City Lanes

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"To man they deal misery and fortune in equal mesaures--or unequal measure, whatever may be their whim--because man is the unlukiest and luckiest of them all."

Huh, so do you have any idea what it feels like when technology tries to kill you? There’s that moment of panic, replaced by an utter sense of annoyance for the world that we now live in. Too many opportunities for closing ourselves off from social situations; not that I was very talkative or such in general, but that definitely isn’t the point.

Being electrocuted fucking sucks. 

First off, you feel the shock, the electricity going through your body at an alarming rate, even though you know it shouldn’t be. That alien sensation of the current is terrifying. Literally, a snake is slithering up your spine and going through each nerve, allowing everything to increase alarmingly for a few seconds, until the venom spreads. 

Tari, what the hell? Tari, can you hear me?

Somehow, that was Jay’s voice. Oh, great, the annoying charmer to the rescue. All of this could be pinned on him anyway, maybe. I mean, he was just so frustrating to me today that I couldn’t focus on fixing the popcorn machine. The pick-up lines and useless little teasing dried up my common sense. Here’s a good one for you: don’t slam your fist into a popcorn machine. It never exactly works out for the best. 

What happened?

Another voice, softer and far clearer than Jay’s, resonated above my head. Or, maybe it was just above me in general? From the shocks still skittering through my veins, the electricity wasn’t done running its course, and I wasn’t sure if I was actually conscious. 

She was pounding the heck out of that stupid thing, and the light shot out and shattered something along those lines. Why’re you askin’ me? Be the medical major or whatever your excuse was. 

Seriously Jay, why so much sarcasm? He had always been like that, with the sarcastic remarks and no regard for others. It was all in the people he hung around; apparently drinking and doing drugs at all those pathetic parties down in the east side. Sometimes I would wonder if maybe he was a much, much different person when he was away from his friends; it was hard to imagine, though. 

I’m a student, thank you. She hit her head on the way down, and the burns on her hands look second-degree, so I think taking her to the clinic would be a good idea. 

The world came into a heightened focus after the mystery guy had said his set, and I looked up at a familiar face, wild red hair, and clear blue eyes. Didn’t I… I kept trying to think, maybe I knew him? He was wearing an orange jacket, and I questioned where his book bag and beanie might be- oh. It was the exotic bus boy from a while ago; weird. He hadn’t even gotten off at the same stop as me: not sure why he could be here. 

“Noah, she’s fine, can we just go?” There was an annoyed boy’s voice coming from a few feet behind the bus boy. Noah turned back for a moment toward the owner of the voice: a younger boy with a shorter, but just as lanky frame as him. He sighed, and I noticed that Jay wasn’t next to me anymore. Instead he was back at the counter, talking to a few customers. They were probably more concerned about their damn popcorn than my well-being. Yay.

 “Do you think your coworker could take you to the clinic?”

It took me a few moments to realize he’d been talking to me, and in those few seconds, I had probably managed to extend the amount of concern. Let’s get this straight though. Being electrocuted was an absolute pile of shit, and it also hurt, but that didn’t mean a little bump to the head made me an idiot. I was an outstanding member of my high school… academically. Science and languages, school in general actually, was where I tried my best to shine. Even if that meant that I barely had any free time, fewer friends than my amount of class failures and a record for the longest working Flipper’s employee. Well, not the longest employee here. There was always Old Joe, the janitor… I’m not sure if he really spoke.