Elio took another bite of his pizza and scanned around him, chewing as two university-aged men—one white and the other Black—crowded a young Black woman as she did her best to ignore them and read something on her phone.
“She isn’t into you, Todd!”
But Todd waved his friend off and gave his blond fringe a confident flip, then lowered so he was almost in her face. “You’ve got a phone. Why don’t you give me your number so we can get to know each other?”
The middle-aged business man next to the young woman looked annoyed but raised his paper and pretended he was deaf.
“What’s the matter? You too good to talk or what?” Todd challenged and Elio noted the way her hand shook as she swiped at her phone’s screen. “Hey! I know you speak English. I can see what you’re reading.”
An older Asian man on the bench across from her appeared concerned and offended but cowered as Todd’s posture and gestures became more intimidating.
“What’s your problem?” he demanded, making the attractive young woman shrink behind her phone. Her pixie cut did little to hide the mortified blush that tinted her cheeks and ears.
Elio slipped his free hand into his pocket and squeezed the tennis ball, calculating the distances between him and Todd and between Todd’s head and the nearby pole and the door.
“Hey, bitch! I’m talkin’ to you!”
Bitch? How about this?
Repulsed, Elio whipped the ball at Todd’s head. It made contact with Todd’s temple with enough velocity to stun him, causing his head to strike the pole with a loudbong!before hetipped forward and his face slammed into the door. He slid to the train’s floor, his eyes rolled back. There were a few claps and snickers but most of the other passengers minded their business.
“Todd?” His friend used his foot to give Todd’s shoulder a nudge, receiving a slurred mumble.
One of the commenters in Elio’s earbuds said something about new standards for peer review and he grunted dubiously as he took another bite of his pizza. He was getting off at the next stop so he stuffed what was left in his mouth and grabbed his skateboard as he stood.
The young woman was waiting on the platform when Elio got off. “Here!” She held up the tennis ball, smiling brightly. “Thank you!”
Elio offered her a nod but kept going. “I have others,” he said, referring to the ball. She tucked it into the pocket of her trench coat and followed him up the stairs.
“That was amazing! You threw that ball like a ninja star and took his ass down. I didn’t think you were even aware of what was happening.”
“How could I not be aware? He was annoying everyone.”
“No one else seemed to notice,” she said and Elio snarled as he recalled the man with the newspaper. That was to be expected in cities like New York, unfortunately. There were too many people and something absurd or disturbing was always happening. People became numb and kept their heads down.
“I don’t like bullies and I don’t condone sexual assault,” he said simply, giving her a final nod but she grabbed his arm, halting him.
“I love your accent. Are you British?”
Elio shook his head, looking longingly in the direction of the skate park. “I’m Austrian and Italian but I’ve spent most of my life in England at university.”
“Oh! What is it you do?” she asked and he stopped, squinting down at her impatiently. That usually worked but she smiled up at him with beautiful, adoring brown eyes and obscenely long lashes.
“I’m a physicist and I’m sure you have someplace else you need to be.” Elio noted a sleek blue dress under her coat and her tasteful tan heels were high end. “A meeting or a merger, maybe?” he guessed.
“Lunch with a client. But not for an hour or so,” she said as she checked her watch. “Can I get you a cup of coffee? There’s a great place just up the street.”
“I have work—” he attempted but she gave his sleeve a tug.
“At the skatepark?”
Elio answered with an irritated grimace. “Eventually.”
“Let me get you a cup of coffee. I owe you for saving me back there,” she said sincerely.
“You’re persistent,” Elio sighed and gestured for her to lead the way.
“I’m Felicity,” she corrected cheerfully, making him chuckle despite his intentions to remain aloof.
