Wednesday, February 9, 2011

long haul

September 2042 - Phoebe Centowski is 22, Benjamin Grove is 24, Nate and Theo Centowski and Opal Raymond are 20.

Phoebe has wanted to be a cop since she was a little girl. She thought her mother was a superhero. But now that she joined the police force, she doesn't feel very heroic. As a rookie, most of her work days involve doing paperwork and writing traffic tickets. And when there is an emergency to respond to, it's not as thrilling as she had imagined. A month later, she can't get Matt's car crash out of her head - the mangled metal and blood, the smell of smoke and gasoline. She can't forget the sight of Matt's parents collapsed on the couch as her mother told them about the accident.

Being an adult is a lot harder than she had thought. She was excited to move out of the dorms and live on her own, but it turns out that living alone can be lonely. When she hears that one of the police dogs needs a new home, she jumps at the chance to adopt her; even though Maggie is really too big to live in such a small place, Phoebe is glad for the company.

She's a little wary of some of her neighbors, but she likes talking to Benjamin Grove.

"I go running almost every night," he says. "Do you want to join me?"

She doesn't really notice it happening, but running with him becomes part of her routine. And as their sneakers hit the pavement, they get to know each other bit by bit, mile after mile. He's from a military family, and he grew up all over the world; now he's stationed at the nearby base.

"I haven't met a lot of people," he says. "I'm at the base most of the time."

"Same here. And when I get home, I'm too tired to go out."

"Well I'm glad I found a running partner."

"Me too."

*****

She really misses living in the same dorm as her brothers, so one night she invites them and Opal over for pizza.

"Hey guys, thanks for coming."

"Thanks for inviting us. So this is your place."

"Yeah, it's a little small, but it's nice."

"Hi Maggie," Nate says. "She's a really sweet dog."

"She's a contraband sniffer," Phoebe says. "I take her to the police station with me a few times a week."

"So, how's junior year going?" Phoebe asks Nate.

"It's good. I'm taking some tough classes this year."

"Not too tough for you, though. You always get straight A's."

There's lots of extra pizza, so Phoebe runs downstairs to see if Benjamin wants to join them.

Theo is a little wary of this guy.

But Nate seems to like him.

"So he's your neighbor?" Theo asks. "How well do you know this guy?"

"He lives downstairs, and we go jogging together. He's a really nice guy."

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