Overlap

Chapter 123-A: Life in the City

<10/12/2018 - 15:02 | Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA, USA>

"It's so different seeing this place up close and personal!"

"I knew you would enjoy it," I replied with a powerful smirk of victory and energy. Neither one of us could hide our excitement, which made it a little tougher on me earlier when I had to hide it from my family. Lumina has never seen the city of Atlanta so directly like this, as I was standing right on the city streets on a brief walk from the hotel.

All this time, I knew deep down that Atlanta was not the most impressive place to see in the world, but it was still a very new experience for us both. The ability to hang out with Lumina at the same time is what drove our excitement through the roof.

Not long ago, my mother and Peterson planned a single night's trip to Atlanta, as a kind of well-deserved vacation. We could have gone anywhere, yet we ended up here, set later to go out onto the lake with those swan boats and tour the Cola factory, even though I didn't care for Coke. The sights and sounds were different than the countryside we were both used to seeing. Instead of tall and widespread trees of wildlife pines, the place here was instead fully immersed in tall vertical structures of concrete and buildings, with nothing but roads and streets in the middle. Because of the nearby location and area of the hotel, the zone I walked in with Lumina was mostly designed with pleasing aesthetics, with a nearby Ferris wheel.

"It's Christmas time, in the city!" Lumina started laughing at me as I sang with a fake deep telepathic voice, while twirling my body around the don't walk pole aside the crosswalk, caring not what cringy attention I added onto myself from afar.

"Christmas is a long way off from now."

"Don't you know the rule established by the Renegade Constabulary channel? Every single day it's not Christmas, Christmas is coming."

"The what Constabulary now?" Lumina has no potential context for that YouTube channel, since she isn't really a gamer herself. I don't watch them that often either, except when I'm parallel playing the same games Vasco and Tek are; somehow, it's a little more fun that way.

"Don't worry about it. Just remember that it's exciting to be exploring the city with you, especially when Christmas is coming."

"You celebrate it so much."

"Obviously because of what people do, what it represents, and how often it brings cold weather to our doorstep." I've long since abandoned Christianity and their preaching altogether, never to look back anymore. Even so, I don't need religion to celebrate that favorite time of the year. Christmas for me and Lumina is about the both of us hanging out together romantically, giving and receiving gifts to others, and cold weather. That's still plenty reason I can get behind celebrating the day with everyone else.

"Maybe you're just happy to be exploring the city with me."

"Guilty as charged." "Ah-hoguhoughhough!" I spun around with my hands curved up and out, laughing and moving like a tard, wondering how much more shared embarrassment Lumina could withstand.

"You obviously don't care that people are looking at you like a loon."

"Not when I'm with you, my love." I really couldn't care less, just so long as I could see Lumina laugh or smile some more, and given the chill in the air, I could feel any excitement she didn't project as easily.

"I've never seen you this slap happy before."

"I'm always this happy when I'm with you; I just don't show it as much as I should." For reference, I was doing everything I could think of to look like an idiot on the sidewalk, passing people by as I lifted and shifted my arms in the goofiest walking strut I could craft on the spot. It only made Lumina more embarrassed to be associated with my silliness, which made me want to keep it going more. Through it all, I started laughing too, revealing to her the cutest smile I've ever let out in such a long time with my shimmering eyes of life. With the music playing in my ear buds, it was easier to keep this behavior going too, altering my movements to keep the theme of it alive.