#FlashFictionMagic: Tick Tock

“Dad!” Running and laughing Grace came into the kitchen with her open laptop in her hand. Dave, who was just finishing up his work-from-home day at the dining table, barely had time to move his stack of paperwork and close his own laptop before his daughter plopped her computer down on top of it. Pointing excitedly at the display, she said, “Fern’s on TikTok!” 

Dave removed his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes, trying to shift gears from the math he’d just been doing to whatever his daughter was trying to communicate to him. “TikTok?” he echoed. His daughter shouldn’t be on that, should she? “Are you on TikTok?” 

“No, Dad, somebody sent me the link. It’s Fern!” She leaned over, tapped the space bar, and a video began to play. 

In the vertical rectangle at the center of the browser window a group of five women in face masks were spread out in the hallway of an elementary school, each holding a different-colored pocket folder. Pop music blared, and they started to dance, raising and lowering their folders as their feet performed complicated hip-hop steps. Dave had to admit, ridiculous as this was, Fern looked great. How had he known her so long without realizing she could dance?

“Wow,” he said, eyes glued to the screen. 

“I know. She’s amazing.” 

And beautiful, Dave thought. He knew their agreement. When Fern had moved to the next town three years ago, they had promised each other they would keep a healthy distance and stay just friends. But Dave wasn’t great at lying to himself. His feelings, try as he might to ignore them, were never far below the surface. 

When the video ended, Grace snatched up the computer and bounded out of the room, back to her homework spot and the essay she was working on. Dave didn't reopen his laptop. Instead, he grabbed for his phone, unlocked the display and thumbed in a text: THOSE ARE SOME MOVES. NO WONDER YOU WENT VIRAL. 

They didn’t talk all day every day anymore. That was part of that healthy distance. They were building their own lives, trying not to depend on each other so much. He doubted she would reply. She was busy. Teachers’ lives were madness right now. There was no way she’d have time — 

Dave’s internal monologue was interrupted by a reply message that made his heart sing. GLAD YOU LIKED IT. I MISS YOU GUYS. HOW IS EVERYTHING? 

EVERYTHING IS GREAT, texted Dave, and they were off. By the end of the night, two things had happened: Dave and Fern had exchanged over one hundred text messages, and Dave had downloaded TikTok. The next time Fern did a dance routine like that, he wanted to be among the first to see it.