The Ordinary Times

Early One Morning

Sometimes she forgets it’s cold until it’s too late. She’s been up all night at that guy’s house near the highway, getting high and watching TV. When she got there yesterday it was warm, so the sandals made sense.

She woke up freezing under a crocheted blanket. Somebody was on the floor under a huge coat, their face turned away from the flashing, silent howl of the screen. It was Ricky – she hadn’t seen him show up. She stepped over him carefully and walked down the hall to the bathroom, passing by an open bedroom door. Inside was a dark mass of damp air. She peed in the dark.

The sun was coming up. She made her way back to the front room by the light peeking through the blinds. This time she knocked over some empties when she stepped over Ricky, waking him. He sat up and gathered his coat around his shoulders and knees. He felt in his pockets slowly. He pulled out a shiny white shape and handed it to her.

“Go hawk this for us.”

She turned it over in her hands. It was heavy. “What should I get for it?”

Ricky laid back down and covered his head with the coat. “Twenny.”

Brilliant purples and oranges tore across the cold sky, painting the MAX train as it passed. She waited for the bus, shivering, while the kids with fleeces embroidered with the name of their school passed her by. She should have asked Ricky for his coat, but Ricky wasn’t like that.

The bus came and she found herself sitting on the bus with the white thing in her hands. She opened it, and it lit up. It was a video game. Two screens – one with two cartoon faces talking to each other. A child with a sword talking to a green monster. The monster was asking the child, “What is it that you want more than anything in the world?” and the child said, “To destroy you.”

It was flashing “PUSH A BUTTON,” so she did.

The monster said, “What if that’s not an option?” and the child didn’t say anything.