The Metal Children

02 Trouble At Morgan Park

Morgan Park was filled with casually-dressed teenagers and young adults that night, even though it was as late as eleven thirty at night. It was a rather bright Wednesday night, not because of the fact that it was the night of the full moon alone, but also because of those fluorescent fairy lights being hung from one tree to another, creating a messy circle of dangling fairy lights around the wide grass field in the middle of the park. Teenagers scattered around the grass field, on their picnic rugs and mats and their food, anticipating the midnight movie that would somehow be shown on the gigantic white screen that had been set up at one side.

"You mean the movie screening is free?" Claire said, surprised. She was still carrying their iced chocolate on the cardboard tray, while slamming the car door shut.

"You clearly don't go out much, don't you?" Kerol replied, tucking his car keys into his right pocket. "They have free movie screenings here every Wednesday."

"No one ever invited me to these movie screenings before," Claire commented, and continued upon noticing Kerol's sympathetic look. "I was always needed in the gym!"

"Right," he replied, and said nothing else.

She glanced around the parking lot, which was nearly full. At one corner were a few food-trucks, selling what seemed to be small servings of sandwiches, banana fritters, nachos, and fruit salads. Claire swore she smelled jackfruit fritters coming from one of those food trucks, but she resisted the temptation to check it out. "I thought you said this is a drive-in-movie thing," she said, when she noticed Kerol digging the back seat for a picnic rug.

"No I didn't," he denied, and finally took out a messily-folded, pastel pink picnic rug. He took a quick glance of his watch. "Still half an hour until the movie starts and this many people already."

"Free movie. It's always better than getting laid."

Claire examined from a distance. The grass field was almost filled up with youngsters and their mats, not to mention there were plenty more who haven't gotten their seats yet as they walked around the parking lot with their phone stuck onto one earlobe, and some were lining up for food. "Merry," Claire said. "C'mon. We better go, or we won't get any space."

Kerol nodded. He led Claire across the parking lot and to the grass field, where it was slightly brighter, but was stopped when he saw a familiar face by one of those food trucks selling jackfruit fritters.

"Captain!" She called him, waving her hand for his attention. She was someone Claire had seen hanging around Kerol before, a couple of times, but she had never bothered to ask who she was - she might be his special friend, or something. She cancelled the possibility as soon as she had realized that the rather cheerful lady had called him, 'captain'.

"Captain what, America? What are you, twelve?" Claire snared, as they walked towards her.

"Ay, Barbs! Didn't know you're coming too," Kerol said, ignoring Claire's comment.

"I see you brought a girlfriend," the lady called Barbs, teased, tucking her long lock of straight black hair behind one ear. She was as tall as Claire, and had beautiful skin - she looked like one of those girls in she'd find in photos of Coachella. She had donned a pair of high-waisted denim shorts and a varsity jacket over her black, fitted crop top, and had her wallet in her hand, supposedly ready to buy some of those jackfruit fritters.

"I would've brought two, but unfortunately one of my girlfriends' had some family problems," Kerol joked, which earned him a loud 'oi' from Claire. "Oh, this is Claire. Claire, this is Barbs. She's from my workplace."