I want a certain rewind in my life, but everything goes fast forward.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIFjlckyOZ
“Hey Erika, have you seen that boy over there?” my friend Kandy said. But these days I wonder how I was ever friends with her. She was always gossiping. In that instance, she took out the gum from her mouth, and smashed it with her finger. “Don’t you think his hair looks like his dog chewed on it?”
“That might explain why it’s so greasy.” my friend Erika said. Talking shit about other people, was not really my thing. So I simply kept my fork to myself, though there was a certain peer pressure that drove me to want to toss a fork at Sam -- who they were referring to -- to flirt. But I decided against it. I already got a bottom warning from the principle to many.
I was disgusted by what they wanted to say, but chose to not say anything. My voice was always a bit deep, and hated the sound of it. I always never sounded quite male, or quite female. Though for the sake of this story, you can call me Julie. I was looking over at Sam, who was had his face down staring into his lunch tray. I always been the type to see a certain beauty in the ugly -- though his eyes were the stuff of legends. I remember when his eyes first turned to my face.
Sam’s face turned to mine.
I had only just barely heard what Erika said next, so I felt her presence lean forward and touch me on the shoulder. I turned to acknowledge her presence, merely to give a certain illusion that she was talking to me. Though I don’t remember what she said at the moment. I got out of my seat at the long table, and said “hey, are you guys going to be here tomorrow?” -- but of course they were barely paying attention to what I was saying so I did not wait for either one of them to speak.
“Hey, where are you going?” Kandy said.
“OK, whatever.”
I walked to go over to sit with Sam, but as soon as I got near the table her walked to go sit at another table. I simply paused, really not being sure what to think of his actions. Bobby, who I knew from some other classes I was taking at the time, walked over as he were about to sit with Sam -- but then noticed that Sam was sitting elsewhere. He came off like a blind person, if someone had changed the location of the couch. There was no way they were going to get anything good to happen from the arrangement.
Bobby simple leaned back, and laughed like a sick hyena. Then he swooped down, and sat with me. “So what brings Julie to sit over with us today, was the grass just a shade lighter on the other side?” I knew of course that Bobby was kind of an ass, though at least in this case he was a smart ass.
“I simply needed a change of scenery.” I said.
“Oh, but of course. But what was the real reason.” Bobby said.
I had nothing else to say, but to point in Sam direction. He saw Sam sitting alone like an old rotten book tome, and walked over to assure him -- like some friend he has known for a very long time -- and placed his arm over his shoulder. “Hey Sam, you know your kind of being an ass right?” he said.
But Sam was elsewhere, well almost. “Sorry.”
And they walked over to sit with me.
They walked back over to sit with me. “So Bobby, about that game last night!” Sam said. He could not help but snicker at his friend’s retort.
“Oh you know that’s so much bullshit,” Bobby said, as he sat back in the seat. Then leaned into his food. “You know good and well I probably would have won, if you had not cheated you big fucking cheater cheater.” I simply rolled my eyes at the boy talk, and simply took my fork to continue eating.
“I still think I would have won anyway.” Sam said.
“So what game?” I said. Then briefly felt silly asking.
Sam and Bobby stared at each other silently. Then Sam continued, leaning close to Sam “Do you think that we should tell her?”
“Let’s arrange something later, maybe ... Saturday.”
“Oh I’m sorry I can’t, I have band practice.” I said.
“God damn it, Julie. Do you realize how expensive this is?” mother said. It’s gonna take another week to get this thing fixed, you know were renting this thing. I’m considering withdrawing you out of band practice completely. No question.”
“But mom that’s my social life,” I said. Though I knew even though I probably should not, but you know how when your under stress you don’t really think about that sort of thing. I was always a bit of an off melody, being just a bit more flat, and sharp with the wind reed.
“I will figure out your punishment, after my ... tea.”
When I was in my room, as if to get ready for an early bed time that night -- that was something she never forgot about -- I received a phone call on my call phone, and had that feeling of dread wondering where it was I had given out my contact information. I knew I had never given to Erika or Kandy. Though -- at least I thought so at the time -- Kandy was to sweet to call my at night, or maybe it was not a matter of sweetness but you get the idea. That was just something you don’t do.
But before I had begun to pick it up, my mother waltzed in. And she jerked the phone out of my hand, causing a certain abrasion that has never really went away. I jerked my hand upwards, and bit one of my nails. She then opened the top. “Who are you, and how in the hell did you get my daughters number?” Mom always had a certain shrill voice, so this made me frown just a little bit beyond the hand sting.
Her expression -- a furrowed brow -- hinted at the fact that she knew something -- that it was some stranger -- but rather the guy I had met at lunch earlier in the day. “OK, I can let you talk Julie just this once, but please don’t call again. You have thirty.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbV8x22JqTu
Mom walked through the door.
“Sorry about that, my mom is sweet. just --”
“I heard that you bark eating nemotoad.” mom said through the door.
“It’s fine, I used to have mother issues -- once.” Sam said. Then there was a pause.
“So you wanted to find out about the game we play?” Bobby said.
“How did you get me number?” I said.” I said.
“We have our ways, we have our ways.” Sam said.
“I guess you earned your milk shake,” she said.
Mother drove around the town, preparing to go to the store. We were actually never very religious, so we always used the evening after band practice to get the things we needed. I can’t have my fried noodles, if we don’t go. Though it would be nice if they came out of thin air. Oh well I guess. She continued. “But don’t get used to it, your still grounded.” Then flicked her cigarette.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpmBSG6un8
“Hey mom, may I ask a question?” I said. Mother was always a sort of grammar Nazi, and always stressed the correct usage. I always wanted to tell her fuck you, but never really had the nerve to. “Do you remember how you handled dating?”
“Why do you ask Julie?” she said. Paying more attention to the road.
“Well I just --” I was going to say.
“Oh that boy huh? ... Well to be honest I never dated.”
Go figure I guess. I looked out of the window of the car. “I wonder how those boys I met at school are doing?”
“Why are you asking about them?”
We drove in, I walked out, and she drove off.
I then walked through the doors of the shake shop, and to my surprise ... “Hey! Hey! Julie, you were able to come!” I saw both of the boys, already eating and drinking their meal over at one of the tables.
“With the sound of that ladies voice last night!” Bobby said.
“Let’s just not talk about it OK?” I said.
“So you wanted to know about the game?”
“You were eluding to that,” I walked over to get my shake. “but I don’t have long. Can’t have mother waiting.”
We ended up arranging a meeting everyone in his clique would hang out. A sort of initiation meeting for the new, something that would hold that glue -- of social circle out of the the monotony that was school life.
Sam and Bobby sat on the other end of the table. “So are you still wanting to talk about that thing?”
His voice suddenly at the moment became just a bit lower. “Oh it’s all good.” He made sure to say those specific words very slowly, like so jazz player of a particular variety. “I’m ready to talk about it, whenever you are ready.”
“You know how we get consistently good grades?” Bobby said.
“Actually I did not know that, but continue.” I said.
“We supplement each other.” Sam resisted the temptation to snicker. But made sure he let Bobby finish what he was saying. “UH that is, we take the weaknesses of our non dominant side of our brain, and use these brain-jacks in our ears to open a certain interface that --”
“Hey dude, you think she will understand that?” Sam said.
“We cheat.” Bobby said.
It was a day after I received the ear temporary ear piece that would allow me to do what they were wanting me to do. I still wonder how my ear is not like a million times bigger from it. I took it before my first period started. Used it like an they did, into my pointy pointy ear.
After the wink, the ocean-sea receded. And I was on the shore. I could see the horizon in the distance, and I fell backwards from seeing a giant clear window-pane floating. “Holy shit man, thats some gianourmos icons.”
“Stay calm, attack the interface.” Sam voice said. He warped in, crouching.
“This is what you call ... the Oasis.” Bobby’s voice said. He than also warped in, crouching with his hands on his knees. “Would you like a tutorial to help you with your game play?”
“I don’t think she gets the reference.” Sam said.
“You play any video games?” Bobby said.
“Of course you dope, ... only plat formers.” I said. I admired the technical precision, of their floating binary spheres from their hands. “Come on, we will lead you in your first pop goes the Science exam.”
“The alter-browser awaits.”
Tech-no-babble man, I’m befuzzled.
But my vision was fading, into the ocean-sea.
“Hey Julie, you OK?”
When I was able to focus, I kept the trode in my purse and was tired all next period. But I was able to stay awake just enough for the rest of that school day. So I won’t go over that much, lets get to the juicy part.
I remember how at home, something had possessed me to smart off at mom. Something I would not have considered before. There was a certain different voice in my, it was silent within me, a silence that had decided to not be silent at on that specific. day. It had to be that day man, not other. When I was in the living room, my mother wanted to talk to me about the fracture in the saxophone.
But something changed.
“Owe I don’t owe you a thing.” I found myself say as if I had no control over my mouth what ... so ... ever. I was barely awake when the board hit, my mind was elsewhere. I went asleep for an early bed time that night. There was a dream, of the ocean-sea horizon light in the great distance. And there was a silence present, ... that not quite silent.
I waved my hand across the moving sky.
Something had control of the Oasis, that was not me. My mind being controlled, on the rewind button. And whatever was controlling the oasis, also controlled the binary floating orb. And went into the photo-capture software.
It snapped.
I was enjoying the glow of the pink-ocean sea the next weekend. Sam had invited me to go visit his garage. He gave me some tutorials on how to properly operate the Oasis operating system. I wish I could have made myself tell him about the dream I had last night, but at that point I had began to have my curiosity satisfied about their grade solution. I wanted no part of it, as I wanted to be normal again.
I wanted a rewind button, not a fast-forward button.
I took out the ear-piece. “Hey Sam, would you be able to promise me something?”
“What would that be?” Sam said, paying more attention to his tacking than to my hacking at him for a conversation.
“Please wash your hair, it stinks. Fucking cheater.”
At lunch I somehow had it in me to change my mind. I sat with the two boys again, as Kandy and Erika wanted nothing to do with me. Though they were still nice in the halls for some reason. “Hey Sam, can I borrow that ear piece again?”
“Well that was a quick change!” he said.
But I was to tired to respond, feeling like I could not function. My mind felt like it was beginning to melt.
I needed speech therapy, a week after.
But the next period was interesting. I was called into the office, and was met by two officers. But they were not there for me. Instead they were there for my mom, “Do you discipline your daughter to much Ms Linglefelter?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“The photograph of this ear piece was found," the officer said, looking through the photograph software. “it says otherwise.”
But before he found other evidence ...
Sam activated the kill-switch.
I now live in an orphanage -- mother is gone.
To my brothers in school, my homage.
I give to the only social-life I still have. This Numero Hex merges into the Oasis light, tacking into ether-light.
There is no more fight.
I love the feed.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxeH2MQA7H
