was welcome to try.
Seth rested on the ground, twirled his sword in his hands. He continued to twist it around and around, drilling a small hole in the dirt. He had followed Mandy into the jungle as he took the “mysterious item” from Sawyer and she immediately hid in the bushes to use it, whatever “it” was. Needless to Seth, this made Seth very concerned. Mandy, however, felt she had the situation under control. The young singer didn’t believe her. “Seth, for the fifth time, go away,” she said, from behind the bushes.
“And my fifth reply is just like the last four, I will not leave until I am sure you are okay.” He grunted back.
“I said, I was fine!”
“BULLCRAP, YOU ARE!” He said, wiping his chin, “ We just stole from Sawyer and something tells me he’s going to take it a bit personally.”
“That is my fault, not yours.”
“You asked me to watch your back, Mandy and I did. Now whatever it is you took from Sawyer, I am involved. I deserve to know what is going on.”
“Seth, please, this is private.” She grunted.
“How private are we talking about?” He stood up, “Mandy, please, just tell me what is going on!”
There was a momentary pause and all they could hear was the wind whipping through trees. Seth could see the top of Mandy’s head as she was squatting behind the bushes. She slowly turned around and looked at him. The young bookstore worker just smiled his typical smile at her. The blonde enjoyed her friendship with him and wasn’t sure what to say; considering she wasn’t fully prepared to reveal this to anybody. Seth shrugged his shoulders and held out his hands. “Do you trust me?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Then please, tell me what this is all about. If you want it to be kept private, I swear on Tanya, I will not tell a soul.”
Mandy knew how much he loved the woman he pined over in the picture. If he did make such a swear, he really did mean it. Mandy slowly emerged from the bushes. She had her hands behind her back. She took a deep breath, letting it slowly exhale from her lungs. “You promise?” she said, “Not a soul?”
“I promise.” He shook his head.
Mandy took another deep breath and then finally brought her arms from behind her back and looked at the objects in her hands. Seth looked at them with her. In her right hand was a small white plastic stick and a dark violet box. The young singer wondered what the white stick was and it took only twenty seconds to figure out what it was, based on her reaction. After staring at the stick, she then shoved the box near her face to take another look. Then she gazed back to the stick and back to the box and back to the stick and back to the box again. “Oh, my God, “ she said, staring at the back of the box.
Seth slowly raised his hand, pointing at the stick. “Is . . .is . . .that a home pregnancy test?” he asked
Seth then pulled out his journal and then picked out his photo of him and Tanya . . .and technically Kate. It wasn’t his friend he was staring at, it was the features of the love of his life. He was missing her very seriously. Almost to the point, where he felt like caving in to “female comfort”. The wet dream he had about Kate still haunted his mind. He leaned up and saw Jilly walking along the beach, in her same shorts. Seth rubbed his forehead, wondering truly how long he could hold out? Then he felt someone sit down next to him with a familiar perfume scent. “She’s pretty,” Mandy pointed toward the picture.
“She’s my queen,” he said, handing her the photo.
“I had always hoped I would find a man who would treat me like a queen,” she replied, looking at the picture.
“Boone would have treated you that way, Mandy.”
“I know,” she sighed, smiling and handing him back the photo.
Seth took the photo and tucked it back into his journal. He then picked up his glass and took a drink of his juice. Mandy immediately saw that it was indeed juice. “What is that?” she asked.
“Mango juice.” He replied.
“How many did you have to squeeze to get that glass full?”
“Enough to realize it won’t be worth the effort a second time.” He chuckled, “You want to try some?”
“No, thanks. I am actually feeling kinda queasy.”
Seth then patted his lap. “Well, hop on, I’ll burp ya.” He smiled.
“Funny,” she said, playfully pushing him.
“Maybe you are dehyrdrated? You sure you don’t want the rest of my juice, I don’t mind.”
“No, really, Seth, it’s fine. I just came over to ask you for a big favor.”
“What’s up?” he said, getting curious.
“I . .uh . . .need you to keep Sawyer off my back.” Mandy tucked one strand of hair behind her ear.
Seth then slowly bent his eyebrows inward. “What has that redneck done to you?” he asked.
“No, it’s nothing that he’s done. It’s what I am about to do to him,”
Seth shook his head, “I . . .don’t understand.”
Mandy took a deep breath and stood up. “I’m gonna steal from him.” She confessed.
Mandy and Seth began their walk down the beach, toward the area where Sawyer’s tent was. A few of the survivors were unsure what to make of what they were seeing, the young friends walking in the opposite direction. At any other time, they would have thought nothing of it; two friends on a stroll in the morning sun.
However, Seth was carrying his sword.
Mandy slowly began to creep up to Sawyer’s tent. She expected to find the southern man sitting inside of it, deep into the trivia calendar. But the tent was nothing but empty. “Thank God, he’s not here.” She said, walking into it.
Seth then joined her inside the tent. Mandy immediately started to open up all the suitcases that Sawyer kept by his side. She began to sweep through the giant piles of tissues, sun tan lotions, razors, magazines, socks and various other stuff that he had been hording for trading value. Seth rested his sword on his shoulder as he looked over her rummaging. “What are you looking for?” he asked.
“C’mon, Sawyer, I know you have to have one. You are a damn pack rat.” She said, throwing stuff aside.
“Mandy, I said, what are you looking for?”
“I will know it when I see it.” She said, finally answering his question.
“Which is WHAT, exactly?”
“HEY!” Sawyer said, running up to his tent, seeing them both inside.
Seth then immediately got into his way. The taller redneck looked down on him; with face that read mostly irritation than hate. “You wanna tell me what you are doing inside my damn tent, boy?” he asked.
“Just browsing,” Seth smirked, “You take credit cards?”
“Very funny. You both know how this works.”
“Yeah, yeah, “ Mandy grunted, “I know all about your leave a penny, take a penny, mentality, Sawyer. But trust me, what I want, you honestly don’t need.”
“How the hell would you know that?” he demanded.
“I just know.” She said, still searching.
“Well, what the hell do you need?”
“NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!” she screamed, searching through the last suitcase.
“This is my stuff so you are making it my business, little girl-“
Sawyer took a step forward, but immediately Seth slammed his sheathed sword across his chest. The redneck gazed at him, and he couldn’t have looked more offended. “You want a piece of me, surf boy?” he glared.
Seth slowly bent down his eyebrows and gave the redneck a return mean glare. “I’ve ALWAYS wanted a piece of you.” He hissed.
“Sword or not, you will pay for this.” The southern man warned.
“GOT IT!” Mandy said, standing up.
Seth turned to see what Mandy had but she had already turned away and headed out the tent. “Come on, Seth,” she called.
Seth turned back to the redneck. “Well, it would seem our time at S-Mart has come to a close, “ he chuckled, “Thanks for playing and have a nice day.”
Seth turned and walked through the opposite end of the tent. Sawyer grunted as he finally walked in. He wasn’t sure what they took and probably wouldn’t be able to find out; cause he never kept an inventory lately. The only real problem Sawyer thought about was that if anybody saw what Seth did, would they try to roll over him as well? The redneck calmly sat down and then checked on the item to his right. He calmly removed the beach towel to make sure his shotgun was still there.
Come and get his stuff without trading? The next person was welcome to try.
Seth rested on the ground, twirled his sword in his hands. He continued to twist it around and around, drilling a small hole in the dirt. He had followed Mandy into the jungle as he took the “mysterious item” from Sawyer and she immediately hid in the bushes to use it, whatever “it” was. Needless to Seth, this made Seth very concerned. Mandy, however, felt she had the situation under control. The young singer didn’t believe her. “Seth, for the fifth time, go away,” she said, from behind the bushes.
“And my fifth reply is just like the last four, I will not leave until I am sure you are okay.” He grunted back.
“I said, I was fine!”
“BULLCRAP, YOU ARE!” He said, wiping his chin, “ We just stole from Sawyer and something tells me he’s going to take it a bit personally.”
“That is my fault, not yours.”
“You asked me to watch your back, Mandy and I did. Now whatever it is you took from Sawyer, I am involved. I deserve to know what is going on.”
“Seth, please, this is private.” She grunted.
“How private are we talking about?” He stood up, “Mandy, please, just tell me what is going on!”
There was a momentary pause and all they could hear was the wind whipping through trees. Seth could see the top of Mandy’s head as she was squatting behind the bushes. She slowly turned around and looked at him. The young bookstore worker just smiled his typical smile at her. The blonde enjoyed her friendship with him and wasn’t sure what to say; considering she wasn’t fully prepared to reveal this to anybody. Seth shrugged his shoulders and held out his hands. “Do you trust me?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Then please, tell me what this is all about. If you want it to be kept private, I swear on Tanya, I will not tell a soul.”
Mandy knew how much he loved the woman he pined over in the picture. If he did make such a swear, he really did mean it. Mandy slowly emerged from the bushes. She had her hands behind her back. She took a deep breath, letting it slowly exhale from her lungs. “You promise?” she said, “Not a soul?”
“I promise.” He shook his head.
Mandy took another deep breath and then finally brought her arms from behind her back and looked at the objects in her hands. Seth looked at them with her. In her right hand was a small white plastic stick and a dark violet box. The young singer wondered what the white stick was and it took only twenty seconds to figure out what it was, based on her reaction. After staring at the stick, she then shoved the box near her face to take another look. Then she gazed back to the stick and back to the box and back to the stick and back to the box again. “Oh, my God, “ she said, staring at the back of the box.
Seth slowly raised his hand, pointing at the stick. “Is . . .is . . .that a home pregnancy test?” he asked
posted by Jason | 7:48 AM
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