AE - Chapter 2

Chapter Two

A gentle ratta-tat-tat awoke me before my alarm had a chance to sound.  The room was a gloomy darkness and as I sat up in bed, I realized that the sound had been from the mellow rain shower outside my closed window.  Flipping off the switch on the alarm, I put my feet on the cool wood floor and walked over to the foggy window.  Who knows how long it had been raining for the streets below were like one giant puddle.  Outstretching my fingertips to press against the glass, I find that the temperature outside is still warm.  Good… I could use a good jog in the rain this morning.

Sporting my black running shorts and a dark blue t-shirt, I made my way down the street on my normal routine run.  With every step, mud and water kicked up the back of my calf muscles with a splash leaving traces of filth running down the back of my ankle socks.  It really didn’t matter too much; after all, I was soaked all the way through within minutes anyways. 

There weren’t too many other people out walking this morning – due to the weather I’m sure.  The few that were out sported oversized umbrellas, making it difficult for me to dodge them as I passed.  After about a mile or so, I made it to my first stop at a hole-in-the-wall gas station where an old friend of mine worked.  I would stop every morning for a drink and snack bar of some sort. 

“Morning Axel, a little wet out there today.  I wasn’t sure if I’d see you.”  Margaret called when the familiar ding sounded as I walked in the door.  Margaret was an elderly lady that had worked at this station as long as I could remember.  She was small all around, short and very thin, but that didn’t stop her from holding her ground against the occasional shoplifter.  Rumor has it she kept a Colt 45 under the counter and had used it on many occasions.  I’d believe it.  Her spunkiness showed through in her old age, just about as much as the bits of red left in her otherwise white curly hair, and she loved to give people a hard time. 

“Hey Margaret.”  I began with a quick wave of my arm and a short pause to try and wipe the mud off of my feet.  “Sorry, but you may have to have someone mop up after me today.”  I apologized as I ran my fingers through my rain-soaked hair, spiking it back up before walking to the cooler for my pop.

“Aw, you know I don’t care.  I’ll get one of these lazy-ass new kids to do it.”  She laughed as I approached the counter with my pop and a candy bar.  “I see we’re not in the healthy mood today are we?”  She tormented, taking note of the poor nutrition choices as she rang them up for me.  Depending on the day I could get anything from an energy drink to water, a granola bar to pure chocolate.  Today was just a ‘whatever’ kind of day and I didn’t feel too strongly either way.

“Yeah, well, it’s hard to be healthy when it’s so nasty outside.  And since it is so bad out there, I’ll take a pack of the usual while I’m at it.” 

“Lame excuse kid.  Go ahead and blame it on the shitty weather though, we blame everything else on it anyway.”  She laughed again as she handed me my change and the pack of cigarettes.

“Thanks Margaret.  Try and have a good day.”  I called back as I walked out the door and back into the pouring rain.

“Yeah, you too, Axel.  Enjoy that shitty weather out there!”  She yelled at the closing door behind me.

I smiled and shook my head at the old lady as I felt the warm rain begin, once again, to soak through my clothes.  Quickly shoving the pack of smokes in my pocket to keep them dry, I half-jogged down the street and to the local park.  What could I say; I was a creature of habit.  Making my way into the gated patch of trees, I was pleased to see I was the only one there today.  I said a silent ‘thank you’ to the rainclouds for keeping all of the other people away and I went and found my usual bench.  It was conveniently located beside an old oak tree and across from the huge fountain in the middle of the park.  Taking a bite of the chocolate bar, I watched as the water splash up and out of the top of the giant fish sculpture that made up the upper half of the fountain.  The water fell gracefully down the fountain and into the large lake below.

It was so nice sitting there by myself in the peaceful solitude of the rainy day.  It wasn’t that I didn’t like people, but I did enjoy it when they weren’t around.  I watched the ripples dance across the surface of the water in a playful manner, skipping and colliding with the others as the rain continued to fall.  On sunny days, I would sit at that same bench and watch the local kids sailing their toy boats on that lake.  I miss those days of innocence and carefree leisure.  Now it was all about work and finances – neither of which were something I enjoyed.

Taking the last bite of my chocolate and slugging down my pop, I stood and began to leisurely walk back to my apartment.  I think any other day I would have jogged back as well, but the quickness in which I consumed the sugary items didn’t set to well with much more than a stroll.

Before I knew it, I found myself back in my apartment and stepping into the water of a nice, hot shower.  I didn’t really start washing right away, but rather just watched as the mud eroded from my body and was swept away down the drain.  When the water began to clear, I took out my soap and began to shower away the dirt and cold from the outside experience. 

Clean and warm, I stepped out of the shower, dried off, and put on my work uniform.  With a few hours to kill, I spent most of the time skimming through the poor selection of the daytime television.  I finally stopped on a game show (it was either that or soap operas) and munched away on a haphazard peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.  When the show ended with a screaming woman dancing around the stage, I went to the kitchen and quickly fixed me another sandwich for my dinner break at work. 

As I drove out of the city, I realized that I had to be living to most boring life to anyone.  My day was full of one routine right after another and it was only on the weekends that I got out and actually did something.  Then again, I felt that that should change soon enough after Scott’s little escapade last night.  I’m not sure what I’d say the next time he called to go out.  Honestly, if it weren’t for him, I’d probably sit at home most of the weekend too.  I was such a thrill to be around.  Nah, I just need a girlfriend.  I mean, picking up girls at the clubs was fun and all, but I really needed a steady relationship.  This bachelor life just wasn’t fitting me too well.  But then again, I’ve been working on fixing that.

When I pulled into the dirt parking lot of the secluded research facility, I killed the engine to my over-the-hill pickup truck.  Seeing that I had once again got here a little too early, I put the seat back and cranked up the radio.  The selection of music that was being played today was just my style:  loud and aggressive.  Putting my hands behind my head, I closed my eyes and just took in the moment.  It was good to get myself pumped up, considering the shift was exceedingly long and uneventful.  But I guess I couldn’t complain.  I mean, I wasn’t working in the city, I wasn’t unemployed, and to admit to the truth, there was this cute little research assistant that worked the same shift as me.

Tap tap tap.  The sound of something knocking on my window startled me from my ‘meditation’ of sorts.  Quickly, I opened my eyes and looked over to see that cute little scientist that I had just been thinking about.  She stood there in the rain, sheltered under a small green umbrella and smiling at me.  Putting the seat back up, I cranked the window down with quite a bit of effort.  It was an old truck, what could I say?

“Hey Mandy.”  I smoothly greeted her, letting a slight smile escape my lips.  I couldn’t help it, she was just too damn cute. Her shoulder-length, light brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a few strands of bangs falling across the right side of her face.  She sported a few different colors in her hair with the clips that never seemed to match.  Around her neck she wore a few too many necklaces and had plenty of bracelets and bangles to match.  She wore big hoop earrings and had some smaller studs pierced in random places about her ears – some were in the cartilage and some were even in the inside of her ears.  As she put a hand where window was only moments ago, I admired all of her interesting ring choices as well.  I suppose she dressed like a ‘punk’ of sorts, but she was so far from it.  That’s probably why I liked her so much.

“Damn Axel, how can you take a nap with music that loud and obnoxious?!”  She called out over the blaring radio.  I quickly turned the music down and rotated back to face her.

“Sorry about that.  And I wasn’t sleeping.”  I defended, but she had her mind made up. 

“Yeah, whatever.”  She rolled her eyes playfully then looked at her watch.  “Well, it’s about that time.  Care to walk me to the door?”  That girl knew me all too well.  As if we had planned it out, we dodged the puddles as we made our way to the door.  The little green umbrella wasn’t quite big enough for the both of us, so once we made it to the shelter of the entranceway, we realized that both of us were soaked on one side.

“Well, I guess I’ll see ya at break.”  Mandy stated, pausing to shake the excess water from her umbrella.  I suppose we had walked to the door together enough times for her to know I liked to stop for a quick cig before starting the day.  But then again, I liked to think that she just knew me – even if it was wishful thinking.

“Yeah, I’ll catch ya then.”  I thought about skipping the smoke today, just to follow her in the building, but I knew I’d regret it later.  Not to mention, it might be a little obvious that I was trying to hook up, seeing as how she already knew my routine.  So instead, dejectedly and a little pissed off, I leaned back against the wall and lit up. 

About halfway through the cigarette, and five failed smoke-ring attempts later, I saw Craig’s little ‘eco-friendly’ car pull up beside my truck.  It looked like a clown car next to my vehicle and I had to laugh as Craig climbed out – picturing him with a rainbow fro and a red nose. 

Craig seriously was a clown, but not in a funny way.  He was an ass.  I’m not sure what everyone saw in him, but personally, I didn’t like him.  He was an arrogant son-of-a-bitch, not to mention his people-skills needed a lot of work.  We had exchanged some words before, but as of late, not saying a word to him was suiting me just fine.  I think he may have been intimidated by me; or I just liked to think that. 

He approached, sporting an extremely oversized black umbrella and a white lab coat.  Talk about cliché.  He had dark, salt and pepper hair and thin-rimmed reading glasses around his dark hazel eyes.  Though he was a bit taller than me, he was lankier and skinnier; not in an attractive way either, but more of a weak and pathetic fashion.  I swear, he could pass for the evil scientist in a horror movie. 

“Axel.”  Craig spoke in awkward stutter.  I’m not sure if he was saying ‘hello’ or what, but he immediately looked to the mud puddle at his feet as soon as he said it.  Not knowing what else to do, I thought that maybe if he was trying to be civil then I wouldn’t deny him the chance.

“Craig.”  I returned, half-heartedly as I exhaled the last of my smoke.  I bent down and dipped the cig in the mud and then threw it in the trash can. 

“Could you at least find another place to smoke?”  Craig rudely inquired, pinching his nose as I opened the door.  Now here’s the thing:  if someone has a problem with me smoking, then they let me know in a civilized manner and problem solved – I’ll go elsewhere.  I’m not the type to deny others their right to clean air when I’m the one with the bad habit.  But damn it all, Craig just rubbed me the wrong way.

“Yeah, I suppose I could.”  I answered in the most asinine tone I could muster.  Then, I let go of the door and let it slam shut before either of us went through.  Craig froze, not knowing what was to come next, and his gaze was immediately at his feet again.  Now, here’s the real asshole coming out in me – leaning back against the door this time, I lit up another cig and began to puff it overzealously.  Without another word, Craig huffed away to take the side entrance and I smiled.

I’m not real proud of what I had just done… But did I mention he was also trying to date Mandy?