“No-good stinkin’ piece of always-breaking-down shit!” She gave the tire a good kick out of general principle, I assumed, because the tires looked like they were fine.
“Hey.” I stopped on the other side of the car’s hood, keeping my distance in case she really was psycho and might start whaling on me, too. “Is everything okay?”
The glare she fixed on me could only be described as withering. “Do Ilookokay? Do Isoundokay? Does an okay person choose to beat on her car for no good reason?” She pushed her dark hair out of her face impatiently.
There didn’t seem to be a safe answer here. “Uh, well, probably not. I withdraw the question and replace it with—can I help in some way?”
Now she stood straighter, crossing her arms over her chest and squaring her jaw. “That’s much better, and I appreciate it. Do you know anything about cars?”
I shrugged. “Probably just enough to be dangerous, but I can take a look. Also, if I can’t figure it out, my friend’s just inside, and she’s really smart about cars.” I slapped the roof. “But let me take a look first, so we don’t have to involve her if we don’t need to. What happened?”
“It won’t start.” She opened the driver’s side door and pulled the lever to pop the hood. “I was climbing, and then I came out here in a hurry to get to class, and it just won’t turn over.” With a glance that dared me to underestimate her, she added, “And yes, before you ask the question, I’ve got gas, and the oil was just changed last week.”
I held both hands up in front of me. “Never would have assumed you didn’t.”Actually, the thought had crossed my mind.“How about you try to start her up now, so I can see what we’re dealing with?”
With a grimace, she reached for the ignition and gave it a turn. There was no discernible sound at first, but as I leaned over the engine, I made out the quiet clicking noise and breathed a sigh of relief. This was good. I knew what this sound meant, and I didn’t have to get Sophia involved.
“How old is your battery?” I poked my head around the lifted hood to inquire.
She wrinkled her nose. “Umm . . . old? It came with the car, and I bought it used three years ago.”
“Yeah, that’s the issue.” I slid my hand into my pocket to retrieve my keys. “Your battery is dead. You need to replace it, but I can give you a jump for now.”
She climbed out of the driver’s seat and rested her arms on the open car door. She was shorter than me, with long, curly dark hair and big blue eyes that now stared at me guardedly. “When you say ‘need to replace it’, does that mean eventually or immediately?”
“That depends. Do you like having to find someone to give you a jump every time you need to start your car?”
“Ha, ha, ha. A comedian, huh? Okay. So that means sooner rather than later. Damn.” She pulled out her phone and looked down at the screen. “As it is, I’m going to be late for my class. I don’t have time to stop to buy a battery now, let alone have it installed.”
“I might be able to help you.” I lifted one finger, indicating that she should wait a minute, and jogged over to my car, where I opened the trunk and rummaged for a few seconds before I walked back over to her.
“This is a power jumper. I’ll show you how to hook it up to your battery, and it’ll give you enough of a jump to start the engine.” I paused before adding, “This isn’t a permanent solution, though. You can use it tonight to make sure you can get home after class, but you’ll need to replace this battery right away after that.”
She held up crossed fingers. “I promise, I will. Are you sure you don’t mind me borrowing this?”
“Nah.” I shook my head. “Just bring it back to me here. I climb a few times a week, so if you come by regularly, you have a pretty good chance of catching me.”
“Okay, thanks so much. And sorry I was so snarky when you stopped to help me. I really do appreciate it.” She watched me attach the clamps to the battery’s terminals.
“No problem.” I snuck a quick glance her way. She was pretty in a very casual, non-fussy way. Her jeans and tee were clearly meant for comfort, not to show off her body, though I noticed that her arms were toned, with defined muscles, like most climbers boasted. I’d have to call her a yee. There was no getting around it. “So, you mentioned classes. Where do you go to school?”
“UCF. I’m in the master’s program for biomedical sciences.”
I think my mouth dropped open. “Oh. Shit, that’s—wow. Good for you.”
“Thanks.” She shrugged. “I know, go ahead and say it. I don’t look old enough, blah, blah, blah.” She ducked her head. “I’m actually just twenty-one. I was homeschooled, and I started college when I was fourteen. Finished in two years, took off some time to work and travel, but ultimately, I knew what I wanted. I’m very driven, my parents say. Unfortunately, being science smart doesn’t mean I know engines, apparently, and it also means I’m super awkward with real, live humans. So sorry again for being so snippy.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I switched on the power jump box. “Go ahead and start it up now.”
The car turned over, and she gave a quick cheer. “Oh, my God, you have no idea how grateful I am.”
“Don’t mention it.” I disconnected the cables. “Did you see how I did that? Red to red, yellow to yellow, then turn on the box—” I showed her the switch. “And then turn on your car.”
“Got it.” She took the box and attached cables from me. “Listen, I don’t want to abuse your generosity. Let me get your name and number so I can return these tomorrow, once I pick up the new battery.”
I hesitated only a second. “Okay, sure. But seriously, no rush. Don’t put yourself out. You must have a pretty full schedule, with the master’s degree and all.”
She grinned at me. “I go to class, I work at the college library, and I climb three times a week. I have no life beyond those three places. I can find time to run this to you at work or home.”
