The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism novel Chapter 59

Chapter 59: 59 | An Unscheduled Rival Encounter!

We headed to the arcade’s food counter, which offered standard fare—pizza, burgers, fries, and shakes. I ordered a double cheeseburger with extra fries. Sloane got the same plus mozzarella sticks.

"Where do you put all that food?" I asked as we carried our trays to an empty table. "You eat like you’ve got a black hole for a stomach."

"My Aspect burns calories," she explained. "Generating kinetic energy requires fuel. The more I use it, the more I need to eat."

We settled into a booth near the back of the arcade. The cushions were worn but comfortable, and our table had a decent view of both floors.

"So," Sloane said, dipping a mozzarella stick in marinara sauce, "admit you had fun."

"It had its moments," I said, taking a bite of my burger.

Her boot connected with my shin under the table. Not hard enough to actually hurt, but definitely hard enough to register her displeasure. "Say it properly."

"Jesus—fine. It was fun. Satisfied?"

"Extremely." A real smile broke across her face, softening the sharp lines of her jaw. Her eyes lost their competitive edge, catching the neon glow from the racing games and reflecting it back at me. "We’re doing this again."

"For science."

"Naturally."

We ate without talking much after that, the silence settling between us in a way that didn’t require filling. Around us, the arcade churned through its usual crowd—groups of teenagers clustered around rhythm games, a couple arguing strategy near the fighting game cabinets, someone winning enough tickets at the basketball hoops to make their friends jealous.

Sloane worked through her burger the way she approached most things: direct, efficient, no wasted motion. I took my time with mine, enjoying the fact that I wasn’t being asked to explain anything for once.

The mozzarella sticks disappeared at an alarming rate. Her Aspect really did burn through calories if this was maintenance eating rather than indulgence.

"Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly.

"Sure."

"Why didn’t you tell me about your Aspect sooner? Why wait until after that training session?"

I nearly choked on a fry. The question came out of nowhere, and I wasn’t prepared with a good lie.

"I wasn’t sure it was real at first," I said carefully. "I didn’t want to get my hopes up, or yours."

She studied me, her gaze searching. "But you felt it happening before that, didn’t you? During our earlier sessions?"

"Maybe." I shrugged, trying to look casual. "It was building up gradually. Little tingles here and there. Nothing concrete until that night."

"Hmm. And now that it’s registered, how does it feel?"

"Different." At least that wasn’t a lie. "Like I’ve been walking around half-asleep my whole life and suddenly I’m awake."

She nodded slowly. "That’s how it feels for everyone. When I first manifested, it was like everything before had been in black and white, and suddenly the world was in color."

"Exactly."

"And the speed thing my mom mentioned—is that part of it too?"

I froze. Diane had told her about Blitz? So much for keeping that secret.

"It’s complicated," I said, forcing myself to meet her eyes. "The telekinesis is the main thing. The speed is... I’m not sure what it is. Maybe a secondary function."

"That happens sometimes with late manifestations." She took a sip of her soda. "The Aspect tries to compensate for lost time by developing multiple functions at once."

Thank god for pseudoscientific bullshit.

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