Chasing Shadows Read Online Free

asked."
    "Okay, good start." says Shelving Fairy. "I
think I'll get a blueberry waffle because I damn well deserve one,
and a diet coke."
    At this moment the waitress returns. She looks
from one of us to the other. "I heard you ladies." She says. "So if
that's what you want I've got it down. Anything to drink for you?"
She asks me.
    "Water is good, and coffee."
    "Thank you. Need cream?"
    "That'd be great thanks." The waitress leaves
and Shelving Fairy looks expectantly in my direction. "When they
found me they took me to the hospital."
    "Naturally." Shelving Fairy has a sparkle of
disbelief about her.
    I roll my eyes and continue. "There was a white
board in the room where they write the name of your nurse every
shift. One of the nurses' names was Meegan. She was pretty, but
rude sometimes. Jones I just picked out of the air."
    "So you named yourself after a rude
nurse."
    I shrug. "I wasn't feeling so hot, and I
figured I didn't want to aim too high." Shelving Fairy laughs and
after a beat I join her. "The other stuff was a hassle but not too
bad. The cops got me a social worker, Melody Smith. Again, you can
Google it. She got me all legalized and she still calls or stops by
when I miss too many appointments, which is a lot."
    "Why does she stop by? Aren't you all adjusted?
You have a job and place to live, at least I'm assuming you're not
homeless."
    "I'm not homeless. My case is still open and
will be until my memory comes back, which could be any second now
or never. So I'll probably always be in the system unless I leave
the city. I can't imagine the city police department would really
care enough to keep up with me if I disappeared."
    "They never found out who you were? What about
your parents? Your friends? Were you in school? You could have
like, a PHD and you'd never know it."
    I nod. "True. I could also have like a million
dollars in student loans, a defunct mortgage, and an arrest record.
I wouldn't know any of that shit either. Trust me I've thought
about it."
    Shelving Fairy considers. "So it's not all bad
then."
    "Nah. I'm cool with it. You're
turn."
    Shelving Fairy sulks. "I thought your story
would be so much more interesting than that. It's kind of a let
down."
    I laugh. "Sorry my life is a disappointment to
you... You're turn!"
    "Yeah, Okay." Shelving Fairy snubs out her
smoke and before she can start talking the food arrives. We eat in
silence for a few minutes. I get distracted by the television
hanging from the corner of the diner. It's muted but hey, moving
pictures are moving pictures right? The sound of silverware hitting
an empty plate draws my attention back to the table. Holy cow!
Shelving Fairy can really pack it in. What's it been three minutes?
Shelving Fairy is all done and pulling money out of her
pocket.
    "Hey!" I say. "Spill it."
    Shelving Fairy glares. "Not that it's any of
your business, but I did happen to engage in some slightly illegal
activities related to herb like plants that are common in nature
and so should not even be illegal. I saw a cop car cruise by the
fountain, which is where I was with this guy. The car flashed its
siren for a sec and the guy, His name is Froilan. He's from
Hungary. He's pretty cool, goes to my school. He's a video major.
Anyway he freaked out and ran towards the water so the police were
chasing him and I decided to head west."
    "Oh."
    Shelving Fairy looks a little sheepish. "Yeah,
maybe I got a little paranoid."
    "A little." I smirk. "I totally thought you'd
have a cool story, but it turns out you're just exactly as
disappointing as I am."
    Shelving Fairy laughs at this. "I don't know,
I'm pretty disappointed."
    "You still high?"
    "Eh." Shelving Fairy shrugs. "A little. I could
eat about four more of those waffles so I think we'd better go
before I order them. Hey you're not like one of those
drugs-are-bad-you-should-be-ashamed-of-yourself people are
you?"
    I scowl. "I don't know. I could be any kind of
person at all, but in my three long years of life