Chapter Three (Rough Draft)

It was raining. A soft pattering rain that was inconstant in pattern. I opened my mouth to quench the last drop of dehydration out of my body. It was sugary, with a hint of corn starch. My eyes began to flutter open and my retina was greeted with another drop of rain.  It was raining corn flakes. And by the sugar still clinging to my lips it was the frosted flakes, the good stuff. Someone knew where I hid the good food.

            “Don’t move you jackass. I’m keeping score of how many I can get to hit you.”

Ethan and I had met in elementary school. We didn’t have some monumental beginning like most friends who manage to keep the bond strong more than a few months. No we realized we were too lazy for that. We sat down next to each other during lunch one day and the epic words “Like Pokémon?” said a chubby cheeked version of myself. And Ethan said the three words that bond us together. “Yea who doesn’t?”

And there you have it. The chubbiness had faded with the energetic exercise that comes with being young boys. We grew taller, more rowdy, but hey who doesn’t still love Pokémon?

And watching him standing there shoveling my frosted flakes into his mouth while simultaneously flicking the ones he deemed unworthy at my face, I knew while we were still friends. We couldn’t stand anyone else.

            “Why don’t you go steal someone else’s food you thieving b*****d.” The sound that came out was more of a mumble. My cords had apparently decided I needed more sleep than Ethan was willing to give me. 

            “I don’t know where anyone else hides the good food” The sound was muffled by the constant smacking of his mandibles going to town on the cereal.

            “What the hell time is it anyway?” The sun that was reaching my eyes was bright and offensive, I was betting near ten in the morning at best.

            “Noon.”

Wait what?

He was leaning back to stare at the clock on the wall, never leaving his perched position at the foot of my bed.

            “Well it was noon when I got here at least. I’ve been flicking these corn flakes at you for a good half hour or so.” Leaning back to reposition himself into a comfortable position. “Damn you sleep like the dead. Long night?”

“No. And why the hell didn’t you just go watch the TV in the other room instead of watching me while I sleep?”

A wicked smile crossed his lips. “Well I tried to get your mom to keep me entertained but she was busy with the other boys on the block. I had to wait in line. Not that patient dude.”

He was in his prime today it seemed.

“I told you, I put you on her V.I.P. list. You get front of the line access.”

I could see the contemplation run across his face before he smiled at some inward dialogue which I’m sure would have made me want to punch him.   He turned the smile into an awkward shrug.

“Eh next time. Besides, I wouldn’t have missed hearing you talk in your sleep for anything.” Another smile spread across his lips. “By the way—who’s Hailey? And what prey tell is the snow blower?” his chuckle was low and deep “Because whatever it was, you sure were enjoying it.”

When his tailbone smacked into the floor, he wasn’t the only one laughing. The book that had currently been resting on my bedside table now lay haphazardly across his chest.

“I take it then,” He said in between laughs “you’re not going to tell me the juicy details? Oh come on what the hell good are ya if I can’t get the good stuff?” He pushed himself into the old beaten chair that was stashed in the corner of my room and did his best to bat his eyes.  

“Is there a reason for you to be bugging me right now?”

“For funzies.”

I dragged myself into a faded pair of old jeans and a grey shirt that smelt sort of clean. Ran my hand threw my hair and I was ready to go. I like to thank my mother for blessing me with the life of a Y chromosome.

Vin’s was the local deli. The owner had known me for years not as customers, but as neighbors. Throughout my last three years at Saint Jude I had spent my mornings here bent over an energy drink and a bagel and a slab of butter. My tab was ever growing, and the place was charming, even quaint.  My last birthday had been a surprise to walk in and have a full party décor spread along its walls.

Walking into it today…just didn’t have the same sparkle and pizzazz. Everything seemed off balanced. Like the world had been put on a tilt-a-whorl featuring the neighborhood bulimic and the Pillsbury Dough boy.  My dream had been playing on repeat since I had opened my eyes. I could see her face more clearly now as I faced my death. Her features were sharp despite my haziness. With the chaos the happened around me I waited to hear that concerned voice calling my name. I had become addicted to the sound. So soft yet forceful, worried yet frustrated. I dreamed it was Hailey last time. I could see her features so much more clearly. When I placed the name to the face it had turned into a completely other dream. A dream I more enjoyed.

We grabbed the table nearest the window and I felt the chairs shudder under me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was coming for me. Some dark part of fate was smiling at me today and I could do nothing to escape it.

“Dude you ok?” Ethan held an uneasy tension in his voice and eyes. “You’re not lookin so hot.”

My forehead was covered in a thick layer of sweat. I could feel the walls closing in around me. It started to spin and my vision started to blink. I couldn’t distinguish specific features of the room around me. I bound out of my seat into the blazing high summer sun. I grabbed at the medallion at my neck and I felt the ground become more stubborn under my feet. I floated to the ground in an ungraceful bounce. I heard Ethan’s exit from the disrupted little store before I saw him.

“What the hell was that?”

“Would you believe me if I said I have no fricken clue.”  My head rested in my hands and waited till I found the strength to raise my eyes.

“Everyone’s staring.”

I heaved my eyes upward to see the onlookers crowding near the window to look at me. Great, just what I needed. I let my head fall again to its resting place.

“Geeze, you’d think they were at the damn zoo! Let’s get you out of here.” He grabbed me under the arm and hoisted me onto my feet.

We trudged slowly. I glanced back at the deli as we moved by. Everyone still crowded around the thick glass panel watching after me as if a naked showgirl waving a thousand dollar bill in her bouncing cleavage had walked by.

In the corner sat a singular kind of man. His eyes were enflamed as he stared at me. Darker skin that bled to darker eyes. Around his neck was a religious figure I could not recognize from here. The world began to spin again. My face grew so balmy. My fingers curled around Saint George on my neck and it settled. His lips twisted into an upward snarl and the paper in his hands crumpled under the force. I let Ethan pull me along faster. Today just wasn’t turning out to be my day.  

 

Author's Note

Reviews are always wanted and welcome!