His teasing chuckles bounced around the car.
“No, Drew, that was my Dad that stopped to the right of us at the stop sign!”
All the mirth drained from his face as his glance shot from the road and down to where I was now huddled on the floorboard of his car. Looking in his rearview mirror, he said, “He turned left, you’re good, you can get up. Besides, I doubt he saw you. In case you haven’t noticed, my windows have a pretty dark tint.”
“Left! Are you sure he went left? As in toward the library? What if he is checking up on me, I told you he was acting like he was suspicious when I texted you back this morning. Why is he even home? He should be at work in the city!”
“If he is checking up on you, he is probably just wanting to make sure that you are where you said you’d be, he’ll see your car and probably not even bother going in. I’m sure it’ll be fine.
I sat in the seat and leaned back, hand pressed to my heart, which was still hammering a frantic beat and said, “Yeah, you’re probably right. Besides, if he does go in and finds me not there you can bet my phone will be buzzing soon.”
It only took ten minutes to get to the coffee shop and another five minutes to get our coffees then settle down to connect his tablet to the Wi-Fi. He was a wizard on that damn thing, and his distaste for the analog research as he put it, was making a whole lot more sense. The amount of ground we were covering in a quarter of the time I’d spent with my nose in a book was incredible.
“This is so fast!” I was excited about the new tool as I took down notes in my notebook.
“What? Don't you ever use the internet,” he asked jokingly.
“Nope—Dad says it makes you lazy and rots the brain.”
His fingers paused over his Bluetooth keyboard. “What! Please tell me you’re kidding because I was when I asked you that.” He gawked at me with genuine shock.
“Nope, sorry, I’m serious. Computers aren’t my thing, mostly because they aren’t my dad’s thing.” I pointed at his clipboard sized tablet. “But, I might have to ask my dad about a tablet-like yours—you know for reading.”
“Yeah, you should do that, Eden, and just to drive the point home, seeing how you love to read, I feel it’s only fair to tell you a valuable piece of information.” He grinned at me but didn’t say another word.
I nudged him in the arm. “Well, what's this valuable info you speak of?”
“This magical little device,” he flipped the tablet over several times in his hands, “can load hundreds of those books you love so much, and you can take them ANYWHERE with you. It’s like having a personal library at your fingertips.”
I didn't try hiding my newfound excitement. “Really!”
He shook his head and smiled at me in his easy way. “Wow—just wow, Eden.”
I sat there and didn’t say another word. The way he looked at me made me feel so uncomfortable. My stomach twisted, and I suddenly felt bloated. It was almost like he pitied me for not being up to date on technology, and that made me feel like maybe he thought I was stupid. The uncomfortable feeling grew and expanded, making it harder to breathe until it finally gave way to the first signs of anger.
I sat there and stewed like a pressure cooker about to blow its top. I wasn’t stupid, or underprivileged. I had the resources to learn about these things I had just not been allowed to. It was part of being raised by an anti-tech parent. The anger in me was growing like an infection. Drew seemed oblivious to how I felt, seeing how he was tapping away on his stupid portable keyboard, completely wrapped up in the research again. I felt the heat rise to my ears as the anger continued to spread and taint. My anger was almost full tilt, and I didn’t know how it had gotten there so fast. I had to do something before I exploded.
I didn’t recognize myself, these feelings I was feeling weren’t like me at all. I’d never been so easily offended in my life, and I’d certainly never been the type to outwardly express my displeasure, to let it consume me like it was at that moment. No, it took a lot to get me to the point of an actual outward display. I knew I’d reached my limit when my hands started to shake. I had to get away from him, so I stood without a word and stormed out of the coffee shop.
I get that he was shocked by your lack of knowledge, but did he have to drone on and on like that—the nerve! He might as well have said that you were just the stupidest, ignorant, little girl, Eden.
I don’t think he meant it like that, Echo. I think he was just shocked. The use of mobile devices and technology is common, so I guess I can understand his surprise. What I don’t understand is why I am getting so worked up over it.
Oh yeah, I can see that you understand his point of view, Eden. So, understanding, in fact, that your temper was very close to spiking, and you had to walk out to keep from making a scene. That boy was out of line. You’re his equal, not some poor, pitiful, little girl. How dare he act so superior!
Echo was practically shouting in my head, and I started to wonder if the anger I felt was an imprint of hers or if it was
