"You're really starting to freak me out with this magic talk, Kate," David said.
"I'm not freaking you out. I'm just saying--"
"Yeah, magic. That's a great career choice for you. You do realize our mechanic thinks you're mentally unstable just because you believe in magic."
"Like I need to be working with him. He's a weirdo!"
"You're the one who worked in a pet store for three years."
"Because it was cheaper than college at the time. I'm done with that now, and I want to do magic. The last thing I should do is be working with Norman. He did say he'd like to do magic, so maybe I can help out him."
"Maybe not. I told you. Green-haired guy. He's supposedly working really hard at the office."
"You're the one who told me not to talk to him about magic."
"It's a big secret," David said, shaking his head. Amanda couldn't say why, but he seemed to have a weird attitude toward David.
Amanda was working with David at a car repair business. Although she'd been tight with David for a while, she'd just recently realized that she'd fallen for him. Her life was strange and she didn't know the best way to express her feelings. She was scared of losing what they had, and she was nervous about what kind of response her feeling would trigger.
"So we were talking about magic," David said. "You do realize that you not only believe in magic, but you seem to think you can use it. That's crazy, Amanda. Magic isn't real."
"Look, I don't know how to explain it to you. I use magic, it works. It's real, so it's there. People don't believe in it because they've never seen it."
"That's the same for me. I've never seen you fly or any of that other stuff you talk about. My own thoughts do not appear in my hand without the use of tools, so I don't see how you can be so certain that you understand magic better than I do."
"You're just insecure."
"It's not that. You use imaginary powers to help do things, but they're not needed. Why do you need magic?"
"It's for people like you."
"What do you mean? It seems like magic is just an excuse not to do things without hurting people. But I do everything for everyone, it's not just you. I'm not going to stop helping people just because you made up some new way, magic, to argue with me."
Amanda knew that arguing wasn't going to work here. She knew that if magic wasn't real, it wasn't worth talking about. She considered the possibility that magic was real, but not something she could use in practice. Amanda sat staring at David for a few moments.
"You're right," she said at last. "I think I'm going to give up on magic. It's been good for me, but I don't think it's actually there. I think it was all in my head."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I don't think it's real."
"Hmm, you're really going to give it up even though there's no evidence that there's anything real to give up? That's pretty strange."
"I guess. It wasn't that bad of a thing to believe, and I liked it. I don't know why I thought I could use it, but it it it gave me confidence and did some things I couldn't have done without."
"I think you're going to need a little more time to decide on that," David said. "You have to admit, magic would be a great thing not to need real work."
"Oh, I know. I'm not going to wait too long, though. I think it's all in my head, really."
"I can work with that. I like you and I'm not just saying that because you have imaginary powers. You really do know all about cars and you're cute."
"I might have a few more irrational thoughts before this is done. But I will stop. I promise."
"You should be less confident in that promise," David said.
Amanda smiled as she walked away. David's overbearing attitude was something she'd have to get used to. He wasn't like anyone she knew. He was much braver, and he always knew what he was doing. He wasn't the best with his words, but she'd had a crush on him for a while now. He got the job done no matter what, and he was always sure.
Amanda sat down with David, both of them enjoying their meal. The B.S. Truck Repair Company was losing money. It was doing well in general, but it had been a few weeks since they'd had to work on something. They'd been making some plans, not everything about the shop had been decided well in advance. Part of the problem was that they didn't have a knack for business.
"Think they're going to fix it again?" David asked.
"I think so. It's a good car, and he does good work. I just feel bad that it's my car, too."
"It's just a car," David said.
"Yeah."
Amanda noticed that they were near the office before she realized that David wasn't driving. She glanced down and realized that he was holding his hand on the steering wheel. Amanda was a little surprised, but David was a little slow to react.