The coffee kiosk was already closed for the afternoon, even though the open sign and a blinking LED coffee cup sign were still lit. The Silver Spoon was already doing their early bird business, the parking lot filling slowly with overly cautious drivers taking extraordinarily wide turns in comically oversized vehicles. Retirees in sensible orthotic shoes shuffled towards the wimpy chiming of the air-conditioned entryway and waiting lounge, to overwhelm the hostess.

  Austin idled patiently through the parking lot. He was on their turf and didn’t want any trouble. He left the shady spots for the geezers and crept off to the far corner of the lot, perusing the bikini coffee kiosk from a distance, just in case he was being followed. When he got to the corner, he took a minute to adjust his mirrors, in case he could see anyone moving around in there. He waited long enough that he was sure he wasn't being followed. If Jynx was right, and those guys in the black trucks were after the saucer, at least they were easy to track.

  Getting out of the truck he dug through the bed for a minute, looking for nothing. As he sauntered across the lot, he continued to check pedestrians, like any of them might be an agent, but all he saw were the little biddies lining up for a cup of soup at a reasonable price. He cupped a hand and peered in the windows of the coffee kiosk, but it was dark, and nothing moved. If Austin assumed that the random text came from Ashley as a clue, Jynx had already left and was already on her way to the shop.

  As he was just about to leave, he heard her quiet sneeze from somewhere behind the coffee kiosk. Peering through the slatted chain link gate to the trash and recycling bins, he found Jynx crouched on a milk crate in the shade, with her pink coveralls tied around her waist, she had her t-shirt pulled up over her nose to mask the garbage smell. With her earbuds in, she was entirely engrossed in poking at her weird alien tablet and didn’t bother to look up, even when he kicked a few pebbles in her direction.

  More relieved than anything else, he let the gate close behind him as he casually strolled up to her and stretched like it had been a long drive that had kept him late. When she didn't look up, he lightly stepped on the tip of her canvas sneaker with his battered steel toe.

  “Took you long enough,” she said.

  Wiping the sweat off his brow he glanced around at the dumpster enclosure. The place smelled like coffee grounds and sun-soured milk. He didn't want to hang out there long enough to apologize properly, but she wasn't moving.

  “She thinks you're cool,” he offered, “she says we should all hang out.”

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  Jynx didn't say anything, and she still didn't look up at him.

  “What do you think?”

  She stopped playing with the tablet and hung her head. She pulled one earbud out as if the music had been the source of his stupidity. “Jesus, Austin, you just…” she shook her head. “I don't want to be your training wheels, Austin.” She glanced up at him and he knew with absolute certainty how much trouble he was in when he saw the ready tears glistening in her eyes.

  She set her jaw, letting the strange new emotion settle into anger before it spilled over. “I'm glad you had a good time.” She hung her head and put the earbud back in, quickly and furtively wiping the brimming tears before they left trails down her dusty cheeks.

  Austin kicked the empty milk crate beside her. “Can I sit down?”

  Jynx shrugged and nodded. “It's a free country,” she sniped.

  He scuffed the concrete in front of the other crate and moved it just a little, making a big show of it. He knew she didn't like to cry in front of boys, not even him, so they would have to be extra tough for a while, to make up for the slip. She wasn't ready to go anywhere, so Austin picked up a few bits of loose pea gravel and practiced his aim on a crumpled plastic milk jug. “So, what do you want to do?” he asked.

  She sighed and sagged slightly; her puppet strings had gone slack like Jeremiah. She didn't speak and the sunbaked garbage atmosphere hung heavy in the still afternoon air.

  Just as he was about to ask again, she spoke. “Nothing,” she said.

  Flies buzzed around the back of his head, attracted to the body spray and hair gel, probably.

  She didn't move.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  She looked up at him again, sunburnt with dusty cheeks, her eyes gray and resolute. “I'm not having any fun anymore, Austin.”

  “They chased Ashley out of town, Jynx. Those guys are long gone.” He wanted to get her up and moving, at least get away from the sunbaked dumpster and sour milk stank. “Let's just get to the shop and see what Jeremiah thinks we should do.”

  “It is not Jeremiah's saucer.” She said, slowly and deliberately, for those who might still be confused. She was angry, and it wasn't just because she was exhausted. She felt ignored and she got angry when she got lonely.

  He picked at a barcode sticker on the side of his milk crate, becoming suddenly interested in anything, as long as he didn't have to make eye contact again. “What are you listening to?”

  Jynx shrugged. “I don't know.” She swiped across the tablet a few times, scrolling through imaginary pages. “It just appeared in the apps about an hour ago. It was labeled 'Jaq's mixtape' in English, but it wasn't there before.”

  Austin glanced at the tablet, squinting at it like one of those stupid magic eye posters that they sold in the mall, but he couldn't see anything remarkable about the shingle. He just felt bad about being a dick to her when she needed him. “Hmmm…” he said, thoughtfully.

  “You still can’t see anything?” She pleaded with him.

  He shook his head slowly. “Sorry, Jynx.”

  She nodded. “It’s okay.” she watched the screen, still compelled to finish the task, intrigued by the new files that had appeared, labeled in American English. She wouldn’t need Austin to drive this time, but she wanted him along for the ride. “Do you wanna wait with me, anyway?”