Oracle (test)

Oracle (test)

It was 1:15 pm when Anna knocked on the door of the old, slightly run-down apartment; just like he told her to do. Sophie had sworn up and down that this guy was totally legit, but she had her doubts. She really didn’t believe in psychics to begin with, and this whole 1:15 thing sounded gimmicky. She was certain that once he opened the door it would be all scarves and crystal balls, but Sophie went through so much trouble to get an appointment with him that the least she could do was show up.

All Anna wanted to know was if Jake was cheating on her. It was stupid, really. She could just ask him why he’s never around and dodging her calls. He keeps saying that he’s working extra hours; that he needs money, but when she offers to help him, he turns her down. Sophie thinks he’s cheating on her, which would explain how he’s acting, but it really doesn’t seem like him. But asking a psychic for advice? That’s just dumb.

She knocked on the door again. What was taking him so long? She rolled her eyes. Was the fog machine not working? She knocked again with half a mind to just leave. It’s not like she’s already paid him. After waiting a moment she made up her mind to knock one last time then leave, but before she could, the door swung open and there stood a tall, thin, greasy looking man with long blonde hair in nothing but a pair of pajama pants. “What?” he asked, half asleep.

“Oh, uh, are you the psy-“

“ANTHONY!” he called behind him. “THAT CLIENT YOU’RE TRYING TO DODGE IS HERE!”

“WHAT?!” called a voice from inside.

“THAT CHICK THAT WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT HER BOYFRIEND IS HERE!”

Anna stood, stunned. “Did I come at a bad time?” she asked, stupefied. He did set up the time to meet.

“Nah” said the blonde man. “Come on in.”

It was an average bachelor pad. There was a couch and a TV on a small stand with a game system hooked up to it. Band posters lined the walls with everything from BB King to the Beatles to stuff with lots skulls and jagged writing that Anna had never heard of. There were dirty clothes lying around and the coffee table was covered in empty fast-food packages. The kitchen was downright filthy. Anna wondered if all men liked being surrounded by their own refuse, or do they eventually grow out of it?

“Go ahead and sit down. He’ll be out in a sec.” with that, the blonde man walked down the hall.

She sat for a moment feeling very awkward. Then she heard the muffled sounds of two men bickering coming from down the hall, followed by stomping that got gradually louder. Another man walked into the living room that seemed to be the exact opposite of the man who answered the door. He was short with a medium build and messy black hair. He wore a Spiderman T-shirt and boot cut jeans with no shoes. He had a bit of a sunken in look to him, like he didn’t sleep well.

He stood in silence, looking her up and down. “You’re early” he finally said.

“Uh…” Anna looked at her watch. “You said 1:15.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her then looked at his own watch. “Shit!” He ran back down the hall and returned a moment later with shoes on. “Since you’re already here, if you really must know then come with me. Otherwise, just go home.” With that he ran out the front door.

Anna doesn’t really know why she felt compelled to follow him, but she did. She ran down the stairs and out the complex door. She looked around at the busy street and saw the psychic hailing a cab. She ran after him and climbed into the car after him. He told the cab driver where to go and to hurry.

They sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Anna couldn’t help but ask “So…your name’s Anthony, right?”

“Huh?” he glanced at her. “Oh right.” He held out his hand. “And you?”

She took it. “Anna.” Another moment of silence. “So are you really..?”

“Funny thing about this type of stuff is that you usually have to decide for yourself if I’m BSing you or not.” He smirked. “If you don’t believe me, then everything I say wouldn’t matter anyway. Ya know?”

Wow. Anna was starting to see why Sophie would swear by this guy. He’s a good actor. “I guess that makes sense.”

The cab slowed to a stop. Anthony paid the driver and started running down the street. Anna followed after him. They approached a bus stop just as a bus was leaving and Anthony sped up, practically jumping in front of the vehicle to get it to stop.

The driver opened the door. “Does this head downtown?” Anthony asked without boarding.

The driver answered “No. You want the twenty-three, this is the forty.”

“Are you sure? The station said to take the forty.”

“Look buddy, I’ve been driving this route for ten years, I think I know where it…“ Suddenly, the driver went silent. His face turned red and he clutched his arm, gasping for breath.

“Oh no!” Anthony shouted with no real enthusiasm, “He’s having a heart attack! Someone call an ambulance!” People started rushing to a fro, and in the chaos the psychic merely walked away.

Anna watched him in disbelief of what she just witnessed. “You just…How?!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just wanted to go downtown.” The psychic shrugged, innocently and started to walk back to they came from.

Anna followed after him. “What’s it like?” she asked, now convinced that the man before her actually did possess a gift.

“I assume it’s like normal déjà vu, only more intense.” He sounded bored. He probably gets asked stuff like that a lot.

“It must be so amazing to see stuff!” she said enthusiastically.

“Actually, pretty much everything about this deal sucks.” His tone darkened. “The stuff I see is usually pretty bad. Most of it I can’t do anything about.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t thought of it like that. She remembered something his roommate had said. “Why were you trying to dodge me?”

He smiled wryly. “No offence, but delving into people’s love lives is a bit demeaning.”

“Fair enough. So why do you do it?”

“Gotta eat. Kinda hard to keep a steady job when you space out at least twenty times a day. Dangerous, too. I don’t drive anymore.”

Part of her was morbidly curious exactly why he doesn’t drive, but she could pretty much guess what must have happened. “Well I’m paying you. Ready to work?”

Anthony sighed, obviously not ready, but said anyway “I told your friend that you need to bring something of his, did you?”

“Yeah.“ Anna stopped to pull a hemp bracelet Jake always wore out of her purse. She had stolen it off his counter the other day, before he insisted he had to go back to work. She handed it to the psychic. “His best friend gave this to him when they graduated high school.”

He took the bracelet and went completely still. His eyes dilated and he appeared to have stopped breathing. Was this normal? She stood for a very long minute and stared at him. Finally, he blinked, but he had a strange look on his face.

He handed the bracelet back to her. “Well, he wasn’t cheating on you.”

Anna’s heart started pounding. If Jake wasn’t cheating on her, then something was really wrong. “What is it then?”

“It’s nothing.” Anthony started walking again, but he wasn’t looking her in the eye.

She followed after him. “If he has a problem, then I want to help him. But he wont tell me anything. That’s why I came to talk to you in the first place.” She ran in front of him. “What did you see?”

He tried to side step her, but she blocked him. He glared at her, but his expression dropped as he looked past her. She turned to see what it was and he used the moment to get past her. She went after him. “I’m paying you to find out what’s up!”

“So don’t pay me!” He started to jog.

“I thought you said that you needed to eat!” She started to jog. “I’m not leaving you alone until you tell me!”

He stopped and Anna nearly ran into him. “Fine.” He sounded agitated. “He wanted to buy you a ring.”

“What?

Anthony turned and faced her. “He’s been working overtime at the auto shop and doing tune ups on the side because he wanted to buy you a ring.” He stopped for a moment then said “But it made him tired…”

Anna was stunned. “Really?” She huffed a laugh. “Oh my gosh…”

Before she could say anything else, the psychic spun on his heels and walked off. “Wait!” she called after him. “Don’t you want to get paid?”

“No!” he yelled back.

Anna was too giddy to argue. Jake was going to propose! Then she stopped. What did Anthony mean by “wanted to?” Her reverie was interrupted by her cell phone ringing.