The Struggles of Math

A menu, of course! She was dumb to think otherwise, it was a diner after all. Zeke invited her to sit, and she gladly did so.

"Right, menus," Evangeline nodded. She put her hands in her lap, and tapped here hand quietly on her thigh, thinking of something to say, but her mind was blank. It was unusual for her to not know what to say.

Evangeline gave the waitress a smile, before she spoke, she had assumed they were on a date. She could feel her cheeks turn pink. She looked up at Zeke, then quickly fixed her eyes on the menu in front of her.

"Yeah.. Maybe you should," she nodded. Then Zeke had recommended the Caesar salad. That was one of her favorite foods, well salad particularly. "Yeah, I think I'll try that."

Again her mind wandered, what were they suppose to talk about? She had never been at such a loss for words, what was her problem? She the side of her cheek a bit too hard, "So, Zeke, what do you like to do?"

She listened as he repeated her question outloud, and put his finger on his chin. Did he really have to think about it? But when he did answer, somehow his answer didn't come as a complete shock, he was good at math. But she also thought you had be a certain type of person to have a passion to build stuff like him. The part of his answer that did shock her was that he had built Fletcher, and looked down. It was neat to hear Fletcher talk.

"Hi again, Fletcher," she felt kind of bad, Fletcher had been so quiet she forgot he was even there for a moment.

"I don't blame you for wanting to keep to yourself," Evangeline nodded, she could understand. For many years she had tried to keep to herself, but it was hard.

"Well there's many things I like to do, I'm best at drawing and painting, and I like to sing, but just because I like it doesn't mean I'm good," she laughed to herself. And looked up the waitress was back wanting to know their order.

"I'd like a Caesar salad and a water," she nodded, and looked to Zeke.

After Evangeline had ordered she expectantly looked to Zeke for him to order, and then he added the part where they weren't dating, which she had expected. The part she wasn't expecting was the waitress saying they looked "cute" together. Evangeline immediately looked down at the table, as she walked away. Now wasn't a good time to look at Zeke.

She was thankful when Fletcher started to speak.

"Eh, I guess, but I don't sing in front of people much, so I really wouldn't know."

She then listened to Zeke mention something about the two of them not being compatible. But she couldn't tell what he was thinking. The only emotion she had seen from him was frustration.

She listened to them discuss back and forth and it made her smile, and a thought occurred to her. Fletcher had a wife?

"Not to jump back to this, but uh.. you had a wife Fletcher?" She was really confused, but immediately regretted her question.

A son too? How in the world was that even possible? Evangeline was shocked, and she was positive her face showed her emotion clearly.

"I don't see how-," Fletcher continued talking and said he used to be human. What?

She looked from Fletcher to Zeke and then back to Fletcher. The future? That's a first Evangeline had ever heard anything like that in all the years she had been alive.

"How is this even possible?" she was completely shocked and confused. She really wasn't even sure she wanted to have this conversation.

"Actually scratch that, I don't want to know."

It seemed that the waitress was back with their food, but her appetite slightly disappeared.

Evangeline picked at her salad, tossing the lettuce around with her fork, taking a small bite, then repeating. Fletcher apologized about saying anything.

"No.. No I'm just trying to wrap my mind around it is all. I've ... Been around awhile is all., and it's the first I've ever heard of anyone doing that. But as I said I don't really want to dwell on the subject."

She wasn't trying to sound snobby, she just didn't want to talk about people coming back from the future. A future she'd most likely make it to. It was weird to think about.

She listened to them talk back and forth until Fletcher mentioned something about Zeke rescuing Fletcher. How on Earth do you rescue someone from the future though?

And then Zeke mentioned something about her not having to hang around him.

"No, I think I'll hang around a while longer."

She took a sip of her water and looked at him.

"Unless you want me to go? Seems like you don't enjoy my company much., or maybe you're really just not use to hanging out with someone like me?" She raised her eyebrows.

All the things Zeke and Fletcher made Evangeline's heart break a little. It seemed to Evangeline he's kind of been to hell and back. It's true, she had been a bit bitter towards him, but he had been bitter all the same. Now she knows why.

"Well... Um.. I could be your friend?" She wasn't saying that all because she felt bad, she had truly meant it. In all honestly though she was sure Zeke wouldn't approve anyhow.

"I don't really have a power.. Not exactly," she began, this is the second time she's had to explain this story on the island. "I'm immortal."

"I'm sure there a way out there for me to die somehow, but I haven't found it yet."

"Anyway, it may not seem like it, but I know what it's like to need a friend, and not have anyone. But I kind of chose that lifestyle of not wanting friends, because I didn't want to get attached then have to move away like I always do. But here it seems normal, so I can tell people. I mean I've only told one other person on this island besides you, but you know."

Evangeline kind of cringed at herself for sharing her story, the story she hated, but if she somehow wanted to be his friend, he'd need to know.

Evangeline's smiled reached her eyes when Zeke said their friendship depended on her finishing her salad. "Deal." She laughed taking a bite of her salad.

"Yeah, I couldn't imagine it either until it happened. It was great at first, and then I realized I'd have to leave my friends and family behind and never speak to them again. I was 22, I'm still obviously 22, so I stayed until I was suppose to be 28, and left everything behind."

It still killed her to this day, but what choice did she have?

They were almost right. "I did look for a while, and yes I wanted to 'pass on' but at the same time I didn't because well no one knows where they go after they die, and after a while I decided I really didn't want to find out. I just wish I could have had the normal life I was suppose to have, but I guess that just wasn't suppose to be part of this never ending story."

"Besides I've had happy moments in between a lot my the depressing ones. Like now is a happy moment, I've made a new friend. Well two new friends counting Fletcher."

Evangeline was kind of shocked at Zeke's reply. They'd help her find a way? As appealing as it had been at times Im her life, it didn't sound appealing to her right now.

"As much as I appreciate that um offer," her mouth had a bitter taste, "no thank you. I'm actually a bit content with life at the moment. There's bad days and good days, but I don't think I want to find out. Not anymore anyway."

She heard Fletcher clearly and it intrigued her interest, but she decided not to ask. As curious of a being she was, she decided she didn't need to know. Besides she didn't want him to have to explain.

She smiled at his next remark, "I am pretty good at staying to my word."

Teach her how to eat, the idea made her laugh. "I think I've known how to eat a tad longer than you."

Fletcher was right a frown doesn't suit her, so she gave them the best smile she could at the moment. Thinking about math again was so unwelcoming.

"Right.. Math, i forgot about that." She truly had, and frankly she didn't want to go back. She had begun to enjoy herself.

"Thank you for understanding," Evangeline nodded, with a small smile.

They weren't doing the rest today? She gave a sigh of relief she must not of been paying attention when the professor mentioned it.

"That's a relief to hear, I don't think I could do that whole paper in a day. Math is so.. Well it's not my thing," she laugh. "But I think you guys knew that."They were definitely right about overworking the mind, and as of today her mind was definitely overworked.

"My salad is actually really good," she looked down, she could see why he thought she didn't like it, she had barely touched it. "I just tend to eat salad slow." Really the salad wasn't even that big she should have been done by now.

She liked the fact that it seems Zeke was more relaxed, she preferred this Zeke over the frustrated one teaching her math.

"Hmm.." Evangeline put her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand, "perhaps you'd like to get out more? We could go get coffee, ice cream maybe, or just go for a walk?" She sounded awful date like, but she didn't mean to sound that way. If they were going to be friends, they should spend time together outside of the classroom too, right?

Evangeline wasn't expecting to get ice cream so soon, but she returned his smile with a warm one of her own.

She smiled up at the waitress as she made a reappearance, giving them her bill and blurted out something about it being customary that on date a guy always paid for the food, Evangeline's face turned pink, and she took a drink of her water nearly choking at Zeke's response.

"I could have paid for mine," she said in a whisper, but it was took late he had already paid and her salad was being taken to be put in a takeout container. She looked up just as Zeke was grinning at her, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"So I'm your uh 'date' now?" She flashed him another smile, her cheeks turning pink

She quickly tried to think of something else to say.

"Hmm this ice cream.. Can it be my treat?" She raised her eyebrows. "After all you paid for this."