New Contact

• Zephania Liu, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2018

Clara wants to be friends.

A beautiful girl pops up on screen. All glitter and gold with a million dollar smile. I’m not sure who she is, but…
I friend her of course. My fingers automatically go through the process while I let my eyes roam for a good bus seat. One tucked away from the others. Luckily, there’s only a handful of people on the bus this time of night.

“H-hey!” The bus jerks forward and I almost tumble. I quickly grab the nearest seat. In my peripheral, the girl next to me stiffens. I freeze.
She’s on her phone. The screen barely lights up her features.
I turn to my own device, randomly scrolling through my adorable puppy pictures of Max. If I move seats, would I look like a weirdo? A chicken? Maybe-
DING. All my attention went to my phone.
Clara says: "Hey there."
I need to sound cool and in control. "Hey Babe."
DING. "You’re pretty handsome."
I squint at my tiny display picture, scrutinizing. Her eyesight must be terrible.
"You’re not so bad yourself." Plus a smiley face. My palms were sweating.
Ummm… Do I talk about TV shows? Like... maybe the Silver Surfer? My internal cynic rolls his eyes. Lame.
DING. "Want to go for dinner? I know this great place."
In my nervous haze, my eyes wander to the girl next to me. She’s fiddling with her necklace. I quickly glance away before her eyes can meet mine.
DING. "I need a credit card to book it, but I lost mine. Can I use yours instead?"
Huh?

There’s a small gasp.
I barely take my eyes off the screen, and I’m met with twin blinding lights. Headlights.
Broken glass and cutting clarity, all captured in a silent snapshot. The girl next to me suddenly comes into detail. The embroidered dog on her hoodie is illuminated in the street lights. Her hair is untouched by gravity, along with a silver surfboard charm floating on its chain.

Maybe we could have been friends.

DING.
I blink, confused. I’m on the ground. There’s a girl above me, silver pieces of glass showering her hair and hoodie.
“Hey there,” she says gently. “Are you alright?”
“I think so?”
DING.
“You should get that.” She points to my phone.”It could be your girlfriend.”
I chuckle sadly. “It can’t be, she only exists in my dreams.” Is honestly a symptom of concussions?
Unexpectedly, she laughs and I laugh too. A symphony of sirens seems to join in.
I check my phone. The screen is cracked, but I don’t really mind. I put it away.

“Hey…” I swallow nervously. “Have you seen the Silver Surfer?”

She smiles a million dollar smile.