ME AND MY BROTHER (creative writing - READ IT)
[CARTER PLAZA..2/11/05..6:03pm]
CHLOE Me and my brother. It always used to be me and my brother.
[WHITNEY FARM..31/7/96..8:44pm]
Whitney Farm, under a serpent sun. Fangs glisten as its venom stings the ground. Parched, cracked and bare. Lifeless - Chloe Carter skips across the ground. Eleven years old, in a tomboy phase - dungarees, t-shirt, hair tied back. Simple. She's watching her brother. Steven hauls bails of hay off the back of a truck, tossing them to the ground. He's nineteen. Muscular, athletic, chiseled. Chloe stares at the sun, a solitary cloud passes in front of it and the land darkens. Light blisters the cloud, and soon the unrelenting illumination returns.
All is quiet. Steven hops off the truck, two taps on the back, the driver acknowledges and speeds off; dust and caution thrown to the wind. Steven stands alone in the cloud produced, the sunlight illuminates the haze; Iconic. Chloe sits on a bail of hay, it feels natural. Steven removes his gloves, tossing them aside he rubs his face; exhausted. He takes a seat next to Chloe, the eleven-year-old looks at her brother. His golden hair brushing his shoulders and glistening in the sunlight. The shine is constantly on the move.
CHLOE Tired?
Steven answers, succinctly.
STEVEN Yeah. Work's hard.
CHLOE I s'pose so.
Chloe's tone was, as always, inquisitive. She looked at him, the grime covering his arms, combining with the sweat. His vest sticks to him, she can see him inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Life flows.
CHLOE You like it?
STEVEN Not really.
Her face scrunches up, she stares at him, he keeps staring Dead Ahead.
CHLOE Then why you do it?
He shrugs.
STEVEN Man's gotta work.
CHLOE You ain't a man!
STEVEN More of a man than you.
CHLOE I'm a girl you dummy!
Steven teasingly pokes Chloe in the side.
STEVEN Sure don't dress like a girl. Look atcha, wearin' dungarees.
CHLOE I don't like skirts, they move in the wind.
STEVEN Everything moves in the wind.
A pause. Stillness. Steven gets up, dusting down his jeans.
STEVEN 'Sides, we're in Arizona. Wind don't come here.
CHLOE Why?
Steven begins stacking the bails of hay.
STEVEN Don't like the heat.
CHLOE Do you?
He shakes his head.
CHLOE Why you come back then?
STEVEN What?
CHLOE From College.
STEVEN Summer break.
CHLOE They make you?
He chuckles.
STEVEN Yeah. Somethin' like that.
Steven continues to stack bails of hay. The sweat begins to flow again. Chloe watches intently, watches his movement, he moves fluidly. Natural. Animalistic.
CHLOE You goin' away again soon, huh?
STEVEN Yeah.
Another pause. Thin air becomes thick. Intensified by heat.
CHLOE Why?
Steven chuckles again.
STEVEN They're makin' me.
CHLOE Don't seem fair to me.
Steven slams a bail down.
STEVEN It's fair enough.
CHLOE You comin' back?
He stops and turns to face her. Leaning down he looks her in the eyes, electric ice blue.
STEVEN Sure I am.
CHLOE For Christmas?
STEVEN For Christmas.
Steven rises and begins to stack bails again. A dot appears on the horizon.
STEVEN If you're good I'll bring you back a present.
CHLOE What kinda present?
STEVEN I dunno. I ain't decided yet.
She smiles. Content with his answer. Thoughts of gifts filled her mind, she contemplated hinting for one, something she was sure she'd like. But in the end, all was silent between the two. The sky was turning red, now. The sun begins its slow descent, getting closer and closer to the horizon, burning all in sight.
The dot is now recognisable. It's a truck. Mr. Whitney arrives to collect the hay. The truck pulls to a stop, dust flies through the air. Mr. Whitney doesn't get out. Steven begins loading the bails into the back. He grunts, the work is harder now, fatigue is setting in. Chloe looked at Steven. His muscles began to strain as he lifted two bails at the same time. She pondered this.
CHLOE You still wrestle?
STEVEN Sometimes.
CHLOE You like it?
He doesn't answer straight away; In Thought?
STEVEN Yeah. It's fine.
CHLOE Only fine?
STEVEN Well I like it.
CHLOE I do too.
This took him by surprise. He removes the red kerchief from his back pocket and wipes down his face.
STEVEN You like wrestling?
CHLOE Some of it.
STEVEN When'd that happen?
CHLOE I watched some of your tapes.
Chloe puts her finger on her lips, concentrating on what comes next.
CHLOE That Charlie guy. He's funny.
STEVEN I guess.
CHLOE Can I be a wrestler?
STEVEN I wouldn't reckon so.
CHLOE Why?
STEVEN You're a girl.
CHLOE So?!
STEVEN A skinny girl.
CHLOE I could eat a lot.
STEVEN No you couldn't.
CHLOE Yeah I could, you'll see.
The bails are loaded. Steven picks Chloe up and tosses her into the back of the truck. Hay-cushioned landing. Steven hauls himself in and taps the side. Mr. Whitney starts to drive. Steven sits next to Chloe. Together they watch the dust. The dust that's left behind. Steven speaks.
STEVEN Mousey, you're too small to be a wrestler.
Chloe responds, defiantly.
CHLOE You ain't huge! I seen a guy bigger'n you!
STEVEN Oh really?
CHLOE Yeah. He had a mask on, looked real scary.
STEVEN Oh, yeah. I know that guy.
CHLOE You fight him?
STEVEN You kiddin'? I ain't pro.
CHLOE Why?
STEVEN I wrestle for College. That's all.
CHLOE You don't wanna wrestle that guy?
STEVEN Don't be stupid.
CHLOE Don't call me stupid!
STEVEN Then don't stay stupid things.
CHLOE Stop that! D'you wanna wrestle that guy?
STEVEN Demon Knight? 'Course I do.
CHLOE Then why don't you?
STEVEN 'Coz I ain't pro.
CHLOE So be a pro.
STEVEN It ain't easy.
CHLOE Dad said nothin' is.
STEVEN You believe that?
CHLOE I dunno. I s'pose so. Why would he lie?
Steven shrugs.
STEVEN No reason.
Silence passes. The rattling of the axel filling the air. Steven's hair flows in the wind.
CHLOE You like wrestin' for College?
STEVEN Yeah.
CHLOE How much?
STEVEN I like it fine.
CHLOE Are you good?
STEVEN I'm the best.
Chloe's excited by this.
CHLOE Really?!
STEVEN Yeah.
CHLOE In the whole country?!
STEVEN I guess so. They're sendin' us to Japan.
CHLOE Why?
STEVEN To fight the Japanese.
CHLOE Reckon you'll win?
STEVEN Always do.
CHLOE Ain't the Japanese good?
STEVEN I'm better.
He sweats confidence. Chloe curiously scratches at his bicep, withdrawing her finger she looks at the sweat-soaked dirt on the tip. Satisfied, she wipes her finger clean on her dungarees. She sits still, staring outwards. No words pass. Then she breaks the silence.
CHLOE You shouldn't go.
STEVEN Go where?
CHLOE College.
STEVEN Why?
CHLOE I miss you. It's real borin' 'round here.
STEVEN But you want me to be a wrestler.
CHLOE Only a little.
STEVEN I can't do that here.
CHLOE Can't do what here?
He pauses. His eyes survey the dust-covered desert.
STEVEN Nothin'.
CHLOE Huh?
No answer. More silence. Steven seems deep in thought.
CHLOE You comin' back for Christmas?
He snatches a fly between his thumb and forefinger; Reflexes. The answer doesn't arrive. Ponderous. Chloe's gaze doesn't deviate. Pressure. He finally relents.
STEVEN Yeah.
[CARTER PLAZA..2/11/05..6:12pm]
CHLOE It got in the way. I just didn't see it comin'.
.
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