An Entire Year of You

Chapter 2: Interloper

The walk from Carlos' newly rented apartment in the middle of town to the science district on the very edge of town was about a mile and half, giving him plenty of time to take in the surroundings after dropping off his bag. The science district had been established during the 1950s and had served as a compromise between two waring generations; the young, who wanted to 'learn' and 'understand things,' and the old, who wanted to keep all that new fangled knowledge business in the corner where it belonged. Sadly, it had gotten very little use over the years. People had flocked to it in the early days, but only a handful came with real, tangible questions to ask and even fewer knew where to begin looking for answers. Sixty years later, the only people how visited the district were the towns university students and a rare outsider scientist.

If Carlos had been a vain man, he would say the stares he received as he walked down the street were a result of his stunning good looks. If he was a paranoid man, he'd say they were because everyone wanted to kill him, which was probably closer to the truth. But Carlos the neither vain nor paranoid, he was observant. He observed that in a town so small and so isolated a man like him was bound to stand out like a sore thumb.

"Interloper." A man hissed as he passed. Carlos added hostility to his list of observations. Perhaps the faster he tried to integrate into Night Vale's society the smoother the year would go, so he stopped by the Ralph's. Buying a few snacks would probably sweeten the interaction between his new co-workers as well, so really he was killing two birds with one stone. 

 "Hey you, young man." An old woman called as he entered the carpark. Carlos turned around, expecting to add times two next to hostility on his mental observation list. 

"Yes?" he shouted back. "You here about the lightbulb?" she asked, holding up a lightbulb in one hand clear for him to see. 

"Um...no."

"Shame, I thought more people would be interested." She said, putting the lightbulb back in her handbag. "Maybe I'll get Cecil to mention it again. He seems to have taken quite an interest it you, you know?"

 "I'm sorry, who ha-"

"Stop shouting and come over here so I can hear you." The woman scowled. Carlos glanced at the store, then back at the woman, and shrugged. He wanted to start integrating, now he was integrating. Everything was working out. He hurried over. "I'm talking about Cecil Palmer." She continued in more calm, hushed tone. "Cecil's the radio host here. Strange man, interesting tattoos." 

"Right." Carlos nodded. 

"I'm sure you'll get a chance to meet him. Everyone does in the end. I'm Josie Ortiz by the way. And you are." She asked, stretching out her arm for handshake. 

"Carlos Cienca." He smiled, taking her hand and shaking it firmly. Maybe the residents of Night Vale were going to be okay after all. 

"Fancy name you've got there, Mr Cienca." 

"Thank you. It means-" 

"Some kind of scientist, are you?" She asked, prodding at his lab coat.

 "Absolutely." He beamed. "Science has been my passion since I was a little boy."

"Yes, well, everyone had strange passions as a kid. Most of them don't led to a place like this though." Carlos face dropped.

 "What do you mean a place like this?"

"Oh, nothing dear. Just the ramblings of an old woman. I'm sure you'll be just fine, providing you stay out of the dog park and try not to antagonise too many people." 

"I'll try my best." Carlos gulped. 

"I'm sure you will." Josie nodded. "I'll let you get on with it then. A suspect a scientist such as you is in quite a hurry. You take care of yourself, Carlos."