[Look at this, Tim-Tim]
[It seems I can make my atoms vibrate so fast they are undetectable to the human eye]
[We have to watch this in a laboratory, dude]
It wasn't nice to spy on someone's conversations but Wendy told herself that she was just testing her powers, not gossiping. Around her, at the mall, people were texting, talking through the phone, posting tweets. Talking about their day, their interests, showing off what they just bought, the meals they have been just served...Nothing too interesting, but it was an exercise for her to watch a particular person and figure out what they were doing online. Still, she paid much attention to what her friends were saying. Even if they were not there, she could hear and read what they were saying to each other.
In that precise moment Jimmy was texting Timmy, sending him videos in which he seemed to disappear in front of the the mirror. She also caught a phone conversation between Craig and Tweek, in which Craig told his boyfriend that nothing unusual had happened to him yet and that he didn't give a fuck if he was a mutant or not. Wendy quickly took her mind away from them when, next, he told Tweek with a lower and hoarser voice that it was good that he could heal because he was going to leave him sore that night after work. She then caught was Clyde was searching in Google: 'discreet surgeon' and clicked on several results which lead to the pages of some professionals who declared they would keep their consultations a secret. She felt pity for him and wanted to send him a text, but she wasn't sure if it would do him any good. He was awfully scared. Of course he was: he had been the only one who had undergone a physical change—Scott's was triggered by sugar, but he had those wings all the time. Perhaps Token's observation was right and he could retract them, but he probably hadn't found out or wanted them out anyway.
"Oh!"
Her absorption ended abruptely when she bumped on someone with such violence that he other reflexively held her.
"I'm sorry!"
"It's alrigh-...Wendy? Wendy Testaburger?"
Wendy definitely went back to the offline present when the person spoke to her. It was a young man who seemed a bit older than her, with a blond, classy comb over, someone who evidently went to the gym on a regular basis and had money to pay a really expensive shirt. Wendy thought of one of these gallants from cheap romantic novels. She didn't know someone with so much class. There were a few kids from school she hadn't seen since they graduated, but she couldn't believe that Kevin Stoley or DogPoo had changed so, so much with the years.
"I...sorry, I don't know who..." Wendy took a step backwards.
The man smiled and got closer to her. What was he doing? Whispering in her ear?
Yes, that was what he did, with such a sweet voice that Wendy couldn't feel upset.
"...And when you all get shot / And cannot carry on / Though you die, la Resistance lives on..."
Wendy's heart skipped a beat. Her face made the blond chuckle.
"Gregory!"
"It's been a long time, right?"
"I...wow, I didn't recognize you!"
"But I did. You don't look that different, but...You are a woman now and your hair is much shorter—it suits you good."
"This is a surprise! How have you been? I haven't seen you since..."
"Since you told me to get fucked in the ear." Gregory pronounced those words with a rigid smile.
"Uh...I'm really sorry about that, I-"
"It's alright. It happened a long time ago. We were children. There is no need to hold grudges. I would like to apologize too. I was very unfair to your, ahem, friend Stan. How is he?"
"...Honestly, I don't care how he is." Wendy frowned, looking away.
"Oh. I thought you were..."
"Were. That's right."
"Do you want to have a walk and talk about it?"
Wendy doubted for a few seconds.
"Well, alright. I have nothing to do right now."
Gregory...Oh, she should have known. He was the only child in that town who had class and she should have known that he would have had it as an adult. The more she looked at him, the more convinced she was that he had not changed a little bit. He still had that arrogant look, the porcelain-like skin and his years in the town hadn't contaminated his English accent. There was a new trait she noticed: a soft vanilla cologne—she didn't remember Gregory wearing any cologne when they were children and it was a nice addition.
"What have you been doing?" Gregory asked her.
"Well, I went to college. I studied Women's Studies but it...well, I didn't like it much, so I dropped it after a year and started Politics."
"I am also studying a Politics degree."
"Are you? Well, this is a coincidence!"
"It really is! Do you want an ice cream?"
"Oh, yes, please, it's so hot in here."
"What flavor do you want it?"
"Chocolate."
"Good morning, a chocolate for the lady and a strawberry for me. Thank you. There you go."
"Thank you." Wendy took a pause to give the scoop a try. "You know, I don't think I've seen you around at school."
"That's because my parents did not think that the level of education in that centre was adequate for me, so they tranferred me to a private school. It was quite a change, for the better, I mean."
"Well, I can't complain about the school. If you know how to study on your own..."
"I remember you being one of the few who had a genuine interest in learning. Maturity, too."
"Oh, yes, but I guess that gave me more troubles than benefits."
"Does that have something to do with Stan?"
"Yes...It was fine while it lasted, but recently, he proved that I was the mature one in the couple so...We didn't break up formally but we are definitely not together anymore."
"I am really, really sorry about it. Please, forgive me if I touched a sore spot. I didn't know."
"You don't have to apologize. I need to talk about it, right? It won't do me good to swallow everything."
"Of course."
"And...what about you? Do you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend?"
"No, no boyfriends. I did have a few girlfriends, but it did not end well, either. The ladies I have met have been disappointingly shallow."
"I guess it's just a matter of time. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you get the prince. Or princess, in your case. That's what they say."
"True. Well, at least I made a bit of progress. It was a pleasant accident meeting you again."
Wendy smirked, taking a bite.
"We were children, Gregory. You had loquacity and I found that lovely."
"So I've lost my charm now?"
Wendy looked away, her grin widening. "I never said that."
Gregory chuckled, licking the ice cream from his lips.
"Do you know that I was so terribly jealous of Stan? Yes, seeing you soaked in each other's vomit, looking at each other with loving eyes, that hurt me deeply. I guess I can tell you this now, but, back then, I hoped that there could come a day when I would call you mine."
"Really?"
"Yes. I was in love with you." Gregory tossed the empty tub in a trash can and looked at her. "...As you said, we were children. Although the war was not a joke, we were playing heroes. Me too. I thought I could save the day and get the girl."
Wendy looked away and just kept walking. For a while none of them said anything, just taking that walk.
Then, Wendy handed Gregory a napkin. The young man saw that there was something written on it.
"My phone number. It will be nice to remember the old times."