TLR Chapter 5
Pixel pushes away the worries, admonishing herself: Can’t you just enjoy right now? A chance to
make a good memory is not one to pass up if you don’t have many. Pixel forces a grin onto her face
and steps back out of the restroom. She finds herself face to face with Lloyd. A smiles genuinely at
her and she finds herself grinning back.
“Hi, I noticed you were gone, so I figured you’d be here,” Lloyd says.
“Uh, yeah! You were right!” Pixel fumbles through a reply. Why can’t I talk right now? Heat rises to
her cheeks as she stands there awkwardly in the doorway as silence stretches out in front of her.
“Er, I was actually going to, um, use the restroom?” Lloyd says, his face flushing slightly.
Pixel cheeks light on fire as she mumbles, “Oh, yeah, of course,” and steps hurriedly out of his
way. He thanks her and disappears inside. As she makes her way back down the isle, the seatbelt
light flashes back on. Pixel plops back down into her seat and buckles up again. She checks the time
on her phone, 12:34. They’re going to be landing soon, so Pixel glances at the items strewn all
around her seat and packs them back up. She’s just finishing when Lloyd slips into his seat next to
her.
“We’re landing?” Lloyd asks, buckling in as well.
“Yeah,” Pixel mumbles, fidgeting with her hands.
“Nervous?” Lloyd questions, grabbing her hands to stop her. Pixel abruptly looks up at him, face
flushing slightly.
“Somewhat… I don’t really know what we’ll do from here…” She says.
“How about find a taxi? Well, first a shuttle bus, then a taxi?” Lloyd suggests.
“Oh, yeah! Great idea!” Pixel beams at him, grinning widely. This… may just work! She pauses,
then realizes something. We’ve only thought about getting to the house. That’s our end game. But
why? We didn’t even think of coming back. At least one of us should have… or for some reason, do
we think we’ll find Eshiria? Just as the airplane comes in for a landing, Pixel realizes she’s still
holding Lloyd’s hand. She drops it, blushing furiously.
Lloyd and Pixel lounge around the airport, eating some breakfast wraps, and planning out what to do
next. Abruptly, Lloyd’s phone rings, interrupting their planning session. He pulls it out and stares at
the ringer. Mother. He casts a small glance at Pixel, who flashes a small, sad smile back at him. She
doesn’t understand. Lloyd realizes. She doesn’t remember her parents, and probably didn’t get very
connected to her new guardians. At least I can remember, even if it is a burden sometimes. He
glances back down at the phone once more. If I hang up, she’ll call again ‘cause she’ll know I have
my phone. He sets the phone back down.
“Let it ring. I’m not going to answer it,” he says, his voice as hard as steel. Pixel nods in response,
clearly understanding his reasoning. However she doesn’t comment on his cold decision, instead
holding out a warm foil cylinder.
“Burrito?”
“Yoink!” Lloyd jokes, trying to lighted the mood as he snatches the burrito from her hand, tearing it
open and digging in. “Man, this is good,” he pauses, eying Pixels burrito that sits beside her, “and
there appears to be seconds!” Lloyd lunges for the second burrito, but Pixel snatches it up before he
can get there.
She sings a little ditty as she opens it and takes a big bite, “One burrito, two burrito, my burrito,
not you burrito!” Lloyd laughs, and they mess around, eating burritos with the background of a lonely
phone ringtone.
***