Chapter 10: A curious stranger
"I think I'm gonna just get another taxi." Zara's hand clutches the door's handle ready to launch out of the car.
Much to her surprise her hand don't budge because this guy sitting beside her has his hand over hers, "In this rain?" he all but exclaims. He's just as surprised by this action as she is, his wide-eyed expression is a giveaway.
Upon realising just how weird he's acting, he quickly regains composure of himself, clears his throat and says, "Did I say or do anything to upset you?"
Worry doesn't hesitate to create wrinkles above his brows as he waits for her answer. He's ready to apologise for whatever his offence might be because as he rakes through his brain he just can't figure out why she's so set on staying away from him.
"No, you didn't do anything." Zara begins to feel uncomfortable with his hands on hers so she pulls it away from the door so he would let go of her.
"Then why would you rather go back in the rain when I'm ready to share my taxi ride with you?" He retracts his hand placing it by his side but he remains alert ready to stop her from leaving, if she tries her second attempt.
"You just scared me." She whispers as she wraps her arms around herself; something she does instinctively to comfort herself.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. You helped me earlier today so I just want to return the favour." He smiles warmly at her as he relaxes in his seat.
Zara does nothing but nod in acknowledgement and understanding.
She calmly repeats her address to the driver's hearing and then takes out her personal cassette player. When she puts the headset over her ears, Mr Culprit's mouth hangs open in shock.
"What is that?" Wonder, curiosity and amazement all at once cloud his voice as he stares at the device in her hands.
Zara fights but terribly fails to hide her pride from the smirk that sits on her face, he doesn't notice this because he stares in awe, wondering if what he's seeing is what he thinks it is.
"It's the Sony Walkman, my personal cassette player, it's pretty cool right?" Mr Culprit nods his head enthusiastically in agreement.
"I've never seen anything like it." He stretches out his hand to her, hoping she'd let him have a look at it.
She complies and takes off the headset, then places it in his outstretched hand, "Yeah, that's because it hasn't been released yet."
"Woah! So how did you manage to get your hands on it?" His contagious excitement infects Zara and her earlier soar mood dissipates completely.
"My dad gave it to me over the summer, says it's a gift from one of his investments. He said it'd be available to the public around 1979, I think. So please be careful with it, I won't be able to get it fixed if anything happens to it."
The goofy smile on Mr Culprit's lips takes her aback, "That's the most you've said at a go, so stuff like this excites you, huh?" He lifts the device and waves it slightly between them.
"You could have just gone with the flow, you know?" The chuckle that escapes his lips doesn't g unnoticed by Zara but she decides to return to her shell and stares out the window.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" He suddenly speaks up out of the blues, shattering the silence that once served as a blanket over their heads. Well, if you don't include the platter of the rain against the roof of the car.
Zara pretends to not hear him with hopes of him trying something else to start a conversation.
But this young man has never been one to let go of things easily, so he taps her shoulder with his fingers.
"Huh?" She turns away from the scenery her unconscious was about to dive into.
"I asked if you have a boyfriend?" He asks once more.
"And in what way is that your business?" She asks simply with a roll of her eyes, collects her cassette player from his hand, wears the headset and turns on the player, making sure the volume is at the highest.
In other words, she shut him out and takes away any opportunity for him to ask more questions she considers as ridiculous. She's never been an eager one to make new friends, she prefers to keep her circle small.
'Have I lost my spark?' Mr Culprit finds himself questioning his looks, his charm and after looking back at everything he couldn't help but believe that she may be playing hard to get or she's not interested in him at all.
For him, it's easier to believe the first than the latter. How could he consider a girl not interested in him? Even women his father's age have tried to make passes at him be it for his dad's money or his looks, it's usually one or the other.
This girl is the only person to not give a shit about him and for some reason, it bothers him.
He doesn't realise that his eyes have been on her the entire time; taking every inch of her appearance in. Her skin reminds him of latte, he can't deny it, he finds her attractive.
Zara begins to feel uncomfortable under his piercing gaze so she turns her face to the window and her attention to the rain.
The loud music continues to play in her ears blocking out every other sound, the funny thing is she's not even paying attention o the music in her ears.
Her mind ends up wandering to the past, thanks to the way the dark clouds remind her of that day her step mum passed on.
The memories don't stop there, they continue till she remembers what her deceased stepmom's mother said on the altar. "The rain took my child!" She recalls her loud wails like it were yesterday.
Well to Zara the rain took away her abuser and gave her space to breathe without having to look over her shoulder every hour of the day.
At the end of the day, the rain gave her peace, 'what are the odds? If she had survived that lightning, would her life still be the same as it is now?' Zara asks herself.
However, she must admit that sometimes she can't blame her stepmother. She took care of her when she was a baby until that horrid day she not only lost hers. It is her fault her stepmother could no longer give birth. It's a guilt Zara has refused to let go of since then.
Zara jolts awake, a bit frightened too because she didn't know when she dozed off. All she remembers is feeling guilt of the past but later falling at ease with the sound of the heavy rain.
"Hmm?" Zara's eyes are heavy as she itches to close them.
"I think we're at your house, is this your house?" He points out the taxi's window at her side.
When she looks out the window she sees her home standing tall and proud as the rain continuously beats down on it.
"Yeah, it's my house," she says to him.
He nods his head as he watches her put her cassette player in her bag, zips it up and then flings the handle over her shoulder.
"Wait," His voice suddenly stops Zara from opening the door. She quietly waits for him to continue, "What happened to your knee." his question takes her off-guard.
"Why do you care?" The question flies out before she gets the chance to control her tongue.
"At this point, I don't even know," He quietly says in defeat and with a sigh, when he realises just how much he's been pushing himself into this girl's business. Already hating this feeling of being a bother he retracts and relaxes back into his seat then looks away from her.
Zara feels bad for the way she has been speaking to him, after all, he's just trying to be nice. Even she doesn't know why she's acting this way.
"I fell." Mr Culprit's ears perk up, and the curious cat in him awakens, eager to be fed more information.
"Was this before or after we met?" His brow arcs upward as he asks. This catches her attention, especially his eyes, they seem to draw her in making her stare at them longer than she needs to. It's why she'd been avoiding them until now.
She quickly gets a grip of herself and quickly says, "Before, I mean after." She shakes her head as though it would rearrange her thoughts to think clearly.
"Sorry, does it still hurt?" Zara begins to feel uncomfortable once more with his inquisitive nature which she concludes is part of his character.
"I have to go." She quickly says to him then she turns her attention to the driver, "How much is my ride?" She asks this while she takes out the cash from the pocket of her uniform.
Zara doesn't get a chance to hand over the cash, Mr Culprit's hand is on hers, stopping her midway. "I'll pay for it, don't worry about it," he pleads then quickly takes his hand off hers immediately he recalls the way she looked at him when he grabbed her arm earlier.
"I'll pay." Zara insists because it would be odd to tell her boyfriend that the new kid that's a senior who might or might not be the governor's son is getting all up in her business like this.
"Please just leave, I want to pay for both of us. You can take it as my apology for making you late to class." Zara examines him as though she were a scientist who's watching the experiment.
Shortly after, she gives in, she feels tired already and staying here is just going to increase her tiredness. So she bids him goodbye, "Alright, thanks for the ride."
"You're welcome." He smiles warmly at her, she rushes out the door, and runs under the rain to her doorstep. He doesn't leave till he sees her close her door behind her.
"Alright! Please take me back to Presidio Heights." He declares to the driver.
"But that's where we just came from." The driver's confusion causes a deep chuckle to rumble in Mr Culprit's chest.
"Yeah! I left my car there" The driver only shakes his head in amusement as he recalls what it was like to be young those days during his time.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone