MY GAS-GUZZLER of a tank was nearly empty, and I pulled into a Chevron station near the entrance to the 405 freeway. Thankfully the gas station was deserted, and I didn’t have to listen to any male comments like, “What’s a little girl like you doin’ in a big car like that?”
I had my comeback though. “What’s a small brain like yours doin’ in a big head like that?”
The response was invariably the same and delivered with a sneer. “Bitch.”
I swiped my credit card, slipped in the nozzle, then leaned back against my car to wait. I could have a mini-nap in the time it took for my H2 to fill up. Deeming it unwise, however, to nap at a gas station late at night, with my purse sitting on the front seat, I instead thought back to the events of the day.
Why wasn’t I more Bellevue about all this? Shouldn’t I be on the shrink’s sofa, drooling into my neck? I had no way of knowing since there was hardly a support group for people like me. Harry Potter had a whole school of his peers. All I had was Ram.
Maybe my reaction was normal? A lifetime spent playing video games and watching movies made the unreal acceptable.
Hey! What if my life were a video game! A potential fortune lay with Nintendo. I didn’t think of myself as greedy, but if I was supposed to save the world, shouldn’t I at least be able to turn lead into gold or something? I mean, it was just—
Ugh!
An invisible blow landed on my stomach with enough force to knock me out. But no one was there, and I was still standing.
Ugh!
There it went again. Uneasiness crawled up my back. The weight pressed against my chest and stomach. I could barely breathe.
I knew what was happening. It couldn’t be anything else.
I turned around.
Behind me two men were walking into the convenience store.
The malevolence radiated off them.
Ram was right. I would know evil.
The weight continued to press against me.
Dharma-fulfilling time.
Shit! Shit! Shit!