The Boy on the Bench

(Originally posted by Catfish)

“Oh, my God!” said Amanda, still disoriented.

“Goddess,” Jen corrected.

“Come on, what the hell?” Amanda wondered if anyone had noticed their sudden appearance, but no one seemed to be staring at them; other mall patrons were just walking by the two teenage girls, going about their business.

“Back at my house,” explained Jen, “I heard a voice in my head telling me I had the powers of God, and suddenly I knew that it was true -- it’s hard to explain.”

Amanda said, “Okay, I guess you’re not completely crazy, since we just teleported here -- so what are you gonna do, answer people’s prayers, or what?”

“Well, let’s have some fun,” said Jen, looking around. She spotted a teenage boy sitting on a nearby bench and asked her friend, “You recognize him?”

Amanda looked at him and replied, “No. Maybe he goes to a different school.”

“Yeah, probably --“ Jen began, and then her eyes went slightly glassy and she said in a bit of a monotone, “He goes to Mountain View High School, his name is David Anthony Pierce, he is 18 years and 112 days old, he --“ She gave herself a light tap on the left temple and stopped the recitation. “Whoa, guess I know everything if I want.”

“Well, yeah,” Amanda pointed out. “Powers of God. That one’s called omniscience. You gonna do the burning bush thing next?”

Jen rolled her eyes. “Shut up before I turn you into a bug or something,” she said with a grin. “Anyway, I don’t need any powers to tell what he’s doing.”

“Why, what is he doing?” From where Amanda was standing, her view of David Anthony Pierce was partially blocked by some of the mall’s indoor shrubbery.

“Notice how he has a good view of Victoria’s Secret?” Jen asked.