 |
| 10:21 p.m.-2005-11-03 My third offering of NaNoWriMo 2005, wherein I've discovered that my protagonist is a complete wanker and then some. But hey...at least I'm writing :) In other news, I've done really well on my ASL midterm. Pray for my other ones. The Captain �Greg? Greg! That IS you�Greg! Hey, wait up! Greg!� The sounds of horns honking made his hair stand up on end, but he resolutely didn�t look behind him. Mostly, he didn�t want to see her get hit by a car� the lurid fantasy played through his skull without his permission. He could see it all in vivid, hideous detail�her slim form dashing across the cross walk, probably with a backpack covered in various buttons proclaiming this and that. Her hair flying like a wild beast�s, her slender arms flailing as the car didn�t see her, chose to run the almost green light, sending her tiny figure sailing into the middle of the intersection, where traffic, unable to stop, would mash her delicate bones into a fine paste of flesh and calcium�.he could see the river of blood pooling a few inches away. �Greg?� He jumped so high, she let out a shrill little chirp of a scream, like a strange bird, and backed away�and then laughed�a high spirited, girlish giggle, �Greg! Man�oh man, is it good to see you!� And then, she was hugging him. But then, she hugged everyone. �Oh, you look like you lost your last friend�what�s the matter?� Lily just laughed again, her bright, heart-shaped face radiating her usual joy, her unruly brown hair pulled up and tamed somewhat by the bun and pair of chopsticks thrust through it. The stuff was long, and curly, and streaked with a few other shades now. Different, from when he last saw it, but still the most beautiful hair he�d ever seen. �Oh, Greg, don�t be a tease�how�s life treating you?� But her eyes, they said things her lips wouldn�t. She could see. He was fat(ter) now. He was shabby. He was unshaven. He needed a haircut. He was at the bottom of the heap. It had been well over two years since their one disaster of a date�and he�d never had the courage to look her in the eye since. �That good, huh? Hey�where you headed? I have a few blocks to go�can we walk together?� �Uh. Sure. I was just out for a walk, anyway�� Like he was doing it for his health or something. It made him so sick, he wanted to cry�but he didn�t. He couldn�t. He wouldn�t. �Oh. Well�how are things? I dropped by your apartment nearly year ago. You�d moved, and you didn�t even call and tell me.� �Oh. Sorry. Lost your number. Lost my whole phonebook, when I cleaned out my desk.� He didn�t lie very well, but it sounded convincing to him. Plausible. Reasonable. Lily�s eyes turned a little greyer, her lips a bit thinner. He dared another glance. She was neatly dressed, even well� �Greg�I�m so sorry. You still having trouble getting hired again?� He shrugged, and walked on, not having the courage to tell her he didn�t try and get hired back at the same company. To him, it had seemed like some sort of karmic resolution to his embarrassment. It was easier, �They hired almost everyone back after the restructuring, you know that? I think they�re still hiring�I could ask.� �No!� he cut her off. �No�no, that�s fine. I�m not really interested; I think I�m out of the field anyway. It just wasn�t�wasn�t my thing.� Lily�s eyes grew a little sadder for a moment, and she nodded, �That�s alright. Crummy business anyway. So�what have you been doing with yourself?� �Oh�the same ole�hanging with Mick some�you remember him?� It was sort of a diversion; he didn�t remember if he�d ever introduced them to one another anyway. �The activist or whatever he calls himself?� She was all smiles though, amused again. �Yeah, I remember. He hasn�t gotten himself arrested protesting Big Tobacco or something?� �Uh�probably several times. We don�t talk about that much, really.� Her smile evaporated�and she paused a moment, as if trying to assess his real mood, under the dull sort of indifference. And then, she nodded�took two steps, then turned back and swung her backpack off her shoulder. Anyone else in her position would be carrying a briefcase. She was still shouldering the battered old warhorse of a backpack from her years in high school, and it showed. And as he remembered, it was covered in pins, along with a huge one right in the middle, bearing the words �Corporate Whore�. �Greg�hey?� It made him look up again, to see that she was offering him a business card. �Call me sometime, okay? I miss talking to you.� He mumbled something completely unintelligible, and took the card, then banished it deep into his pocket, �Alright. See you around. I�ve got to uh�go.� Lily smiled again, her freckles golden against her pale skin, and then she turned, flinging her backpack over her shoulder once more, and flouncing off, leaving him staring after�trying to read the rest of her buttons as they rapidly diminished in size. It was no use�her witty sayings were lost to his vision, and he turned too late, realizing that everyone else had crossed�and he wasn�t able to start across himself. So he stood there, and stared forlornly at the light, waiting for the little white man to appear again, giving him permission to cross. For a few seconds, he actually contemplated running after her, but the mental image of his fat flesh jiggling all over as he tried to catch up to her made him sick. So for a few seconds more, he contemplated the cars whizzing past�if he were to accidentally slip off the curb, he�d be hit and killed. Or if one were to lose control, he�d be splattered all over the sidewalk. Involuntarily, he took two steps back, and bumped into someone behind him�apologizing, he cringed�and looked back, only to find Lily�s concerned face. �Greg�hey. Let�s go�I called in and rescheduled my meeting. I know this great bar, just up the street. We can pop in, have a beer.� When he opened his lips to object, she waved a hand. �Hey�I�m buying�let�s go.� His protest was for naught. After a few moments, he was following her up the street like a puppy, unable to look any higher than her backpack as she chattered on like a happy magpie. Unable to listen, he forced himself to read the buttons he was eager to read earlier. One read �You may not squeeze my business�; another �Stop seeing at my boobs�; another �My pet zombie hates your guts but loves your brains�, yet another read �GaMeR�, another featured some psychotic looking clown proclaiming that �Today was a complete waste of makeup�. Yeah�yeah, that was the Lily he remembered, as he dogged her boot-clad footsteps. Greg looked up, blankly. �Wrong?� She just smiled, but for a moment, he thought he saw a crack in the expression. �Yeah�� She pulled the bar door open for him, and let out a little of the smoky, stale beer smell. What on earth was a girl like her doing in a dump like this? HE didn�t know�but he did vaguely recall that she�d liked this sort of place before. When they worked together. He always turned her initiations to go out down; the one time he didn�t, chaos had ensued. A bit of an old song blared on the big, out of place looking �Video Jukebox�, as she waved at the bartender, whom she obviously knew�and went to sit down at a table like she owned it. �Yeah. What�s wrong. Something�s really wrong. Two of whatever you�ve got on special�thanks.� She smiled to the bartender, who just nodded� �You like beer?They�ve got a couple of microbrews. Not so bad�mind if I?� She pulled out a pack of cigarettes�and he grimaced, but then gestured. Go on. A little more second hand smoke wasn�t going to kill him. Silence (in as much as it could be called silence, with a tired sounding country singer covering some recent rock hit) reigned for a few moments, before he shrugged. �I�m between jobs is all. Just one of those things. I�ve got some resumes out.� She shook her head, and tipped some ashes into the big, solid glass ashtray beside her backpack. �Well�we�re hiring. Look�it�s not what you were doing, but�I could get you an entry level position. If you want. I know you�re good. You�re dedicated.� Greg just grimaced again, more, and then tried to blame the cigarette smoke. �No, no, it�s okay. I really don�t want another job there. Really. I don�t. It�s nice of you to offer, though.� She sighed a bit, and rolled her eyes, as the beers appeared as if by magic. �Greg. You�re being unreasonable. C�mon. Get your resume, and show up tomorrow. I�ll talk to Sanders, and you�ll be in. It�s better than unemployment. Really. I�m not kidding. We could use someone with some experience.� �No,� he all but whispered, choking on the denial. �Really, I couldn�t.�
And if you got THAT far, here's an easter egg. Look, I STILL rule Google when it comes to urethral reroutes
Total Word Count to Date: 4420  The Internet's Mood: The Captain Recommends Dogcessorize 2006-08-13 - Movie Review: Monster House 2006-08-07 - Movie Review: The Descent 2006-06-09 - Movie Review: The Omen 2006-06-03 - She's here, She's here! 2006-05-22 - Blame the Cabin-Boy for playing 50 questions.
|