Austentatious

She had magenta highlights and a sparkly pink nose stud and a Weird shirt. Not to mention a healthy interest in all sorts of new-age stuff, a willingness to try anything once, and a never-say-die attitude. She was single-handedly turning the engineering stereotype on its head.

Weaving through the maze of tables, I came up behind her. “I’m gonna go order,” I said, thumbing in the direction of the counter. “Back in a sec.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said jauntily, glancing up through her lashes at me, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

“Don’t make me punish you,” I warned, heading for the counter. She knew I hated to be ma’am’d. I ordered a nonfat chai latte and had the barista add a pair of coconut macaroons dipped in dark chocolate to my order before turning back to the table.

Settling myself across from her, I guarded the cookies close and quizzed her. “What’s the first rule of being a mentee?”

“Never call your mentor ma’am,” she recited in a pseudo-sullen mutter.

“Good girl,” I said, handing over the lumpy wax paper sleeve filled with macaroon.

“You’re the best! Next time’s on me.”

Scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and coconut swirled around us in a yummy confluence while the cafe hummed with nightlife. I quietly sipped my drink and watched Beck forge a plan of attack against her mound of macaroon. I hadn’t yet mustered the courage to ask the tough questions: Do you have to stick your finger up your nose to change the stud? If you take it out while you have a cold, does goo ooze out the hole? What about the hair—why pink?

Probably best if I didn’t. My street cred, what there was of it, would take a definite hit.

Given my train of thought, I had only myself to blame for the trend the conversation eventually took.

Looking me straight, and curiously, in the eye, Beck launched with, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Anything?”

Her intensity made me pause, but not for long. I didn’t have any skeletons in my closet. My bookshelf maybe ...

Placing her forearms on the table, she leaned in and quietly asked, “What’s going on with your chi?”

“My chi? ” That was unexpected. “Chi as in tai-chi?” Immediately I pictured myself on a hilltop, stretching and reaching, for what I had no idea.

“Minus the tai. Your chi is Chinese-speak for the life force flowing through you. The positive and negative elements should always be in balance. Yours are out of whack.”

Direct hit! I could almost hear the air-raid siren. I set my cup down, troubled on two separate levels. Not only was my chi “out of whack,” but it was enough out of whack for Beck to notice and address it! This wasn’t good.

Feeling like an idiot, I asked, “How can you tell? Do I even want to know?”

“My roommate is into all sorts of stuff: crystals, chakra, tarot. Talitha taught me how to tune in to my own life forces and understand their effect on my world. Occasionally I practice reading other people.”

“Awesome.” When I realized my mouth was still hanging open, I immediately popped it shut. “So what exactly is my chi telling you?”

“Just that you’re out of balance. Something’s on your mind—something big—and it’s affecting your aura.”

“My aura?”

“Very Harry Potter, isn’t it?”

“A little, yeah.” I sat back, a little weirded out, and picked up my tea, hiding, scanning the cafe, looking anywhere but at Beck.

“You okay?”

My gaze slid back to her, and I couldn’t help but think, After the evening I’ve had, “okay” is just a pie-in-the-sky fantasy for me. I’m pretty sure it’ll be a while before I’m okay again.

“I’m just ... surprised at how dead-on your reading is,” I finally answered. Breaking off a bite of cookie, I popped it into my mouth, buying myself some time with a good-manners defense.

“Really?” She seemed very proud of herself. “Awesome. I don’t suppose you want to”—she paused to shrug casually—“talk about it?”

My initial reaction was a polite but emphatic “no thanks.” I’d known Beck for several months now, and we’d gotten to be friends beyond work and school, but I was supposed to be the mentor here, not the lunatic with the issues.

But maybe Beck had a karmic or astrological explanation for my situation. Maybe I was standing under the wrong planet rising. At that point, I was willing to listen to anything. And seriously, how judgmental could she afford to be?

I glanced at Beck, who was still peering at me encouragingly, waiting for my decision. Honestly, I was nearly twitching with the urge to let all the pent-up craziness spill out of me.

“I think that maybe I would like to talk about it,” I finally admitted, oozing calm. “But it’s a little bizarre, so I want to offer you an out—”

“I’m good, so whenever you’re ready.”

Lowering my cup, I did a quick assessment. She looked good—solid—like maybe she could handle my little nugget of news with no problem. Maybe even solve it for me. So I decided to give it a shot.

She dropped her chin into her raised palms and settled in for a good story.

“I’m just gonna blurt it out,” I glanced around, suddenly self-conscious, and lowered my voice, “quietly, and we’ll go from there. Sound good?”

“Great.” She wasn’t fazed at all. Evidently I just needed to get on with it.

Eyes closed, fists clenched, deep breath, and go ...

“I bought a journal at an antiques store down on SoCo and wrote in it last week. I opened it today, and words were missing.” I glanced up in the middle of my confession and paused for just the barest second, waiting to see if she was going to stop me or worse, scoff in patent disbelief. But her clear brown eyes were riveted and wide with attention, and her only change of expression was the slight lift of a single eyebrow as she waited for me to continue. I was impressed.

I took another breath and forced myself to speak slowly. “Not all of them are missing. A few are left, scattered around, and they read kind of like a ... message.”

Beck dropped her hands, straightened to perfect posture, and hitched up the corner of her mouth. “Do I get to hear what it is?”

“Um, I suppose so.” I took a breath and chickened out. On the second try, I managed to get it out. “ ‘Miss Nicola James will be sensible and indulge in a little romance.’ ” I really hoped I hadn’t made the wrong call here.

“Whoa! Like a personalized fortune cookie.” Her eyes got huge. “The entry you wrote was condensed into that?”

“Right.” I nodded and felt like a bobblehead.

She sat back in her chair and bit her lip, her eyes bright with possibilities I probably didn’t even want to consider. I wondered if I should push my luck and mention entry number two and its hints about cleavage. None of this was mentor material.

Beck leaned casually forward and asked, “Is there more?”

“Um, yeah.” That’s all it took to get her hunkered down for the rest.

Her reaction was unfathomable.

“Aren’t you the slightest bit fazed by all this?”

She shrugged. “There’s obviously an explanation.”

“Really?” I was suddenly on the edge of my chair, quivering with anticipation.

“It’s magic.”

My whole body slumped. I did not need to hear that. “Thanks, Luna Lovegood—that clears things right up.” It came out a bit sharper than I’d intended. “Sorry. I guess you could say I’m not quite so open-minded.”