Procrastinators on Stage (Chris Kendall/crabstickz fanfic) *unedited*

Part 20- I Don't Like Being Angry

I stubbornly swallowed my anti-sickness pills before I tugged at the collar of my tan leather jacket in an angry manner. I didn’t want to be forced to go to work after everything that had happened yesterday. I wanted to sit and write a furious blog post about how crap dreams were, about how painful the fall was when you were dropped from that dream to land in the real world where everything was harsh, difficult and grey. My dream had probably been green, like Elphaba. Why was I thinking in colours?

It’s Friday today, I thought to myself as I took a deep breath in order to calm myself. You can stay home tomorrow, but not now. With my phone in hand and determination in my mind, I stepped from the flat and made off to the theatre by myself.

Lesson learned from yesterday, I’d now made sure that I had some spare pills in my bag, which clicked and rattled slightly with every step I took as I walked from the lift to the front doors of my building. The sun was barely awake as it cast a lazy buttercup-glow across my feet and the pavement whilst I hopped down the worn steps to ground level. The air was cool and stiff, prodding me awake with bony fingers which scratched at the fog of my breath. I liked the cold.

Today, I’d set off early in the hope of getting to work sooner and avoiding anyone who might bring up anything concerning yesterday with me. Carrie may have made some calls to Max, Dexter and Janice about what had happened, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t try and ‘have a little chat’ with me about it.

My phone showed a map to me on its chipped and scruffed up screen, with tiny beacons over my position, over the flat and over the theatre a few miles away. It had been Chris’ idea for me to download this map app thing, and I had to admire his idea. After not living in London for a few years because of uni, this app was perfect to help me get my bearings about this busy place.

Upon entering the underground train network, the app stopped working as it lost connection with the satellites it used for tracking. At least there were maps down here and I already knew which train I had to go on, so that wasn’t much of a problem. The problem was actually waiting on the practically uninhabited platform for my train to arrive.

My mind started to play tricks on me, reminding me of what had happened yesterday, playing games with my memory to make everything seem worse than it had mere seconds before. My mind seems to have this trait of working overtime, and I’m quite curious as to if other people have it… Hm, could I turn that into a blog post? Hm…

Thoughts of potential blog posts infused with my scheming ideas were ripped from my brain as the train rattled into the station, consuming my mind with its loud rumbles and groans as it eased to a stop. The doors slid open to welcome people aboard, but I was against it. The thought of stepping back onto one of these carriages made me feel nervous and almost...scared. I didn’t want to be ill, I shouldn’t be, but yesterday had been kind of traumatic for me.

I ended up having to force myself to climb aboard the train. The train doors slammed shut like the jaws of a Venus flytrap and made my spine arch away from it as I stumbled to grab the handrails. The train jolted unnervingly as it travelled, which only made me clutch to the handrails even more.

At every stop before my destination, I mentally checked myself to see if I felt queasy. Of course, I didn’t feel ill at all, but the thoughts and doubts plagued my mind for the entire journey as I counted off each stop and listened intently to the announcements as to which platform we were drawing close to. I had to get over this.

Twenty-five or so minutes after I got onto the train, I was walking towards the theatre in the steady bustle of city life. The city was waking up now, wearing the light of day like a new piece of attire which highlighted the city’s key features. The way that water pooled at the gutters. The sounds of rustling clothing combined with heavy footsteps and gentle telephone mutters. The curves and sharp corners to the towering buildings on the skyline. Once again, the city was beautiful and captivating.