Phrenology: E-Lunar (3) Route A (MANUSCRIPT)

Chapter 2, Turn 3

    And there she walked- Legs and bottom figure melting cozily into her jeans on a Sunday afternoon. 

    Across the city, Tanaka couldn't help but stare. The way this girl's lips traced around her mouth, the way her eyes were a light blue which excited anything she'd lay them upon, and the way her pale skin draped across her cheeks... were all the ways in which this young woman had been an appealing force. Tanaka gazed upon the woman's long hair, the strands glazed with a passionate red.  

    Little Japan, it seemed, was a force to be reckoned with. The sun and moon were always engaging in their eternal war, as skyscrapers penetrated the horizon. The clouds of the day and night would always caress the serene buildings. There were car shops, burger joints, pizza joints, and the wildest grocery-stores one could think of. Alas, this succeeding city stood no match for the wild -- and almost inhuman -- sexual appeal that this one young woman possessed, or so Tanaka might claim. 

    Marian Theodora was this female's name. 

    "Thanks for coming to help me shop, Tanaka." The red-headed beauty put a hand to her friend's shoulder.

    "Ha, no problem. Anytime, anytime! Hey, you should join the Cooking Club by the way. You're already a good student at Eddington, I'm sure it wouldn't be a big deal." Tanaka blushed. 

    "Mmm, maybe. I'd like to. We'll see." Marian paused her stride, putting a cashew-colored finger to her rose-tinted lips. "So, if I'm not mistaken, from what Marissa told me the other day, you're learning how to drive, are you not?" She cleared her throat. "Come on, don't be shy. My cousin tells me everything." 

    "I... am." Tanaka put a hand to his chest, straightening his posture. I don't want there to be any shame in this. There shouldn't be any shame in it! 

    "Tanny..." Marian shook her head, putting a hand to her hip. "... you know that isn't good. Haven't you heard? It's not exactly legal around these parts. How've you not been getting caught? Even more so, it's going to be illegal in all of Canada by the end of next year." 

    "So I've heard! At least- Wait. All of Canada? I've only heard it becoming illegal in all of Ontario, and, thankfully, I haven't been caught... because I don't think people around here enforce that law very well in the first place." Tanaka raised his left eyebrow. "Currently, only the law enforcement around here -- yanno, good ol' LJ -- can enforce not driving. I drove a little outside the city. Even so, I don't think they care-"

    "Either way... what do you plan to gain from this?" Marian twirled a lock of her hair. 

    "Well- I- Uh- Um." Tanaka's fists clenched as he looked away. "I'm lonely, Marian." 

    "You're- You're what?" 

    "Public transportation doesn't exactly run at all hours, and minutes, and seconds, of every day... and I'm deathly afraid of planes. Eheh. Marian, why is this city trying to take away private transportation? Our independence? Our agency? I only see the bulk of Marissa and Nora at school, and at the after-school clubs! You take that out of the equation... and I'm not really involved in their lives." Tears began to fall down the young man's face, his fists loosening. "The internet's gotten lonelier- It's just a place for critics to divide people, or push a product through their parasocial relationships, and I... just wanna be there... for my friends." 

    "Tanaka, you- Hm." Marian began to blush, her lips perking up in a smirk. 

    "Hm?" The student looked up, his right eye covered by his fringe. 

    "If you ever... need company- Uh." Marian started to touch her fingers together below her waist. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll walk over to your house." 

    "But... isn't that dangerous? Come on, don't do that. It's not as though all of the cars in society are gone, and-"

    "Shut up." Marian put her finger to Tanaka's mouth. "Tanny, if it's company you want... I can be that. Moreover, I may also have an idea which can help put your driving-skills to the test." 

    "I," Tanaka shivered. "am not sure how-" 

    "Hang on, I'm getting a call from Nora." 

    "Oh. Alright. R- Right, right." Tanaka shook his head. Righty then.

    "Hm? Oh, definitely!" Marian replied to the other line. 

    Tanaka looked off into the distance and thought about society, its weird relationship with cars, and he began to trail off in his head with, The weird thing about all this... is that it just doesn't add up. Critics start getting popular around 2035... and then in 2037, driving and all private transportation become illegal, almost overnight, in Little Japan. Some people are claiming it's the work of some dark organization working in the shadows. I'm not sure what to believe. I'd feel like it's those critics, but-

    "Hey, Tanaka!" Marian threw her arm out. 

    "Huh?"

    "Nora and Marissa wanna hang out in the city sometime next week! You up for it?" Marian winked. "It sounds like something you've been wanting!" 

    "Ha! Uh, yeah! I'm definitely ready for that kind of shit!" Tanaka jumped. 

    "Good! Now, let's put these groceries away." Marian tilted her head. 

    "Right." Tanaka yawned, realizing the number of heavy grocery bags he also wielded. "I wonder what Nora's been reviewing on her blog, lately." 

    "Blogs aren't the only thing that make up the internet, you know?" 

    "Hm, fair enough, but could've fooled me."

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