The Listener

I’m new here as you guessed before so I have no idea where anything is." Max realised what she had just said, remembering that this girl had just tried to strangle her, but somewhere deep down she felt she knew this person from before. "Do I know you?" The girl looked at her and really stared hard at her.

"Blackstar. And you are? I’ll take you to the store. You shouldn’t be out this time of night. Next time go in the car."

"My name is Max. Thanks, I think I’ll stay in the car next time, as talking to people is a little weird. What was holding me back from you? I couldn’t even breathe that well..." Max enquired. The girl set off walking back down the alley. She remembered that she couldn’t move even the slightest.

"Something you will see when I feel you are ready. Maybe that will be never or maybe that time will come very soon. Keep up. We will talk when times are less complicated."

Max had a lot of questions she wanted to ask this girl, like about her name or what she was ready to see and she would not give up until she found the answers.

Max had to keep quickening her pace so that she could keep up with Blackstar.

"So... you go to school around here?" Max wondered.

"No." The answer was short, as Blackstar wanted to get this girl to where she wanted then take her home so she could get on with her work.

"Then what do you do?" Max enquired.

Blackstar stopped suddenly and spun around. "Leave the questions here. Just hurry up will you? I got stuff to do as well you know."

"Jeez, everyone is soooo busy." Max muttered.

"What?" Blackstar started to walk again.

"I asked a woman earlier for directions. She either gave them me wrong or I had just gone the wrong way." Max was looking ahead, trying to see where they were going for a future reference. She saw what looked like a shop up ahead. "Are we here?"

"Yeah. Just hurry up." Blackstar’s expressionless face had now turned into what looked like worry or confusion. Max rushed inside. She could see the rows and what looked like fridges at the back. There was a teenager behind the counter with his headphones on, music turned up loud. She picked up the things her mother had asked for – bread, butter, and milk, some meat that looked like ham and chocolate muffins that were one of her favourites.

She took them over the counter and put the stuff down. The boy looked up and put the things through the till.

"$10.43 please."

"Here. Thanks." She put the things in a bag and hurried outside. Blackstar’s expression had changed again to a look, which made her look like she was in deep thought. Max held up the bag to her face and rattled the stuff inside. Blackstar jumped out of her thought and looked at Max thoughtfully.

"This sounds really stupid, I know, but did it look like the woman was being followed or did she constantly keep looking around before you raised her attention?"

"Er... I dunno. It kind of looked like she kept looking over her shoulder but I wasn’t paying all that much to her."

"Hurry. She may not have long. Where do you live?"

"Oh…" Something just occurred to Max. "I don’t know the address. I just moved in round here. I told you I was new."

"2134 Handover Way."

Now it was Max’s turned to be shocked. "How do you know that?"

Blackstar started off jogging. "Keep up. I have lived here for a long time and I know this place like the back of my hand.