Slumming

-Cook-

I am garbage. I can’t change that. What would be the point? I’m going to die anyway. Oh, don’t go all boo-hoo-hoo on me! I don’t want it!

I lit up my cigarette. To be honest, I don’t care. I’m not alone here. Do I want to find them? Like I said, I don’t care. Still, I am not alone. My friends, Peter and Tommy, are in the same book. We all have numbers burned into our backs. Tommy’s number is one, Peter has thirty-three, and I am twenty-eight. Unlike me though, Pete and Tom are freaked out about this curse crap.

“I don’t want to die!” Pete complains on a daily basis. “There has to be a way to stop this.”

“How?” I asked yesterday.

“I don’t know!” he said. “I will find a way!” Pete claims that he was find somebody. I am not up for hearing some sob story. Still, he insists that I hear them out. In fact, I’m waiting for them in our usual spot.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I rolled my eyes and pulled it out. Speak of the devil, it’s Pete now. I flipped open my phone for the text.

I’m on the way.

Heh. He won’t give up on this whole quest. Tom’s just as bad as him. His optimism on breaking the curse annoys me. Neither one just won’t shut up about it. My family doesn’t care either. Pa lives on his boat and drinks all day. Ma’s off with all of her rich friends and new boyfriend. Then again, there is Ian, my little bro. He might miss me.

Thinking about it now makes it annoying. I don’t care if I die, but I kind of want to live. Why does Pete have to go and fuck it up? He doesn’t know when to leave stuff alone. It gets worse when Tom goes along with it. What happened to the simpler time we had getting high and doing nothing? We still do that, but this lame ass curse keeps eating everything pot right about now. Nah, I should just humor Pete and get this over with. If I don’t, he won’t shut up about it until we are dead. Frankly, I just want to go back to not giving a shit and being garbage. It’s so hard not give a fuck when your friend insists on saving your ass. You almost want to pretend you’re on board just so that they fuck off when it’s all over. I’m just tired of it.

My phone buzzed for a second text.

Look outside.

I walked over to the window and looked down. Pete waved at me as he stood beside this cute older girl. I think I’ve seen her before at school. My phone buzzed for the third time.

I’m coming up now.

I rolled my eyes and wrote the reply.

Yeah, yeah. Look, you don’t have to tell me what you are doing with texts.

By time I hit send, he and this girl had already walked into the building. I am garbage. I can’t change that. Now, I’m not so sure that I want to die anymore or not. I snubbed out my cigarette.