We didn’t really have the time to type up and print out a new set of flyers with corrected dates, so I decided to purchase a sharpie at the local convenience vendor and change all the dates myself. I also went around the mall, collecting discarded flyers to use again and changed the dates on the posters. 

It was while I was doing this when I bumped into Bobby Reyes. He had traded his Grape Grill uniform for some navy blue sweats. I also noticed that he had a pair of rollerblades tucked under his arm.

He stopped walking as soon as he saw me, a broad grin breaking out on his face. I was just as happy to see him. Something about Bobby felt friendly and normal given the day I had so far.

“I didn’t know you still blade,” I said, checking out his gear.

Bobby shrugged and folded his arms over the skates, almost like he was trying to hide them.

“I like to pay a visit to Disco Haze and chase off a little steam every now and then. Just don’t tell me my mom.”

Oh boy, I knew that look. 

I zipped my lips with exaggerated flair. Bobby smiled in relief and glanced down at all the papers in my hand.

“So, what have you been up to?”

I told him everything that had gone down at Elliot’s store. He sympathized and offered to help me finish the job.

“Doesn’t the roller rink close in like 45 minutes? You should go ahead.”

Bobby set his skates aside on the bench where I was working. “Let me help you. I can spare fifteen minutes for this.”

The work got done a lot faster after I agreed to let Bobby help.

“Any ideas of what we can do to get new models?” I asked, a little embarrassed by my lack of bright ideas so far.

Bobby scribbled new information onto a flyer and shrugged. “Will there be free food? Something easy like pizza or–”

“Free samples from Grape Grill?”

Bobby made a thoughtful sound. “That could work. Let me talk to my manager about it.”

Part of me was shocked that Bobby was willing to do all of that for me. I didn’t know if this was something Elliot wanted to incorporate into her recruitment process, but we were desperate–

“I can’t make any promises,” Bobby said, “but I’ll do what I can.”

I glanced off to the side at Bobby’s rollerblades and then back at him. He was going so far out of his way for me. 

“Aqua, are you,” Bobby hesitated, “doing anything later? Like around eight?”

My heart fluttered at the memory of my pager going off just a couple of hours ago.

“Yeah, I’m actually meeting up with a guy named Sean in a few. I’m sorry.”

Bobby withdrew, making me realize that he had been sitting pretty close to me. “No, it’s fine. I’m not surprised that you…” Something in his disappointed expression suddenly tilted towards something more perplexed.

“What’s wrong?”

Bobby blinked, his eyes narrowing by a hair. “Did you say his name was Sean? Not as in Sean Mori.”

I nodded. “Yeah. That’s the one.”

Bobby stood up, bringing his skates with him. It happened so fast, I didn’t know what to say.

“I think I gotta go,” he said, avoiding eye contact. “I’ll still talk to my boss tomorrow, don’t worry.”

I wasn’t about to stop him from leaving. Bobby had already given up so much of his free time to help me. What did throw me off was how fast he was trying to get away from me at the mention of Sean Mori.

“See you, Aqua.”

My reply barely left my lips before Bobby was way out of earshot.

What was that about, I wondered. Clearly Bobby knew Sean, but to what extent?

It was almost 8:05 PM, so I put the thought out of my mind for now. The fluttering in my chest had intensified since Sean came up in conversation. I scooped up the rest of the flyers and ran by Elliot’s Emporium to drop them off. After doing a quick mirror check and fixing any stray frizz, I hiked towards the South Wing of the mall, back into the cluster of closed down department stores.

I’m not sure who I was more excited to see. Sean Mori? Or the giant carousel from my childhood?