Sam and a phone call (Friday morning)

[x-cannonball.livejournal.com]

Backdated to yesterday. Sam picks up the phone, and takes a message from someone looking for Kyle.



The phone ringing jarred Sam out of the Harry Turtledove book he was engrossed in. It never failed. He'd just start to get into a book, and then the phone would ring, or some of the teenagers would come pelting into the rec room to play video games, or he'd get paged for something X-Men related. Folding the corner of the page to keep his place, he picked the phone up. "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, this is Sam Guthrie, can Ah help ya?"

"Hello?" A female voice, slightly nervous sounding was on the other side of the phone. "Um. I'm looking for Kyle? Gibney, I think? Gibley?.. " She sounded.. worried, and just a little annoyed. "I thought this was his dorm building or something.."

Dorm building? Huh? Sam shook his head. "Uh, yes, Kyle Gibney goes to school here. May Ah ask who's callin'?" he covered his confusion with politeness.

"My name is Brooke. This is a school?" And now she sounded more annoyed than confused. "We hadn't seen him in a while, at the club, and I thought.. " The girl gave a soft, bitter laugh. "I knew he was young, but I didn't think he was in -high school-. He said his roommate was an engineer!"

"Yes, this is a school," Sam replied a bit more curtly. Hadn't seen him at the... "How exactly do you know Kyle?" he asked, a bit of a sinking feeling in his stomach from the way the girl was talking.

"Oh, I'm one of the ring girls down at the Salem Center MMA club. It's a living, you know? Pays one of the bills, at least." Brooke was just a bit more snappish now. "I thought it was a good way to meet guys who could take care of themselves, but I didn't think it'd be guys who couldn't even drive yet." She sighed, and by the way it sounded, was obviously rolling her eyes on the other side of the phone. "I'm sorry to bother you, Mr.. uh, Guthrie? I'd just wanted to see if Kyle was okay, but I guess he's just, what do they do there, weekend detention?"

'A good way to meet guys'. The phrase sounded alarms in Sam's head. He rather doubted he'd catch the girl out in anything, but if there was one thing he could rely on, it was Kyle's tendency to tell the truth before he completely engaged his brain. "The boy's sixteen. Count yourself lucky an' don't call here again. Have a good day," he said in a clipped tone and replaced the handset firmly. He was going to skin Kyle alive if his suspicions were right.