Adam pulls into the parking lot, shaking his head as the engine continues to run on even after he pulls the key out. He sighs, hoping that it’ll hold together until he can afford to do something about it. He pats the dashboard and murmurs his ritual, “Hear me baby, hold together” with the tiniest glimmer of a smile.
Adam picks up his laptop case and gets out, locking the door, idly wondering why, since if someone stole this piece of junk maybe he’d get a better one out of the insurance.
No. He would undoubtedly end up with something worse. As Adam starts across the lot toward the mouth of the path he catches movement out of the corner of his eye.
Glancing over, Adam sees some guy leaning over Barbie’s car. He stops, and turns back. It certainly is not Barbie, but it is her car. He heads over, getting closer to the guy as he moves between the parked cars. The guy looks a bit familiar but Adam can’t place him. And he’s definitely trying to get into Barbie’s car. It’s now or never.
“Hey!” Adam calls out. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m just borrowing my friend’s car. Do you mind?” Jose answers back, then he turns holding up a keyring dangling with keys. Adam steps closer, and yes, he recognizes Barbie’s key ring from the night they went to the concert.
“Alright.” Adam nods with a sigh, but he keeps approaching. Must be another one of Barbie’s hordes of admirers. But what’s wrong with his face?
Adam narrows his eyes to try and make sense of the vertical lines on the guy’s cheeks.
Is it paint? No, it’s too regular, it looks kind of like blood. No, that does not make sense. The guy goes back to the door and finally gets the correct key in the door lock as Adam comes within a few feet.
He swings the door open and Adam extends a hand, “I’m Barbie’s friend Adam from the computer club.”
Ignoring his outstretched hand, the guy frowns, then says, “You’re the one put Linux on her laptop?”
Adam feels a momentary burst of pleasure – Barbie must have been talking about him. But then it dissolves as he realizes Barbie must like this man a lot to lend him her car. Adam says, “Yes.”
But then he looks at the man. He is a real mess. Adam squints a little, trying to figure out what’s wrong with his face without actually staring or anything.
“I gotta go pick some stuff up.” Jose stops and realizes that Adam is scrutinizing his face. He’s gotta get out of here before Dilbert gets the picture. He resists the urge to self consciously reach up and touch his face. Shit. “Look, pal, I don’t have a beef with you, so just back off, Okay?”
“What’s wrong with your face?”
“I got a rash. Barbie’s just lending me her car so I can, so I can go home and get cleaned up.”
Realizing he has just been lied to, Adam stops pretending nonchalance and just stares at the guy. “Is that blood?”
“Look, pal, just take off, and you won’t get hurt.”
“You stole Barbie’s keys?”
“I’m not a fucking thief. She gave me her keys so I could use her car.” Jose glowers. “Barbie’s lending me her car. She gave me her keys. She’s my girlfriend.”
But Adam remembers the guy with the fancy red car. That would be Barbie’s real boyfriend. Not this man. Another lie.
“I’ll ask Barbie, then.” Adam unclips the brand new cellphone on his belt and starts to punch in Barbie’s number.
“Just leave it alone. Go away.”
Jose steps forward and knocks Adam’s cellphone out of his hand. The phone flies through the air and then bounces twice on the asphalt before shattering. Adam stares at his new phone in horror. He just got it programmed. And only used it once.
Jose turns back toward Barbie’s car and Adam swings his computer bag at him. It hits Jose in the back, making him stagger into the car door. Only grabbing onto the handle keeps him from falling down but it makes the door slam shut again. Jose doesn’t care, he is just too angry at this stupid nerd.
Turning back to Adam he says. “What the hell did you do that for?”
“First you broke my cellphone and now you are attempting to steal Barbie’s car.”
“Piss off, I’m just borrowing her car. Besides, why should you care, she was only ever nice to you so you’d fix her computer for free. She was just using you, you loser. So just bug the hell off.”
“Why should I believe you? Why would I believe anything a car thief says, Mister Loser?”
Jose just flips him the bird and reaches for the door handle again.
Adam steps in even closer, crowding him. “No. This is not your car.”
Jose tries to elbow Adam, but somehow finds himself sitting in the dirt. His bloody balance must be off after the ruckus with Barbie. He scrambles to his feet and takes a swing at the guy and misses again.
This is getting annoying. especially since he can hear sirens. Goddamn, are they coming for him already? He can’t even get off the bloody campus because of this crazy geek. He looks over at the scrawny little guy in a tie. A fuckin’ tie for god’s sake. “What is your problem?”
“You can’t just go around breaking people’s phones and pushing them around. I am just so sick of bullies.”
Jose launches himself at Adam who easily sidesteps. Jose ends up skidding and sliding onto his knees on the asphalt.
“Who the fuck do you think you are, Batman?”
“No, just a geek who thought martial arts training might help me deal with neanderthals like you. Have you had enough?”
Jose starts picking himself up. This is so ridiculous. This 98 pound weakling – wearing a tie for gods sake – is stopping him from getting away.
That’s it, no more mister nice guy.
With a mighty roar Jose lunges at Adam with all the force he can muster. This time Adam does not step away but rather steps in, grasping Jose’s wrist and somehow transforming the attack into a kind of ballet, altering the direction of movement and somehow sending Jose face first into the side door of the hummer parked in the adjacent parking spot.
Blinding pain.
God that hurt. For a second it’s like a hot needle in his nose, then Jose realizes his nose is broken, as blood spurts out his left nostril and the swelling starts. Shit. It fucking hurts.
Jose slides to the ground. His whole face is throbbing. This is not good. He rolls over and lays on his back, looking up at the clouds. He can taste blood in the back of his throat. His head is ringing. He’s so tired. It’s just not his day.
Hearing the sirens getting closer he thinks, WTF.
Reaching inside his jacket he pulls out a joint and puts it in his mouth. Fumbling in his other pocket for the lighter he fires it up, and the first drag is heaven.
As the sweet smoke slides in, he sucks it deep into his lungs, where he holds it a moment to let the calm envelop him. Letting it out in a rush, he watches stray wisps of smoke float away, up into the sky.
