Wemake it to the main strip and cross the street over to the brick wallof small shops. A washed out white and blue sign that says"Valentino's" in a cloudy window revives me, that walk seemed alot longer than I remember.
"Anna! Welcome," Valentino boomsacross the quiet bakery.
He smiles a wide toothy smile under histhick black mustache,
"I see you have brought your boyfriendwith you. Welcome my friends!"
His delightful announcementcauses a few vacant eyes to flicker in our direction. I grind thefreshly polished wooden floor with the toe of my shoe as I ignore theprobing stares that curiously investigate the connection between Benand I. How badly I wish I was under that shoe, hidden away from allthe incesive eyes that are searching us for some form of bond. Why iseveryone so interested in observing relationships between two people?They don't even know who we are and yet they drop whatever it is thatthey're doing just to ponder our relationship with inquisitiveness.Has this world become so starved of love that the instant it'smentioned, people flock to witness it first hand?
Slowly, Iinhale and look up to meet the eyes of our smiling baker across thebar as he waits happily for my welcoming reply.
"Hi Valentino,my friendandI stopped by to see what appetizing treats you have to offer ustoday," I squeak with awkward enthusiasm.
Obviously small talkdoesn't come natural to me, so it always sounds forced and painfullyawkward. Warming up from my own embarrassment my cheeks begin toburn. My failed attempt at a tranquil response seems to have worked,though, because most of the curious eyes have returned to whateverimmorality they were sloshing in before we entered the room.
"WellI am happy to see you two here. What can I get for you today myfriends?" Valentino crosses his arms and rests his elbows casuallyon the counter as he waits patiently for us to place our orders. Ibreathe in the scent of vanilla, coffee, and freshly baked bread andmy stomach growls in response.
"I'll take three chocolatebear claws and a large hazelnut iced coffee, decaf please," Ianswer.
My nugget of surprise flutters in agreement. I pick at myfingernails nervously.
"I forgot to eat this morning, and Ineed to the sugar rush to get me through this evening," I say witha smile.
"Ah, well I will add a little extra chocolate for you,my friend," he replies with a wink.
A small pop below my navelthanks him.
"And what about you, my friend?"
Ben casuallyreplies as he reaches towards his back pocket to retrieve hiswallet.
"I'll just take two chocolate chip cookies and alarge peach smoothie, please."
"Very good, I will call foryou once your order is up. Make yourselves comfortable anywhere,"Valentino suggests as he gestures toward his diningarea.
Valentino's is like a medieval bar mashed together withan old southern bakery. Two large yellow windows take up most of theentrance wall on the west end. The windows definitely make the roommore spacious and bring light to the dark, narrow shop. You can tellthis building is ancient. In the middle of the stone wall across fromthe counter is a beautiful archaic fireplace. It is tiny, butcomforting because it easily blends with the comfort of the bakery.Three small round tables surround the fireplace, each accompaniedwith two wooden chairs. We walk past them to nestle down on one ofthe spacious dusty couches that lay beneath the large foggy windows.Minutes later Valentino calls our order up. After Ben lifts himselfoff the couch to pick up our order, I take this opportunity to slip afive dollar bill into the front flap of his computer bag. I know hewould object to me paying him back, and I am not up for an argument.I then plop my laptop onto the coffee table, making a loud thud. Thislaptop is infinitely old, but I'm thankful to have it. It's heavy,thick, and won't stay on unless it's plugged in. Keep it oldschool, I always say.
Growing bored of waiting for my computerto prep, I push the silver logo on the top of Benny's thin glossylaptop as it lay on the table beside mine. It lit up in beautifulblues and oranges, a fire breathing dragon beside my wheezingtriceratops. Ben returns with our food and a stranger he was in deepdiscussion with. He ignored our station that is now up andrunning.
"All I'm saying is just notice the ripples man. You'llnotice a pattern. Keep it real, though don't make it right. You knowwhat I'm saying?"
"Yeah man its cool though. I got you. Heythanks again," The sleepy stranger replies before hobbling awaycarelessly.
"I don't see how you do that," I say.
"Dowhat," he asks.
"Start weird conversations with randomstrangers," I huff.
"They are not weird conversations," hegrumbled.
"Okay, what were you guys just talking about," Ichallenge.
"The magnetic waves of the HAARP program leavingripples in cloudy skies," he mutters.
"Weird," Ishout.
"Oh come on Anna, what else am I gonna talk about? Boy,the sky sure is blue today. Never mind that haze blocking out the sunits fine, hardly notice it," he scoffs.
"Or you could saynothing. Plenty of other people do it."
"Yeah that will makea huge impact," he argued.
Rudely grabbing the doughnut thatwas perched on the white plate he was placing in the empty spacebetween our laptops I say,
"Spare me your lecture."
Hetook a sip of my sweet liquid hazelnut coffee before handing it tome. The nudger inhabiting my womb quivered when I heard the swish ofice in my cold drink as I pulled it towards my lips.
"Do youthink you'll be able to eat all of that," Ben asks as he sinks intohis place beside me.
He rolled up his checkered sleeves beforehovering his limber fingers over the modernized keyboard.
"Wellyeah, you would be surprised by how much food this little body canhold," I reply smartly.
I feel the feel a small quiver below mynavel, as if something is impatiently awaiting for the first creamybite of pastry to arrive. My instincts take over and I devour theFrisbee sized bear claw in a few bites. Ben stares at me with eyeswide. I take a long draw of my coffee and brush my hands together,ridding them of all the crumbs onto the floor. I wipe my mouth on thearms of my sleeves before my eyes meet him. He hands me a small whitepaper napkin.
"I know Mrs. Cunningham would have a heart attackif she'd witnessed what I just did," he laughs.
"Mrs.Cunningham isn't here," I remared as I grabbed the napkin.
Ifelt my cheeks grow hot again.
"Simmer down Anna I was onlykidding. That's been the first time I have seen you eat. Normally youjust pick at a muffin or something. I'm glad to know you'rehuman."
I nod, mollified after having some food in my belly.Now with that my inhibitor is satisfied, I can get some workdone.
Ben and I manage a web page called, "Realist". It'san alternative news site Ben created over a year ago. It's used todiscuss secret societies, theorize "news" reports, and revealhidden agendas. A place to discuss conspiracy theories, basicallyanything taboo. I'm simply his administrator, his right hand. Aftertaking a bite out of another excessive pastry, I plunge headfirstinto the depths of hidden truth. I scan through the hundreds of postsother members pinned up and probe the conversations that followed tomake sure everyone was playing nice. Thankfully, all is well, thoughthe page was a bit boring today. I scan the posts desperately. I needsomething to occupy my mind while on the brink of insanity from thefuture of endless boredom that threatens to consume me in a matter ofhours. Then something catches my eye. I begin to readfurther.
Pulling me from my thoughts, Ben announces,
"Marty'sgone, as if that's a big surprise. He was belligerent to begin withand aggressive. It happened sooner than I expected, though. Ourtenders booted him out with a majority vote among themselves. Thegroup agrees, he was too aggressive and closed minded. A bigger mouththan ears. I'll just say, well done."
"Really? I thought heknew his stuff when it came to historical facts. That's a valuedskill anywhere, though I must agree that he was too aggressive andhis ears were closed. He wasn't willing to learn more, all mouth.Everyone else is wrong, the world was stupid and he knew it all.Clearly he didn't, otherwise he would know why he's always ridingsolo," I comment.
Ben nods his head in agreement.
"Hedid more harm than good."
"Agreed, anyway, mind if I pickyour brain," I inquire.
Puzzled, he replies,
"Sure,what's up?"
"Christopher posted something called HAARP. Itwas complicated reading over my head. Would you care to break it downfor me? What is it?"
"Well it's a theory..."
I rollmy eyes,
"I have gathered that much, otherwise it wouldn't beposted on the page forum."
Playfully scowling over his largeglasses, he sighed
"Are you going to listen or continue tointerrupt me every couple of minutes?"
"Sorry," Imumble.
"It's a theory that differs in opinion. The answersyou'll get when you ask what HAARP is depends on who you ask. I'lltell you what I believe to be true, you do your own research and makeyour mind up for yourself. There is all kinds of information on thissubject for you to read about. We'll start with the basics. Do youknow what chem-trails are?"
"You have pointed them out to mebefore, the long white streaks in the sky that planes leave behind.You said they aren't like regular contrails though. With contrailsyou see the smoke begin to disappear not long after it's leftbehind."
He nods in approval,
"That's right. Thedifference between chemtrails and contrails is that chemtrails aremuch longer, and bigger. After a few hours they grow very large, andeventually expand into a haze that blankets the sky. You will noticethem mostly in the early mornings and late evenings, though I dobelieve they lay them out mostly at night when we can't seethem."
Intrigued I continue,
"Okay, so what does thishave to do with HAARP?"
"Well, if you notice, they aresprayed before and after a storm. Chemtrails are visible prettyoften, but there are more of them when a storm is near. Why is that?Its because the particles they are spraying is a mixture of toxicmetals."
I inquire,
"Metals? Why?"
"Among otherthings. Have you read anything about HARRP at all?"
"Fromwhat little I have gathered from the article it sounds like it's abunch of magnets."
He begins to gesture in excitement, as healways does when he's talking in depth about theories.
"Exactly!Now if metal is sprayed into the air as clouds form and a storm ismoving through that would make it possible to control the storm, toinfluence it."
I try my best to keep up.
