The Worth of Work

Chapter 55: The Worth of Work

 

 

 

 

            Reliving last night was out of the question. Trevor lifted off his bed and on to the floorboards. He recanted after he became aware he had a ferocious hangover. He found the guile to get out to the kitchen and drink a full glass of milk. Whatever that means. He bottomed off the milk and ran to the bathroom for a shower almost immediately. Letting the head go wide open. It was the most euphoric shower he’d had in forever. He begun washing himself several times over. His shower time consisted of about thirty minutes. He jumped out and dried off, trying to look at the mirror, but couldn’t because it was foggy and he didn’t have the resolve to wipe it off. He wrung out the washcloth he’d used and threw it in a bin. Then went back in the bathroom because he wanted to stay in the steam filled room while it was still so. Sitting in there for a couple minutes, holding on to his towel and trying to feel like he was actually awake. With a faded determination, he stood up and went back to do his room and got dressed. More like the incessant kind of dressing one’s self that makes you want to abandon your residence immediately. Trevor kind of wanted to eat and leave. But, he sat in the bedroom and waited till an appropriate time to get up and get out. He felt lofty as he kicked back his feet on the bed when he sprawled across the mattress, he slung his arm around the back of his pillow and hung his head drearily. He kind of had the feeling he had in high school when he was about 16. He pressed his head into the pillow with more than average pressure. Livening up when he stretched and released his muscles. After a while, he got up with a heightened sense of awareness. He shrugged for an instance where he sauntered past the end of the hallway and realized it was still too early to get a hold of anyone. Burying his face in a bowl of noodles, he chugged a glass of soda as well. Trevor rummaged for his wallet and came up with the ninety dollars and gave most of it back to his mother who was just getting up. He clipped the rest back in his wallet and was left with about twenty-four. He elevated the cell phone above his head to get better reception. To get the best associate he could manage was the main goal at the moment.

 

After debating between Jamie, David, and Diana, he thrust his phone back in his pocket. No wonder he was the way was. Trevor’s expedition through the years hadn’t been the most courteous. He rose today with a disposition like he’d been stabbed with stake. He idolized himself too much and hung around David like white on rice most of the time, only because he had a bad habit of trying to do everything at once. For starters, most of the intercessors or inheritors, what you will, were either AWOL or were never there to begin with. Trevor might’ve lugged his message around with him, but the conception wasn’t there. The four that were incognito, unbeknownst to them, were a top priority. Wading through the contacts one more time, he went with his gut and called Jamie again. Freeing up his day for whatever he could rally in enough time with him. He was mostly idealizing about how he could convey to him about picking up the title of intercessor. Like any normal get up he wanted to gather him as a source to create a make-shift team building partner. Trevor opened the message box and scribbled out a slate text. He made sure he was understood though. Jamie shot him a text back in a matter of minutes. He looked at it and resolved that it said he wanted to meet him at a place off the highway. It was located down the train tracks and where Trevor had passed the night before. He jumped in the car as soon as he had permission and crammed the stick shift in reverse. He fleeted away from the neighborhood, hoping to gain some ground on his friend so he could converge with him simultaneously. Likely not but it was worth a shot. He gunned down the transitory roads that went down through the inner city for the duration of his trip. That leg of the journey was the worst, because he got stuck in traffic for a long time. He guessed now that there was no way he’d get there at the same time, sliding back the sunroof since he wasn’t moving and enjoyed himself. Though a terrible new song was blaring on the radio, he was basking in it anyway. He liked to feel fresh in a quirky way for no reason at all really. Almost there, he wrapped both hands around the steering wheel and hung off to the left when he reached his turn off. Knowing innately where it was, because the directions were just so simple, he rolled in to a small apartment set that ran straight across a sturdy lot. He didn’t know which car Jamie had come in, but he waited outside for any signification that he was there. After minutes of being disgruntled and sitting there, he got out and lined up with few apartments that weren’t on the ends. Figuring the probability of one of the inside apartments being the one they were at was more than not.  Likewise, the chances of him assuming which car was the one of an acquaintance he would be socializing with was decent as well. Not to say he couldn’t be wrong. Forgetting the motive behind him getting here at the right time, he looked around to see if he could get a glimpse at the nice Honda that was sitting in one slot. Trevor bounced back when he heard one of the doors open vigorously. The door had rapped the side of the place, but not hard. It still startled Trevor though. He squinted over the car and in the view of the door in the light of the sun. He was glaring at a female about three years older than him, he estimated. She strut over to the side he was on and yelled, “What are you sneaking around my car for?” He wasn’t sure what to say. He’d no idea who she was and for all he knew she didn’t have a bone of restraint in her body. When she walked up to him, he kind of pointed out his car and then put down his hand. She wasn’t sure what to make of this either he didn’t think. Not sure why he thought that was a signifying motion to anyone, but that’s what he did. “What is wrong with you?”

            “I don’t know. But, who are you?”  he asked. “I could ask you the same question?”

            “I am friends with Jamie.” He said seriously. “Oh. Well, he’s here right now.”

            “I know. He said he would be here.” He said more cheerfully. “I’m Jaena, nice to meet you.” He obliged and they went in. It was a nifty furbished place, it was also an affair. They had the kitchen stocked with bottles lined up on a shelf sitting back behind the drop-down counter and extremely up-to-date appliances. Not to mention the decorating. He sat down on a stool in line with the counter, considering it was the one open seat. There were five in there including himself, Jamie, Chase, Jaena and one other young woman. He looked at Jamie and said “What’s up?” Not much. He was being nonchalant. For one reason or another, he focused his vision on the host here. She began talking about how she hadn’t been living here long and that she made all her bills and stuff like she needed too. Why he didn’t know. Though she was the only one holding a conversation, Jamie glanced back at their friend Chase and he looked like he was keeping to himself. Trevor honed in on the direction of the conversation by asking Jaena about her life. She said. She worked at a sports bar. One of those “waitress is the attraction” kind of places. He confirmed he knew where she was speaking of.

           

For once, he felt like he was doing something legitimate. He tied down his legs to the floor instead of resting them on the stool and wrapped his hands together neatly. The host and the other girl sitting there were taking drinks and playing music on a small CD player, Jamie begun talking for quite some time. After about one hour, Trevor finally asked Jaena what the other ones name was. She said. Callie.  In the best of about ten minutes, they were smoking blunts. How this came to be he wasn’t really aware of. They brought them in out of another room while Trevor was checking out the trinkets they had set on the far end of the countertop. Chase sat around mashing buttons on his phone about every five minutes. Not that he was bothered by any of the rest of the persons in the room. He hit the blunt and passed it to Trev. There was a lot of ganga going around, Trevor flicked the ashes off the end of one cigar and passed it. Before he knew it he was stoned. From the looks of it, everyone else was too. Lighting another just before the last went out, Trev waited for the session to be done. Mainly so they could begin talking again. He wanted to know more about the way Jamie knew her, Jaena that is. He loosened up and stood up and stretched. He spouted out something like “Is this your first time being here?” He soon realized he was speaking to her and not to Jamie, which was really awkward. She looked at him funny. He ducked under the counter frame and sat back down. He didn’t know what to do with himself. “I meant to say, is this your first time inviting us here.” Jamie cast him a vapid glance, but remained speechless. She answered him. “Why yes, it is. Why do you ask?”

            “Call it a hunch.” He remarked. Then unwinded for the aftermath, as they all did. Sitting on the couch and hurriedly sorting the currency for taking part in the smoking. Trevor paid in five dollars. Looking around he could see that they were having a miscellaneous get together. As he stored his phone back away after sending off a few messages that he was writing in the midst of the quiet chilling, he raised his head and the one girl Callie was moving into the room with a snake on her shoulders. He tried to flee, but he just sat still, unable to get to his feet without touching the snake. Part of him was afraid, and part just didn’t want to nudge it or even be near it. He settled down when he saw that she had a firm handling of it. Not only did the yellow boa constrictor sit betwixt her shoulders and on to her breast and upper abdomen, but furled in to her neck and put its face up against hers. It was well accustomed to her, apparently. Trevor still didn’t feel like touching it. He gathered that it wasn’t poisonous, but even so.

            It was nearing dark, he may leave soon he may not. Lining the after-hours was the slit of moonlight poking through the blinds. Jamie was joining in the other room at the time with both hosts, and it was restricting Trevor’s ability to say goodbye. He looked at Chase and asked him what he thought. Trevor didn’t recall what he said. Trevor went to use the bathroom. He stared into the mirror for the extent of about two minutes and Jamie then broke in and it shocked him.

            “Whoa… what’s going on?”

            Jamie looked at him and was taken a-back as well. “Aye, sorry man. I wasn’t thinking you’d be in here.”

            He relaxed and told him he was done using it. He fluxed out of the bathroom door as Jamie came in. Rearranging the series of events he could say that tonight was a fun one. He wanted to call Jamie out to the parking lot, but didn’t get the chance. The night was not over.