"Thank you for saying what you said in there. Sometimes I think they think I'm not really trying to find my Destiny. That I'm showboating and loving all of this. Couldn't be further from the truth, but it's nice to hear someone else say it," Lamar says, his face only a couple of inches from mine. I can't think of anything else to say but,
"No biggie." Really, that's the best I can say?
"Yes, biggie. Now, I promised you lunch and/or dinner so let's get out of here."
After we get out of that creepy basement and that building we walk for a few blocks before I ask,
"So where you taking me? Some other creepy government basement? This one have a café?" Lamar chuckles with that strong voice of his.
"You're funny, man. Nah, I'm taking you to THE best pizza spot in all of Excelsior city." I stop dead in my tracks.
"That's a bold claim, Lamar. A real bold claim. You know how many people say they know the best pizza spot? And I know that the best pizza spot is Tuttarella's over on Dukes Boulevard."
"Not even close, where I'm taking you has a brick oven. It ain't real pizza if it's not made in a brick oven." I start walking again.
"Oh, I didn't take you for such a snob. This better be the best pizza ever."
"Trust me, it is."
We walk for a bit longer before we come across a little hole in the wall restaurant, a small sign reads "Branzino's Pizza" on the door. For "the best pizza in the city" the place is empty. A few tables with space for two.
"YO, ANTHONY! YOU SLEEPIN' BACK THERE?!" Lamar yells as we enter. A hefty, middle-aged man comes from the back.
"LAMAR! My friend!" He greets him with a thick Italian accent. When he sees me he points to Lamar. "This young man right here? He's a saint! The reason I can wake up every morning with joy in my heart!" Lamar's scar lights up.
"Anthony, this is my friend Jason. Jason, Anthony."
"Any friend of Lamar: is a friend of mine. What can I do for you boys?"
"Well, I'm here to show Jason the best pizza in Excelsior city."
"Then you've come to the right place, my friends!"
"Can I get two slices of pepperoni and, what do you want?" Lamar asks me.
"I'll have the same."
"Four slices coming up. Hey, Cathy! Your boyfriend is here!" I involuntarily flinch at the word. Does Lamar have a girlfriend? A girl, no older than eight, comes from the back.
"I told you to stop saying that, daddy. He's not my boyfriend!" She says. I relax a little, not realizing I was tense. "Unless you want to be." She hugs his legs. Lamar ruffles the little girl's hair.
"No, I'm much too old for you, and you're too young for me. Stop teasing her, Anthony."
"Ok, ok. I'll get your food started," Anthony says, going into the kitchen.
"How are you feeling Cathy? Are you well?" Lamar asks the little girl as we sit down.
"My new pacemaker is much better. I've felt great," she answers.
"New pacemaker?"
"Oh, Cathy-"
"Can I tell the story!?" Cathy interjects.
"Sure. Go ahead."
"I was with my mommy and daddy, we were going to see a movie when a GIANT robot came out and started destroying stuff!" She acts like the robot and mimics it crushing stuff. "We went to hide and this guy tried to stop the robot with this thing-"
"An EMP," Lamar explains. "Didn't work."
"Right, so a bunch of Protagonists came to fight it. But the EMP messed with my pacemaker. Lamar found us during the fight and restarted it. He got us to safety and he's been my hero ever since!" She hugs him again. Lamar ruffles her hair once more, a smile comes across his face at the memory.
"They asked me to come to their restaurant as thanks. And that's how I found out that they make the best pizza in the city."
"Thanks, Lamar! I have a project to do, see you later!" The little girl runs off.
"That was adorable. You, are adorable," I say.
"I've been called lots of things, I don't think 'adorable' is one of them."
"Well then allow me to be the first to say it: you, Lamar Brown, are an adorable young man."
"Thanks, I'll put that on my resumé," he says with a chuckle. A silence falls between us and all the questions I want to ask him come to mind.
"You didn't tell me your mom was going to be there," I say after a while.
"Well, I didn't know either. The board has rotating members for case reviews. That way no one gets too attached to a Protagonist," Lamar explains.
"....But she's your mom." Lamar shrugs.
"I didn't say it was a perfect system." He rolls his shoulders a little like he's uncomfortable. This isn't something he wants to talk about.
"So…I didn't know you could fly." A confused frown knits his brow.
"What're you talking about?"
"At the Square. You flew through the air at the helicopter."
"Oh, that wasn't flying. It was more like running and jumping at the same time. I have to project myself and control my arc through the air. It's exhausting, turning into electricity without a wire is a million times harder." Lamar shoots a few sparks into the air. "Imagine trying to shoot yourself while maintaining a certain mindset. Otherwise, you turn back and that's not good when you're soaring through the air and that's not good."
"Huh." I never really thought about all the thinking he has with his powers.
"Look, can we not talk about Protagonist stuff? I wanted to hang out with you, but answering more questions isn't my idea of a good time."
"Oh, sure. I get it." After that, the conversation dies as I can't think of anything that isn't corny small talk and Lamar doesn't want to say anything. A few minutes of painfully awkward silence pass and he speaks up.
"I'm sorry, it's just that I deal with this every day and it's old news to me. But I guess it's new and interesting to you. So, while I don't want to talk about this too much, you can ask me one question." he holds up his pointer finger to emphasize.
One question. What's the one question I want to know the answer to most of all right now?
"How do you keep your clothes on when you turn into electricity?" That's been bugging me for a while now. A huge smile comes across his face.
"Wow, can't say I was expecting that." Lamar thinks it over for a second. "Ok, I'll tell you." He leans in closer and I do the same. "They don't," he says softly. "At least not at first. When I first learned how to do it, I burned off my clothes or would zip right out of them. Lotta awkward naked practicing either way." He chuckles.
"Well, they don't now. What'd you do in the meantime?" Technically that's two questions. Lamar looks around like someone might hear his answer.
"Promise you won't laugh." A small chuckle rolls from me. I already want to laugh. Lamar sees I won't keep that promise. "Fine. Just...don't tell anyone." I nod.
"Dude, don't tell anyone. Seriously." I pantomime locking my mouth and throwing away the key.
"Your secret is safe with me. Now gimme the tea." Lamar deeply inhales.
"Before I could control it, I ordered...rubber boxer-briefs off the internet." I immediately start laughing. I don't want to laugh at his face, but I can't help it. I imagine him at his computer looking up rubber underwear, erasing his search history when the deed is done, hastily taking his package, and hiding in his room. I fall out of my seat with tears in my eyes. To my surprise, Lamar also starts laughing.
"They used to be so tight!" he says between his laughs. "I learned the usefulness of baby powder that summer." We both laugh that much harder. When I finally get back up and catch my breath I ask,
"Did they at least help?"
"Well, it's hard not to think about your drawers when they're rubber and chafe like hell. Eventually, I learned to not burn my clothes and even take them with me. So they helped a little. Glad I didn't have to wear them in school though." Lamar wipes the tears away, a big smile plastered on his face. Now the mental image of Lamar wearing only the rubber underwear at school pops into my head. In this tiny fantasy, everyone in the hallway parts to let him walk like a runway model. It's funny, but I can't get it out of my head as easy as the first.
"Aww man, I haven't laughed that hard in a while...thank you for that." I wipe the tears from my face.
"I didn't do much but I'll take it."
"No, seriously. I haven't been able to unwind like this in a long time. I've been a bundle of nerves lately, getting pizza with a friend is the most relaxation I've had this year."
"Speaking of pizza, here ya go boys." Anthony comes with the slices and puts them on the table. "Best pizza in the city, guaranteed!" I'll be the judge of that. After blowing on it to cool down I bite into this so-called best pizza. The crust has the perfect crunch to it. Sauce not too sweet but not too bland either. The cheese is melted at just right amount where it doesn't slide off the slice from the weight of the pepperonis, which are cooked to perfection. As much as it pains me to even think it, this is an excellent slice of pizza. I eat about half of it before setting it down. Lamar scarfed the whole thing down.
"And how was that?" He asks with a rather cocky smile. He thinks he's won.
"I won't lie, this pizza is pretty good. But it's been a while since I went to Tuttarella. Hard to compare the two really. I might have to take you there soon so we can really see which is better." Lamar scoffs and licks the corner of his mouth to get some sauce. My eyes are fixed on the articulate muscle as it does its job.
"Then it's a date, Jason." I swallow hard and try to act like that wasn't the hottest thing I've ever seen or the fact that I think it was the hottest thing ever. I steer the conversation something less...provocative. We start sharing different embarrassing stories, sharing more laughs. I used to think that Lamar was a quiet guy, but now I know he just didn't have anyone to talk to. We've finished the pizza a while ago but we're still talking.
"Y'know, being a Protagonist isn't as rare as people think." I don't remember how we got to this topic. "It's not one in million, it's closer to one in a few thousand actually," Lamar points out.
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's just that most people get small abilities; a lot of them don't even notice it. Some get a bit stronger, bit faster, nothing that would register to them much but they still fulfill a Destiny of some kind." A small smile comes across his face. "My older brother, Marcus, was the clumsiest dude in existence. Didn't matter if you gave him a heads up, he couldn't catch a beach ball. He constantly dropped things too." Lamar is smiling at the fond memories, but I didn't miss his use of "was". I decide not to bring it up. "But he became a Protagonist for about a week, he had heightened reflexes. He could catch a fly by the wings...even dodge bullets." Lamar stares off into the distance, getting lost in a memory, his scar lights up.
"Lamar," I say, hoping to pull him back to reality. He shakes his head.
"Anyway, my point is that the fate of the world isn't decided by just a few people. More of us help out than we think," he says, half-heartedly.
"Was that really your point?
"Nah, I just made that up," he admits.
"Thought so." He chuckles at that, bringing his mood up a bit. Lamar checks his phone. "We've been talking for a while. Let's get outta here." Lamar pays for our meal and says his goodbyes, not escaping without another hug from Cathy.
We get a block or so away from the pizzeria when Lamar speaks up,
"So about that da-" he's interrupted by his ringing phone. "Who's calling me?" he checks and answers immediately. "Hey, what's up? .... What do you mean 'where am I?' I'm at 3rd and Crow Avenue, why? …. Wait, that was today? …. And it's right now?" Lamar facepalms himself, groaning in frustration. "I completely forgot…. I was having lunch with a friend…. Yes, I actually have a friend… My social life isn't important right now, just come meet me."
"I'm so sorry Jason. I forgot I had something to do."
"What is it?"
Pt 2 End
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