She took a long drag of her cigarette. She adjusted her position against
the wall and stared out at the night sky. The noise of the occasional
train screaming past didn’t seem to bother her.
The sky was bright with stars tonight, she observed. It was pleasant sitting on the platform all on her-
“Do you have another one?”
So much for solitude.
She tilted her face up to see him. He was a tall, stocky guy, with a mop of unruly curls and a shy smile.
She passes him a cigarette and held out the lighter. He took the cigarette, and hesitated for a moment; then sat down beside her and lit it.
“So what’re you doing out here?” He asked after a while.
“Wasting away the prime years of my life,” She said, with a bitter smile.
He gave her a sidelong glance. “…Right.”
“What about you?” She asked.
He shrugged indifferently. “Wanted to get out of the house. Go somewhere, do something different. You know, act on a reel, for once.”
“Oh.” She took a puff of her cigarette.
They sat ensconced in their own thoughts for a moment.
“You know what I hate?” She burst out, suddenly. “I hate uniformity. I hate conforming to the rules of society, to my parent’s idea of who I should be, to my friends’ ideas of how I should act. I hate it all! Why can’t I just be ME??”
He looked slightly startled, but didn’t try to stop her from ranting on.
“What is it with people and wanting to be like everybody else? I mean, WHY?!”
“I, for one, don’t believe in conformity either,” He helpfully replied.
She looked at him and said “Well good! That makes two of us. Now how about the rest of the world?”
He ran his hand through his dark curls and chuckled softly “You teenagers. Always so quick to generalize.” He flicked the ash off his cigarette.
“Hey, as far as the people I know, they all want to be ‘normal,’” She said defensively.
“Yeah, well. There are 6 billion other people out there who you haven’t met as yet. Don’t get so cynical before you’ve tasted anything of the World at Large,” He replied, spreading his hand out in front of him. ”
“Whatever,” She said, settling into a sulk. She butted out her cigarette angrily.
He watched her in amusement, but didn’t say anything. She was riled up enough as it was.
The distant sound of an approaching train interrupted her thoughts- again.
He checked his watch and picked himself up off the floor. “Anyway, kiddo, I gotta run. My ride’s here. We’ll finish this some other time.”
She glanced up at him. “If we meet again, that is.”
“When we meet again,” He corrected her. “The roots of cynicism have already been planted in that young mind, I see,” He said teasingly.
She ignored his rib. “How do you know we’ll meet again?” She said over the noise of the train.
He winked at her. “Oh, we will. Maybe not next week, maybe not next year even, but we shall .”
She smiled and said “See you around…” And realized he hadn’t told her his name yet.
“My name's Alex in case you were wondering,” He called out, as the train screamed into the station.
“I’m Vix” She replied, while he got into the train.
He found himself a seat and gave her one last look. He grinned boyishly and made the peace sign with his hand.
“Bye” she said softly, and she waved goodbye.
As the train started up again, she picked up her backpack and walked out of the station.
The sky was bright with stars tonight, she observed. It was pleasant sitting on the platform all on her-
“Do you have another one?”
So much for solitude.
She tilted her face up to see him. He was a tall, stocky guy, with a mop of unruly curls and a shy smile.
She passes him a cigarette and held out the lighter. He took the cigarette, and hesitated for a moment; then sat down beside her and lit it.
“So what’re you doing out here?” He asked after a while.
“Wasting away the prime years of my life,” She said, with a bitter smile.
He gave her a sidelong glance. “…Right.”
“What about you?” She asked.
He shrugged indifferently. “Wanted to get out of the house. Go somewhere, do something different. You know, act on a reel, for once.”
“Oh.” She took a puff of her cigarette.
They sat ensconced in their own thoughts for a moment.
“You know what I hate?” She burst out, suddenly. “I hate uniformity. I hate conforming to the rules of society, to my parent’s idea of who I should be, to my friends’ ideas of how I should act. I hate it all! Why can’t I just be ME??”
He looked slightly startled, but didn’t try to stop her from ranting on.
“What is it with people and wanting to be like everybody else? I mean, WHY?!”
“I, for one, don’t believe in conformity either,” He helpfully replied.
She looked at him and said “Well good! That makes two of us. Now how about the rest of the world?”
He ran his hand through his dark curls and chuckled softly “You teenagers. Always so quick to generalize.” He flicked the ash off his cigarette.
“Hey, as far as the people I know, they all want to be ‘normal,’” She said defensively.
“Yeah, well. There are 6 billion other people out there who you haven’t met as yet. Don’t get so cynical before you’ve tasted anything of the World at Large,” He replied, spreading his hand out in front of him. ”
“Whatever,” She said, settling into a sulk. She butted out her cigarette angrily.
He watched her in amusement, but didn’t say anything. She was riled up enough as it was.
The distant sound of an approaching train interrupted her thoughts- again.
He checked his watch and picked himself up off the floor. “Anyway, kiddo, I gotta run. My ride’s here. We’ll finish this some other time.”
She glanced up at him. “If we meet again, that is.”
“When we meet again,” He corrected her. “The roots of cynicism have already been planted in that young mind, I see,” He said teasingly.
She ignored his rib. “How do you know we’ll meet again?” She said over the noise of the train.
He winked at her. “Oh, we will. Maybe not next week, maybe not next year even, but we shall .”
She smiled and said “See you around…” And realized he hadn’t told her his name yet.
“My name's Alex in case you were wondering,” He called out, as the train screamed into the station.
“I’m Vix” She replied, while he got into the train.
He found himself a seat and gave her one last look. He grinned boyishly and made the peace sign with his hand.
“Bye” she said softly, and she waved goodbye.
As the train started up again, she picked up her backpack and walked out of the station.
No comments:
Post a Comment