Daily Writing Prompt: Write a scene where a character tries to return something and it doesn't go very well.
"Look, I'm sorry I took your laptop."
Tom stands at the door, facing a rather annoyed tall blonde girl who is giving him the look of death right now. "My laptop, Tom, is private property. I use my laptop - a lot.
Even Varg wasn't allowed to use it, and I'd actually trust him with my life."
"You wouldn't trust me with your life?" Tom asks sceptically and looking a little put out. Lexi immediately shakes her head.
"No way. Not in a million years."
"Techically I saved your life by turning you human," Tom says, grinning as this notion comes to him. Lexi rolls her eyes at the younger boy, holding the broken remains of her laptop in both of his arms.
"You're never gonna let me forget that. I can tell."
Tom grins at her. "Nope."
Lexi sighs. "Why did you even take my laptop anyway? You've got your home computer."
"I needed to do - homework?" he ventures with a smile.
"Right. Because the great Tom Clarke actually goes and does homework at the end of the day on other people's computers, instead of just using magic. Somehow I find that hard to believe."
Tom sighs, a sure sign that she has got through to him. "Okay... maybe I wasn't doing homework."
"So -" Lexi prompts him, one eyebrow raised.
"Did I ever tell you how gorgeous you look in this light?" It's an obvious change of subject and Lexi's not fooled. But somewhere inside her she feels a little sprout of happiness, a little tug of joy at the compliment.
"Ever the charmer, Clarke."
"I try." Lexi absently runs a hand through her long blond hair, brushing it to one side over her shoulder.
"So, flirting aside, why did you take my laptop?"
Tom sighs in mock exasperation. "Man, you're like a dog with a bone."
Lexi raises an eyebrow again. She hasn't heard this saying, but it makes some sense. "Relentless, not giving up?" she asks. She has had to ask Tom the meaning of some of these odd phrases over the last few months she has been on Earth. Research only goes so far.
"That's it," Tom praises her.
"Yes. I suppose that makes some sense. It's better than 'the grass is always greener on the other side'. I still really don't understand that one."
"Well it means that people are always wishing for what they can't have. Or thinking that what they have isn't the best, they want something better. But there's never anything better, so you're left wishing."
"How poetic of you, Tom. That makes some sense in this current context. Like I'm wishing you would explain why my laptop is wet and broken, then give it to me and leave me alone," Lexi told him, unable to help a smile.
Tom laughed. "Okay getting the message now. It's not that wet, honestly. But we were playing football and -"
"You took my laptop to play at the park?" Lexi asked in annoyance.
"Yeah yeah, getting to that part. We were playing football and then it started to rain."
"And that is where your beautifully constructed excuse falls apart. I happen to know there has been no meteorological indicators today."
"Meteorlogical indicators? Really Lex? Speak English, please."
"Lex? Since when have you ever called me Lex? And it means rain. There was no indicators that it would rain today." Lexi felt sometimes like she was speaking a different language to everyone else. Certainly, at all the blank looks she seemed to get. Primitive humans.
"There. That's English. So basically, you watched the weather forecast."
Lexi shook her head. "I would never rely on something so basic. It is wrong half of the time anyway. I did attempt to get some knowledge out of it, but this one time, it was quite sure it was going to be beautiful sunshine and I went out. It poured down all day."
Too late she realised the was holding the mutilated remains of her laptop and Tom was halfway down the path.
"Tom Clarke!"
He looked back and gave her a cheeky wink. "Don't worry Lexi! A clever alien like you, you'll be able to fix it in no time!"
"I hate you!" she yelled back at him.
Just before he went out of sight behind the houses he turned back and grinned.
"I know."