Chapter 3 - Dark Alley

June 5th, 2008
4:06pm
Ryan's Apartment - Harrison Street

Seven red, five orange, and two blue Freeze Pops later, Ryan still felt overheated. He'd returned to his apartment and the single, aging window air conditioner did little to combat the sweltering heat and humidity. Curse this mass of curly hair, he thought as he sat on his bed, facing his box fan. Everything today feels so oppressed by the heat, like the world is moving slower. Everybody's getting testy and impatient, too. The humidity made his curls get frizzy and the fan blew them every which way, which was a tolerable annoyance given the ambient temperature.

He tried to pass the time by surfing the internet. Nobody's updated their blog, and I've read all my webcomics. "Geez," he said to aloud to no one "is Facebook really the most interesting website that's updated today?" He was about to find something else to do when he received an instant message:

GregS: Hey buddy. Gametime?

Damnit.

RyanG: Damnit. Well played, sir. What are you doing?

GregS: Just got off work. You?

RyanG: Absolutely nothing. I was about ready to do next week's homework out of pure boredom.
RyanG: Wait, I thought you were off today?

GregS: My boss called in sick. Said he had to stay home because his daughter woke up really sick today, and he doesn't know what's wrong with her.

RyanG: Bummer. Way to pick up the slack.

GregS: Wanna come over and rock out? Watch House reruns?

RyanG: Sounds great. Can you come pick me up?

GregS: No can do. Chad's borrowing my car because his is in the shop.

RyanG: No problem. I can take the trolley over, and it should be cool enough tonight to walk back. Be there in a bit, depending on when the trolley gets here.

GregS has signed off.

Ryan packed up a few video game essentials into his bookbag before putting on his flip-flops and heading outside. It was a short walk to the trolley station across from the Wood St. parking garage, but with the sun starting to dip lower in the sky casting long shadows, and the stuffy heat, the walk was eerily quiet.

I know there's usually less activity during the summer, but today seems especially dead Ryan thought as he waited for the trolley. He pulled his mp3 player out of his bookbag, not quite sure what songs he'd last loaded onto it. The first album was Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil, which he felt was an abnormally hardcore soundtrack to something as mundane as hailing a trolley, better suited to doing something awesome.

Eventually the 5:30 route stopped by, and after squeezing past dozens of students not wanting to walk in the heat (he didn't blame them) Ryan rode past the shopping center, and down Chauncey Hill. A quick tug of the stop cord, and the trolley paused to let him out directly in front of the Wabash Landing movie theatre. This was was the closest he was going to get to Greg's apartment by way of public transport.

Ryan walked across the nearly empty parking lot in front of the Neon Cactus, knowing full well the walk back home would be treacherous - Thirsty Thursdays would mean huge crowds of inebriated students stumbling around. He walked around the far end of the strip mall to Greg's apartment in the complex behind.

Greg greeted him at the door with a cold can of Mt. Dew and a guitar. They started playing Guitar Hero III right away, 5-starring their favorite songs. They'd played the game so many times that for them it was less about beating the high score, and more about what they termed "style points". They tried to keep an unbroken string of notes while playing behind their backs, playing back to back, and liberal use of windmill and duckwalking through guitar duels until their fingers were aching.

After several hours of bothering the neighbors with a constant barrage of noise, they gave in to hunger. They ordered pizza and waited for the delivery while watching season two of Prison Break. Greg had seen it already, but didn't mind a seeing it again as Ryan caught up.

After a few episodes, with a decent walk still to go, Ryan said goodbye. He was much more comfortable outside now that the sun had gone down, though it was eerily quiet (except for a few scattered yells from drunks). Attempting to avoid the bar scene as much as possible, he stayed on the far side of the Cactus parking lot and walked along the bank of the Wabash. Passing the ice-skating rink on his way to the landing and Rt. 26, he felt a shiver along his spine.

He shrugged it off as just the cooler night air giving him a chill, but he did not notice the shadowy figure stalking him...


Current Word Count: 4,216

Nomenclature Clarification

I just know I'm going to forget to use real names and slip into nicknames. For those of you unfamiliar with the Ship of Fools, I'm going to give you a quick summary:

Ryan - T.Rex
Renee - Kamikaze
Andrew - Peace
Eric - Beard
John C. - Cowboy
Stu - B.O.
Steve - Angel Hair
Brant - Rubble
Alex - SoG
Benji - Hallway
John T. - Tripod or Freshman
Kyle - Sweet Speak


Also, I'm adding a poll to the right sidebar. Cast your vote!

Chapter 2 - Delayed

June 5th, 2008
12:35pm
Pappy's Sweet Shop

Jenny should be here by now, Ryan thought. Fighting back the sneaking suspicion something had happened to her, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket to check for a message he might've missed. Damn. No reception in the basement. Great, and my battery needs charged, too.

He tried to take his mind away from paranoia by pulling his big blue notebook from his bookbag. It contained all of his notes about the improv club, including the upcoming show for the summer. The Fools had booked an performance as the opening act for a Chicago comedian, and several retired members of the troupe had mentioned possibly reuniting and joining them on stage. The final head count of members, however, was far from set. Ryan reviewed who he knew would be here over the summer, who couldn't make it for sure, and who was a possibility.

It was just then when Jenny walked up and greeted him with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey sweetie, sorry about the delay. There was some sort of accident near Krannert, so my bus was delayed." She slid into the booth across from Ryan with a sigh.

"It's okay. The whole campus seems to be in a funk today - there was something in the paper about a drunk guy biting somebody. Anyway, I was just going over the roster for the upcoming Chicago Show."

"Oh yeah? Who all's gonna be in it?"

"Well, me, of course. Let's see" he scanned the checklist "Renee, Andrew and Eric, for sure. Stu's probably not going to make it. Kyle and John T. graduated, so they're out. Steve and Brant aren't staying here over the summer, but I'm pretty sure they said they would make it. John C. will be here. Benji and Alex are big question marks."

"Sounds like fun trying to plan all of that together. How about you keep working on that, and I'll get some lunch?"

"Sounds great," he said, pulling out his wallet "here's a twenty - get me a cheeseburger, fries, and a cherry coke, will ya?"

"Of course. Back in a few."

Ryan scribbled a few notes while Jenny waited in line for lunch. She returned with a pair of burgers, cokes, and a large plate of fries.

"I've got a quiz I need to study for, okay?" Jenny said, removing a large packet of notes from her bulging bookbag.

"Sure. Is that the only other thing you have today?"

"Well, I've got my afternoon class with the quiz, and then a group meeting, and I work tonight at Hillenbrand. There's a huge bunch of people moving into the hall for a conference and I'm on duty."

"Can I come over and keep you company?" he asked between bites of fries.

"I don't think that'd be the best idea. I have a lesson plan to write and rounds, so I'm gonna be really busy. Perhaps this weekend we can hang out, instead?"

Ryan sighed. "Okay. I guess I'll try and get a hold of the Fools and find out for sure who will be here. I just hate how lonely my apartment is right now." His roommate John had graduated and was working in Michigan at a reactor, so his room was just empty until the lease ended in August. Ryan's other current roommate, Alex, was out of town visiting his girlfriend Steph. "Even our upstairs neighbors are gone for the summer, I guess. I saw a moving truck outside last week and it's been really quiet for once."

She paused to swallow the last bite of burger before noting "At least you don't have to deal with their shitty music past midnight anymore."

"True. I definitely enjoy having the freedom to crank up and rock out."

They continued to chat while they finished lunch. Finally, as the clock neared 1:15, Jenny put away her notes. "Well," she said "I think it's about time for me to get to class. Thanks for lunch."

"No problem. I hope your quiz and group meeting goes well. Have fun at work tonight, too."

"And you have fun tonight. Why don't you try and invite some of the Fools over and do something? Play a game of Settlers of Catan, perhaps?"

"We'll see."

Ryan watched as Jennifer packed up her things and left. Little did he know that he might never see her again...


Current Word Count: 3,400