Trio Tales

Part I

Noelle

As I wait for my turn to present at the school Science Fair, I browse the other projects, looking for another of the same style. Yes! I thought, specifically looking for and not seeing any other projects about bacteria growth and gravity, or one or the other.  As I walked back to my project, I noticed a man in a black trench coat that appeared to be judging a boy I knew by the name of Elisha, who had done a project on gravitational pull impacting migration patterns in fish.   I realized I was staring and hurried back to my project with my head down and my auburn curls covering part of my face. When I returned to my project, I noticed that the board was shifted slightly and quickly readjusted it to where it was before. Right as I finished resetting my board, the judges came over. 

To be honest, I don’t remember everything I said. I had a reasonably long presentation and I was more focused on the man in the black trench coat watching me and listening to my presentation and the crowd gathering around me. Was my project really that interesting?? All I did was explain my project, what I did, and the results I found.  I also noticed Elisha in the crowd, taking very, very detailed notes, based on the look in his eyes and the way he was talking to himself and scribbling vigorously on a blue notepad. After I was done talking to the judges (and shaking all 5 of their hands, as it turns out Mr. Trenchcoat wasn’t a judge), I went over to Elisha and asked him what he was doing at my project, being careful not to snap and just sound curious, because I actually wondered why he was here, and nearly scared him out of his skin.

Once he recovered from his fright, he turned to me. “I was just curious what you did, and you surprised me,” he said to me. “And who knew Miss Student Council Pres. was good at science, too!” 

“Gee, thanks.” I said.

“Your presentation was really interesting, you know,” 

“It was? I thought it was pretty…”

“Plain? Yes, but everyone thought that someone else would do something on bacteria growth, but the impact of the force of gravity!? Even I couldn’t have thought of that!” He sounded genuinely impressed, and being called “Mr. Nerd” all around school, that was a HUGE compliment. 

“You really think it was good?” I asked, looking into his yellowy-hazel colored eyes for a hint of insincerity and only finding the glow of passion.

“Of course!” he said, sounding slightly hurt, but obviously meaning what he said. He readjusted his black goggle-like glasses, and I carefully tucked a curl behind my ear as I always did when I was nervous. 

I pulled him aside and, careful to be discreet, glanced around, but he caught on. “It’s that man in the trench coat isn’t it?” he whispered so only I could hear.

“Yes, did you see him at your project?”

“Yeah. He was at yours, too.”

“Did you see him at anyone else’s project?” I asked, afraid of the answer and bracing for the worst.

“You know Hale? The guy who hides in a corner in the back of the room and makes gadgets all day?” 

“Yeah…. The ‘technopath’? I wouldn’t mind him along. There are worse people,” I said.

“Good thing he already has a girlfriend,” he said, turning bright red. He mumbled an apology.

Three seconds of awkward silence followed. “Well, I guess we better get to cleaning up…” I said, reluctant to leave his company. He was the nicest person I had ever met, and I’ll admit, he’s pretty cute. In the shade, you could hardly appreciate the way his oak- toned skin shone gold.

“Yeah. See you on Monday, right?”

“Yep. See you”

Then I saw it. A large yellow sticky note, right on the back of my project board.

Part II

Elisha

As I get the last of my project pieces set up, I glance around, wary and tired as I had practiced my project for 4 hours straight last night. My gravitational pull affecting fish migration project was sure to be a winner.  As the judges walked over, I ran through the speech I had practiced so much. I’d write it here but I’m sure it’d be a boring information dump to most people. About a third through my project I saw a man in a black trench coat watching me and listening to my presentation. A few minutes later I saw Noelle gawking at the man but still listening (I could tell she was) to me as I presented. Right as I was about to finish, Noelle must have realized she was gawking and quickly walked away with her head down and her hair covering one of her jungle (specifically boreal forest in the summer) green eyes. I wanted to tell her to wait, but instead I just finished my presentation and went over to her project, curious what Mrs. Perfect had studied. Turns out, she put out a pretty good experiment, and a really good project.

“Hey Elisha! What is the smartest kid in the school  doing at my project?” Noelle asked in her very slight german accent, scaring me mid note.  I nearly jumped out of my shoes, but I suppressed the scream, turning to face her.

“I was just wanting to see what you did, and you honestly surprised me,” I said. “Who knew Miss Student Council Pres was good at science, too!”

“Gee, thanks,” she said back, a playfully sour undertone in her voice. 

“It was actually pretty interesting,” I said, and I meant it.

“You really think so?” I could see her searching me for a hint of insincerity.

“Of course!” I said, slightly hurt in her doubting me. In the awkward silence that followed, she tucked a perfect auburn curl behind her ear and I readjusted my black action-style glasses. 

Noelle broke the silence. “I thought it was very…”

“Plain? Yes, but in a sense that was what made it so good. No one wanted to do bacteria because they thought somebody else would do that, but throwing gravity in the mix?! Even I couldn’t have thought of that!”

She glanced around and pulled me aside, but I caught on before she told me. 

“It’s that guy in the trench coat, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yeah, did you see him at your project?” I knew she already knew the answer but I answered her anyways.

“Yep. He was at your project too.” I said, bracing for the next question.

“Did you see him at any other projects?” This time it was her turn to brace for the answer.

“You know Hale Kain? The one who hides in a corner in the back of the rooms and makes gadgets all day?” 

“Yeah… the ‘technopath’? I wouldn’t mind him along. There are plenty of people that would be worse,” Noelle said.

“Good thing he already has a girlfriend,” I said. I immediately regretted it, because I turned bright red. I mumbled an apology.

Three seconds of silence followed, and then Noelle said, “Well, better get cleaned up. See you Monday?”

“Yeah, see you.” I could tell she was reluctant to leave, and I honestly didn’t want her to leave either. 

As I was cleaning up, I saw it. Right as I thought I was just hallucinating. 

A bright yellow sticky note that said:

Meet me at the Long Beach

to LA bus stop at 10:15 on 

the dot; no later 

~”Mr. Trenchcoat”

Part III

Hale

I knew my project wasn’t the best, but it had been hard to find something that I couldn’t cheat with my technopathy (yeah, it’s weird, I know). I had settled on something with earthquakes and fault lines, and I had studied an actual earthquake in the process of gathering the information for the board. I had forgotten to study my speech, so I did my best. I don’t even want to write it out. It was that bad.

Once I was finished, I noticed a man in a black trench coat. I cast a last glance, decided it wasn’t worth it to investigate, and turned around to search for the one person I knew I could trust. Rosabella Conti, my Italian girlfriend. 

“Hey Hale.” She told me. “You know, your presentation wasn’t as bad as you told me it would be. It was actually pretty good.” I knew she meant it, but that didn’t change my opinion.

“I suppose. Have you seen anything...interesting or different?” I asked her, making sure the man in the trench coat hadn’t been a hallucination.

“Does a man in a black trench coat count?” She said, confirming my suspicion.

“Yeah. I still feel like I’m being watched, though.” I said, my voice shaky.

“Hey, it’s just a feeling. You’ll be fine. C’mon, let’s get packed up” She put a hand on my shoulders and ran it down my back and to my hand, twining her fingers into mine. We walked in silence back to my project. 

As I was folding up my project board, I noticed a sticky note on the back of the board.

“Hey, my mom’s calling,” Rosabella said, her voice shaking me from my daze. “Bye, Hale. See you Monday, ok?” she said.

“Yeah. Bye, see you,” I said, deciding it was best to follow the instructions on the sticky.