The Haunted - Jessica Verday [85]
He made a frustrated sound. “Do you want me to keep tutoring you? You’ve been really distracted lately. Is something wrong?”
No, nothing. I’m just dealing with the fact that my boyfriend is dead.
“What’s that?” he asked.
I coughed and cleared my throat. Had I said that out loud? “Nothing, it’s just… my parents.
They’re really on me about acing this science exam, and I’m nervous about it.…” I crossed my fingers behind my back. “Look, I’m really, really sorry, Ben. Let me make it up to you. Come over, and I’ll order a pizza.”
“Everything on it?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he said.
I hung up the phone, hoping that I’d made everything better with Ben. He really was a great guy.
After I ordered the pizza, I went downstairs to wait. Ben arrived with a big grin and a DVD
in one hand. “Movie night.”
The pizza guy showed up right behind him, and I paid for the pizza, then ushered Ben inside. “What are we watching?”
“Star Trek.”
I stopped in the middle of the hallway, waiting for the punch line. It didn’t come. “No, really, Ben. What movie did you bring?”
“Star Trek,” he said. “Consider it your way of making it up to me.” I groaned and led the way into the kitchen, setting the pizza box on the table. “You’re really going to milk this, aren’t you?”
He nodded.
“Okay, fine. I deserve it.”
“It’s a good movie. Captain Picard meets his clone, and there’s a huge explosion…” He talked on and on. I could already feel my brain dying from boredom. But I nodded at all the appropriate times as Ben gave me the rundown on Worf and Troi and Shin-something.
And then there was a robot.
“Uh-huh,” I said, gathering plates and napkins and cups as he went on. I interrupted:
“Grab some sodas from the fridge.”
He picked out two cans of Coke and kept talking. I laid everything I had on top of the pizza box, then picked it up and headed to the living room. Ben followed me.
“DVD player is there,” I said, pointing, and he put the movie in. Settling down on the floor, I found the remote and pushed play. “Okay,” I said to Ben. “Eat pizza now; talk more after the movie.”
He promptly grabbed two slices and started in on them. Music blared from the TV, and I leaned back, preparing for two hours of geekdom.
As the end credits rolled, Ben explained everything that I didn’t understand, which was… a lot.
“But why couldn’t they just build another robot?” I asked. “They had an extra one.”
“Because Data was a specially designed artificial life form,” he said. “One of a kind.”
“But his brother, or whatever, was there.…”
“Yeah, well that’s kind of their way of saying that Data’s not really gone.” I looked at Ben skeptically.
“You hated it, didn’t you?” he asked.
“Well, not hated… Okay, yeah. It was pretty boring,” I admitted.
He laughed. “That’s okay. At least you didn’t fall asleep.” No, but I was pretty damn close.… “So, am I forgiven?”
“Sure,” he said. “It’s cool.” Glancing down at his watch, he sat up straight. “Oh man, I gotta go. My Dad will be home from work soon, and I’m helping him fertilize the Christmas trees tonight.”
He moved toward the DVD player to grab his movie. “Thanks for the pizza, Abbey.” The word suddenly jogged something in my brain. “Pizza! Wait. Just a second.” I dashed upstairs and rifled through the dirty-clothing pile that held the jeans I’d worn the night we’d gone to the movies. The plastic card was still in the back pocket; I pulled it free and then flew downstairs.
“Here.” I held it out to Ben. “The pizza guy gave it to me the other night. I totally forgot.
You dropped it when you paid.”
“Library card,” he said. “Thanks.”
I glanced down, really seeing it for the first time. Ben took it from me and pulled out his wallet with his free hand, but the letters on the card were starting to make sense in my head.
“D. Benjamin Bennett?” I said slowly. “Your first name starts with a D?”
“Yeah.” He flipped open the wallet and held it so I could see his driver’s license. “Daniel.
I’m