Marcia hadn't said much during the evening, certainly not to Leslie, but now Leslie found himself walking back home with Marcia.
"I was dreading walking back by myself. I'm new in town and I have no idea whether it's safe or not to walk by yourself around here." said Marcia.
"I think it should be ok" replied Leslie, not very interested nor worried about safety.
The awkward silence that followed allowed Leslie to think about the evening. It was fun hanging out with John, he hadn't felt like himself in days and now he found himself relaxed and enjoying the evening. Hanging out with Stacy had been great too and he felt a pang of hope that maybe things could evolve into something romantic with her. If only I had known her as my old self, he thought. And then it hit him, what if John was interested, romantically, in him, in female Leslie? It felt right talking with John, but he didn't feel anything but camaraderie with his newfound air force friend. He had been in John's shoe's though, talking to a pretty girl, having fun, thinking it could lead to something else.
"And now I'm that pretty girl" he said out loud without meaning.
"Yeah, you really are... I wish I had your confidence and your looks..." Marcia replied shyly.
"What? Sorry, I was thinking out loud."
"No worries, I sometimes do that myself." Leslie could see Marcia's cheeks blushing a little.
They remained in silence until the building's doors. Leslie fumbled getting the keys out of his tight pockets and dropped them. When he leaned down to pick them up, the medallion slid out of his pocket.
"You're funny, Leslie" said Marcia. "You carry so much in your pockets, why don't you use a bag. Here you go." She said as she picked up the medallion and handed it to Leslie.
"Uh, thanks. I was gonna bring one but... Wow, that was weird... Did you feel that? Like an electric prick!" said Leslie as he felt a tingling go over his body.
"What is happening? I feel it too!"
