“Oh my gosh—if this means what I think it does,” Oddily jumped to her feet and squealed, “I’m free to do anything I want. And I can’t get hurt!”
Oddily couldn’t wait to get started and grabbed her backpack, but changed her mind and threw it back onto the bed. Normally, she never left without it for fear that someone would get hold of her journal; but this was a game, and there was no threat of that ever happening.
Oddily happily ran from her room and headed straight for the doorway of Starla’s bedroom. It was like looking into a strange and beautiful land that mistakenly belonged to a mean girl instead of herself. She marveled, for the umpteenth time, at its beauty with its white wicker furniture and ruffled bedspread.
Starla hated her bedroom because she thought it looked too childish, and demanded her own interior designer for a makeover; but when her mother didn’t respond, her plan of revenge was to keep her room looking like a pig sty. Starla’s mom complained about her messy ways, but always had the maid come in and clean up after her.
Oddily walked into the bedroom that normally was off limits to her, and sat on Starla’s bed, dreamily savoring the rare moment. She would have loved to stay and play dress up in Starla’s clothes, which she secretly did anyway, but decided on new clothes of her own.
Her next stop was the guest bathroom where she raided the toilet paper. With her arms full, she left the house and headed down the main road towards Forest Ridge High. Oddily half expected to see Oliver pop up and join her in this new game but unfortunately, he didn’t. Weird or not, she kind of missed the kid.
When Oddily arrived at the school parking lot, Kip’s new red Chevy truck was parked in his usual place, just as she had hoped for. Her enthusiasm was clear to any observer when she rushed to his squeaky clean truck and began to wrap it in toilet paper. Kids still lingered around campus, but who cared. Certainly, she wouldn’t get into any real trouble. When she was finished, there was one more thing she had to do. She wrote the word ‘Freak’ across the back window using Starla’s favorite red lipstick. Oddily smiled happily with what she had done, and then headed for Starla’s dark blue Mini Cooper.
While approaching her foster sister’s car, Oddily remembered the extra set of keys hidden under the left rear fender and sure enough, they were there. She allowed herself to settle into the driver’s seat and wondered if she knew how to start the car.
* * * * * *
Maxim was at the gas station letting his sister know that he had retrieved her game glasses when the distraction of a honking horn caught his attention. He spotted a dark blue Mini Cooper swerving down the road, and the driver had a mop of golden-red hair—Oddily! From the way she drove, he believed she may have been experiencing a side effect from her use of the virtual game.
Nexa, I think Oddily’s in trouble.
You have the glasses, so forget about her and return home.
I can’t! I’m going to follow her to review the situation.
Please don’t, Maxim?
We’ll talk later, sis.
It was effortless for Maxim to follow Oddily because she drove so slowly. In fact, he had to pull off the road several times in order to give her some space, and then catch up again. Other drivers weren’t as considerate, speeding around the Mini Cooper, some honking, while others yelled profanities out the window.
Oddily braked often; especially when her car started to veer off into oncoming traffic. It wasn’t until she pulled over to the side of the road on a downward slope and climbed out, that Maxim breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad she didn’t try to park in the nearby shopping center’s parking lot.
Oddily had barely crossed the street, heading for the west end of the village, when her car started to roll down the hill. Maxim watched her while she turned around to view the car land in a gully, but she didn’t seem to be concerned.
Oddily marched through the sliding glass doors of the main department store. She felt quite proud of herself for arriving without causing an accident. Supposing she had, she could still smile knowing nothing truly happened. She liked this game a lot!
Shoppers crowded the aisles of the brightly lit store. The soft music floating out over the loudspeakers nearly drowned out the steady roar of voices, shuffling feet, ringing phones, and the usual chaos of all large department stores.Oddily leaned against the costume jewelry counter, ignoring the blur of patrons.
She became intrigued with a pretty young woman who admired her reflection in the mirror, adjusting her long, dark, wavy hair to check out a pair of earrings. The attractive girl reminded Oddily of one of her dream spree personas of herself.
“Why can’t I be pretty like her?” she asked herself while tapping her fingers against the glass counter-top. Then she focused on the makeup counter across the aisle where two sales girls, blonde model types, had hurried to assist another customer.
Oddily glanced at a clock on the wall and took note that the second hand wasn’t sweeping around in a circle. At first, the idea stunned her, but then she smiled. Of course, the hand didn’t move unless, of course, there was such a thing as virtual time?
Oh yes—new clothes! Oddily got her thoughts back on track, moving further into the store. She loved the idea of shopping. She found it tempting to go into a department store and go through all the pretty things. If merchandise could talk, it would beg to be taken away from all the glitz and glitter…to be made part of a real home.
When Oddily reached the Misses section, she felt frumpy and home-made compared to the racks of lovely clothing. She thumbed through the merchandise and realized all too soon she needed to go to the junior department.
She made her way to the smaller sized clothing and looked through the clothes. Being so small, Oddily couldn’t be seen among the racks. Only the moving hangers gave away her location. Maxim kept his eye on her while he maintained his distance. It was easy to stay unnoticed because of the way Oddily walked around with her head in the clouds.
Oddily still found the clothing too large for her. Apparently, most designers made their garments for girls with a full bust line, so she reconciled herself to the children’s department and stood among the little girl clothes.
“May I help you?”
Oddily acted shy when a sales clerk approached, “I’m just looking right now.”Oddily assessed the clothes as either overly cute, the wrong color, or too many ruffles. She glanced up, becoming discouraged with the choice of styles until she eyed the soft green party dress hanging on another rack. She had found something age appropriate and knew she had to take the dress home. She didn’t want to waste one more minute without her new found treasure hanging close to her body, so she took the pretty green garment from its hanger and slipped it on over her old clothes.
Maxim’s head jolted back as if someone had pulled his hair from behind, and looked around to check if anyone caught sight of what Oddily did. He tried to convince himself it was an acceptable way of trying on clothes, and she would take the dress off after she viewed herself in the mirror.
He smirked at her strangeness, but his amusement became short lived when she walked away with the dress still on. She didn’t seem to be aware of anyone else around her, as though she was caught up in her own little world.
For Maxim, the situation concerning Oddily sunk in and he reacted; especially after eyeing the sales girl on the phone. She appeared to be alarmed while keeping an eye on her shoplifter. With several quick, flowing steps, Maxim was by the clerk’s side dropping money on the counter.
She paused for a moment, glancing from the money to Maxim’s handsome face, then asked, “May I help you?”
“I’m paying for the green dress my girlfriend has on,” he said stupidly, wishing he had come up with a better story.
The girl hung up the phone. “I’m sorry sir. I will need the sales tag before I can complete the transaction.”
“That won’t be possible,” he frowned.
“We have a strict store policy here, sir.”
Maxim glanced around, spotting another dress like the one Oddily took. “Would you accept another tag from the same style dress and complete the transaction?”
“Maybe I should call the manager to…” Before she could finish speaking, the other dress and three hundred dollars were laying on the counter.
“Sir, you must wait for the transaction to clear, and you’ll need a receipt.”
But Maxim had already left, finding Oddily in the shoe department trying on a pair of boots. They resembled her old, worn out ankle high boots in a drab shade of brown that clashed with her new dress. Maxim tried to remain unnoticed while he moved to the counter and paid for her boots. It was a good thing he did, because Oddily walked away with her new footwear, as if she owned the entire store.
Her next stop was the perfume counter. Oddily started to spray different floral scented perfumes on her wrist and along the sides of her neck. Maxim choked and moved further away when the fumes began to make him lightheaded. Fortunately, Oddily didn’t seem to like any of the fragrances because she crossed the aisle to the makeup counter without stealing anything.
Maxim slipped his sunglasses on to hide from the pretty blonde sales clerk who eyed him while helping Oddily to choose a lip color. She picked out a shade that went well with Oddily’s new dress. Oddily allowed the clerk to apply it on her lips—cute pouting lips. He hadn’t checked them out before, but with the lipstick on, they were…Maxim wouldn’t let himself finish his inner dialogue while Oddily viewed herself in the mirror. She shook her head back and forth.
The sales clerk kept glancing at Maxim, so he tried to look busy by stuffing Oddily’s old boots inside the shoe bag. He wasn’t even sure why he cleaned up after her, but he did. He glanced up again to see whether the sales girl was still staring at him, but she was distracted by another customer.
Maxim started to reflect on the females about town. When he went out, which wasn’t often, he usually didn’t allow himself to pay attention to them. It was too risky to get involved with anyone. One wrong move on his part could cause chaos to this world around him because he and his sister were never meant to be born in this timeline. Now with this odd redhead named Oddily falling into his life, he became curious. Her unique appearance drew him to her. He found her fascinating and yet reluctantly wanted to know more about her.
Maxim caught Oddily’s rapid movement. She didn’t seem to like the lipstick, and walked away from the counter. Was she affected by the virtual reality game or was this how she normally acted? He hoped not, because her peculiar style of shoplifting would get her arrested. Maxim expressed amusement at the thought of what she had done, and then frowned. No—something was going on with her, and he needed to find out before she got herself into serious trouble.
Maxim took a deep breath, happy that Oddily’s shopping excursion was over. He followed her outside without incident, but other trouble waited out on the street. The car that Oddily had driven so haphazardly was surrounded by the police, and this seemed to amuse her.
Maybe she’s crazy after all. Maxim had stopped in his tracks until he spotted Oddily marching through the parking lot towards the crime scene.
“Oddily!” he bellowed while sprinting for his car. Thankfully, his voice carrying her name had stunned her long enough for her to stop and turn around. His distraction gave him time to retrieve his Z4 roadster.
Oddily watched a gunmetal gray car pull up next to her and stop.
“Isn’t your name Marvin?” she asked with a demure, questioning look when she noticed who sat in the driver’s seat. It was the handsome stranger whom she had run away from at school earlier that day.
“It’s Maxim,” he smiled lazily, trying to appear calm. “Do you need a lift?”
Maxim clenched his jaw while Oddily glanced over at the commotion around Starla’s Mini Cooper, then back at him. He felt indirectly responsible for her bizarre behavior, so he spoke again.
“I’m starved. Do you mind if we stop somewhere and get something to eat?”
Oddily seemed puzzled—as if she couldn’t decide what to do. Then out of the blue, she perked up and grinned at him, running around to the passenger’s side. When she jumped in, Maxim wasn’t aware of her belly growling from hunger. Nor was he conscious of the fact that she had just reminded herself this was a virtual reality game.
“I guess this means yes!” he said, bewildered by her sudden willingness.
“Yes it does,” she smiled over at him with a goofy, crooked grin.
Maxim took a deep breath and exhaled slowly while Oddily buckled up her seatbelt. He had to smile after seeing her head barely reaching above the dashboard. Oddily’s impaired view of the road explained her horrendous driving skills.
“I hope I won’t be too boring for you,” she said, already apologizing.
“I doubt that will be a problem,” he smiled, musing over her contented expression while he rolled down the windows. Oddily still reeked from her trip to the perfume counter.
CHAPTER 12
While driving down the road, Maxim knew that Oddily’s eyes were on him, and wondered what was on her mind.
“What’s going on?” he asked uneasily.
“What do you mean?” Her smile faded a little.
“Why do you keep staring at me?”
Oddily’s smile widened again. “I’m deciding whether to kiss you or not.”
Maxim threw back his head and laughed while Oddily continued, “Your features are so hypnotizing—especially your eyes.” She reached over and touched his cheek.
Her gentle contact with his flesh stunned him causing an unexpected jolt of electricity to surge through him—a wave of desire he tried to ignore. “What did you decide?”
Oddily shrugged. “I believe it will be a definite, yes!”
Maxim was glad to arrive at the restaurant when they did, and pulled into a parking place near the front entrance. Her answer had aroused him even more, and it became impossible to hide.
“You’ll enjoy the food here,” he changed the subject while lingering in his seat.
“Do you eat here often?”
“No, I don’t care much for restaurants.”
Oddily waited for him to climb out of the car, but he remained seated. He acted embarrassed about something, and that something was probably her. He must have changed his mind over their public appearance together, and didn’t know how to get rid of her.
“We don’t need to go inside if you don’t want to,” she steadied her shaking voice, trying to make it easy for him. “Besides, I’m not very hungry.” As if on cue, her stomach growled.
Oddily’s comments stunned Maxim so much, his immediate issue resolved itself. “We’re eating.” His words sounded blunt and final as Maxim led her into the Hide-A-Way Inn, set back from the hustle and bustle of the busy town. They were escorted to a table in the far corner, hidden behind a trellis of ivy.
Oddily gave the secret hideaway an exploratory once over, and then slipped into the nearest chair facing the wall. Maxim, however, remained standing with his chair pulled out. She wondered why such an odd expression came over his face after she took her seat.
Suddenly, Oddily felt the familiar knot in her stomach when the answer dawned on her. He had been holding out the chair for her. He wanted to sit in the seat she had taken with his back to the other tables. He didn’t want to be seen with her.
Oddily got ready to leave the virtual world after she realized that even in a game she couldn’t get away from rejection. To her shame, tears began to puddle in her eyes, and she got up to leave; but Maxim had stopped her before she passed him, his hand gently grabbing her by the arm.
“Oddily, what’s wrong?” His intense eyes grew large after she shied away from his touch.
“You’re ashamed to be seen with me,” she said, embarrassed.
“I’m sorry,” he was surprised by the hurt tone in her voice. “I guess my need for privacy can sometimes be misconstrued. Please don’t take my actions personally. I want to be h
ere with you.”
Oddily continued to frown in response.
Maxim started to stroke Oddily’s forearm with his finger. “If I didn’t want to be seen with you, I wouldn’t be here right now,” he gave her a half smile.
Oddily drew a deep breath and turned her bewildered gaze to the floor. The sadness on her face appeared to be genuine, how could anyone think otherwise.
“Let’s start over,” he gestured to the chair that still waited for her. Oddily wiped at fresh tears with the back of her hand, and her crooked grin returned.
Maxim sat across from the redhead and stared, trying to understand the girl before him. There was something in her eyes conveying rejection and loneliness that caused him to sway a little.
“You’ve got nice lips,” he volunteered. “You appear as though you’re pouting all the time—it’s cute.”
Oddily’s response intrigued him. She laughed with childlike abandon, as if she genuinely thought he had said something funny. Even with Oddily glancing at the menu, Maxim continued to look at her with interest and curiosity, hardly wanting to believe this fragile girl sitting across from him didn’t take him seriously.
“I think maybe you are my Prince Charming. No—I know you are.” Oddily’s large, dreamy eyes gazed up into his face, acting giddy with girlishness.
“Oh I am, am I,” Maxim leaned back in his chair and tried to hide his surprise over her sudden revelation, while a fountain of laughter threatened to flood his senses.
“Yes,” her face continued to maintain that crooked smile of hers, “and it doesn’t even matter what you prefer, because you have no choice in the matter.”
“And why is that?” Maxim barely could choke out the question.
“Because none of this is real,” she waved her dainty hand in the air to include the entire restaurant full of people.
A blank stare fell across Maxim’s handsome face as she continued. “This is just a game, and I don't want it to end,” she sighed, looking dreamily up at his frozen expression.
“You think you’re in a game?” He tried to wrap his mind around what she implied.