I've had this idea for a while and never quite got around to it, but I saw the draft sitting on my laptop and decided to finish it for the heck of it because I don't write enough happy stuff!
Thanks to everyone who's still reading and leaving reviews! I love these two so much...years later, and they're the only pair I still obsess over and write about extensively.
There were many questions Cindy disliked. Some included, "What time is it?" (Easily answered looking at a phone or a computer), "Why are you still single?" (That was a can of worms she wasn't willing to open with her best friend, let alone concerned 'friends' of her snooping mother. As it were, she doubted Sasha Vortex had such a thing), and "Why do you work so hard?" (She'd always been the conscientious type— scared to death of underperforming, of that gleaming monstrosity…mediocrity.)
But the absolute worst questions, in her most honest opinion, were any sort of questions regarding…Neutron. And it wasn't as if she was exaggerating the amount of questions she got about him, because she'd been bombarded with questions about him ever since he'd made the cover of Time Magazine and had been featured as a top spot in a New York Times article about twenty five amazing people under the age of twenty five, sandwiched between the guy who'd invented Facebook and a woman who had begun a wildly successful vegan restaurant chain. James Isaac Neutron, as various media sources were so graceful as to call him, was no more the short, oddly haired town menace of her youth, endangering everyone within a thirty kilometer radius with his combustion-prone inventions. It seemed as if that period in his life was glossed over in every publication she'd seen that spoke of his history. He was often lauded as a prodigiously talented child who'd put Retroville on the map, and unfortunately, she'd been stupid enough to let it slip to her colleagues that she hailed from there.
In fact, just the other day, a woman who ran a relatively well known tabloid had somehow found her and fielded her a host of questions regarding the boy wonder while she was on her lunch break (despite her incessant insistence that she had no desire whatsoever to spend her free time discussing Neutron)
"When was the exact moment you knew James was destined for fame?"
Cindy had almost spat out her diet coke in laughter. "I think it might be easier to list all the times I definitely thought he wasn't destined for anything."
The woman looked taken aback at her slight and flashed Time at Cindy. "You are Cindy Vortex, the one he lists as his 'bright eyed rival'?"
"Bright eyed? What the heck—" Cindy snatched her copy and skimmed over the section in question. And there he was, face front and center, taking up a whole page.
"I believe he also mentions an instance wherein you tried to make a case against him participating in the local science fair." The woman chuckled and pointed to the next page.
"Of course I did, it was like the rest of us mere mortals were being pitted against Einstein year after year. Not to say that I didn't give Nerdtron a run for his money, I did almost win that time."
The woman scribbled that down. Cindy smirked.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to my firm."
The office was teeming with energy, as Vortex-Polaris was on the verge of a big win. Cindy decided to take a short coffee break before heading back to her desk that evening, and when she came back, she found a copy of Time on her desk enclosed in a yellow envelope from the postal service. There was a short note paper-clipped to the magazine.
Hey Cin! We never get a chance to talk anymore, but make sure you take a look at this okay? Retroville's resident dork is on the cover of Time and he's pretty obvious in his mentions of your love hate thing ;) Call me soon!
-Love, Libby
Cindy rolled her eyes. There was no love hate thing. There was no thing. Never had been, never would be.
Nevertheless, curiosity finally got the best of her, and she hid the magazine under her sweater and headed for the supply cabinet. There was no way in hell she was letting anyone see her reading about him.
Closing the door behind her, she flipped to page twenty for the cover story. Once again, she was met by his know it all smirk.
"Understanding Dr. Neutron: It's Not Rocket Science!"
By Helena Hadley
James Isaac Neutron enters the room in a crisp, pressed Armani suit and flashes me a bright smile. One of the world's premier scientists, Dr. Neutron has been sending out portable housing units to be utilized in his interplanetary population distribution scheme. This is his current project, although it is only one in a long line of achievements…
Cindy rolled her eyes and continued down the page.
James, or Jimmy, as he prefers to be called by his friends and family, speaks of his childhood as being relatively normal. I'm perplexed as to how that's possible when you're a genius, but Jimmy assures me he did in fact spend his childhood doing more than just building rocket ships and taking trips to Mars. In fact, he recalls in vivid color the golden days of his younger years. "When I was in elementary school, I had this great group of friends who would come with me everywhere. We had a lot of adventures, yes, but we also had some standard amusements- we rode roller coasters and went out for ice cream at the local diner, the Candy Bar." He laughs at the memories, a twinkle in his eye as he goes on to mention his neighbor. "And actually...there was a girl who lived across the street from me, and we were always arguing about everything. She was sort of my bright-eyed rival at the time."
"Bright eyed?" I raise my eyebrows at him.
"Yeah, she was always up to something." He chuckled. "And she was pretty smart."
Suddenly, Cindy's breath caught, and she felt herself reading the same words over and over before going on.
"She's a successful lawyer, last I heard, head of this big firm- I think it's Vortex-Polaris or something...and it completely fits. When we were in the fifth grade, she staged a trial to get me banned from the school science fair on the grounds that my big head was an unfair advantage." He stops to smile.
I ask him if he would say it was, looking back. He fiddles with his watch for a moment. "My big head was definitely a liability at times." I offer him my own smile at this modest comment. "I mean, she made a good case, I guess it was someone else's turn to win. But honestly, I think if anyone had a shot of winning, it was her, so make of that what you will."
Cindy felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her. What business was it of his bringing up all of this years later? And why did he feel like she deserved a special mention? She shoved the article back under her arm discreetly and exited the closet. An associate looked at her oddly as she emerged from the closet and she glared back. "Nothing to see here!" She barked. The associate rushed off, not wanting to provoke the wrath of a name partner.
Cindy was parked in the driveway of her home, still agonizing over the article, replaying his words in her head. She could even imagine his voice, and the exact sound of his laugh. How could he say all those things about her? How did he have the courage to say all those nice things in print when he'd never said them to her in person? For the first time in a while, she found her thoughts occupied by nothing but Neutron. The last time she'd allowed herself to think of him so single-mindedly was probably in high school. She groaned. It figured the nerd would find a way to squeeze himself into her life years after they'd lost contact.
Sure, they'd tried to keep contact in the beginning after ending their time at Retroville High as what some would call friends, but then, they'd drifted apart as college and work began to take their toll. Cindy remembered the beginning, back in their undergraduate years, when they'd email each other all the time, never missing an opportunity to one up each other. She still had all the emails archived somewhere on her old laptop. Then, slowly, the responses began to come in slower and slower, until they stopped coming entirely. Cindy cringed as she recalled a week of absolute misery wherein she'd been wallowing over not having talked to Neutron in a month or so. She snorted to herself.
The last time they'd spoken properly was during their college graduations, when Jimmy had sent flowers to her apartment with a short letter of congratulations and as usual a dig about how much more money she'd be making if she'd gone into research instead going to law school. She'd been ecstatic and had written him back excitedly, but she'd never heard back from him, and had learned to let it go as she soon realized law school drained all her time and energy. After that, he'd tried to get in contact very casually once every few months or so, and she'd ignored him out of a combination of sheer pride and the stunning revelation that she cared more about him than she should, a thought that scared even the usually impenetrable Cindy Vortex.
But she couldn't lie to herself anymore. She missed the bygone era of name calling and space travel. It was heartbreaking to her that she hadn't known the value of those precious times as she'd lived them, rather only realizing their value long after they were a thing of the past. It was ironic and bittersweet and very, very sad to her in some strange way.
And no matter how much she fled the truth, she couldn't outrun it. Cindy had always loved Jimmy Neutron. It was simply a fact of life the way Pi was 3.14, and the way the sky was blue. A year ago, Cindy had diverted a case against one of Neutron's sub-groups. She'd taken the case on a charitable basis- her firm hadn't received a penny for their services...well, her services. She doubted he even knew about that, given how busy the man must be, but she knew she'd done it because she wanted him to be happy, and she doubted getting slapped with an unfair lawsuit would make that wish come true. She'd justified it to herself and to everyone around her noting that it was 'pro bono work' that would give the firm good publicity.
Cindy had always known this, known that she cared deeply for him. Yet, something held her back. She always told herself if he'd felt the same way or at least given a damn about her, he would have at the very least stayed in touch with her.
But, maybe, just maybe, she thought, this was his way of extending an olive branch to her. She smiled at the thought as she got out of her car, unlocked the front door, and walked directly to her computer and opened up her email. For a moment, she wanted to write a (very) angry letter demanding why they hadn't talked in ages, but then she realized that wasn't the point. That was all in the past, and they had a chance to rewrite the future. So for once, Cindy swallowed her anger in favor of new beginnings. She was sure he had his reasons, just as she'd had hers all this time.
To: neutronjscience
From: retrovortex
So I saw your article, genius. Glad to hear you think I'm bright eyed. ;)
And might I add, the recollections were particularly touching?
A few minutes later, she received a reply.
To: retrovortex
From: neutronjscience
Touching enough to discuss them with me over coffee this weekend?
To: neutronjscience
From: retrovortex
I'd like that. You know, decoding the great Neutron isn't as hard as I thought..guess it's not rocket science after all!
To: retrovortex
From: neutronjscience
Like you'd know rocket science anyways, you crashed my Strato XL back in the fifth grade...
To: neutronjscience
From: retrovortex
Are you seriously still bitter about that? Because I will bring up the time we switched bodies if you're going to be unpleasant...
To: retrovortex
From: neutronjscience
Thought we agreed never to speak of that...scarring experience EVER again?
To: neutronjscience
From: retrovortex
For once, you're right Nerdtron. It's okay though, I have plenty of other stuff to hold against you.
To: retrovortex
From: neutronjscience
Bring it on, Dorktex. I'll see you on Saturday. :)
Cindy signed off with a chuckle. She was so ready.