Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

B2: Chapter 8 - Making a Difference - II

  Hailey drained the rest of her beer and dropped it back to the table with a thud. She tossed her jacket aside, bare-armed and ready to fight. Her elbow slammed onto the table with her hand in the air, a wide grin on her face and an eager glint in her eye. "Scared?"

  Trevor shook his head. His own hand fell into place alongside hers.

  "Those arms are like ten times your size, Hales," said Elissa, sipping her glass of wine. "You're crazy."

  "Can it, Piao," Hailey shot back. "I've got a boy to humiliate here." She meant it, as she was currently trying to gauge the right amount of magic to push into her arm. She didn't want to totally obliterate the poor guy, just put him in his place. No matter what happened, he was in for a rough surprise.

  Rupert gave her a knowing wink as he cleaned up the beer bottles around their pending contest. He carried them over to his recycling in the corner of the apartment. "You know, Hailey, Trevor's undefeated in the noble sport of arm-pulling."

  "You do a lot of arm wrestling in nursing school?"

  "A bunch of hot guys in scrubs always wanting to show off?" Elissa mused.

  Rupert raised his eyebrows. "Do you really believe everyone who attends nursing school is hot?"

  "I can dream." She sipped her glass again with a wistful look in her eyes. "It's gotta be better than most of the guys in my CS program."

  "Just gotta know where to look," Hailey grinned.

  "Screw you Hales, I'm still infinitely jealous you found Rupey before I did."

  "I don't know how long we'd last if you called me Rupey," Rupert murmured.

  "Enough stalling, Johnson," Trevor growled. Hailey winced. Such a lame last name. Only thing I could come up with in the moment though. "Let's do this."

  "Does someone wanna give us a coun—"

  "Go," Elissa said lazily.

  Without a moment's hesitation, Trevor nearly twisted her arm all the way down to the table. Hailey only had a split-second to react—but she had already prepared her shoulder and her arm enough to resist. She was ready for him.

  Hailey stopped him an inch above her side of the table. With a wicked grin, she began to ratchet him back up a centimeter at a time. His eyes went wide as the dinner plates they'd just been eating from. Elissa seemed to have totally forgotten her drink, watching them with a dumbstruck expression.

  Rupert laughed. "Is there a problem, young master Trevor?"

  "What the hell..."

  Hailey sent another burst of energy into her arm, gathering it up from the thrumming, spinning core of power she constantly felt around her heart. Trevor's grip, as strong as it was, couldn't possibly stand up to her magic. He made a valiant effort, but they crossed the apex and his arm started falling down little by little.

  Hailey wondered briefly if she should be screwing around like this. Even if they were both Rupert's good friends, they were both mundane, normal people. They hadn't the first clue about magic. This was just cheating.

  Yeah, but he asked for it. No way in hell am I gonna lose to him.

  Hailey paused about a quarter of the way down. Trevor's eyes were bulging out of his face, and she could see his muscles straining from the effort. She barely felt anything. He might as well be pushing up against a brick wall.