The man behind the camera—a figure of such girth he barely fit into the area allotted him—barely looked at Ian as he approached. He just grunted a request for a name, which Ian gave. He then said “on the line,” and Ian quickly stepped into place before the photograph was snapped.
“Over there to get your card.” The photographer nodded slightly off to his left. Ian walked to yet another line, where people were being handed their cards.
It’s strange, Ian thought. I feel like I know how horrible visiting the DMV should feel, but I have no memory of it. I don’t know why I know these visits should be horrible. It seems like perfectly obvious knowledge, but I don’t understand why it would be obvious to me when I have no memory of its origin.
Ian tried to shake off his train of thought, as it only felt like a rabbit hole that would hurt his head even more. He looked back towards the entrance of the building instead. Phoebe and her new friend were still chatting, which still felt somehow wrong to Ian. But Phoebe seemed more than happy with the attention. A large grin was on her face, and they seemed to go on like they were long lost friends, even though Phoebe hadn’t been on Earth for more than a few days.
Is she doing this? Did she use her abilities to make the man talk to her in order to look more natural here? They certainly acted like they knew each other, but maybe that was just her power over this stranger.
The line moved forward again, around a large dividing wall. As Ian stepped closer to his driver’s license, he lost sight of Phoebe and her new friend. He considered hanging back for a moment, but the people coming in behind him didn’t allow him to stop. He continued forward in the queue and out of Phoebe’s view.
Finally he reached the front of the line where it only took a few seconds to confirm the information already given and receive his new license. It felt strange holding the official piece of identification in his hand, but he was grateful he had it. At least with this he had a chance of starting over, even if he was never to get his memory back. He took the card and headed back out front to meet Phoebe.
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