Chain Reaction 3.1: Lottie

Charlotte Taylor

       "There aren't any frogs in there. I checked it earlier," I tell the boy checking the log.

      He stands up, and the log disappears. "Ha! I just found a toy."

      "Well... that's not a frog."

      He turns around and gives me a weird look. "How long have you been a child?"

      That was a strange question, but I take a guess at why he'd ask. "Long enough to know how to look for frogs."

      "Well, I'm aging up to teen soon, so I don't need some kid's help. If you must know, I'm only looking for stuff so I can sell it." He looks proud of himself. "I'm starting my own business."

       "You're going to open a store?" Can a kid do that?

       "Not yet. Right now, I'm just gathering things to sell. I'm going to have a stand at the flea market."

       "Need any help?" I'm bored. My older twin Chloe has been driving me crazy! And I'm not eager to go home because I know I'll accidentally track mud on the carpet, and she'll have a fit. Maybe if this boy lets me help him, I'll have another excuse to get out of the house.

       Again with the strange look. "What's your name?"

       "Charlotte."

      "Do I look like I need help, Charlotte?" He's annoyed. I hope I can fix that.

      "Uh, well, no. But I'm bored. I can help you find things. I saw some of those rock spawners. Maybe we can find a good fossil!"

      "Easy there, Lottie. I'm not looking to hire anybody. This is a one-man show."

      "My name is Charlotte."

      "I heard you."

      I'm confused, but I let it go. "I'm not looking for you to hire me. Like I told you, I'm bored." I pause. "What's your name?"

      "Jarvis, future owner of Jarvis Enterprises. Or Jarvis, Incorporated. Or Jarvis' House of Treasured Junk." He grins.

     I can't help but giggle at the last one. Then, when I see that he's still got that grin on his face, I laugh even more. I like this. There's a change in him. I can feel it. He's decided I'm okay. Maybe he even likes me. It's probably my giggling. But he's just so funny!

     "I like treasured junk the best," I tell him.

      When I can finally breathe again, he says, "Listen, I appreciate the offer of help and all, but I've been doing this on my own for a while now. Ever since... Well, ever since the idea came to me."

      I smile. He wants help but doesn't want to get my hopes too high. And... he's hiding something, but I don't worry about what. It's strange how I can pick all this stuff up, how people feel and all. I'd always thought everyone could do this, but apparently that's not true, at least not as good as I can do it. It's like I can feel it on my skin like sound waves, and I'm usually right.
      I want to help him. "No, you listen. I don't mind. It'll be fun."

      "But Lottie, I'm going to sell this stuff." He's worried I'll get mad that he's going to take it.

      "I said I'd help. Go ahead and sell the stuff. You're paying me by giving me something to do besides listen to my sister complain about my muddy shoes."

     "Are you sure?"

     I nod my head real fast. "If I decide I don't like it, I can just quit, and then you're no worse than you were before. I think another rock just spawned. We can go check it out."

     He's hiding how happy he is, but I can feel it anyway. "I'm actually done for the night. I need to take this robot toy I found back to my... house and fix it." He pauses. "Meet here tomorrow? After school?"

     I nod fast again. "Yeah." I guess I don't see him at school because he's older than me.

     "Thanks, Lottie. See you tomorrow." He starts walking away.

      Why does he keep calling me Lottie? Oh well. I can fix that tomorrow. I see him looking at me, so I wave and run back to my house.
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Okay, so Jarvis should've been a teen already, but I held off because this works better with my plot. That only makes sense if you can remember who Jarvis is, I just realized. If not, no worries. He was only briefly mentioned in a detour chapter. You'll understand next chapter.