Testing Luck

The journey of delivering a Christmas gift...

                Chrome already knew it was a bad day when he fell out of a moving train. In this kind of scenario, one would have a flashback of one’s life, right? Wrong. All Chrome felt was disappointment.

                It started this morning when he found his wristwatch on the floor, a large crack over its screen. He wasn’t mad…just disappointed. Sighing, he dropped the watch next to his computer and pulled on a thick coat. Poking through his wallet, he saw there was enough money to buy his best friend, D.A., a gift.

                He sat in front of his computer, looking through stores around the area for ideas. Tsking, he bit his lip as he searched around the whole city. He knew it was way too late to buy a gift for his friend. It was Christmas Eve after all. Flopping on his bed, Chrome thought of all the things D.A. always wanted.

                The creative kid always wanted a digital sketch pad. Chrome mentally crossed that off the list. What does he need? He knew his buddy liked drawing. Once, D.A. showed Chrome all of the notebooks he filled out through the years. Every single page in all of them was filled with drawings. Chrome smiled to himself. Getting up, he dug through his book shelf and found an empty notebook. There wasn’t time to wrap it up and make it look pretty. He had to deliver the gift now.

                And buy myself a new wristwatch while I’m at it, he added. Writing a note to his parents, Chrome locked the door and jogged down the apartment stairs. Hugging the notebook tightly, he spun around the corner and ran into a kid, a kid carrying a jack-in-a-box. On impact, the box opened and a big glove popped out and smacked Chrome’s eye.

                “I’m so sorry!” the kid squeaked, wrestling the glove back into the box. “That wasn’t meant for you. I swear!” After years of dealing with Tweet’s antics, Chrome had learned the magical ability of self-control. He got up, pulled the kid up, and went on his way. I wonder if D.A. has any bandages at his place. Rubbing his eye, Chrome ran back up the stairs to his room. Making an eye-patch out of bandages and cotton balls, he snapped it on and used the elevator to get down.

                Luckily, it was just him and the notebook as the elevator slowly got him down to the first floor. Walking out on the street, Chrome jogged to the nearest train station. It was snowing by the time he got there. He stretched his hand out and caught a snowflake. For the first time that morning, things were finally looking up but only a bit.

                The next thing he knew, two arms wrapped him into a hug. It was Tweet, the little bugger himself. “What are you doing out here? Is that a present? Is it for me? Oh, you’re so sweet!” Chrome’s eyebrow twitched. Tweet was the King of Bad Luck and Chrome wasn’t sure if he was ready for more surprises. But, he let the kid tag along. Chrome wasn’t superstitious by any means, but a little good karma could go a long way.

                Resting his head against the window, Chrome sighed and stared at Tweet. This boy is the King of Bad Luck. Chrome poked the window and saw it wobble. As long as I don’t lean on it, everything will be okay. Chrome looked up; hoping that his little bit of good karma would save him…

                “Christmas Eve hug!” Tweet squealed, hugging Chrome. Chrome sighed and slowly wrapped his arms around the shorter boy. It was Christmas Eve after all and Tweet came along so he wouldn’t be lonely. What am I thinking? It’s Christmas Eve. I have a black eye. What’s the worst that could happen?

                But, Tweet’s hugging too much. He tried to pry himself free, but Tweet’s arms were locks. Tweet slowly pressed him against the window as he hugged Chrome. Chrome’s eyes darted back when he saw the window wobble. Oblivious to his surroundings, Tweet hugged Chrome harder. This kid has to go. Eyebrow twitching, Chrome used his leg and pushed Tweet off.

                For a moment, he was grinning from ear to ear. The next, he noticed that he was tipping back. The window popped off. From the corner of his eyes, Chrome saw the icy gray waters, his next home forever. Hiding his notebook in his jacket; he braced himself for the landing. His life didn’t flash before his eyes, but he thought of many things.

                He thought about Fox, his rival, and how they’ll never get another chance to make-up and be friends again. He thought about his love, Petra, and how he’ll never see her charming smile or eat her yummy cookies again. He thought about Isaac, Petra’s boyfriend, and how he’ll never beat up the dude for taking his love. He thought about Tweet…annoying as the kid was, he was a good kid at heart. He thought about D.A. and how he’ll never give his best friend his notebook.

                A miracle? Possibly. Chrome felt someone grab his ankles. Looking up, it was Tweet!

                “So heavy…” he muttered. Mustering all his strength, he pulled Chrome back onto the train and cried into Chrome’s jacket. Gross as it was, he couldn’t find it in himself to be mad at the kid. It was Christmas Eve after all.

                The rest of the journey to get to D.A. was smooth, thank you Karma! Chrome called D.A. and told him that he was waiting by the local book store. Little Tweet stayed warm inside the store while Chrome waited outside. It was getting dark and really cold, but Chrome didn’t leave his spot. The lamplights glowed with light and gave light to the falling snowflakes. Chrome pulled off his eye-patch and caught a snowflake. Picking it up between his fingers, he squinted as he tried to see through it.

                He saw a figure walking towards him and looked up. A warm and happy D.A. gave him a hug. Chrome felt his arms sag as he hugged his friend back. True, he last saw his friend less than twenty-four hours ago. True, he had a gift to deliver. True, it was better to hug inside the book store. But, the two best friends couldn’t find it in themselves to move from their spot.

This was a better Christmas present.

Author's Note

Question for the reader: Did you ever have to deliver a present to someone who lived far away?

Reviews

[steven]

no, and this was fantastic, i would enjoy reading anything you write

[Vivian]

Thanks for the review, Steve.