1
Hands in my pockets, to keep them warm, and also because I wouldn’t know what else to do with them. I keep my eyes from making any contact, which keeps me a safe distance from any unwanted conversations. I watch my Converse walk over the cracks in the sidewalk. The path is covered with yellow leaves that have glided gracefully down from their branches which were once filled with life, so much like the patients I observe every day. I sit down on a bench and feel the warmth of the sun; it’s so much warmer than it is inside the hospital walls. Look up at the clouds, there are birds flying so high and free they only look like black specs to me. What does it feel like to be so free? These 6am starts are really taking their toll.
“Hey Benny.” Fallon appeared next to me.
“Hey.”
“This has been a long week.” He sighed, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. He shut his eyes, enjoying the sun just as I had done.
“Yeah,”
“What time are you out tonight?” He asked through a yawn. He rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers back through his blonde curls.
“Six.” I looked down again at my sneakers, and then yawned myself.
“Me too,” He took his cell phone out of his pocket and checked a text that had just come through. “You’re still coming tonight right?” He asked while texting back.
My mind went blank.
“My house party at my folks’ place?”
I could already feel the sweat forming on my palms. “Right of course.” I said trying my best to sound nonchalant.
“You forgot didn’t you?”
“I’d forget my own name if I didn’t have it pinned to my shirt.”
Fallon smiled. “Tell me about it. It will be really nice to get drunk and forget about our obligations for a night.” He sighed.
“Yeah,” Although for me it would be better being drunk and being alone.
There was a pause during which Fallon received and replied to another text, and I just sat and watched the ground. “Don’t bail on me tonight Jack.” He put his phone back in the pocket of his coat and looked at me.
“I’m not going to.”
“You say that but you always do.”
“You know how it is, these long hours…”
