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ALYX SEEMS COOL—LIKE, really cool. To begin with, she's got magenta hair. I don't think I'd ever be brave enough or cool enough to pull off magenta hair, but she makes it look awesome.
Have you ever met someone and you feel in your gut: this person will be my friend. I need some friends who are about the same age as me, so I'm determined to make it happen.
According to Sander, I missed a major plot twist while Alyx and I were chatting. Unfortunately, my new friend and I will not be working together, because Alyx and Phineas are Grant's spirit guides, and Grant's wish is to reunite with the runaway Jenna. That means we're trying to accomplish two very different goals.
Phineas starts shouting to Jenna, “Grant misses you! He's worried sick! You should return to the apartment you share with the man you were supposed to marry!”
While the boys compete for Jenna's attention, Alyx and I swap information with each other. She finds out that we're going to meet Seth, Jenna's ex, in New York City. I find out that Jenna and Grant were only dating for four months before they decided to get married.
“Isn't that a crazy-short length of time?” Alyx asks. “How long has it been since she dated Seth? Do you have any idea?”
“I don't know.” I try to find the answer on my LightTab, to no avail. There's a lot of random information on it, but nothing as specific as that.
“Grant!” Phineas shouts at Jenna. “You're being foolish! Go back to the man you love, for goodness sake! At the next stop, you need to get off this bus and—”
“Please don't do that,” Sander interrupts him. “We tried very hard to get her on this bus, and I'm not going to stand by and let you undo it!”
“And how do you intend to stop me?” Phineas asks. “A Banishing?”
Sander replies, “I will absolutely Banish you if I must. Don't test me.”
I'm not sure what they mean by “banish,” but this sounds like an interesting argument.
Disregarding Sander's threat, Phineas continues, “Return to Grant at once, Miss Chatwin. At once!” Turning to my instructor, he says, “I don't like meddling in affairs of the heart any more than you do, Sander, but a job's a job, and I—”
Phineas doesn't have a chance to finish. In the middle of his rant, Alyx and Phineas disappear. It's like—poof. They're just gone.
I ask my instructor, “Oh my god, what did you do to them!”
“I performed a Banishing.” Sander's voice is chilly, as if he has no qualms about making other people disappear. “It's an incredibly advanced technique, performed on a lesser spirit by a greater spirit. It's... frowned on... a bit... but Phineas was getting on my nerves. Don't worry about Phineas and Alyx, Miss Frost. I sent them Home, and they will be able to leave in an hour or two.”
“Wasn't Phineas an angel?” I ask. “How is he a lesser spirit than you?”
Sander deflects my question with another question. “How much longer until we reach New York City? Do you have any idea?”
I check my watch, which I manifested earlier today. I have to say, I'm getting pretty good at that skill. “We still have a half-hour left.”
I'm kind of bummed that Alyx is gone. We were getting along so well, but I doubt she'll be too happy after my instructor sent them away with a flick of his hand. Hopefully she'll place the blame on him, not me.
The half-hour passes so fast, I seriously wonder if Sander advanced time to get us there sooner.
It's pouring rain in New York City, and Jenna doesn't have an umbrella. Within a couple of minutes, she's drenched. She tries to hail a cab, but no drivers stop for her. Grumbling curses, she makes her way to the nearest subway instead.
“She used to live in New York City, right?” I ask.
“Yes. She wanted to be an actress, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” We follow Jenna down a flight of stairs, into the depths of the subway. If Sander and I weren't spirits, we would be getting jostled constantly, because it's insanely crowded down here.
The train ride takes longer than I expected, but I get a bunch of texts from Alyx to pass the time. I'm glad we swapped contact information before Sander decided to get rid of her.
Her first message says: Your instructor is an ass.
Her second one says: He cute, tho.
Two seconds later, I get a third text: Don't tell Phineas I said that. He's my bf.
I type up a lengthy reply, apologizing on Sander's behalf, and complimenting her on her taste in men. I have to admit, Phineas is pretty hot. He's not quite as hot as Sander, but still hot.
Alyx writes: Bro, Sander was totally cheating!!!! He shouldn't be able to send us away like that.
If she's already calling me “bro,” I guess we're officially friends. When a chuckle slips out of me, Sander tries to sneak a peek at my LightTab. I don't let him, of course.
We reach our stop and follow Jenna from the train. If I had a physical body, I bet I would be pretty exhausted from all this traveling. Poor Jenna looks exhausted—and she's still soaked. By the time she reaches Seth's place, she's going to look like a soggy, hot mess.
While we're following Jenna, I say to Sander, “Hey... wouldn't it suck if she went all this way and found Seth with another girl?”
“Yes,” Sander agrees. “That would, in fact, suck.”
I chortle at his reply, because there are so many words that sound so wrong in his posh English accent.
“However, our mission might actually be complete,” Sander adds. “Her initial wish was to flee her wedding and reach Seth. Even if Seth is with someone else, we will have technically succeeded. Having said that, I would like to keep an eye on Jenna for another day or so, if you don't mind.”
“I don't mind at all,” I answer with a smile.
At long last, we arrive at the hard-to-reach domicile of Seth Chen. To say he looks shocked would be an understatment. His jaw literally drops when he sees her.
“Jenna!” Seth exclaims. “What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to...”
“Get married?” Jenna finishes for him. “Yeah, but... I couldn't do it.”
I expect him to ask questions, but he seems more concerned by the fact that she's sopping wet. He invites her inside and hands over a towel and dry clothes.
While she's changing clothes in the bathroom, she says, “I packed some of my own clothes before I left, but they're probably wet too. It is raining hard out there.”
“Yeah,” Seth agrees. “It's been raining like that all day.”
I never saw Grant, but Seth is pretty cute. He's a tall, thin Asian guy in glasses and a button-down shirt. He's got really nice hair, the kind that calls to your fingers and makes you want to touch it. Now that I've seen him, I think I'm officially on Team Seth—as long as there is no other girl in his life, of course.
“Do you... want me to get you something to drink?” Seth asks.
Chuckling, Jenna says, “Yeah... something hard.” A moment later, she changes her answer. “Actually, I'll just have a Coke or something.”
Jenna emerges from the bathroom, fully dressed and much drier. She accepts her Coke and crashes on Seth's couch with a tremendous sigh.
“So... you'll have to explain something to me,” Seth says. “Why are you not at your own wedding?”
“I... left.” Jenna sips her Coke and shakes her head. “I just couldn't do it.”
“Why?” Seth has a little smirk on his face, as if he already knows the answer.
“I couldn't do it because... I kept thinking about you.”
“That's good to know.” Seth moves his hand within an inch of hers, but they don't touch. I think he meant to hold her hand, but changed his mind at the last second. “I always said you were rushing things with What's-His-Name.”
“Grant.” Jenna chuckles as she fills in the blank. “And you're right. I was rushing things.”
“It sure took you long enough to realize that,” Seth says. “I... still love you, you know.”
I spin toward Sander, my mouth hanging open, but he doesn't look half as shocked by Seth's confession as I am.
“I know you still love me,” Jenna says, leaning toward Seth ever-so-slightly. “I... think I still love you too. That's why I couldn't do it.”
“You think you love me?”
“No, I do love you,” Jenna corrects herself. “But it's not like I don't care for Grant. Sometimes, though, I would swear my mom loves him more than me. She was really pushing for us to get married, and... I don't know. Everything happened so fast.”
Jabbing a finger at Jenna, I exclaim, “Dude, she can not blame this on her mom!”
Sander gives me a nod, but he doesn't say if he agrees or not. Personally, I totally think Jenna's looking for a scapegoat for her runaway bride act.
“Do you think I'm crazy?” Jenna asks. “Am I crazy for running away and coming all the way here?”
“I do think you're crazy, but for a different reason.” Seth smooths back some of her wet blonde hair, and with a grin, he adds, “I think you're crazy for not coming to your senses a lot sooner than this. You should have come back to me a long time ago.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jenna's lips twist into a grin of her own.
“Yeah. I'm the funny guy. Grant might be the hot one, but he's dull,” Seth says. “If you're going to be with someone forever, he should probably be funny.”
Jenna tries to muffle a chuckle, but it slips through her fingers. “He is kind of dull,” she agrees.
“Uh huh. You know I'm right.” Seth slips an arm around Jenna's shoulders and pulls her closer. “Now that you're here, I'm not letting you go.”
She challenges him with a raising eyebrow. “Oh, is that so?”
“Yep.” Seth's hand plays in her hair as he holds her. “Seriously, though, you can stay here as long as you'd like. You probably need some time to figure things out.”
By the looks of it, Seth doesn't have another girl in his life. I guess I was worried for nothing.
“Perhaps we should give them some privacy?” Sander suggests. “Let's go Home and check the situation tomorrow.”
“Sounds good to me,” I reply. “And we should probably keep an eye on Phineas and Alyx. They might try to mess things up.”
“Oh, I'm definitely keeping an eye on Phineas,” Sander says. “After what I did to him... I doubt he'll be too happy with me.”