>>58623038>It did little to stop another minute of teasing.>After which, Kat read the article aloud.>She slurred words together, and added her own storytelling flair, but shared the key information.>A regular churchgoer.>Senior choir member.>Piano lessons.>Music teacher.>Faith. >Thoughts on the world-changing event.>Waking up different, same as the rest.>Mid a back-and-forth about renewed career options, you had an unfortunate thought.“Kat, did you steal this?”
>You nodded down at the paper.>Kat’s wider eyes and clamped-shut mouth, gave you the answer.>You shook your head as Kat defended herself.>”What? You wanted a stinky garbage paper?”>”All soaked and sticky?”>She wasn’t wrong.>But it was the principle.>Lucky for her, a rumble rolled over the land.>One Kat knew all too well.>Later than the newspaper predicted, but the thunderstorm came just the same.>Saved by the bell.>She earned herself a stern lecture on theft.>Didn’t matter of it was $2 or $200, it was against the law.>Some deep, old part of you warned against the pettiness of bringing it up.>But it didn’t matter.>Wrong was wrong.>You both had images to maintain.>Today’s goodbye was fast.>And noticeably less destructive than prior goodbyes.>Seemed she wanted to stay on your good side. >After a rough, static-charged pat on the head that made your hair stand, she was off.>Giggling and bounding over a hill.>You watched her trail of sparks until they disappeared behind the tree line. >Cleaning up was easy, if a bit gross.>The newspaper was ruffled and greasy, but put back where it belonged.>Dropped in the bin the second a trucker turned his head.>Sold out, no longer.>Given the strangeness of everything, you considered buying it yourself.>Might be a minor collector’s item someday.>At least a piece of history.>Hopefully someone grabbed it before the rain hit.>With Kat off to recharge, your evening was free.>Just as well.>You wanted to see the angel. 