..."Beginning program in 3...2...1... let's go."

  "Rise and shine, you industrious little fellows!" A jaunty voice jeered in static. "Once again your boy, Liam Holtz, in his prime time. And I was only joking, fellas… snowflakes! I’m not someone who would disrespect you guys, right? Movin—"

  "H-hey! Don't forget about me! Me! Me! Me!" Another voice interrupted, this time it was an annoying screech with feminine qualities. "Lorraine Glynn! Don’t you dare forget about me! That was uncalled for, Holtz...."

  "Ahem... Thank you. We are once again back in the air, currently 6:30 in the morning and very much alive, thank you very much, you ski mask freaks. Any who, we have some very important things to share with this Monday, and will be presented by Lorraine. Lorraine?"

  "Y-yes, yes... Moving on with the program...”

A young man who was a bit annoyed by the radio broadcasters, yawned very loudly, before rolling around on his seat. He shuffled his long light brown hair a bit, but avoided touching his white, cotton uniform and tie. He wasn’t particularly enjoying his time, at the moment, stuck inside a white pick-up truck, with the air conditioning fixed to full blast.

He quickly glanced towards the driver's seat, where a middle-aged man who wore a red cap and shaggy blond hair sat. The young man took a whiff, and smelled a familiar smokey smell. His clothes had a bunch of dark marks placed on the edges. The young man’s father turned his head towards his son’s eyes, which were slightly tense but tender.

  “Do you have something to say, Matt? I can tell from your eyes.” His father said.

  “...Not at the moment, really.” Matt replied. “It’s just that we always go through the avenue on weekdays. There’s nothing to do in this truck, || not to mention all the annoying drivers on the road.”

  “So you’re bored.” He said with a slight crack to his voice. “But to be honest, I like going this route. I think I’ve told you this, like about a thousand times already. But really, it’s just a habit, don’t really mind the traffic anyways.”

Matt paused nodding his head, before fixing his posture on the recliner. He looked towards his left, seeing the azure and orange horizon afar, and an escort following two container ships. He sighed once more, and continued listening to the broadcast.

  “Oh, oh, oh, before I forget,” said Lorraine, sleek and urgent. “Brine Fishing Day is still on, but instead of that Tuesday date, we’ve postponed it to Wednesday. ...Liam, can you quit making that goofy face? S-s-stop, I can’t keep a straight f-face!”

  “Hahaha… wait oh, right. We’re… um live. Dave, can you… What? You can’t? Hahaha… well that’s on me! Sorry about that folks!”

  ‘Lovers…’ Matt thought. ‘It’s so obvious that they are lovers!’

  “Pffft… Holtz and Glynn, at it again.” Matt’s father remarked. “They’re really benefiting from being friends, alright! Hey, what’s the long face?”

He pushed Matt back and forth gently, wondering if he’d respond.

  “Stop it, it’s not funny.”

His father then stopped, and continued to keep his silence and stare forwards.

  “Well, mister… that was quite a response from you, Matt. Haven’t seen that tone ever since you told me about your blonde friend from school.”

  ‘...Twintails, huh?’ Matt thought.

  “By the way…” his father said slowly. “Your mother told me… um… that your sister’s participating this season. She said that Lillie really wanted to try this sort of thing out, a hobby I guess. Wow… just like me and my dad in our prime.”

  “Yeah, yeah… Just like a younger you. Blond and popular, all of that shit.”

…

Groak!

“...”

  “You know I have some food and drinks in the glove box behind us. They’re a collection I’ve made, which I’ve built up every time I make a stop at a rest station. Take one if you want.”

A quiet grin lightly lit up on his face, although he still felt a bored sensation inside. He bent over and peeked through the glove box. Inside it was a stash of candy bars, small bags of chips, some food packs… Basically, food. There were some things that were brands he did not know of, and some that he did know ‘bout.

  “Careful though, you’d best not want to make a mess on my truck.” His father reminded. “So, don’t eat the chips.”

  ‘What a let down…’

So, Matt decided to take on a plastic wrapped bar with grey edges, which looked like it had nougat, caramel, and assorted nuts, intertwined in a delicate balance of taste.

  ‘Should I?’ Matt pondered.

He shook his head, and decided to place his candy bar back into the pocket on his uniform.

He peered through the tinted windshield in front of him, and the traffic jam had barely even moved an inch forwards.

Serious noise pollution was commonplace around most of the city. Esther Avenue was one exception, as it was adjacent to a famous landmark around the city: An old, white marble theater that was made around 20 years ago. Although, it wasn’t a brilliant of a white when it was opened, it is renowned in the region for a playground by numerous socialites and millionaires as a place of social activity.

And the double-edged sword was that it was near the beach, and in the summer season that was not something to look forward to in Esther Avenue. No one was going to go anywhere today.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “Alright, we’re ok now.” Liam jeered, “Dave, can you.. Thanks, mate. Anyways, half of Brine Fishing Day’s profits will be donated graciously towards charitable needs. Plus, certain famous celebrities will attend this year’s event, maybe even the president. And... that’s it for Brine Fishing Day, now comes… dadada… The boring stuff, like weather!”

  “I’ll handle this one, Holtz.” Lorraine continued. “Reports have suggested a clear balmy and sunny sky with a chance of some rain on Monday. We… um also have some warnings about another… gravity storm, so hang tight to whatever you’re holding right now. Predictions are that it will happen during this week, so just hope it’s not today… We also have…”

To spend the time, as he had always done when he was a kid, he would watch the view of the sea from his fixed perspective. Even if cars that would block the view like an asshole, he would still find a way to watch the azure blue sea.

…Mostly. The radio was something he’d also love to listen to.

  “One more thing before we leave the air,” Liam jeered. “We can’t just end it without a high note. Lorraine, will you do the honors of placing the track?”

“Will do, Holtz. And I know the perfect track to use, so sit tight people stuck in a jam. Here’s a jam for you to go ham on. That’s it from us in Radio Stykke! Peace! See you in the primetime broadcast!”

And the radio finally went silent. And in a few short seconds the sound of vinyl scratching could be heard, but no song came out from the radio, not yet at least.

  ‘Damn. I remember this song.’

Matt rocked his head in motion, and began humming a muffled tune.

  "Rowan, you know where to drop me off, right. My dorm on 9 Nightshade?"

  “Yeah, yeah I know that, near your school. And reminder, try to wear the face mask, you might catch the flu.”

VROOM!

…

Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games. Or so they said, around these parts. It was here numerous electronic billboards continued to boast around , and the bustling noise of the multiple cars on the road played. Whereas some of the concrete trees were over a kilometer tall and it was an eyesore for people. Below were some mid-sized buildings, made of bricks and wood. Many were in good condition, while others were demolished lots or rotting buildings waiting to be demolished.

Matt leant against the green railings of the fire escape stairs, feeling a bit tired than usual. He turned his eyes down towards the sidewalks, observing the nearby pedestrians busy with their day. He inhaled deeply, and then exhaled deeply.

  ‘I thought I told him when I get back, he’d leave my ID at my desk. Honestly, what does he even think he’s doing? Don’t tell me he gave it to her again...’

He sighed, and glanced towards his watch. It was a cheap-looking watch, although it was quite accurate in telling time. Its outer ring was a bluish-patina mix, a mistake that ended up becoming cool. A gift, from around three years ago.

7:10

  “Hmm... I gotta go.”

Matt trembled a bit looking down towards the sidewalk, shaking his hand. Drops of cool sweat were forming on his palms, although he wiped it off quite quickly. He clenched the railings tightly, picking up his backpack from the metal floor and rushed down towards the sidewalk.

Without missing a beat, he quickly slid through all the pedestrians, moving through three blocks. Sometimes, he even startled nearby pigeons and doves that were feeding nearby.

  “Dag nabbit, you fucking whippersnapper!” A nearby old lady shouted.

  “Sorry, ma’am!” Matt shouted back, sending a two-fingered salute with his thumb sticking out in condolence.

...

  “Nice and quick! Get your Salamoia Season hot dog! Nice and quick!” A street vendor shouted. “Hey! It’s our number two customer, what do you want from the menu!”

  “Err...I want two hot dogs, my friend. Regular. Also can you try putting more onions, just a bit, and mustard on it, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet...”

  “Order up! Oh, and just to let you know, I enjoy my job.”

The vendor quickly made a thumbs-up at Matt, and began to cook the order.

But while the vendor was cooking up the food, Matt struggled to pull out his wallet from his left pocket, the former was made from brown leather and had some signs of wear and tear. Inside, there were two photographs, which still smelled like it was polarized yesterday. One had two adults posing for the picture, in a suit and a gown. Another had two bickering ducks.

From his wallet, he felt a cold metal surface. Two, actually. There were also some bills in there, mostly five and tens.

  “Here’s the money, my friend.”

  “Hey, hey, hey! Something smells amazing in the streets!

A group of people, wearing student attire came behind Matt. They were a seven-person group, headed by a skinny and frail, but modest-looking girl. They were very loud, and not to mention the

  “Sup, you must be the number two customer, ‘ere, yeah?” She said curiously.

  “Y-yeah, at least that’s what he said.”

Matt pointed towards the vendor, who was by now done with cooking the dogs.

The amazing smell that they put out... was just something to salivate at. The onions and the mustard complimented the meaty sausage very well, almost perfect, but it did not have ketchup. Matt took both hot dogs off of the hands of the vendor, and moved along the crowd.

  "I'm going to enjoy this..." Matt said.

BONK!

  "Gah! What the fuck!"

Matt struggled to keep himself up, his sight and head were having fun on a carousel. He slapped his skull to at least tell them to try and get off, but they didn’t budge. He grumbled again, and tried helping himself, leaning his limping body forwards. He looked down towards the ground, his treasure ruined.

  "NOOOO! MY DOGS!"

Crunching steps slowly came forwards to Matt’s direction, the leader of the group had stepped forwards. She was a bit concerned looking at Matt, who was still mourning the loss of his dog.

  “Damn, next time you better look at where you’re going. You’ll never know which path you take, otherwise you’ll hit yourself over and over again to the metro, man!”

She held out her hand towards Matt, still stuck at the ground. However, Matt just helped himself up. Limping a bit, before dusting off his white shirt and fixing his tie.

  “Hmph… you did not see anything, and I did not do what I did.” Matt replied harshly. “This is just a waste of your time, and don’t touch me. I’d prefer if I were left alone."

The girl looked back towards her group of friends, who were busy waiting for their dogs. She glanced back at Matt and pondered a bit.

  “Woah, woah, easy with your words, bro. That’s just a fall, don’t need to go apeshit over that.” She said, clenching her fist. "How about I give you something, since you lost those hot dogs?"

She handed out one of her hot dogs, which was packed in with mayonnaise and mustard with a side of cheese.

  “...Thank you, but this is yours. I don’t want to steal.”

Matt then waved his goodbye to the girl and disappeared below the metro.

…

Quiet, peace, the hallways of the school were always filled to the brim with it. But, lately there has been a different word to describe the hallways. Cold. Nearby the hallways was a dimly-lit stairwell, and around that dimly-lit stairwell, Matt emerged, rubbing himself together with both his arms, and his mouth chattering.

  ‘Why’d they make it so cold, fuck… ’

He also noticed a cloud of cool air coming out of his mouth. But, Matt continued to walk, the echoes of his steps making him feel a lot more chilly in the spine. He turned his head in both directions, just to make sure there was nobody there, and stopped at a classroom, his classroom.

  “...Brrrr.”

He held out his cold, and freezing hand, which was hidden underneath the deep pockets in his trousers, to the door handle. A wooden sliding door.