I scanned the room for other Glows as I set up my stand to showcase the importance of good nutrition. Glows weren’t hard to spot, given their teal-green auras above their heads. The university hospital had volunteered me and my friend, colleague, and fellow Light Glow Lorana to participate in a “health celebration” being hosted by Clarity Hill College in the heart of New York City. It was strange to be back at my alma mater. I remembered being here like it was yesterday. The Normals had teased me because I preferred to stay in and study instead of go out and drink. Lorana always managed to persuade me to go dancing or take an unplanned road trip though. I smiled as I remembered the first time I met her in my dorm room. I had been there already for several hours and had decorated my side of the room with crisp white and light blue colors. Before I had a chance to relax and take in my new home, Lorana burst into the room with the energy of a toddler on Christmas morning, and dumped several multicolored bags on the floor. As soon as she saw me, she rushed over and opened her bracelet-filled arms wide to give me a giant bear hug. Although I was more risk adverse and Lorana was more adventurous, we clicked. That was a crazy, busy time and I was glad it was over. I still liked to play it safe, but I was happy with my life and the choices I had made so far. If I could only get my mom off my back about finding the right guy. I wouldn’t mind finding him either, but I was just picky, I guess. We were in the large, brightly lit hall near the main entrance of the school where students often gathered. The yellow couches that typically filled the room had been moved to the side and replaced with displays, large screens, and poster boards—all toting fun facts about food, the body, and exercise. I spotted two male Glows right away. They were helping an elderly Normal lady bring in a folding table and chair. Definitely Light Glows. Both were wearing wedding bands. Of course. I saw another teal aura coming from a casually dressed man talking to a young light-gray Normal guy with a clipboard. The Glow's back was to me, so I couldn’t get a feel for his level of light. He turned as though he could feel my gaze and smiled at me in a knowing way. Was he an L Glow? It always was a funny little dance we Glows had to do to find out—sort of like Normals discovering a person's political affiliation. He turned away to talk to a person who arrived at his stand. I looked at the young Normal lady the male Glow was talking to. Even though they were a good thirty feet away from me, I could tell she clearly was more interested in him than his information. She was a medium-gray Normal, so more on the dark side.
“Oh, I love these—more please,” I heard her gush as she popped a sample of something in her mouth. I tilted my head in disapproval of her dangerously low-cut black shirt. Her long, curly blond hair was beautiful though. I turned and smoothed out a blue tablecloth on my table. I should be thinking of ways to move her to the light, not about why she is currently in the dark, I scolded myself as I purposely tuned out their conversation. As I organized pen giveaways into clear plastic cups, I saw the Normal flick her hair with her long silver-painted fingernails in my peripheral vision. Maybe I could help that male Glow in some way? Perhaps mention her hair and how her shirt detracts from it? No, I would have to think of something better than that. The Glow was now talking to the Normal about a restaurant in New York. I decided to be brave and go join in the chitchat—he clearly needed help. I told Lorana, who was digging through a box of brochures, that I would be back in a few minutes. I began to walk confidently toward the stand. Although I had a minimalist look today, my light-auburn hair felt bouncy and I had on my favorite powder-blue wrap dress that I knew accentuated my blue eyes. The Glow was heartbreakingly attractive, with dark, luscious waves of hair and a blinding white smile. Definitely works out. Maybe my age, around twenty-three? But wait, I stopped suddenly. What is he promoting? Health food bars? Uh-oh. I suddenly panicked. I looked around to see if there was anywhere I could go to study this situation better, but it was too late; he had already spotted me. The Normal girl had moved on, and the Glow was now waving a bar in my direction.
“Would you like to try one?” he called out.
I was still about ten feet away, but there was no turning back now. He had such a friendly voice that I could not help but be pulled in. I had convinced myself up front that he was an L Glow when I had first seen his aura. I mean, he was at a health fair, for good light's sake! But now…well, he could be a D Glow. Promoting “nutrition bars” was an iffy category. Persuading people to spend their money on possibly bogus health bars was a D Glow's forte, yet healthy living screamed L Glow. I picked up one of the bars displayed on his table. They appeared harmless. I turned the bar over and read the ingredients. No fillers, no artificial sugar. Looks semi-decent.
“Try a bite?” he asked, almost daring me, as he gestured to a plate of bite-sized bar pieces.
I looked at the plate—the pieces looked like solidified dog food. I spotted the smallest sample and reluctantly picked it up. I looked up at the Glow, who smiled encouragingly. I cautiously nibbled the bar sample; it tasted nutty with a peach flavor.
“Are you selling them?” I asked, swallowing the last of it. I looked around to see if there was any water.
“No,” he answered. “They are not on the market yet. Would you mind filling out this questionnaire?” he added, quickly handing me a clipboard and pen before I could say no. “We are testing these out,” he explained.
I started to read the first question. The survey asked me to rate the bar's taste and answer similar questions about the packaging. “It wasn’t bad,” I wavered, “but I doubt I would buy them. I do not normally like nutrition bars.”
“Why not?” he asked, seeming genuinely interested in hearing my opinion. Promising.
“Well,” I managed, trying hard not to look at him for too long. “Normally, I don’t actually find them to be that nutritious.” I checked the last box and handed the clipboard back to him. I felt my face turn slightly red. Maybe I was a tad too harsh on the survey. I sheepishly fought the impulse to ask for it back.
“Do you eat any bars at all?” he asked, taking a cursory glance at my answers.
“Nope,” I answered honestly. “I think one should try to eat natural, unprocessed foods.”
“Oh, one of those,” he teased with a nod. He had such a disarming smile that I stopped myself from becoming defensive.
“What do you mean?” I asked, attempting to sound confident like him.
“You see,” he explained seriously, “sometimes you just need something you can grab easily, like in between meetings or driving to an appointment. Something you can keep stashed in your pocket—or purse, perhaps. You cannot keep a banana stashed in your pocket.” He tilted his head slightly.
I would buy all of those bars from you right now. I snapped myself out of my stupor. “Well, erm, good luck with your endeavor,” I said quickly, forcing myself to detach from the situation. I really needed to get back to my table, even though I would have liked to have stayed there longer.
“Wait,” he called out as I began to walk away. “Let me give you my card.”
I was surprised by this. I had just said, after all, that I did not really like bars, and I’d defamed the product on the survey. He reached into the back pocket of his gray slacks and pulled out a wallet. While he was getting his card, I discreetly checked for a ring. Clear! I thought and grinned in spite of myself. Then again, if he is, in fact, a D Glow, it wouldn’t matter, since they rarely wear wedding bands.
“Julien,” he said while handing me his card.
“Skyla.”
I took his card and thought of what I could say next.
“If you think of any additional comments about the bar, feel free to give me a call,” he shrugged, putting away his wallet.
“Um, OK,” I muttered, still not sure what I was dealing with. I headed back to my stand, clutching the card tightly to ensure I did not drop it. There is no way he could be a D Glow. He was not selling the bars—he was doing research on them! “Besides, he was really nice,” I went on to explain to Lorana, who asked me about the encounter she had heard and watched from afar.
“OK,” Lorana said with her thick Hispanic accent, holding up her hands in surrender. “You just need to be careful. D Glows can also pretend to be nice. You heard what happened to Celeste, didn’t you?”
I nodded grimly. Poor Celeste. Lorana and I knew her from college; she’d been my lab partner in chemistry class and worked with Lorana on a food science project. She was a sweet, book-smart L Glow who fell head over heels with a seemingly nice male L Glow. I had never met the guy, but I saw pictures Celeste posted of them on social media. He looked happy with her. Turns out, he was a D Glow who preyed on her social awkwardness and pretended to love books and poetry and, of course, her. They dated for nearly six months until he just dumped her out of the blue. He sent her a cold note saying he couldn’t stay in a relationship with someone as boring as her. He also revealed that he was a D Glow and told her she was stupid for not noticing. Ouch! Of course, she was devastated. Her light shifted a whole three decimals to the right as a result. This caused quite a stir in the L Glow community and prompted an intervention and a reprimanded for not having tested with him.
“It took an entire year for poor Celeste to get her powers back,” Lorana whispered, clutching her worry doll around her neck.
“Yes,” I nodded. I had heard that as well. “But the good news is, she is back on her feet and happily married to a real L Glow.”
“They say,” Lorana leaned in close so I could hear her, “the other side has similar problems when their Glows shift—no powers. I bet they don’t intervene, though,” she mused. “I think they just kill them off!”
“Don’t speculate,” I cautioned, frowning. Lorana could sometimes be dramatic.
“You’re right,” she said wholeheartedly. “I shouldn’t be putting these thoughts in your head. He looks good—I’m sure he's gonna be the one to sweep you off your feet. You should call him,” she added encouragingly. “Maybe he's got a brother and we can double date!”
“Maybe,” I said.
Lorana grinned. Her smile matched her bright poppy-colored shirt and matching hoop earrings. “You’ll never know unless you try, yes?” She cheerfully turned to help someone who approached our table.
Our stand was flooded the rest of the day with students and questions. I did not see Julien again. When I went on my lunch break, he was not at his station; the younger male Normal that I had seen earlier was there instead. I looked out for Julien for the rest of the day, but he did not return. I pulled his card out of my purse and studied it, weighing the creamy paper in my hand. It was simple with professional gold embossed lettering: Julien Romero, Senior Market Analyst, NABMCo.
I recognized the company—it was one of the largest in the US. His email address and phone number were displayed in black. I ran my fingers over his name and closed my eyes to remember his smile. I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing him again. Did he give me his card because he was interested in me or did he hand out his card to everyone? He didn’t ask for my number so the ball was in my court. I sighed deeply. I took one last look at the card and tucked it safely into my purse.