The Agent's Daughter Read Free

Alex
said, clearly joking with Melina.
    “ You’re telling me,”
Melina shot back, “Its face is twice the normal size. And do not
get me started on the fluorescent orange color.”
    “ It was a gift, I
presume?” Alex asked. “From someone you cannot offend. Like a mob
boss.”
    “ No,” Melina said,
laughing. “I lost my watch about a month ago, and I borrowed one of
my mom’s watches.”
    Jean was thinking ahead. She could sense
‘the question’ coming, and she had to get her friend out of
there.
    “ You know, Melina, we
should get going to our next class,” Jean said as she tugged on
Melina’s arm.
    Melina gave Jean a strange look. It was
unlike her to want to rush to class. “I’ve got plenty of time,”
Melina said as she turned back to Alex. She was clearly enjoying
her conversation.
    By then it was too late. Alex asked her ‘the
question.’
    “ With such taste in
watches, your mom must be a left-brainer,” Alex said. “Is she an
engineer too?”
    “ No… she doesn’t work… she
stays home…” Melina said.
    Alex stood silently waiting for Melina to
continue.
    “ Excuse me,” Melina said,
finally.
    Melina grabbed her backpack and disappeared
around the corner, leaving Alex with a perplexed look. He started
to follow her, but Jean stopped him with a hand to his chest.
    “ It’s not your fault,”
Jean said.
    Alex looked as if he were in a daze. “What
just happened?”
    “ It’s Melina’s mom,” Jean
began. “About six months ago, her mom was driving home from the
store when she got into a car accident. She ran a red light, and
another car hit her broadside. Physically, she came through all
right, but they believe that she hit her head because she was
unresponsive when she got to the hospital.”
    Alex leaned in toward Jean and spoke softer.
“Oh,” he said. “Did she get better?”
    “ Since her mom did not
appear to have any other injuries, they hoped that her condition
was temporary,” Jean continued, “but the doctors are baffled. There
does not seem to be any reason why she should not just wake up. It
has been six months and yet there has been no
improvement.”
    “ Is she still in the
hospital?” Alex asked.
    “ No. They moved her to a
long term care facility across town,” Jean said. “Melina visits her
every weekend.”
    “ I feel so terrible,” Alex
said.
    Jean reached over and gently grasped Alex’s
arm. “Alex, don’t. This is not the first time that this has
happened. My best friend is just going through a rough patch.
Please bear with her.”
    Alex looked in the direction that Melina
went. “Should I go talk to her?”
    “ I’ll talk to her,” Jean
said as she started walking. “Don’t worry about it.”
    “ Tell Melina that I
understand and that I will see her in class tomorrow,” Alex said as
Jean disappeared.

    ………………………… .

    Jean found Melina down the next hallway,
standing next to the water fountain, dabbing her eyes with a tissue
to soak up the tears.
    “ You sure have a way with
the guys,” Jean said as she approached. “I’m going to have to take
notes.”
    Melina looked up, her teary expression
giving way to a stifled grin. “Very funny.”
    “ Don’t worry about it,”
Jean said. “Alex said to tell you that he understands about what
just happened and that he will see you in class tomorrow. He seems
like a nice guy. I can understand why you have a crush on
him.”
    Melina looked up quickly. She had never told
anyone her feelings about Alex, even Jean. She felt guilty about
not mentioning it to her, but these were new feelings, and she was
still trying to work through how she felt.
    “ You can’t lie to me,”
Jean said, laughing. “I saw how you looked at him. How long have
you felt this way about Alex?”
    “ A couple of weeks,”
Melina said, looking down. “I have talked to him in class a hundred
times since he came to the school, but one morning, we were talking
in Physics class, and as Alex looked