Struck.2

“Why do you have matches?” she said, pulling her hand from the pocket, holding the wooden sticks. “Used matches. Why do you have USED matches in your pockets?”

I looked over at her, standing there next to the tree, wearing my winter coat. “Where did you find that?” I asked.

“The matches? In your pocket, I said.”

“No, the coat. Where was the coat?” I stood up straight, trying to brush the dust from my hands.

“In the trunk. There’s a blanket in there too. You cold? Maybe you should wear the coat and I should wrap up in the blanket.” She looked at me, her gaze innocuous. I thought I’d lost that coat. I hadn’t seen it for months and then forgotten about it in the summer. The girl crossed her arms, hugging the jacket close around her throat and bounced on the balls of her feet. The blustery wind swirled up the skirt of her dress. Her bare legs and sandaled feet were looking pink and raw.

“Or maybe I’ll take the blanket and you change the tire,” I said. “You didn’t bother to get the jack? Or the spare while you were rummaging in my trunk?”

“Oh. No. You think we can change the tire?”

“Yeah. There’s no reason we can’t.”

“I’ve never changed a tire before. I’m not really sure I know how.”

“The hardest part is going to be getting the lug nuts off. They were machine tightened the last time the tires were rotated.” I kicked the tire and then looked up at her.

She was staring at me.

“What?” I asked.

“I’ve never heard you talk about tires. You sound so smart.” She smirked, like she was being sarcastic, but didn’t move.

“Ok, let’s get the tools and get you home, shall we?” I said, crunching over the gravel to the trunk.

“I really appreciate you giving me a ride, you know,” she said, taking the lug wrench when I thrust it at her.

I just grunted.

I stood next the car, trying to figure out how to do this without completely ruining my clothes. My knee was already raw from kneeling on the gravel. “Give me the blanket.” My skirt was longer than hers. I reached between my legs to grab the back of the skirt, and pulled it forward to tuck it into the belt at the front. It was an awkward arrangement, but hopefully I wouldn’t rip the fabric when I knelt down. She handed me the wooly, moth-eaten blanket from the trunk. I decided I’d rather be cold than wrap up in the greasy thing. I put it down on the ground next to the car and knelt down to place the jack.

I started pumping the lever on the jack. The car started to rise. Very slowly. She watched for a few seconds, then started rummaging through my pockets.

“So why do you have used matches in your pocket?” she asked.

“A little busy right now,” I said.

“‘Scuse me.”

I managed to get the tire off the ground and switched to the lug wrench. I looked down the road, hoping for a car, but I couldn’t see anything. The wind whipped my hair around into my face. I couldn’t get the nuts to budge. A sharp scraping noise startled me and my hands slipped from the lug wrench. My shoulder hit the side of the car.

She stood holding a lit match up to the sky, one hand shielding it against the wind. Her eyes moved to me. “Sorry.” She shook out the match and raised her hand to flip it onto the gravel shoulder. She hesitated, looking at me again. She gingerly pinched the tip of the match to make sure it was out and then tucked the match into the jacket pocket.

After a few more minutes of futile struggle with my bare foot (my sandal slipped on the metal lever), I stood up and gestured for her to have a go.

“What?” she asked.

“We need to get it to turn and loosen the nuts. You have a go.”

“You look sweaty.”

“It’s hard,” I said, leaning against the car and rubbing my shoulder.

“You want the coat?”

“No, I’m ok right now.” I switched to rubbing my foot to warm it.

She wrinkled her face, trying to tuck her whispy skirt between her thighs. She blew out one breath, gave me a worried glance, and leaned in on the wrench. 

Comments

[Sarah]

I love this! Where is the rest? I am in suspense... :)

[Eglentyne]

This is all I have right now. I don't know exactly what happens next, but I think she loosens the nut. What I don't know is where the characters have come from, why the one character is giving the other one a ride home, why they are both familiar and aloof with each other, or whether they're the same matches from the previous post. So many questions. What do you think happens?