Sylph in "Meet and Greet"

Although Sylph still has more to tell us, I am going to be away from my computer for a little over a week.  Hopefully I will still be able to find time to chronicle her adventures, but in case it takes me a little longer than usual to update, that's the reason.

Sylph in “Meet and Greet”

<Cree-ee-eak…>
<Crash!>
“Oh, phooey,” Sylph grimaced.  Obviously, the heavily built lounge chair was not as sturdy as it had first appeared.  Glancing about, she saw that several people had already noticed the fresh wreckage she had created and were moving towards her.
“Hi there,” said a tall, sandy-haired boy.  “You must be Sylph.”
“Um, yeah,” she admitted, reddening slightly.
“I’m Wade Thomas.  I’m your student liason.  Can I help you up?”
“Thanks,” she managed, “but I doubt it.”  Ignoring his proffered hand, Sylph opted to stand unassisted.  Sylph’s hand-tailored dress, a muumuu on any other woman, gripped her mammoth frame like cling-film.  Wade suddenly appeared to notice the radical difference in their sizes and chuckled self-consciously.
“Sorry.  I guess you might be right, at that.”
A very prim matronly woman with a silver bun had finally reached them and was wringing her hands.  “Oh dear, oh dear.  I do hope you’re alright, young lady.  I’m so sorry.  We’ll have someone from custodial come deal with this immediately.”
“I’m fine, ma’am.  Really,” Sylph replied dusting herself off.  “Nothing damaged but my pride.”
“So,” Wade cut in, drawing her away from the distraught librarian, “you’re an art student?”
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s neat.  Have you seen our student art exhibits over in the Washington Square East galleries?”
“Not yet.  I just got in yesterday, and I haven’t really had a chance to acquaint myself with the campus.  I saw the Storefront/Forefront exhibit a couple of years ago, though.”
“Hey, really?  I had a piece in there,” Wade remarked, proudly.
“Wait- did you do Missing Persons?” Sylph asked incredulously.
“Wow- you remember it?”  Wade held the door open for Sylph as they stepped out onto 78th street.
“How could I forget?  That was a fantastic piece.  Very subtle, the way the shadows seemed to indicate more people than were actually visible in the painting- your medium is normally photography, isn’t it?”
“How’d you know?” Wade asked, slightly nonplussed.
“Your attention to detail!  It was incredible,” Sylph gushed.  “It was like the background was actually alive.”
“Huh,” Wade mused, looking up the street.  “Well, I wish the critics agreed with you.  I got pretty roundly panned, actually.”
“That’s so unfair,” Sylph snorted.  “Maybe the critics just didn’t understand what they were seeing.”
“Maybe,” Wade conceded.  “Shoot.  I was hoping we’d be able to get a cab, but it looks like the streets are just too packed.  It’s going to take hours to get across town.  I don’t think I can even get to my car.”
Sylph looked at him sympathetically.  “Where are you parked?”
“I’m in one of the student lots about a mile from here,” Wade grimaced.  “If I can’t get my car out in the next fifteen minutes, they’re going to charge me another fifty bucks for overstaying my welcome.”
“Hmm.  Tell you what.  Why don’t we hike there and see if we can get you out before you have to pay any extra, and you can tell me all about yourself on the way.”
Wade shrugged.  “I suppose it can’t hurt.  And walking is good exercise, right?”
Sylph laughed.  “That’s the spirit.  Lead on, MacDuff!”
As they walked, they chatted and Sylph learned that Wade originally hailed from Nebraska, had grown up as a farmboy (his nickname throughout his freshman year had been “Cornfed”), and had originally come to NYU on an athletic scholarship for, of all things, swimming.  Sylph noted that she used to enjoy swimming, but that she really didn’t like to go in the water much anymore.
“Why not?” Wade asked curiously.
“Well, look at me,” Sylph commented.  Wade looked.  She was, as he had already noticed, very, very big.  Unnaturally so, if he was completely honest.  She certainly didn’t look unhealthy, though…
“I swim with about the same skill as a brick,” she said wryly.  “I just don’t float, anymore.”
“What, even with those enormous airbags in front?” he bantered.
Sylph stuck out her tongue at him.  “Those are pecs, wiseass!”
Wade grinned impishly.
Arriving at the parking garage, Wade was dismayed to discover a traffic snarl that reached around the block.  “Oh, no,” he moaned.  “We’ll never get my car out in time, now.”
Sylph, on the other hand, seemed utterly unperturbed as they breezed by the parking attendant and into the lot.  “Which car is yours?” Sylph asked.
Wade pointed to a green Honda Odyssey.  “That’s kind of a cute car,” Sylph commented as she sauntered over.  “Why don’t you hop in and we’ll see if we can get her out.”
Wade shrugged and unlocked the doors with his key.  He hopped in the driver’s seat and reached over to the passenger side door when he noticed that Sylph was still on his side of the car.  “Hey,” he called.  “What gives?”
Sylph winked at him.  “Better buckle up.  I’ve never tried this with a passenger, before,” she beamed.  Confused, Wade reached over his shoulder and fastened his seat belt.  At about the same time, he felt the minivan suddenly tip sharply towards the passenger’s side.  Looking out the windshield, it appeared as if the world had suddenly turned at a forty-five degree angle for a moment.  The sensation passed quickly, though, as the passenger side also lifted free of the earth and the vehicle started to move forward out of its space.
“How’s the ride up there,” Sylph called from somewhere underneath him.
It took Wade a moment to find his voice.  “N-not bad,” he said, attempting to sound nonchalant.  “Might need to do some work on the shocks, though.  I seem to be bouncing about a bit more than usual.”
Sylph grinned widely and sank into a half crouch, smoothing out her gait as she suspended the nearly three ton vehicle above her head.  “Is that better?”
“Much,” Wade replied in amazement.
Approaching the parking attendant, Sylph dropped much lower so that Wade could just manage to pay him by leaning out his door and dropping some change into the dumbstruck attendant’s hand.  “You’re never gonna get that into traffic,” the attendant finally managed.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” Sylph caroled.  “We’re going to an art gallery.  It’s only a couple of miles, so I thought we’d just walk.”
As Sylph turned onto the wide sidewalk, lifting the car far above her head so that she didn’t accidentally clip any other pedestrians, Wade leaned back out.  “Are you sure about this Sylph?  It’s more than just a couple of miles- it’s closer to, like, ten miles.”
“It’s sweet of you to worry, Wade, but believe me when I tell you that this isn’t really that much of a burden for me.  Why don’t you just give me directions and we’ll see if we can’t find someplace to leave your car that’s a bit more amenable for us being away from it for a few hours.”
Wade, thoroughly enjoying his unique new perspective, graciously conceded to Sylph’s wishes and started directing her through the busy Manhattan streets, being careful to avoid areas with low hanging banners or other obstacles.  Not far from the gallery, Sylph spotted a parking space on the street with a meter that someone had left nearly full.  Carefully setting the minivan into the space, Sylph stepped around to Wade’s side and grandly gestured for him to step out of the car.
Smiling widely, Wade did as instructed, then turned to face the ravishing beauty who had saved him from the tyranny of New York parking fares.  She was covered in grime and dirt from the undercarriage of his car.  “Oh, no!” he wailed.  “Hold on- I have some towels and some mineral spirits in my trunk.  We should be able to get the worst of that gunk off before it completely sets.”
“I should’ve thought about this before I got under your car,” Sylph sighed.  “I guess that’s another dress shot to hell.”  Wade delivered the promised cleaning products and Sylph proceeded to quickly towel off her hair, hands, and face, wincing when the fumes from the alcohol got in her eyes.  “Ow!  That stings!”
Having cleaned up as much as she could, Sylph handed the soiled towels back to Wade and they proceeded into the gallery.  Several hours later, thoroughly exhausted, yet strangely elated they exited the building.  Wade thanked Sylph again for her help and asked her what her plans were for the evening.
“Tonight?” she mused.  “I hadn’t given it much thought.  I suppose I’ll go home and grab a shower, than I need to get some food.  I’m famished.”
“So… Will I see you tomorrow?” Wade asked hopefully.
“You’d better,” Sylph growled playfully.  “I still need help getting signed up for classes!”