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The New Year brings the Usual Suspects back to the lunch table which has become their afternoon headquarters.

Dave and Greg look the same, but Rob has apparently lost a few pounds and wears new shirts, obviously Christmas gifts.

Sylvia is sitting with Rob, chatting pleasantly about the intricacies of the collectible card game Donnie's taught her.  "So for Christmas he gave me my own deck.  I mean, there was other stuff, too, but he was really excited--"  The word doesn't quite describe the pornographic gleam in Donnie's eyes.  "--about the deck."

Flick.  Sylvia's pen, which she's been twiddling on the table, flies off into the foot traffic that passes their table, right in front of one of the swim team kids.  Pick that up for me, will you, sweetie?

Sammy comes in and sits down.  She pulls out a bottle of water, a plastic fork, and a plastic container filled with salad greens and grilled chicken.  She makes a face at it before she starts eating.  "Mom's put us all on a post-Holiday diet," she says glumly.  "I guess she ate too many Christmas cookies so now we all have to pay."  She looks curiously at Rob.  "You look different.  Hair cut?"

He stops and stoops down, picking up the pen.  "You dropped this."  he says as he sets it back on the table, a smile touching his lips as he returns to his path, heading to sit with his friends.


"I've decided to use my vast cosmic powers to bolster my willpower so I can actually loose weight and watch what I eat."  Rob says, looking with an amused grin as Sylvia's pen is returned to the table by one of the boys from the swim team.  He taps her on the shoulder, "It's the little things that can bring you joy.  Don't focus so hard on the darkness in people."

"Hi, Sammy," Sylvia says, and somewhere in the conversation she inserts, "You don't look like you put on any weight."


Sylvia accepts the pen with a gracious, sunny smile (as if she were congratulating a golden retriever for having retrieved) and then gives Rob a funny look.  In the end she has to accept it for what it is.  "I'm just practicing.  It's harmless, I figure.  Can't hurt anybody this way.  Only problem is, I'm not sure if they're giving me back my pen because it's the nice thing to do or if I'm getting better at this."

Rob smiles, "You say that like they're mutually exclusive."

"Maybe I need to come up with another exercise.  It's got to be something you wouldn't do normally that doesn't hurt you or anyone else.  Maybe I can get someone to trade lunches with me."

A slightly tanner and far more freckled Sarah makes her way into the lunchroom.  She sporting a brown T-shirt with Mickey Mouse on it dressed like Han Solo and sporting a blaster. The caption below reads: Mickey shot first 

She smiles brightly at her table full of friends and finds a spot to fit in.

"Hey.  Its good to see everybody.  What have I missed?"

"Sarah!"  A grinning Sammy jumps up out of her seat.  "You came back!  I told Colin, I told him you'd come back!"  Then she looks suspiciously at Sylvia.  "You're not making me think I see Sarah, are you?"

"I thought you wanted something that wouldn't hurt."  Rob says with a grin.


Dave looks up from his book and smiles.  "I think if it were a trick it would be crueler to do it to Colin than you."

Dave, Greg and Rob all come around to give Sarah hugs and kisses on the cheek welcoming her back.

Sylvia does something weirdly out of character and gets to her feet, squealing like the candy girl she secretly is.  She squeezes Sarah like it's been a year instead of a few weeks.  "You're back!  Are you back for good?  Are you just, you know, popping in?  Have you seen Colin?  Where's Colin?"  Colin!  She flashes him an image of Sarah standing in the cafeteria.  "He's gonna spaz.  He's been pathetic.  Greg, do you have your video camera ready?"

Sarah laughs and hugs everyone.  "I'm back.  I'm back.  There's no way they can drag me back there.  Look at me!  I barely stick my nose out the door and I become one giant freckle.  Even if my parents decided to move down there I'd stay up here somehow.  I'm sticking around."

She looks around at her friends.  "You all look great.  I really missed everyone."

Colin was getting to the lunch room and he almost bangs his head on the door, when Sylvia's message  reaches him. He rushes in, looks around, and sees her at the Usual Suspects table.

He remains almost petrified for a moment. Then he finds the courage to step forward, his eyes fixed on her like there was nothing and no one else around. Joy and worry fight a war on his face.

He finally reaches the table.

"Hi, wondergirl." is all he manages to say.

The Usual Suspects, and only the Usual Suspects, might see a mustachioed violinist standing behind Colin and Sarah, playing La vie en rose while glittery sparks drift down from the ceiling.

Donnie walks up to the table, obliviously walking right through the concerto, head down in a book. He looks up at the intense moment between the two star-crossed lovers. "Hey Sarah! Glad to see you're back. It really sucked losing our Warrior for gaming. We're getting together at the bunker this Saturday." He pauses, looking over at Colin. "Oh yeah, Colin's been looking for you." He smiles a smug grin and sidles over next to Sylvia.

He begins the daily ritual of popping the top of his three-a-day Coke regimen, salving his fat-boy yearnings for sweetness, denied by his tuna-fish and baked lays lunch.

Sarah's grin fades and she turns around to look at Colin.  Donnie says something but she doesn't really hear.  She's looking at Colin and feeling like she's done something wrong.  Her family left suddenly and she and Colin didn't have much time to talk.  They hadn't broken up but...

"Hi.  I..." starts Sarah but she swallows the rest.  It felt like a million years since she'd seen him.  "I didn't get a chance to give you your present."

Sammy suddenly feels as if she's intruding on something very private.  This makes her feel awkward, so she pushes away from the table.  "I have to get something.  I'll be back in a couple minutes."  She quickly walks off in the direction of the lunch line.

Colin tilts his head slightly, like he usually does when he's looking at something curious, and a smile starts to blossom on his lips.

"So you came back just to give me my present?" he says, "How nice of you."

Then he gets a step closer, and becomes a bit more serious.

"I'm really happy you did. Are you back to stay? I mean... The blackbird seemed to think you had something important to do while you were away."

Sarah smiles softly at Colin and nods.  She says, "I'm back.  I'm not going to Florida ever again.  Their fiery sun is bad for my complexion.  Look at me!  I'm all spots.  It's going to take until summer just for this batch to fade.  As for important, well you know I can never manage to stay out of trouble for long.  I'll tell you about it later though.  It's good to be back.  It's best to be here."

She takes his hand in hers and asks, "Are we still... ?"

Before he can answer she puts something small in his hand.  It's a bike lock key. 

"You look like a tiger lily." He says, softly.


When she touches his hand, shivers run up and down Colin's spine. He just closes his eyes for a moment to savor the feeling, and that's when she slips him the key. He opens them again, but resists looking at it. He looks at her, instead.

"Of course we are. If you haven't changed your mind in the meantime, I'm still the luckiest guy in the world."

Now he looks at the key. "Uhmm. It looks like the key of a padlock of sorts. Can you give me any hint?"

Sarah shakes her head and smiles, "I haven't changed my mind."  Gesturing towards the outside she says, "You might find something that matches that key out near the bike racks."

She kisses Colin on the cheek.

Tiger Lily.  I like that.

She turns and winks at Sylvia.  "Thanks but I think you can send him back to the City of Lights."

"What?!" He looks at Sarah in utter amazement. "You cannot be that crazy, can you?"

He squeezes her in a hug, then runs at the window, but he cannot see the the bike racks from there so he comes back to Sarah and kisses her.

"I've missed you so much. Come on, let's go so you can show it to me."

Sarah just grins and says, "I knew I should have waited until the end of the day.  Always seems like something comes up before a day can finish though.  Okay."  Looking at the gang she says, "We'll be right back.  I promise.  I have to catch up with everything that happened!"

She zips out with Colin towards the bikes. 

Sylvia lets out a blissful little sigh, dropping her head on Donnie's shoulder.  The imaginary violinist strolls off toward the men's restroom for his union break.  Sylvia says, "That was really romantic.  I hope, when we're separated for a long time--"  'Cause three weeks is like forever.  "--we're as happy to see each other again."

Seeing that the coast is sort of clear again, Sammy returns to the table, empty handed.  She digs around in her backpack and pulls out some printed photographs.  "Anybody seen John today?  I have some pictures for him."  The photograph on top of the stack looks like it might be of a smiling John standing in front of the national Christmas tree in DC.

OOC: with "zip" you mean teleport? From the middle of the lunch room?

OOC: Oh yeah, didn't I tell you?  Sarah came out of the hero closet down in Florida.  She's all about full disclosure.  She's got her super registration card filled out and signed.  NO! 

IC:
Sarah hurries down the hall towards the exit near the bike racks. 

When Sarah and Colin get to the bike racks: 

Colin eventually finds a hybrid bike with a card attached.  It has a metallic orange paint job without logos or decals. 
The card reads:  Dear Colin, Merry Christmas, I see you rocketing around town on those skinny wheels over the ice and I have to fight the urge not to hide your bike on top of the Sears Tower.  I really like you just the way you are and not smooshed under a bus.  I hope you like it.  - Love Sarah

She'd spent a lot of time writing and rewriting her thoughts and this was the best one.  Seriously.  She completely dropped the ball on this one but she hoped he'd still like the bike. 

Colin reads the card and grins. His city bike is his oldest one, and though he's grown accustomed to it, and had some fixes done to get it more to its tastes, he had often wished he had some more knowledge about how a bike should be for his needs when he bought it. Sarah is right, in winter he has to keep tire pressure maxed out for traction, so it's quite safe, but he risks a flat tire about every other day.
He looks at the new one, and some details immediately fire up his enthusiasm. Disk brakes! He's been wanting them for a long time now. Chain protection and internal hub switching! This bike can handle every kind of weather, with very little maintenance required. Since he uses it every day, that's a big plus, not having to re-lube the chain every time it rains. The 700C rims are just the right width.
He picks it up to assess its weight. Uhm, not too light, but light enough. The frame looks aluminum, so it's gotta be strong. That's about all he can say just watching it. Now he's got to try it.

He looks up at Sarah. "Wow. I mean... well, wow. It's too much. You must have spent a lot for this. How long have you been planning this, without saying anything? Did you paint it yourself?"

Sarah smiles and shakes her head.  She says, "Honestly I wasn't thinking too long.  It occurred to me after the last ice up before vacation.  I saw your bike sitting out there and started thinking about just how long the winter can last.  I hooked up with a quick part time job to raise the cash.  I didn't make enough to get you a brand new bike with all the bells and whistles.  Most of the components are new but the frame is from a resold bike and it's just a quick basic paint job.  I hope it's okay.  I honestly don't know a ton about bikes.  My brother Mart gave me some suggestions." 

She looks at the bike and says again, "I hope it's okay.  I can give you the name of the shop that did the work if you like.  I'm just bad at presents.  I don't think of clever home made things or plan ahead to collect items or anything."

Colin looks at her.

"Are you kidding? You had a nice sweet idea, and went to work for it. I thought I had thought of a nice present but yours is way better. It's not okay, it's great."

He unlocks it with the key she gave him, and takes it around, listening to the chain click. He adjusts the saddle and handlebars to his height with an expert move, and then he jumps on it.

He rides it in circles in the school's parking lot, trying a couple shifts and the brakes. He looks concentrated on giving it a good, clinical evaluation. Finally, he stops just besides her and looks up at her with a big smile.

"I would have needed a new one soon anyway, 'cause I've gotten taller. I do think this one and I are going to like each other. It needs just a couple touches, but it's a solid good bike."

He dismounts and bites his lip for a moment.

"I was lost without you." he whispers. "Thank God and the Great Spirit you're still here to take care of me. I love you." he says, hugging her tightly.

"Aww..." says Sarah blushing.  She hugs Colin back.  "Hey it's cold out here and I have a feeling my cookies will mysteriously disappear if I leave them unattended too long.  At least down in Florida my snacks were safe."  She smiles.  "I've missed home."

Taking his hand she walks back to the lunch room.