Member-only story
Where Our Paths Diverge
One blink, and I see it — just where we’re meant to be.
“Is that a Ferret Junction shirt?”
The words catch me off-guard, slamming me out of the cocoon of my thoughts. I look up just as the elevator doors shut — barring any escape route, locking me into what lay beyond just a simple question. It’s a question, just a silly question why oh why do I make this such a big deal when it’s a question with a simple answer.
My eyes flick to the speaker — a girl, half a head shorter than me, the top of her head bound by a gray knit beanie — but every other detail is lost to me as my gaze skates away, a fidgety habit I have when I’m uncomfortable eye-to-eye, nope, nope, not happening.
“Uh — what?” I sound stupider than I am, but that’s a worry for another time. The elevator hums as it begins to ascend. I start wondering if I can hold off answering anything else, but there are still four floors between me and my destination.
The girl laughs, a giggly sound that seems at odds with the way she’s trying to project a different persona with her skateboarder chic look. Don’t linger on the laugh, you’re not funny, you know this, she’s just laughing because you sounded like an idiot stoner. “Your shirt. It’s the main character from Ferret Junction, right? That animated web series?”
