look then said, "Fancy a cuppa, Peter? Nice to see you, how are you? Dale, do you want one too?"
"Oh, er, yes please, that would be great. So, Peter, to what do we owe the unexpected visit?"
Amanda rushed into the kitchen while Dale tried to distract Peter, and opened a kitchen drawer ready to put the Hexad in.
"Oh no you don't," said Peter. "What's going on here? What's all this about time travel? You said you were going to jump."
"Hey, hey! Peter!"
It was too late, before Amanda had the chance to put the Hexad in the drawer Peter was beside her and staring at it. "What's that? Let's have a look."
"No, it's nothing, Peter, honestly." Peter grabbed for the Hexad. "Oi, hands off." Amanda slapped the back of his hand as he reached into the drawer.
"Ow! What the hell is wrong with you guys? I was just messing." Peter stared at Amanda, then at Dale. Amanda knew she was looking guilty, scared too, probably — if she looked anything like Dale then Peter knew they were definitely up to something.
He probably believes it anyway, he's mad for this stuff.
"I think we better go and sit down," said Amanda. She picked up the Hexad, the offer of a drink forgotten.
~~~
Peter was one of those people that never knocked — as far as he was concerned, if the door was unlocked, and he knew you, then it was an invitation to come inside. Never mind the fact that he'd caught Amanda in the kitchen just in her panties. Or the time he'd caught Dale doing naked yoga in the living room the one and only time he decided he would get spiritual and bend at the same time, making Amanda laugh her head off as she dashed in after hearing Dale screaming, only to find Peter staring at his bum in shock while Dale attempted to get his hands flat on the floor keeping his legs straight, backside pointing at the door to the kitchen.
It didn't stop Peter — he walked in whenever he came to visit, helping himself to anything he fancied from the fridge, justifying it by saying that the same applied at his house. Only problem was, he never had any food and his house was insanely cluttered. When he was home, and not off at some convention or other, the curtains were always drawn as he didn't like daylight dictating when he worked, woke or slept — his justification for being a slob as far as Amanda was concerned.
Still, they both liked him, and he had become a real friend in the months after they first encountered him at one of the crazy conventions.
He seemed to spend most of his time on the road, dropping in at inopportune moments on his way to one strange meeting or another. Amanda didn't know how he could do it, Dale and her were frazzled after only a few months, he'd been at it for years. He was also one of the unhealthiest looking people Amanda had ever known. She prided herself on her appearance, even if she had little interest in fashion: she kept her hair salon-good at all times, always tried to have a nice tan in the summer, and wore simple but nicely fitted clothes.
Peter was the opposite, making even Dale appear well-groomed. Peter had waxy, pale skin from a lack of sunlight, had that puffy look to his face even though he was by no means overweight — more of a skinny-fat kind of thing — and had a lot of freckles that poked through thick, red hair on his arms. Oddly, he delighted in a full beard and the strangest haircut Amanda had ever encountered. His hair was bright red, just the hint of a curl, cut into a rough bob with the nape of the neck shaved to reveal surprisingly dense neck muscles from leaning awkwardly over his computer screens, or one strange device or another.
He was an unapologetic tinkerer of anything and everything electronic, often consumed for days or weeks at a time with something as simple as a toaster or as complex as a computer. Peter also loved coding, learning about anything even slightly esoteric, and was a firm believer in much that was discussed at the various meetings and conventions he traveled to
"Oh, er, yes please, that would be great. So, Peter, to what do we owe the unexpected visit?"
Amanda rushed into the kitchen while Dale tried to distract Peter, and opened a kitchen drawer ready to put the Hexad in.
"Oh no you don't," said Peter. "What's going on here? What's all this about time travel? You said you were going to jump."
"Hey, hey! Peter!"
It was too late, before Amanda had the chance to put the Hexad in the drawer Peter was beside her and staring at it. "What's that? Let's have a look."
"No, it's nothing, Peter, honestly." Peter grabbed for the Hexad. "Oi, hands off." Amanda slapped the back of his hand as he reached into the drawer.
"Ow! What the hell is wrong with you guys? I was just messing." Peter stared at Amanda, then at Dale. Amanda knew she was looking guilty, scared too, probably — if she looked anything like Dale then Peter knew they were definitely up to something.
He probably believes it anyway, he's mad for this stuff.
"I think we better go and sit down," said Amanda. She picked up the Hexad, the offer of a drink forgotten.
~~~
Peter was one of those people that never knocked — as far as he was concerned, if the door was unlocked, and he knew you, then it was an invitation to come inside. Never mind the fact that he'd caught Amanda in the kitchen just in her panties. Or the time he'd caught Dale doing naked yoga in the living room the one and only time he decided he would get spiritual and bend at the same time, making Amanda laugh her head off as she dashed in after hearing Dale screaming, only to find Peter staring at his bum in shock while Dale attempted to get his hands flat on the floor keeping his legs straight, backside pointing at the door to the kitchen.
It didn't stop Peter — he walked in whenever he came to visit, helping himself to anything he fancied from the fridge, justifying it by saying that the same applied at his house. Only problem was, he never had any food and his house was insanely cluttered. When he was home, and not off at some convention or other, the curtains were always drawn as he didn't like daylight dictating when he worked, woke or slept — his justification for being a slob as far as Amanda was concerned.
Still, they both liked him, and he had become a real friend in the months after they first encountered him at one of the crazy conventions.
He seemed to spend most of his time on the road, dropping in at inopportune moments on his way to one strange meeting or another. Amanda didn't know how he could do it, Dale and her were frazzled after only a few months, he'd been at it for years. He was also one of the unhealthiest looking people Amanda had ever known. She prided herself on her appearance, even if she had little interest in fashion: she kept her hair salon-good at all times, always tried to have a nice tan in the summer, and wore simple but nicely fitted clothes.
Peter was the opposite, making even Dale appear well-groomed. Peter had waxy, pale skin from a lack of sunlight, had that puffy look to his face even though he was by no means overweight — more of a skinny-fat kind of thing — and had a lot of freckles that poked through thick, red hair on his arms. Oddly, he delighted in a full beard and the strangest haircut Amanda had ever encountered. His hair was bright red, just the hint of a curl, cut into a rough bob with the nape of the neck shaved to reveal surprisingly dense neck muscles from leaning awkwardly over his computer screens, or one strange device or another.
He was an unapologetic tinkerer of anything and everything electronic, often consumed for days or weeks at a time with something as simple as a toaster or as complex as a computer. Peter also loved coding, learning about anything even slightly esoteric, and was a firm believer in much that was discussed at the various meetings and conventions he traveled to
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