Suburban Island IV

X-Cutioner's Song (Steve)

X-Cutioner's Song (Steve)

-Steve-

I refuse to end up like him. My old man is embarrassing. This block is getting to him. He doesn't have anything to do. All he does it work out, watch TV, drink beer, and sleep. It's just sad to watch him. But what can I do? I got my car before things I got worse. Now, it just sits in the driveway most of the time.

What's the point anymore? I just get up, shower, eat breakfast, workout, watch TV, have lunch, play video games, have dinner, watch more TV, and go to bed. That is all I do. I have nothing else. I am losing my mind here. I used to have friends and a life.

I grabbed the sides of my head.

"Steve!" I heard from downwards. I looked up.

"Yeah?" I asked. I walked over to my door. My old man stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm going for a run!" he shouted.

"Okay," I said. He turned and walked out of view. I shook my head. There's nothing wrong with run, but the poison hasn't settled yet. That's another thing about him. It's like he doesn't care if he lives or dies anymore. The government has to constantly check his health every month. I try to tell him to wait a couple of days, but he won't listen.

I just give up on him.

Josie might have a point. She wants to actually go to the beach. I gave her one and she was happy. But that can only last for so long. Frankly, I don't blame her anymore. It would be nice to see the beach again in person.

I walked over to my bed and laid down. Maybe I should do some homework. What's the point? There's no future after "school". We can only do college online. No campus life. We're just stuck at home in college. It's just sad, really. I rolled over onto my stomach and buried my face into my pillow.

How did we end up like this? Trees grew up and took over everything. Now look at us. We are just stuck in bubbles in the middle of those trees. I breathed out in my pillow Please just end my misery.

I don't know how we do it. The only way I haven't gone crazy is because of my car. I can only drive it around the block. That only becomes the highlight of my day. It's not much, but what else can I do? But the real question is how do I keep it gassed up? Simple: special orders. And I use them a lot. My old man doesn't question it. I don't even think he cares anymore.

Fine by me.

I lifted my head for air. Why did I bother? Oh that's right, it would lame for me to die like that. So, I am just here. Just like the rest of them. What time is it? I looked over at my clock. 10:45? And I have to endure how many hours of this? I planted my face back into my pillow. Dad won't be home until lunch. I rolled over onto my back.

Fuck my life.

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It's noon now. Dad's back now. He's taking a shower right now. I could predict what was coming next. He's going to eat and watch TV. I wrinkled my nose. So pathetic. I don't want to be like him when I get older. I should get something to eat, though. I got off my bed and walked out of my room. At least I don't have to talk to him for the time being.

Let's see what do I want? Soup? Sandwich? Chicken wings? I sneered to myself. I'm tired of chicken wings, man. We've had that almost every night. It's because Dad doesn't know how to cook. (Yes, I am learning myself. But I don't want soup or ramen. I want some real food.)

Hm? What's this? I reached to the back and pulled out a container with a pink lid. I haven't seen this before. I opened the lid and took a sniff. Smells good. Like some roasted meat with herbs. What is this? I opened the lid wider. Looks like a stew of some sort. Come to think of it, this looks like it came from Patience's house. When did she make this?

My mouth started to water. Oh well, might as well dig in. I took the container and put it in the microwave. This should be good. I paced around for a bit. Come to think about it, Patience's grandma made something beef stew for the neighborhood a couple of days ago. We never got to try it. Well, that's going to change today.

I looked up when the microwave beeped. Show time. I took out the container and blew on it. I walked over to the drawer and pulled out a spoon. I got a good look at the stew. I could see meat and vegetables mixed together in the thick broth. The smell made my mouth water. I couldn't wait anymore.

I just had to try.

I put the spoon into the stew and took a bite. Mmm. This is surprisingly good. Why hasn't Dad tried this? I shrugged to myself. Oh well, more for me. I took the container with me as I ate the stew.

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Later, I got on my computer. There something I had to do. It wouldn't be much, but I had to try this if I were going to keep from going crazy.

Oh good, she's online. I invited Patience for a chat. It didn't take long for the box to pop-up.

"What's up?" she wrote. I took deep breath and started typing.

"Hey, how are you doing?" I wrote back.

"Good, and you?"

"Not so good. Listen, I have a favor to ask you."

"What is it?"

I took in another breath and started typing the next line.

"Can you teach me how to cook?" I pressed send. I held my breath and waited. Why was I being so nervous? This is Patience and cooking is a means of survival. Cooking isn't "for girls" as my old man says.

I noticed the text bubble with three dots pop up on the screen. I stared intently at the screen.

"Sure," she wrote back.