Suburban Island

Crawling (Mike)

Crawling (Mike)

-Mike-

I sat at my computer. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. I forgot about her situation. What was I thinking?

"Did she say anything?" I heard behind me. I whipped around to see my own Old man standing in the doorway. If ninjas were real, he would be the master of a clan. God knows how many times he's able to sneak up on me without making a sound. The only way I notice if he speaks up.

"Don't do that!" I shouted. "Can't you at least knock?"

"What did she say?" the old man asked. "Did she know anything?"

"No," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Darn it," he said.

"Why am I the messenger?" I asked. "Can't you talk to her yourself?"

"I have you," he said. I groaned.

"Whatever," I said. How did I end up being his errand boy sometimes? He sometimes asks me to talk to Annabelle if wants to know something about the government. Why? I have yet to figure that one out yet.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked. I looked up at him.

"Huh?" I asked.

"We need to fix the roof," the old man said. "It's going to rain later this week."

"Ah," I said. When it rains, everyone has to stay inside. The poison from the trees gets into the water and rain down on the ground. Nature is the only thing that the barrier can't keep out.

"How bad is it?" I asked.

"We still have shingles missing," the old man said.

"Do we have any replacements?" I asked.

"In the pantry," he said.

"Okay," I said. I got up and walked past him. I am mostly take care of the house. The old man did most of the cooking. Not the microwave stuff either. He actually makes real food. We have enough food in the freezers to last us months. Some of the neighbors come to us looking for something other than a TV Dinner to eat. Annabelle is always over, eating up our food. The old man is showing me how to cook.

"Cooking isn't for women anymore," he said. "What are you going to do if something happens to me?" I didn't even bother arguing. He's got a point. Have you seen how this country has been lately? Exactly.

There goes my Sunday. This is an old house. We can't hire anyone from outside. Usually, it's Mr. David and myself doing repairs around the house. I do not trust that old man anywhere near the roof. I don't need to explain, do I? Didn't think so. Somehow, I ended up being the one to take care of our group. It started with Annie. Her old man and my old man have been friends since high school. My old man ended up in America for college. Even then, the old guys stayed in touch. Annie's dad and old man ended up in the States due to the plague starting over in Japan. From what I know, her old man didn't want to leave the country. His son and the officials had to forcefully evacuate him. He would only insist on coming here and nowhere else. Anyway, because our old men are so close, I have to look after Annie and make sure she doesn't get into any stupid fights.

Ha! Wish me luck there.

"What's for dinner?" I asked the old man.

"Beef and bell peppers," he said behind me. I shrugged my shoulders. Same thing we had last night. Some weeks we end up having the same meal. It's a good thing I go up the street to Patience's house for some of her family's cooking. I don't think I can take another day of beef and bell peppers.