Shift

11. John

I kept asking myself what was wrong with me? I had never lashed out like that before. Well, maybe at my father - he had that effect on people - but never at a stranger who was just doing her job.

It was just so irritating when she'd approached me, all stuck up like that!

I was getting irked again just thinking about it.

"John, be quiet. Just a couple minutes longer," Nadia's voice scolded, distorted by the microfone. As I was, lying on the CT table, I couldn't see her, but I could imagine the familiar frown that I'd always found funny on her girlish face.

She was right. The results of this exam would decide whether or not I was to be discharged, I better not create distortions.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to relax. I conjured the most relaxing memory I could recall. Oddly enough, it was a death metal concert.

Shortly after that awkward first kiss, Aiden had mentioned to me how devastated he was to miss the The Naja concert in the upcoming weekend. He had been a fan since he was a teenager. He hadn't imagined that the tickets would run out in less than three hours, and hadn't bought one on time.

Of course I didn't rest until I found someone who had two tickets and was willing to part with them. It took a considerable sum and all the niceness I could muster to finally convince that Neonatology nurse, but it was worth it.

I could still feel the screeching of the guitars and the thumping of the drums causing my insides to vibrate. It was impossible to have any kind of verbal exchange under those conditions. Not that it bothered me. We communicated by touch just fine.

At some point we had found ourselves right in the center of the mosh pit, Aiden's back pressed against my chest. In fact, I could feel people pressing against me from every direction. We all jumped up and down as a single entity. At that point you couldn't just choose not to jump.

"That was... definitely something," I said, later that night, as I drove us back home. We stank, of booze, of sweat, mostly other people's. I was euphoric.

"What does that mean?"

"I... liked it! A lot, actually."

I could see Aiden looking at me through the corner of my eye. "And... you weren't expecting to?"

"To be honest... I had no idea who The Naja were before last week," I confessed.

"Shut up! Then, why...?" He didn't complete the sentence. We both knew why.

I finished for him anyway. "Why did I buy tickets for it?" I ran a hand through my hair. "Well... would you've come with me to a... jazz concert?"

His reply was prompt. "Yeah, I probably would."

I was dumbstruck. "Oh... well, that's... good to know". I wish I could look at his face.

"Do you regret not inviting me for jazz instead?" he teased.

"No. I mean, I probably wouldn't have taken some crowdsurfer's foot over the head, but..."

He winced. "Sorry about that."

"It was worth it, overall."

We'd just entered Bondston and my mind was turned to more practical matters - letting Aiden know the best route to my neighborhood, in case he wanted to visit. Bondston was a small town - it would be difficult for him to get lost.

"Here we are."

"Nice place!"

I parked the car before my narrow lawn. It adorned the two-storey modern house I'd bought a couple of years ago, when I'd decided to keep working in the local hospital. It wasn't big but I found it charming, with its minimalist, somewhat cold design crowned by the wooden balustrade outlining the flat roof. That Aiden shared my preferences, at least when it came to housing, gave me a strange satisfaction.