Today is new morning to start my job. Waking up from the couch was unexpected as I did not think that we would fall asleep the whole day. But the only thing that mattered now is that I have to get out of this couch and face reality once more.
I carefully stood up, the snoring of Clover reverberates throughout the room while the sunlight shone through the window, giving a warm light on the floor, stretching my muscles before walking towards the bathroom with the intention of washing myself clean. I entered the bathroom and turned the faucet to run some water into the sink to wash away any dirt or stains on my hands before using the toothpaste and brush for cleaning off my teeth.
Next is the toilet. Eating that sandwich had really made my stomach growl as it was almost bursting, so I needed to relieve it immediately by emptying the contents of my digestive system. After doing all those things, I returned to the living room to find Clover still sleeping peacefully, his head lying against the armrest of the sofa.
Hopefully he will not do anything to stupid when I am gone. Now, I need to find the car keys and hope for the best that our vehicle is outside.
“Shit,” I remember, the fucking car, dad and I had brought it at the facility. Does that mean, I have to buy another set of keys and take the bus to reach the parking lot of the now destroyed facility I had worked in? I hope not, but what else could I do if I do not want to spend my last dollar on public transportation. In addition, buses are fucking slow.
Okay, okay. It is oblivious just to do that, but I cannot be late for work. Perhaps I can ask someone for a ride? Perhaps they will give me one, right?
After thinking about that idea, I went went outside of my house, shutting the door close and locking it with my key. I looked around the street, there were no cars passing by, probably because everyone was busy going to their jobs as well. So, now what should I do?
Guess I need to wait on the sidewalk until a car comes along.
I casually headed towards the sidewalk of my front house, stretching my hand up the air with thumps up to grab any passerby that would stop by to pick me up. The sun was shining brightly from above and its not so hot heat is somewhat warming me up on this winter day as I look out for some potential rides.
The first thing that came into my mind when I saw someone approaching the street was asking them for a ride. But, before I even got myself to open my mouth or speak, a red convertible sports car from afar had stopped at the curb next to me.
Its window rapidly closed down, revealing to be a woman around her late sixties with reading glasses, brown messy hair and wearing an all black business suit while holding her briefcase in one hand.
“Hey there” she said from her driver’s seat, “I saw you standing here by yourself and thought that perhaps I could help.” The driver opened her front passenger’s door wide for me, “do come inside with me, it is getting cold outside and we do have plenty of seats in the back for your comfort,” she said, motioning her hand to enter.
Sure, why not? What is the worst that can happen?
I slowly walked over to the passenger door and entered the car. Once inside, I took a deep breath and closed the door behind me before sitting on the leather seats that were made for luxury.
“So, where are you heading?”
Fuck. I need to remember where the police station is.
I closed my eyes, entering into a blank state of emptiness, allowing myself to use my mind palace to visualize the location. It was hard to maintain with all these places, but I knew that if I could get this right then everything would work out fine.
For a couple of seconds, dozens of instantaneous images from every detail and moment from my encounters appeared in the darkness within me as I mentally traveled through time and space in search of answers.
Until I finally found it.
“Young man?” The driver asked me after a while, “are you asleep?” She sounded concerned about me being so quiet for such a short period. I shook myself off and quickly sat upright, opening my eyes after realizing what had happened, “sorry… yes, I am fine now,” I answered as I turned to face her, “what do you need of me again?”
Her brows raised for a bit, “where you wanted to go?”
“North-east from here, make a U-turn and head south-west. Following that, move to the right lane until we reach a stop sign,” I instructed her, “next is making another left turn, then going straight ahead, following it till we get to an intersection. After that, go through three more intersections, before turning right and you should see a police station.”
She was a bit surprised from hearing my long and detailed instructions. However, the mention of ‘police station’ at the end of my sentence had made her nervous because she did not expect me to know where it was. However, when I saw her tense up, I quickly assured her by saying, “I am not some corrupt cop, so do not worry. I am just telling you these directions to help me get there, that is all.”
My words calmed her down a bit, but she still remained wary of me, which I found understandable considering how many police officers these days are corrupt and have been abusing their power over people for years upon years.
“Okay, I will do what you asked,” she said as she started driving, leaving the rest of my directions behind us in silence.
The road through the city was quiet and loud as usual, people going their daily lives like they were on autopilot, oblivious to the danger lurking around them while others walked with purpose towards somewhere important or urgent, such as work, shopping mall, school, home or anywhere else.
When the car stopped at the red light, I decided to look at the car’s window from my passenger’s seat, glancing at anything that was interesting to me. There was an old man standing sitting on a lone bench, smoking a cigarette while looking at something through his cell phone. But something else caught my eye.
A lone, young woman wearing a white catholic robe as if she was seemingly from cathedral. The strangest part of all is that she appears to be casually standing with her long blond hair, laying on her back at the wall with arms placed down and right foot at the back of the surface of her wall – staring straight at me with her emotionless face.
“You are new to this city?”
My attention drifted back to her as the traffic lights turned green, allowing us to continue moving forward. The driver asked, sometimes glancing at me while keeping focus on the road ahead, “you appear young for someone to be in the police force.”
Being a 20 year old appears young to others, but for me, I felt old and tired of enduring what had just transpired yesterday. I sighed out before answering with an awkward tone, “well, you can say that. I am not a cop, but more of a recruit,” hearing what I said, she became interested in the topic of this conversation, as if she was waiting to hear about it.
“Really? A recruit? What type of cop are you?”
I paused briefly to imagine how to answer that question, trying to avoid being too specific with my reply, not wanting to distribute a substantial amount of information to stranger, even though we both knew each other for less than minutes already.
“I am, uh, detective,” that appeared to make her intrigued, “as you heard the title, I investigate crime and do things like what police does in any other place.” She glanced over at me, taking a quick glance to find a badge, only to come empty-handed. She then looked back towards the road ahead and asked, “so, what crimes are you going to investigate?”
That is a good question.
“I told you already, I am recruit; this is my first day,” I replied with a short answer. It was true. In fact, it is the truth. The only thing that is not true is why I wanted to become a detective. However, if anyone asks me about my work, there will not be much information for them to gain.
The traffic lights turned red again and the car came to a stop, prompting us to wait until green once more. While waiting, the woman who sat next to me continued talking, “oh really? It must be exciting to start working at such a young age,” she smiled to herself while leaning back into her seat and stretching her back.
“It is,” I agreed with her, smiling at her comment before turning my attention back towards the road ahead, waiting for the lights to turn green. “but unfortunately, I have to learn from the bottom up since this will be my first day,” I said, which made her nod in understanding. As we waited for the light to change again, the driver spoke, “it appears like you had a rough time yesterday,” she commented, looking at me, making me pause for a moment and imagine how to reply.
“Well, I did,” I answered honestly without much elaboration as the traffic lights turned green once more, allowing us to proceed through the intersection. After a few seconds, the driver asked another question, “anything interesting happen?” She questioned me, her eyes still fixed on the road ahead.
I thought about it for a moment, wondering what would be the best way to answer her. But then, after a while, I decided that honesty is always better than lying. Furthermore, the truth is, there is no reason to. “No, not really,” I replied to her question with a sigh. “I just went home, watched some Television and slept.” I paused for a moment, considering whether I should tell her everything.
The driver spoke, ending my trail of thoughts, “that is boring,” she stated, looking at me with a frown, causing me to shrug in response. Although, inside, I was somewhat amused by the statement. I mean, it’s true, isn’t it? The truth of the matter is, I am actually bored out of my mind right now, stuck in traffic because the weather outside has always been the same like everyday.
I sighed, the silence continuing for quite some time until finally, I saw the familiar police station in the distance, “over there,” I pointed to the building, “that must be where I am supposed to go,” I told her, and then, the driver nodded. “yes, I think so too,” she said, pulling up near the sidewalk with her hazards lights on, “take care,” the driver told me as she unlocked the doors.
Before deciding to exit the car, I have something in mind. What if I have her red sports vehicle instead? It would not hurt to try, anyway.
“Thanks for the ride, but can I ask you something?”
She frowned in confusion, looking at me curiously before replying, “sure, what do you want?”
I smiled slightly, leaning back against the headrest, “can I have your car?” Hearing that made her laugh lightly, shaking her head. “No, sorry,” she said, “I need this car young man. Unless you have the money for it.”
Money, eh? There is more to these things than just having numerous cash. If only I had enough money to buy cars and other luxury items without any problems.
I shook my head, looking away from her eyes. “no, I do not have much cash on me,” I replied with an awkward smile, “however, do you not think that it is harsh to deny someone who is young like myself? Think about it, how many people can drive such a spacious car?”
The woman laughed again, “you are funny,” she said, “but I am afraid you have to leave now, I have other business to attend to,” she informed me.
“No,” I said with blunt and cold voice, her expression changed to shock and nervousness from the change of my tone, “it is shocking of how much you value your car over another human being’s life, especially when there is no guarantee that I will survive this night in going home,” I said as calmly as possible, “because if I don’t make it out alive, then you won’t be seeing me anymore, how would it fare for your business if someone discovered my death was your doing?”
Her face went blank and silent, staring at me, and after a few seconds of silence, she slowly opened her lips. “You cannot-“
I raised one hand up, cutting off whatever she wanted to say next, “I can hear you thinking, so stop saying things that are pointless or irrelevant to what we are talking about,” I told her with annoyance, “imagine the scenario, the pressure of what will happen if you do not hand over me this car? If I did live and survive through the night, what would stop me that a creepy woman in her sixties is taking advantage of young boys like myself? It would not do any good for your reputation, right?”
Sweat pours down from her frightened expression, “well, I-“
“Good, now give me your keys,” I said with an authoritative tone, making sure to show no mercy on her. Her mouth opens again but nothing comes out as she looks away and tries to come up with something, “b-but what if I t-tell the police about this?” She stammered in her words as the pressure of the situation made her more nervous than before.
My voice was cold and sharp, “the last thing I want is to see you end up in jail or worse, have your life ruined. Trust me, they would not believe you anyway since I am working for them,” the persuasion of my words made her finally give up her keys.
“Here! Now leave me alone!” She shouted as she handed the car keys to me, removing her seatbelt before leaving her driver’s seat, making a loud thud after closing the door and walking to the unknown, her loud drifting footsteps echoing in the atmosphere.
A smile formed on my face, “sweet, I got a new car.”
