A Crown of Clouds

Chapter 3

Alex was taller than I remembered as I walked beside him, I tried to look up from my normal downward gaze on my shoes, which were feeling rather tight from a day standing on my feet. I tried to be as spritely as I could manage, to be fair, I was well out of practice. If there were levels of skill, I was in the negatives. It had been seven long months, and any trace of my previous social skills were mere crumbs, like the ones on my ripped blue jeans. I didn't even notice my usual smell of flour and pastry, all I could smell was Alex. He smelt like fresh cedar and frankincense, and maybe even fresh rain somehow, I mused. It was nice to muse, to think of something different, anything different, empty and meaningless.

"So, how's... school?" I said, without looking up, still staring at the tattered white shoelaces on my worn Converse sneakers. "Oh school, yeah school is great," said Alex, his love of mechanics made up for my lack of desire to talk. "Last week I made a self-autonomous vehicle that could pick up tennis balls, it detects where they are and sucks them up, pretty cool hey?"

"Oh, that is cool!" Even I'd noticed the unexcited tone in my voice with that one. Adjusting a little, I tried my best to recover, "I mean, did you think about how many poor kids will lose their jobs as ball boys though? Just think, they train all year doing the beep test, they get their crispy white uniform and trendy flap hat, they get so excited to be near all the greatest tennis players and then bam! They see a little robot running faster than they ever could and they're out of a job."

"Well, shit! Now that you say it like that I sound like an evil villain trying to replace every human in the world with a robot." I imagine every other girl would have laughed and looked coy at that moment. Me, well, it took considerable effort to recover from my previous comment before, I was worn out, a simple tug of the right corner of my mouth was the best I had. I winced inside listening to my inner thoughts, what a pathetic excuse of a human.

"We're here! Said Alex." I didn't need Alex to tell me we'd arrived, I'd heard the music from a mile away. "You don't say." Ahh deafening music, just what I liked, and not so dissimilar to my routine at home anyway, minus the headphones and the lonely dingy apartment. The smell of food vendors filled the air like the music filled my empty mind. Instantly hungry, I searched for a burger truck. Alex grabbed my hand, a sudden zap-like friction from a balloon coming from his hand. The jolt had me reeling my hand back, "sorry, that was random", said Alex, his face and shock equalling my own as he shook off the pain, "that's been happening to me a lot lately, I think it's the metal I'm working with at school. Anyways, the burger truck is this way."

It was then that I realised I'd not had any skin or human contact in months... months on months. Normally I'd have pulled away, and for a second I thought about it, but then again, he was leading me to a burger truck, so how could I pull away? And suddenly, there it was! The red shiny burger van. I could feel my taste buds waking back to life. My strict diet of tuna and rice at home (and pastries all day) to save money had made me forget even the mere aroma of my former diet. Luckily, we danced as much as we did those party nights, otherwise, I'd have to hit a proper gym or go for a run, I hate running. I only ever did sports with a challenge, rock climbing mainly, yet another thought I'd pushed out of my mind as it reminded me of a favourite pastime shared with my favourite person I'd never see again.

"I'll have a double cheeseburger, large fries and a coke," I said, trying to contain the excitement in my voice that rose from my stomach and settled under my tongue, causing saliva to pool up in expectation. "Uh, yeah, same for me!" said Alex. Before I could even bring out my card to pay I heard a swipe and pin, Alex had paid for me. I don't know if it was the fact that I'd always been the one to pay or the fact that I knew his family wasn't the wealthiest in London, but I felt truly thankful and a little uncomfortable, yet mostly thankful. He smiled proudly to be able to buy me a meal like he'd been able to buy me a car or something grand. "Thank you! You didn't have to do that, I can pay for myself!" hearing my monotone voice out loud again made me realise why I just kept it closed, why can't you just say thank you and smile like any other girl on a date Hal? Alex just smiled, I think he didn't know what to say and wasn't sure if I was offended or just saying what I thought you should say. What on earth was he doing here with me anyway; I'm not exactly the "girlfriend" type, especially now.