Get a Life (boyxboy)

Chapter 1- Setting up Base

Chapter 1- Setting up Base

Hi, I am Ben Howe and if you saw me, you might think that I was a successful businessman. There are a few things I have learned in life that I take as life lessons: the first, every books cover is judged accordingly; the second, that if one is to whisper it makes a conversation more intriguing; and the third, pronounce the with a he as apposed to the with a uh. These three life lessons I took into adulthood and discovered that even with them my life sucks.

***

Ben Howe trotted leisurely down the Embarcadero, a long street in San Francisco. He decided today was going to be different than all the others in his life. He didn't know why but today felt different. It could have been the lazy fog which drifted in from the Bay and distorted the gray Bay Bridge which reached its long metal arms from Oakland to San Francisco. Ben pondered a moment and knew that the fog wasn't the reason why it would be different, the fog felt the same. His dark dress shoes patted against the pavement and his heart thumped with each step. Then the feeling came to his attention, when the day ended he would be off to Disneyland.

Ben wore a slick business suit; at least it gave that impression. Ben's suit was a hand-me-down from his father. At the not so tender age of twenty-three, Ben still lived with his parents. The situation not only made it impossible to bring any guys home but also restricted his mental growth into adulthood. He wanted to spread his wings and fly the coop like a caged bird set free. For a moment, Ben thought of turning back and going home, he was late now. As he passed by polished glass windows he noticed his brown hair needed to be cut. The longer it got the curlier it became and the curls tended to flip up in the front.

As he arrived at work, his boss greeted him with a questionable smile. It was the stereotypical boss with thinning gray hair and a crooked smile.

"Ben," His boss muttered as he walked in late, "When did your shift start?"

"9:30," Ben replied and glanced at his watch, it was 9:40. He braced himself for the fatherly lecture which would pursue it. It was not the first time Ben received the speech. The young man had lost all his passion for his current position at his current employment facility.

"I believe in personal character Benny," The boss noted trying to make the phrase more personable than it was. It was going to be a long drawn out speech with pointless morals that even the boss wouldn't fully understand. The Doctor Sues kind of speech, with 'kanglamours' and 'borgginkers'. "It was in my character to hire you." The thinning haired man pointed to himself. "You are a reflection of me, Benny Boy."

Ben looked at his boss and frowned slightly. He was sure the older man had taken the frown as a sympathetic and apologetic one. The frown symbolized more than that. It was more a disappointment. Ben took the term a reflection of him to mean that by thirty that is what he would look like.

"You see when you perform badly, I perform badly, and when I perform badly…" The boss explained taking pauses, which felt like small seizers by the expression on his face, but were placed for dramatic effect.

"People die, I know," Ben replied nodding. It was awkward being so blunt about a harassing statement. But who could Ben report to about it? His boss? Not if his boss was making those statements.

"Not literally, but metaphorically," The boss pointed out with an arrogant grin. "What would we do here if we didn't have our gofer to get coffee for us in the morning?" The boss gave Ben a manly pat on the back which not only emasculated the boy but slightly hurt.

"Oh that college degree in communications means so much right now." Ben whispered as the boss walked away. "Yeah, so much," Ben rolled his eyes and walked down the hall. It would be a long day full of pointless tasks. The young man knew today was different though. Today was the day that he would leave this place even if only for a moment.