Bucket of Bolts

Chapter 1: First Things First

Behind the rusting mounds of scrap metal and fractured carcasses of once-loved cars, a group of children played. Those children were my group of friends. The location may seem questionable -- and possibly dangerous -- but, we had our own brand of fun, and some of my best memories lay in that, for lack of a better word, craphole.

My days always started the same, so a glimpse of a single day could help to give a fuller picture of who I am and why, or if, you should care about me. ~~

~~ I cracked my neck, casting a regretful look at the pad of foam on the floor of my room that was supposed to be a bed. Pushing myself up off the floor, I walked over to the cracked and slightly dirtied standing mirror that took up the corner of my small room. Disappointingly, it was just me in the mirror.

Ever since the age of five, I had secretly hoped that one day I would look in the mirror and be faced with the carbon steel body, the ever mechanical computer driven brain system, and the silver cadmium battery of a robot. Perhaps this desire could be attributed to my father, the ever hardworking and endlessly dedicated car mechanic and owner of the Tipplerside Auto Shop. I brilliantly remember spending hours on end in that shop, feeling at home in the pungent scent of petrol, with the grimy concrete slabs of flooring under my feet and the stained and mildewed ceiling above me, contentedly watching my father repair car after car, taking a beaten down old lemon and manufacturing an auspiciously robust car awaiting a new life. To a kid, it was like watching alchemy at work, in the best way possible. Though, ten years later I still look back on those experiences with the same unbridled childlike wonder.

I reached up, unhooking my brass helmet -- which looked a fair bit like a miner's cap, equipped with a light -- from the corner of my mirror, securing it over my unruly and impossibly nappy coffee-colored hair. A small smile disrupted the lines of my face for a moment as I clipped the helmet into place. Losing my father was the most confusing and unimaginably, unfairly difficult thing I had to go through, so having this helmet we made together was a guiding light. The welding was messy at best, and the light flickered often, but it was still the best possession I had.

I only stood before the mirror a moment more before deciding to venture out of my cramped room. After heading down the narrow hallway, I was met with the smiling face of my mother, in her hands a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, my favorite. A great contrast from her attitude last night, but then again, when was this not the case.

I took the bowl and sat down on the upholstered arm chair. Many of the seams were coming out, and the chair sagged and was stained in questionable ways, but it was the best one in our run down apartment.

She smiled at me as I ate, "Any plans for today, darling?"

I only shrugged my admittedly narrow shoulders, but somehow her smile did not falter. I really could not tell you if that smile was genuine, or she only put it on out of necessity.

I know my mother loved me, but she had, I suppose you could call it, two different sides. This was one side; Her smiling brightly, serving me breakfast, showing interest in my life and well-being. The other side, though, brought with it a bone-deep penetrating chilling waft of air -- more like smoke -- and a frighteningly bitter tone. In the most blunt way possible, my mother was much like a chipped and cracked porcelain mug overflowing with tar-like, boiling liquid. Cliché as it may be, it gets the point across precisely.

After I finished my cereal and thoroughly cleaned and put away the bowl, I slipped on my worn-down rain boots (I'm sure it is clear by now that all of my stuff is sub-par and overused). I wiggled my toes in the rainbow-splashed rain boots, ensuring they were secured on well enough, then took off on my way to the scrapyard, hearing my mother call out a parting.

A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter! This one is a bit slow since there is a bit of establishing necessary, but the next one should be more fun; we get to meet the friends! Hope to see you next chapter! :)

-Swirl