Stood up

[Max 'Cheese' Fritz]

So she had been stood up. Max checked her watch to reaffirm this fact and gave a small huff. Where did he get the nerve. She had asked if was free. If he wanted to have coffee. And now she was stood up. After giving the store a quick sweep and texting the boy, Max was drawn towards the German section. Maybe it was because her grandfather had been complaining about the lack of German books in America. Or maybe it was because English books could be so boring. There could have been a worse way to spend being stood up. 

She was just making her way between the shelves, head buried within a book of poetry, when Max bumped straight into someone. Taken by surprise, Max fell backwards and landed on her behind "S-Sorry, I was distract..." She looked up at the person before recovering her book.

[Nate Darwin]

Over the past six months, Nathan had needed to learn new ways of entertaining himself. Six months ago it would have been swimming, or football or hanging out with his best friends, flirting with girls. Six months ago, he was a different person, someone who had gone through intense physical, mental and emotional shaping and came out a security contractor learning specifically about bombs, which explained the puppy that was glued to his side. His service dog vest still hung loosely on the puppy, but Koda wore it like a champ at Nate's side. The lady behind the desk complimented the dog's behavior and Nathan could feel himself beaming.

There was no doubt in his mind that his puppy was going to be one of the best.

Striding through the bookstore, Nathan lingered in several sections. Non-fiction, science fiction among others. He'd become quite well-read over the past few months, reading in what little down time he'd had. If he was going to work for a company like Mr. Conner's, he couldn't be mediocre in his intelligence anymore, and he'd made sure that he wasn't. He was just turning a corner when Koda let out a quiet bark, as if warning Nate that someone was coming, but it was too late because the girl had bumped right into him and fallen back on her butt.

Nate held up a signal and Koda sat as he knelt down to the girl's level, "I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?"