Swinging by his apartment before evening classes.

Chapter 1 – Discovering the App (continued)

Jason got off work at 3:30pm, and was out the door by 3:34, thankful that he managed to evade any last minute conversations, discussion, or extra work load. He’d caught up on about half of his back work, so he was happy with that. Though he only had about an hour and a half break before his first evening class at 5.

He had just enough time to drive through Taco Bell on his way home, finishing his meal with minimum lettuce spill just as he parked in his assigned parking near his apartment. It was a five minute walk to the apartment itself, along grass-lined walkways and up a metal staircase to the second story apartment he shared with his sister and her two best friends from high school who split the rent of their two-bedroom apartment they would otherwise have been unable to afford.

When he walked in the door he could hear the shower running, and saw his sister on the couch with her homework spread out on the coffee table alongside the remnants of her own lunch. She wore a print t-shirt and blue jeans, and had her brown hair in a loose pony tail to keep it out of her face as she leaned forward over her text books. “Hey Alex, how was school?” He asked on his way to the kitchen. “Is that Kate or Heather in the shower?” He added.

“Hmm?” Alex didn’t even look up from her math book, “Oh, Kate’s in the shower. Heather’s got cheer practice on Fridays.”

Jason opened the fridge and considered his options, settling on a can of mountain dew then heading back to the living room. “How’s your algebra homework?”

“Algebra two.” Alex answered right away. “It’s fine. Don’t think I’ll need extra tutoring this week. How’s graphic design?”

“Haven’t started on this week’s homework. I’ll have to work on it tomorrow.” Jason shrugged.

“Doesn’t get any easier in college, huh?” Alex chuckled.

“Oh it does, at least your class load will get lower, even if the homework increases.”

“So, like senior year on steroids.” She grinned, though she didn’t look up.

“Hang in there, you’ve only got a few months left, then you and Heather can leave high school behind for good. Got a date for prom lined up yet?”

“No. I might just skip it like you did.”

“I might have gone if I’d had anyone to go with.” Jason countered. “You don’t want to end up regretting not going like I do.”

She finally stopped her work, and looked up at him, “I’m sorry. I made you think of Amy didn’t I?”

He shrugged, “You know I’m over her.” Amy was the theater nerd he’d sort of dated in his senior year of high school. They’d never been officially a couple, but they’d gone on a few dates, and starred in a few romance plays together, even had secretly changed a few stage kisses into real kisses during live performances. He thought she’d been into him, but she’d turned him down when he asked her to prom.

“So you say. So how are things with Stephani?”

“She canceled our Skype chat tonight.” Jason sighed, sipped at his soda, and let his eyes wander. “Was someone on my laptop?” He asked, seeing his computer open facing the room, though at least it was powered down.

“Not that I know of.” Alex followed his gaze. “You’ve been leaving it open lately.”

“But I usually close it to put it in sleep mode.” He got up from the sofa and walked to the table they’d set up as a makeshift computer desk. Jason, Alex, and Kate each had their own laptops, while Heather had a desktop computer in her room.

He didn’t register that the shower had been shut off until his sister called out, “Hey Kate, Jason’s home.”

“Oh crap!” Jason turned just in time to see the barest glimpse of white fluffy towel, damp red hair, and bare freckled shoulders and calves before the bedroom door slammed behind Heather’s roommate.

“Hey, hey! Eyes forward, soldier.” Alex snapped her fingers to get his attention. “You know the rules.”

“I know, I know.” Jason turned away from the short hallway leading to the bedrooms and communal bathroom. “It was a reflex, I wasn’t consciously trying to peek. We really need to get their shower fixed. And you sound like Uncle Arthur with that ‘soldier’ talk. ”

His sister chuckled, “Yeah, but unless you’ve got an extra six hundred just lying around, that’s a problem for another paycheck. And I haven’t even seen Uncle Arthur since our cousin enlisted.”

Part of the agreement they’d made when moving into the apartment was that Jason would share a room with his sister, with plenty of strategic screens set up to preserve privacy, and the other two girls would get the master bedroom with the attached bathroom. The girls’ bathroom had a shower which had been out of order for three weeks now, while the main communal bathroom had a moderate sized tub that they could shower in in the meantime.

Jason checked the time on his phone, and did a quick calculation. “I should have time for a quick shower before my next class if I jump in right now.” He decided.

“Well, then get in there and stop distracting me from math.” Alex insisted.

“Yeah, and tell Kate I’m sorry if I startled her.”

“Will do.”