Fiction Assignment
I figured I'd put up my short-story assignment from my summer creative writing class.
After We Get Over Ourselves
As I glanced around the parking lot of the strip mall, I thought about how much I didn’t like this town. It was like every other town in New Jersey, really. Colorless, suburbs hemmed in by highways and strip malls. I sat on the curb of the sidewalk outside the Burger Bungalow, staring up at the sky through my glasses as Win lit up another cigarette for herself. I couldn’t understand how someone so tiny could smoke that much, especially out of boredom. But she made it look like her job, the way she did it; an ashen stick protruding from her mess of carelessly tied back black hair. The cigarette would disappear from her mouth and into her hand, and then a cloud of smoke would puff out of that sea of black.
I ran my hands up over my face and through my hair, the dull brown I’d always known. I looked up at the sky again. The gulls were back. Win and I called them asphalt gulls. They were a lot less lucky than sea gulls or maybe just a lot less smart. They were a constant to this mini-mall lot, always soaring a few feet above the endless caravan of mini-vans lined up outside the fast-food chain restaurant in their little white-lined spaces.
“Let’s get out of here,” I almost whispered, not wanting to make too much effort at speaking. Neither of us moved from our seats.
“Why?” Win’s blue eyes were curious. “Laughing at people ruin their bodies by eating here not as fun as it used to be, Ory?”
“No, it’s not that. ‘Sides, it’s kind of pointless for you to do it, since you smoke so much when we go people-watching anyway,” I replied lamely. “Aren’t all those cigarettes just as bad as eating one of the Bungalow’s burgers?” I honestly didn’t mind Win smoking in front of me; it was almost a comfort at this point.
Win shrugged and stood up, her brightly striped dress waving in as she moved.
“Alright then.”
I brushed off my jeans and t-shirt as I got up, cleaning it of really nothing at all. We headed toward the cinema at the other end of the desert of the parking lot, our steps almost aimless on the hot afternoon tar, our sneakers almost sticking to it. Summer holds nothing for people like us, twenty-somethings who go to school and come home to realize they still don’t have a clue about life.
Before I knew it, we were in the theater, watching a movie. I don’t even know what movie it was, some comedy that Win had picked. We sat in the front row, like always. It makes the movie seem even less realistic that way. You’d think that since no one ever sits in the front row, the floor would be the least sticky there, but it’s the opposite. I have no idea why.
I didn’t even laugh at most of the jokes during the movie. Win seemed to be having a good time, though, cracking up at every gag. I was too stuck inside myself to get into it. Was this what I’d come down to, a disillusioned and embittered old man before I was even done really being a kid? We were both past the awkward days and bodies of our teenage selves, but all that had left us with were skins that we still didn’t feel comfortable in and wondering if we’d ever feel like real adults. I almost wanted back the time where I didn’t care if I came home covered in mud, knees grazed.
I looked at Win, who was still staring up at the screen, even though the credits were now rolling. She was shivering a little from the air conditioning. She caught my eye for a second and gave me a half smile. I wondered if she had ever had these kinds of fruitless thoughts that I had spent my day around. I didn’t have to tell her this time; she just knew I wanted to move on to the next place again.
We took the back exit out of the cinema. It was dark now. My stomach reminded me that I’d forgotten to feed it again. Win noticed and laughed. I was a little surprised when she didn’t light up another cigarette.
“You’re not going to have a smoke?”
“Nah. And since when do you call them ‘smokes?’” she answered, laughing a little. I shrugged.
I could see the cars speeding down the highway from where we stood, dark metal bodies on the dark road racing by, red on the right, yellow-white on the left, all under the soft green of the streetlights.
“It’s pretty,” the words slipped out of my mouth.
“What?”
“The highway, look.” I pointed and Win turned in the direction of the cars. Her small mouth formed a soft “o”. We stood there, staring at the cars for a while, just watching. Somehow, I still didn’t feel much better from the afternoon, but my head had quieted down a little. I still had no idea where my life was pointing me, or even if any of my imaginings about a worthwhile life were going to leave me in a better state. I noticed the traffic again, feeling like I always had. Empty.
Win’s hand found mine. She’s like that, a friend who is always willing to be the rope that drags you back from yourself. I don’t know how someone can do that kind of thing. We turned away from the traffic, the cinema, and the strip mall parking lot. We walked through the little border of trees that stood between the parking lot and our neighborhood, walking in the middle of street. No one ever comes down these roads, not unless they live here, but I almost never see the cars move around here, all the same.
I’d forgotten to let go of Win’s hand. I didn’t care at this point, or even when she slipped away from me to run a little ahead and dance along the double yellow line back to where I’d stopped walking to look at her. She was in a good mood. I think it was the movie. She spun along the lines, her body turning gracefully in her dress. She told me how she’d taken dance lessons so long ago…wanted to be a ballerina. Then she said how things like that are tough, and not as dreamy as you’d think. I didn’t pry, just stood there quietly watching.
She stopped dancing, smiling sheepishly at me. I smiled for the first time that day. I rocked back on my heels for a second, and looked up at the sky. I stared for a moment longer than usually and then…stars. I’d no idea I could ever see this many stars here, with the streetlights burning so closely to us. But there they were, more than I’d ever expected.
Win’s hand slipped into mine again, and I could tell she was looking at the sky with me. She squeezed my hand, saying,
“You know, Ory, I once got a fortune cookie, and the fortune inside said, ‘The stars appear every night in the sky. All is well.’” I could feel her gaze lowering a little from the sky to look up at me. I didn’t have to ask her what it meant.
After We Get Over Ourselves
As I glanced around the parking lot of the strip mall, I thought about how much I didn’t like this town. It was like every other town in New Jersey, really. Colorless, suburbs hemmed in by highways and strip malls. I sat on the curb of the sidewalk outside the Burger Bungalow, staring up at the sky through my glasses as Win lit up another cigarette for herself. I couldn’t understand how someone so tiny could smoke that much, especially out of boredom. But she made it look like her job, the way she did it; an ashen stick protruding from her mess of carelessly tied back black hair. The cigarette would disappear from her mouth and into her hand, and then a cloud of smoke would puff out of that sea of black.
I ran my hands up over my face and through my hair, the dull brown I’d always known. I looked up at the sky again. The gulls were back. Win and I called them asphalt gulls. They were a lot less lucky than sea gulls or maybe just a lot less smart. They were a constant to this mini-mall lot, always soaring a few feet above the endless caravan of mini-vans lined up outside the fast-food chain restaurant in their little white-lined spaces.
“Let’s get out of here,” I almost whispered, not wanting to make too much effort at speaking. Neither of us moved from our seats.
“Why?” Win’s blue eyes were curious. “Laughing at people ruin their bodies by eating here not as fun as it used to be, Ory?”
“No, it’s not that. ‘Sides, it’s kind of pointless for you to do it, since you smoke so much when we go people-watching anyway,” I replied lamely. “Aren’t all those cigarettes just as bad as eating one of the Bungalow’s burgers?” I honestly didn’t mind Win smoking in front of me; it was almost a comfort at this point.
Win shrugged and stood up, her brightly striped dress waving in as she moved.
“Alright then.”
I brushed off my jeans and t-shirt as I got up, cleaning it of really nothing at all. We headed toward the cinema at the other end of the desert of the parking lot, our steps almost aimless on the hot afternoon tar, our sneakers almost sticking to it. Summer holds nothing for people like us, twenty-somethings who go to school and come home to realize they still don’t have a clue about life.
Before I knew it, we were in the theater, watching a movie. I don’t even know what movie it was, some comedy that Win had picked. We sat in the front row, like always. It makes the movie seem even less realistic that way. You’d think that since no one ever sits in the front row, the floor would be the least sticky there, but it’s the opposite. I have no idea why.
I didn’t even laugh at most of the jokes during the movie. Win seemed to be having a good time, though, cracking up at every gag. I was too stuck inside myself to get into it. Was this what I’d come down to, a disillusioned and embittered old man before I was even done really being a kid? We were both past the awkward days and bodies of our teenage selves, but all that had left us with were skins that we still didn’t feel comfortable in and wondering if we’d ever feel like real adults. I almost wanted back the time where I didn’t care if I came home covered in mud, knees grazed.
I looked at Win, who was still staring up at the screen, even though the credits were now rolling. She was shivering a little from the air conditioning. She caught my eye for a second and gave me a half smile. I wondered if she had ever had these kinds of fruitless thoughts that I had spent my day around. I didn’t have to tell her this time; she just knew I wanted to move on to the next place again.
We took the back exit out of the cinema. It was dark now. My stomach reminded me that I’d forgotten to feed it again. Win noticed and laughed. I was a little surprised when she didn’t light up another cigarette.
“You’re not going to have a smoke?”
“Nah. And since when do you call them ‘smokes?’” she answered, laughing a little. I shrugged.
I could see the cars speeding down the highway from where we stood, dark metal bodies on the dark road racing by, red on the right, yellow-white on the left, all under the soft green of the streetlights.
“It’s pretty,” the words slipped out of my mouth.
“What?”
“The highway, look.” I pointed and Win turned in the direction of the cars. Her small mouth formed a soft “o”. We stood there, staring at the cars for a while, just watching. Somehow, I still didn’t feel much better from the afternoon, but my head had quieted down a little. I still had no idea where my life was pointing me, or even if any of my imaginings about a worthwhile life were going to leave me in a better state. I noticed the traffic again, feeling like I always had. Empty.
Win’s hand found mine. She’s like that, a friend who is always willing to be the rope that drags you back from yourself. I don’t know how someone can do that kind of thing. We turned away from the traffic, the cinema, and the strip mall parking lot. We walked through the little border of trees that stood between the parking lot and our neighborhood, walking in the middle of street. No one ever comes down these roads, not unless they live here, but I almost never see the cars move around here, all the same.
I’d forgotten to let go of Win’s hand. I didn’t care at this point, or even when she slipped away from me to run a little ahead and dance along the double yellow line back to where I’d stopped walking to look at her. She was in a good mood. I think it was the movie. She spun along the lines, her body turning gracefully in her dress. She told me how she’d taken dance lessons so long ago…wanted to be a ballerina. Then she said how things like that are tough, and not as dreamy as you’d think. I didn’t pry, just stood there quietly watching.
She stopped dancing, smiling sheepishly at me. I smiled for the first time that day. I rocked back on my heels for a second, and looked up at the sky. I stared for a moment longer than usually and then…stars. I’d no idea I could ever see this many stars here, with the streetlights burning so closely to us. But there they were, more than I’d ever expected.
Win’s hand slipped into mine again, and I could tell she was looking at the sky with me. She squeezed my hand, saying,
“You know, Ory, I once got a fortune cookie, and the fortune inside said, ‘The stars appear every night in the sky. All is well.’” I could feel her gaze lowering a little from the sky to look up at me. I didn’t have to ask her what it meant.