Chapter 9

The blue lightning had formed another tunnel around her gleaming Vincent motorcycle riding through the distant countryside close to top speed. It always appeared when she exceeded one hundred and twenty miles per hour. She could reach out into the land further and further, this way, exploring new roads, visiting towns far distant from Scottsbluff by not having to backtrack and freezing on the way home. Shannon could merely teleport her way back to her garage when she desired. It was all too easy for her, these days. Initially, Shannon had no idea what she could do with the newly discovered skill or ability, but now found it very useful.

She brought the nickel plated machine to a stand still, letting it coast to a rolling stop and turned off the motor and gas petcocks, set the side stand, while the blue lightning dissipated into the clear cold sky of Nebraska's brisk winter air. Shannon didn't understand why it appeared when she went fast like that on the bike, but she had learned to accept it as it always seemed to make her feel better, physically. Almost as if she were a recharged battery.

The first time she teleported, Shannon had gotten very tired. She'd slept for hours afterwards but she was more used to it, now. It just merely mellowed her out, these days.

She got off the bike but kept her hand on the left handlebar grip and with very little effort, teleported the bike back to the garage. It disappeared into the air as easily as the blue lightning. She forgot to remove her riding gloves and helmet, though, and tisked that she had. "Darn it." She teleported herself back to the garage and stood beside her beloved new toy as quick as thought. She took off her gloves and helmet and looped the helmets strap over the twist grip and tossed in her warm winter gloves. Her thought was to teleport herself directly to Terry's, for a visit, and then walk home from there. But she figured she could change into something more comfortable, now that she was back, and went into the house to dress.

Terry and Brett were behind the counter taking care of customers buying things. It was almost closing. Terry smiled her way and she silently greeted him with a quick wave while carrying a box of fresh donuts. Raymond and John were reading comic books in the game testing area. They were like permanent fixtures, it seemed. Almost every time she showed up, they were there, too.

Shannon sat next to Raymond and said, so they both could hear, "Want a donut, big boy?"

"Yeah," said John, beating Raymond to the first pickings. She had bought a dozen of the fat-bombs and took a plain cake donut for herself. It was the least offensive to her ideas of food and it tasted wonderful to her. Donuts were a weakness for Shannon, admittedly, but she exercised so much, she never gained weight.

"Thanks Shannon," Raymond said, choosing a raspberry jelly filled one for himself. "You're so good to us."

"Gotta take care of my buds," she said, smiling at them both. "What's up with you two, today?"

"Nothing much. What you been doing?" John asked.

"Riding my motorcycle."

"Aren't you freezing your butt off out their on that thing?"

"I dress pretty warm, but it still gets cold sometimes, yeah. That's why I limit my riding time. No matter what I put on, the cold always seems to sink in."

"Did you ride it over here, now?" Raymond asked.

"No. I drove the truck. It's too icy out there."

"Yeah, I was gonna say..."

"I try to be careful. Too many slippery spots, still. You guys got anything planned for tonight?"

"Not that I know of. What's cookin' with you?" said John.

"Dinner. You guys like something besides donuts tonight?"

"I could go for some linguini," said Raymond.

John wanted, " ... one of those huge burgers from Mary's Place. They're so good with all that avocado and tomato."

"That sounds good to me, too," she replied.

"Which one?" they spoke in unison. Sometimes she thought their brains were wired together.

"Both. I'm really hungry."

At Mary's Place, the restaurant, they were all eating their fill and the conversation was crisp concerning games and national politics. Jason, Terry's new friend, was with the five of them and they had to put two tables together to get the six of them close enough to talk. Shannon became a little bored with the subject of gaming, as it evolved into the world of make believe soldiers and monster killing and tried another subject.

"Anyone read any good books, lately?" she asked. Everyone stared at her and each other.

"Really? No one?"

She paused.

"What is it about Americans that no one reads? I ought to move to England. At least they know what literature and reading is all about."

"Yeah but they don't have us. We're the fun guys," said Raymond.

"Yeah," John countered. "You're loads of fun, aren't you."

"I have my moments."

"It's probably because Americans are so hung up on electronic toys," Jason offered. "Can you imagine high school without cell phones these days? I'm no different," he said, taking out his Android phone and placing it on the table between he and Brett. "I've always got my nose in this thing. If I'm not texting, I'm looking up stuff and if not that, I'm actually using it as a phone, of all things."

They all began breaking out their smart phones and playing with them, just to prove his point, acting silly about it, for Shannon's sake. The air was filled with little twinkling sounds as they turned them on.

"I can't imagine that we're that bad, are we?" asked Terry, tongue in cheek, bringing up pictures of she and him, he'd taken.

"Hey Jason, how about a quick game of, Angry Birds, huh?" John said, sticking his tongue out off to the side of his mouth as if he were concentrating hard.

"Okay. Never mind books," she said, half grinning and waving a hand in a shooing gesture, but also overwhelmed and a little disgusted, out numbered as she was with them and their 'stupid' phones, "You guys are the 'fun' people, agreed, great. Game over. So! Anyone looking forward to the new 'Twilight' movie?" she tried changing the subject, again, while taking a bite of her garlic bread, switching back and forth between her linguini dish and her huge hamburger and that mound of French fries. She really was that hungry.

"Chick flick," said John.

"I like them," said Terry. "I've read the books. They're cool."

"Well, you would, wouldn't you?" said Raymond.

"What does that mean. Are you talking about my being gay?"

"Exactamundo, amigo."

"Hey, duffass. I like the Twilight series, too," Brett weighed in.

"I read the first one," Jason spoke up, "but I didn't much care for it."

"I like the books," said John. "But the movies are kind of lame. I don't like the girl that plays Bella, though. She's like out of a special ed' class, or something. And she doesn't have any boobs."

"That's what's all important, isn't it, John," Terry said.

"For me it is. She's suppose to be this big glamour girl, on screen, with the love of her life being a vampire and she looks like a fourteen year old boy."

They went into a long half argument about the films and books, most of them ganging up on Raymond and John till Shannon finally said, "I give up. You guys have got to be the biggest, goofball, nerds this side of the Mississippi."

"Yeah, but we're fun, aren't we?" ribbed Terry.

She smiled, and said, "I guess so. Mister fun."

They all ended up going to a late movie before disappearing into their separate lives. Shannon had fun, sort of. They were sometimes not the best of companions and wished she had others friends that were a bit more intellectual.

Shannon sat on her sofa, after getting home, a novel in hand, listening to the sounds of the house. The refrigerator turning on, the central heating fan beginning to spin. It was peaceful here. She liked the quiet and being alone. All the guys were fun to be with but solitude was good, too, though she felt restless.

She marked her book with an old business card and closed it, setting it aside. She went to the back bedroom where she kept her bicycles and touched a few things on the work bench then wiped down her beautiful Firenze and following that, went to her exercise room where she kept her weight bench and kick-boxing/punching bag. She merely looked around and ended up, finally, in her bedroom after turning out all the house lights. She lay back in her bed, uncovered and undressed, and thought about where her life was going. It didn't seem to have any goals, any purpose but reading, physical fitness, and stealing money.

Is this what it's going to be like until everybody moves on? she wondered. And everyone does move on, she knew, remembering her sociology class in high school. Raymond's going to knock up some girl, probably, and get some dead-end job and be more miserable than he is now. Bret will eventually go away to college and be successful and loose contact with everyone, while John will become a low grade alcoholic and get married and divorced, several times, ending up a sad lonely man. Jason, he'd find a middle management job, somewhere, and get more and more frustrated with life and might end up as a suicide. Not very nice things to consider for her friends, but it seemed reasonable. And Terry will go through numerous affairs and there was a good chance of his dying of aids, maybe. Who knew?

But what about her. What shining star was in her future if any? Would she get curious about the world and travel it until she sickened of planes and people, come back here to be an old maid and grow old and have a meaningless existence reading books and riding bicycles? She simply didn't know what to think.

"I must be tired," she mumbled and covered herself with her blankets. Maybe I'll learn to fly, tomorrow, her thoughts still wandering. They have private lessons at the airport, she knew. Yes. There was a thought. Maybe she would. She needed a challenge.

The next day Shannon rode her Firenze bicycle to the airport, locking it up around a pole near a building where flying lessons were given.