Have you ever opened up the Bible and read the story of Job? God took everything from him, and in response, he said, "I was born with nothing, so I shall die with nothing." The epitome of a great man. I could never be that. I find it hard to be thankful and appreciative of a Lord who gives nothing and takes everything.
And on that day, August 30th, my God did take, in the form of those hellbound meteors. Everything was taken from us…
***
"Last night was crazy," I murmured, pushing myself up from my queen-sized bed. The silver satin sheets attempted to cling to me as I struggled to rise. The room was dimly lit, with only a hint of light escaping from my blackout shades, illuminating the swirling particles of dust in the air.
The energy from the previous night still lingered, and the remnants of desire seemed to taint the very atmosphere. I searched my dresser for my rectangular frames, without which I couldn't see beyond my outstretched hand.
BEEP BEEP BEEP! My phone blared from underneath my pillows, causing the whole bed to vibrate. I turned off the alarm and checked my messages.
"Seven missed calls from... Rome. How should I respond, sir?" The text-to-speech AI trapped within my phone attempted to sound as human as possible.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
I dialed Rome's number, hoping he would answer, even at this ungodly hour. Surprisingly, he picked up without delay. "Jeice, bro, I had this two-man set up, and all I needed was for you to be there. I promise you both of them were going. How could you leave without telling me?"
"Yeah, that's on me. You know I had my own thing going, though. Remember the girl from marine bio?"
"The lightskin? Ava? You have a problem, bro. She's bad, but not bad enough to deal with all of that."
"Yeah... yeah, whatever you say. Don't you have workouts right now? It's already past 10."
"Told the coach I'm coming in later. Can't kick a two-time national champ off the team. Remember that." I could hear the smugness in his voice through the phone speaker. Rome was a true free spirit, and I could learn something from his carefree attitude.
"Jeice, bro, are you really going to quit basketball? You know you're almost at the promised land, right? The league, the pros, the big money—it's all right there in front of you..." Rome continued to ramble on. I knew I had to sit through this as soon as I decided to call him. It all sounded amazing, but the sad reality was that my heart was no longer in it. I had lost my passion for the game I loved.
"But... uh, the real reason I called you so many times was to let you know I took your car. Byeeeee."
"What?" I barely had time to respond before Rome hung up. That's just my little cousin for you—do things first and ask for forgiveness later. I wasn't mad at him, but this was a major inconvenience. My last year of college was about to begin in an hour. I hadn't showered, eaten breakfast, didn't have an outfit prepared, and had a thirty-minute walk ahead of me to reach class.