Chapter 4: It was a bad day

It was Friday evening. The sun was low in the sky as Cameron pulled in the Connor’s driveway. ‘I am about to meet Sarah Connor’ Cameron thought as she got out of the truck. As she walked she thought about what future John had told her about his mother. He had told her a lot but she remembered what he had said before sending her back. “She is probably going to hate you, but try to get on her good side.” ‘How do I do that’ she wondered as she approached the door.

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John and Sarah were in the living room waiting for Cameron to arrive. Both were silent, lost in their thoughts. John for his part was trying not to let his nervousness show. ‘This is going to be interesting. I’ve never brought a girl home to meet mom before.’ He thought cringing inwardly at the thought of how his mom might act. He hoped she wouldn’t try to scare her off. Sarah noticed her son’s nervousness but didn’t know what to do to help him relax. She was feeling uneasy as she always did when it came to new people but part of her was actually a little excited. ‘I really never expected to get to do normal parent stuff like this.’ She realized she had just assumed her and John would always be moving around too much. ‘I really need to let him have a normal life now. No more running unless there is actually something to run from.’ She promised silently to herself and John. Just then the door bell rang. John jumped up and started for the door. He stopped as he passed his mom and leaned down and said “Please don’t embarrass me”

She fought not to laugh and with as straight a face as she could manage replied “I thought that’s what I was supposed to do.” She smiled at the look he gave her then added “but if you insist. I’ll do my best.” She nudged him towards the door.

John opened the door and Cameron seeing it was him smiled “Hi John”

“Hi Cam, come in” He reached out and took her hand as she walked in. The contact made him a little less nervous and he hoped it did the same to her. “Come on, my mom’s in the living room.” He said quietly.

Sarah had retreated to the kitchen both to check that the dinner she brought from the diner was warm and to give them a little time to say hello without her looming in the background. Finding everything fine in the oven she headed back in to the living room. Sarah smiled at them as they walked in holding hands. ‘They look cute together’ John stepped forward and introduced Cameron “Mom, this is Cameron.”

Cameron, smiling shyly, held out her free right hand “It’s very nice to meet you Mrs. Reese.”

Sarah shook hands noticing that Cameron had a firm confident grip despite her obvious shyness. ‘I think I like her.’ “It’s nice to meet you to but just call me Sarah.” She smiled. Just then a beep could be heard from the oven. “Dinner is ready.” Sarah turned and made her way back into the kitchen.

Cameron looked over at John “That went better than I expected.”

He gave her a relieved grin “Yeah, I thought she might still be annoyed about the whole me lying thing.”

Cameron’s lips curved into a half smile. “Let’s see if your mom wants any help.” She led John into the kitchen where Sarah was just getting out silverware out of a drawer. “Sarah, I could set the table if you like.” Cameron volunteered.

“Thanks that would be great.” She handed Cameron the silverware and looked at John “Could you get the plates?” In a few minutes the table was set and dinner was served.

Conversation was almost nonexistent at first as everyone was enjoying their meal. Eventually Sarah casually asked “You two met in computers right?”

John responded “No actually we met in Chem. but we didn’t get much past hello before Mr. Ferguson told us to shut up.”

Sarah snickered a little “You probably deserved it John, but you have been working together a lot for that class right?”

“Actually John has been doing most of it.” Sarah’s face hardened as she looked at her son. Cameron quickly amended,”I’m really bad with computers. They scare the heck out of me.”

Sarah smiled ‘Good girl’ “Well it’s a good thing you have John working with you then. He’s great with computers. But he spends too much time with them.” She smirked at John “maybe he’ll spend some of it with you instead.” John’s face turned red and he gave his mother foot a nudge under the table hoping to convey that she was doing exactly what he asked her not to. ‘Hey, at least I didn’t break out the baby pictures’

Cameron giggled and smiling at both Sarah and John replied “We’ll see.”

John decided at this point that he would escape further embarrassment by excusing himself to the bath room. After John was out of hearing Cameron spoke again “Sarah… I know John is still grounded, but, I was wondering if I could take him to the chili festival in the next town on Sunday? I thought I’d ask you before I mentioned it to him.”
“Chili festival?”

“Yes, I haven’t been before but I’ve heard it is a lot of fun.”

Sarah thought for a few seconds “Sure, why not. I’ve got a double shift on Sunday anyway.” A moment later John returned. “You’ve got a reprieve. As of Sunday morning you are no longer grounded and you get to spend the day with Cameron.”

John looked confused ‘is mom feeling okay’ but he smiled as he turned to Cameron “Great, what are we doing?”

“I’m taking you to the chili festival. If you want to go that is.” Cameron looked at him hopefully.

“Yeah that sounds like fun.” John beamed at her. He had always enjoyed festivals like that when he was a kid, at least, when he got a chance to attend them.

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A short time after dinner Cameron had to go home. Sarah and Cameron exchanged friendly goodbyes. “You’re welcome here any time.” Sarah told Cameron smiling at her.

“Thank you.” Cameron replied happily her face lighting up as she smiled back. As Cameron walked toward the door John just sat at the table with a slightly dazed expression ‘ok… who is this woman and what did she do with my mother.’ He blinked a few times then realized his mom was giving him an odd look. He heard the front door close.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to go say good night?”

“Oh…” John hurried out the door. Cameron turned around as he stumbled down the porch steps. It wasn’t until he was standing in front of her that he realized he had no clue what to do or say. He struggled for a moment trying to think. Then Cameron smiled.

“That went better than expected.”

John laughed “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting her to take to you like that.”

“I know. I wasn’t either.” She paused for a second her smile faded but then returned “Well I’ll see you Sunday.”

The corner of his mouth pulled up into his crooked half smile “Definitely.” They stood there for a few moments. John became aware that he was in a very similar situation to the one last Friday. ‘Great! I still don’t know what to do.’ Giving up, he was about to do nothing once again but he felt that was a bad idea. Instead he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Cameron returned the embrace holding him gently but firmly. ‘This is nice’ John thought, he had been worried that this would be one of those awkward hugs. John almost sighed as he said “Good night Cam.”

“Good night, John.”They slowly let go of each other and Cameron opened her door and slid into her seat. She gave John another beautiful smile before she drove away.

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They arrived at the festival at about 11:00 on Sunday morning. They parked on the street a few blocks from the festival and walked in. John looked around taking in everything. ‘I knew this was a chili festival but wow’ He thought as he saw everything was decorated with strings of little red peppers. Once he got over that he saw some little stalls that looked to be local crafts. ‘Maybe I can get her something.’ John pointed in the direction and asked, “Shall we take a look?”

Cameron glanced in the direction he was pointing and a small smile appeared on her lips “Yeah, let’s go.”

John took her hand, leading the way over to the first booth. It turned out to have a selection of salsa and hot sauce made from local peppers. John wasn’t particularly interested and as far as he could tell Cameron wasn’t either so they moved on. They wandered through the stalls for a while. It was a collection of chili related and chili themed crafts as well as a few stalls that had the generic crafts found at all street fairs. After over an hour without any luck John’s patience for shopping was exhausted and he was getting hungry. “Hey Cam, do you want to get something to eat?”He said as his stomach growled.

“Okay, I think the food court is this way.”

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John read the signs above the various food venders. One stand had chilidogs and another chiliburgers , a third chili fries, and one just said chili. “I hope you feel like chili. It looks like our choices are chili or chili on something.” He said grinning at Cameron.

Cameron looked around “Or gyros.” She pointed to a small booth off to one side which John had overlooked. “But I’ll have chili since we are at the chili festival.”

“Good point, chili it is then.”

They walked over to one of the stands that offered bowls of chili. “What can I get you two today?” The man with a chef’s hat behind the counter asked in a friendly way.

“We’d like two bowls of chili and…” he turned to Cameron “What do you want to drink?”

“I’ll have a coke.”

“And two cokes.” John finished.

“Alright that’ll be $10 even...” John handed him a twenty. As the man was getting the change he asked “You guys having fun at the festival today?”

“Yeah it’s a lot of fun. I really like festivals like this.” John reached out and received his change.

“Your food will be right up.” He disappeared into the back.

“Is this the world’s spiciest chili?” Cameron asked. John gave her a very confused look. So she pointed to a small sign on the counter that read World’s spiciest chili.

John laughed “Nah, they all say things like that just to lure you in. It will be fine.”

The man returned with their food. “Here you go, enjoy.”

“Thanks.” John said politely and they made their way over to a table and sat next to each other on the bench. Cameron tried a bite of the chili and a warning appeared on her HUD

WARNING INFILTRATION FAILURE IMINENT
RECOMMENDED ACTION SHOW SIGNS OF DISCOMFORT FROM SPICY FOOD

Cameron decided to ignore this and scooped up another bite with her spoon. She looked over at John. He had just taken a bite and his face quickly turned red and he began to sweat. “John, are you alright? You are perspiring.”

‘Come on John quit being such a pansy.’ He told himself “Yeah, I’m fine.” John tried not to gasp while talking. Cameron turned back to her food and started eating again. ‘How is she doing that?’ He wondered as he started chugging his soda trying to put out the fire.

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After lunch they wandered around for a while. Eventually John spotted an area that had several carnival type games. He smiled at Cameron and led the way over to the games. He approached one of the counters and was greeted by the middle aged man working the booth. “Hey son, you want to give it a try?” The man saw Cameron and lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Maybe win a pretty fish for the pretty girl.”

John quickly looked over the fish that were available as prizes and was pleasantly surprised to see that there actually were a few decent ones. “Alright, how much?”

“Three shots for two dollars.” John handed him the bills. “Now just aim for the bowl with the fish you want. You make it you win. Oh and I’ll make a deal just for you, if you make all three you can have the bowl to.” John took aim with his first shot and tossed the little ball. It hit the front of the bowl he was aiming for. ‘Well I can still get the fish.’ John’s second shot sailed over the top and landed on the ground behind the table. John aimed again and tossed the final ball. It struck the rim and bounced away. “Bad luck son.” The man stated.

“Can I try?” Cameron asked brightly. She stepped up to the counter and paid for three more shots. John stepped aside to watch. Cameron quickly made her tosses and they all landed neatly in the bowl John had been trying for.

“You have great aim miss.” The man smiled as he handed her the bowl. “Here you go. You guys have a nice day.”

“You too.” John replied and they walked away. He stopped and looked at her “Is there anything you’re not good at?”

Cameron smiled “I can’t swim.” She handed John the bowl” Here, I won this for you.”

“No you keep it.” He held it out. Seeing a puzzled look on her face he added. “I was trying to get it for you anyway.”

“Oh, thank you, that’s sweet.” She took the bowl back.

“Hey Cam I’ll be back.”

“Where are you going?” His response was to point in the direction of the restrooms. When he was gone Cameron held up the bowl and looked at the fish. “What am I going to do with you?”

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The ride back from the festival seemed too short to John. “I don’t have to be home for a few hours, my mom won’t be home until then anyway.” He paused for a moment before continuing “Do you want to go somewhere and talk or something.” ‘I hope this goes better than my last couple ideas’ He felt his stomach flutter a little with nervousness.

Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side as she looked at him. “Sure, I know a great place.”

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Cameron had driven them to a fairly secluded area which was actually only about a mile from John’s house. It was a pretty setting especially with the sun about to set behind the hills. “Wow this is a great place.” John said as he looked out his window

“Thanks”
John turned back to see Cameron smiling at him. He had planned on saying something but the sight of her face illuminated by the golden sunlight made him forget what it was. Time seemed to slow down for him as he leaned in to kiss her. Just before their lips met he felt her put a hand on his chest stopping him. He saw a pained and conflicted look on her face. “Cam, I’m sorry. I... I thought you wanted to…” the concern evident in his voice. ’Did I do something wrong?’ She didn’t respond for a moment and his heart sank.

“Of course I want to, but I can’t. It wouldn’t be right. There is something I have to tell you first.” She looked scared and her voice trembled a little.

John wanting to comfort her scooted closer and put his arm around her shoulders. “You can tell me.” His voice was reassuring. ‘It can’t be any worse than what I’m keeping secret.’

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Cameron closed her eyes and her HUD came up. She didn’t want to lie to John so she eliminated those options.

POSSIBLE RESPONSES
REVEAL FULL REASON FOR BEING SENT BACK (advised against by John Connor)
I AM A TERMINATOR YOU SENT BACK IN TIME TO PROTECT YOURSELF.




She opened her eyes and looked into his green ones and told him. “I’m a terminator you sent back in time to protect yourself.”

John sat for several seconds not moving. His mouth opened and he spoke in a surprisingly calm voice “Oh, well that sucks.” And fell silent again. Cameron checked his vitals. His heart rate was rapid and his perspiration and adrenaline levels had shot up. “So… you didn’t need my help with computers.” John sounded dazed and his expression was a combination of shock and confusion mixed with several other emotions she couldn’t quite read. “Wait, I sent you back… to protect me.”

“Yes, that is right.”

“From anything in particular?...Never mind, don’t tell me. How long have you been looking for me?”

“73 days.” Cameron was impressed at how well he was taking the news.

“What did you do all that time?”

“I—“ Cameron began but suddenly John’s face paled and he looked as if he had been burned.

“I can’t deal with this” He whispered throwing open his door and sliding to the ground. Cameron watched him go until he turned a corner and she couldn’t see him anymore. He hadn’t looked back. She turned away tears forming in her eyes.
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Author’s note: I’m very sorry for the long delay. I was busy studying then taking the MCAT, so I wasn’t having fun either. You can see why I waited to post this chapter until I had time to write again. I can only imagine how mad you would all be if I left you with this for a month.
Please read and review.