Pet Project of Mine
A near-empty city street outside a concrete apartment complex. Wide and weathered sidewalks and rows of yet-to-be-open stores readying themselves for the massive influx of traffic later in the day. Standing alone near a fenced tree with two chained bicycles, Carolina bites her lip as she reads an explicit Yaoi manga on an old, thick smartphone, two empty shopping bags on her other hand.
Pedestrians throw furtive looks at the Asian girl as they walk by, not just from her reading material, but her overall look. 'Caro' is the same age as Miguel but on the taller and heavier side of the boy's short and lanky complexion. Long and unruly black hair reaches down her shoulders with alternating patches of rainbow color on the tips. Her green hoodie with bold and complex Zelda artwork is three sizes too big yet not large enough to completely cover her beige dress underneath which pours out the hoodie's bottom like an upside-down cupcake. Given the color salad on the top side of her body, her pale thighs and socks and sneakers of mismatched colors look comparatively tasteful.
The entrance to the apartment complex opens, Caro immediately turns to look but is disappointed to see two older men walking away holding hands. She checks the time on her phone, sighs, and is about to continue her lecture when she hears children's laughter on the other side of the street and turns to look.
A family of five has just exited a convenience store and surrounds a small car parked nearby. Given the bags, toys, floating devices, and two massive umbrellas inside the compact vehicle, it seems obvious the middle-class family is heading to the beach. The two white parents open the side doors and struggle to fit their newest supplies while their three young daughters await restlessly for their turn to hop inside the Tetris puzzle that is the interior of the tiny vehicle.
Carolina lowers her phone and watches the family struggle and banter with a smile, enjoying the domestic spectacle happening out in public. Of particular interest to her is the oldest daughter who is closer to her age, a twelve-year-old black girl with a short afro, stylish sunglasses, a big straw hat, and an adult-sized baby blue shirt that barely covers a slim, nude body below.
Caro bites her lip as her eyes roam around the suburban nymph, her pupils dilating each time the girl turns or bends and another part of her petite body is momentarily visible. Caro shuffles in place, growing restless.
Suddenly the black girl turns and looks straight at Caro who freezes on the spot. The girl then smiles wide and waves at the asian tween who immediately raises her phone and continues scrolling her manga, pretending not to have noticed her.
The parents finally manage to squeeze everything and everyone inside. When the car's doors close Carolina finally dares to throw a look only to find the black girl staring right at her while pushing her sunglasses down her nose. The two preteens throw furtive glances at each other as the car reverses and drives away, their long-distant courtship continuing until the electric vehicle turns around the street and, mercifully, disappears.
Caro drops her shoulders and brushes sweat off her forehead, then cheers up when she sees Miguel just exiting the big concrete building.
"Hey! How was it?" she asks storing her phone in her hoodie's kangaroo pocket.
The boy puffs his cheeks and shakes his head "Bad! Sorry it took me so long! She was asleep and I had to wake her up. And THEN I couldn't cum for some reason. Took me ages!"
"Ah! That... Um... sucks…" says the girl, apprehensive "Is that common? Does it happen to all boys as you grow older?"
Miguel shrugs, the two kids move to unchain their bicycles from the fence around the tree.
"I don't know, it has never happened to me before. And I'm supposed to be one of the boys who cums fast!" he shakes his head, frustrated. Then he thinks of something and chuckles "Maybe I'm just getting bored? I mean, sex the first time it's great! But all the following times it's..." he shrugs "Kind of the same… you know?"
Caro laughs and shakes her head "No, I don't know! Remember?" she hops on her bike and starts pedaling away, yells over her shoulder "You're supposed to be the expert here! Some of us are still waiting for the right person...!"
Miguel laughs, but his voice is forced, growing worried. He jumps on his bike and hurries to catch up with her.
The two reach the next street corner and merge with the growing number of bikers and pedestrians flowing down the avenue. A rising tide of slow-moving traffic surrounds the few cars on the road like water hugging stray boulders on a river.
***
A busy street market cooking under the morning sun. Made-shift stalls shielded from the harsh light with colorful pieces of canvas held haphazardly to any vertical wall, pole, or surface available. Sometimes to none.
A river of people pulses through the market's main street and its many tributaries, spreading itself through side roads and alleys. People yell and gesture prices and orders to stressed-out street vendors who move in a frenzy behind their stalls trying to keep up, all while a long line of shoppers wait impatiently for their turn to try and catch their attention like a day trader in a XX century stock market. The shoppers queue pacing in place, complaining with their neighbors, or just standing and sweating in begrudging silence as nearby street vendors advertise their products in droning yells, raising their irritation levels even more.
Yet despite all this, the crowd's mood is one of relief. The ongoing chaos is but a gentle simmer compared to the hellish flood of shoppers coming in later in the day. People frequently check the hour on their implants, glasses, bands, or phones, trembling in nervous anticipation. Trying to finish as quickly as possible.
Amidst the human melting pot, Miguel and Caro chat and laugh as they advance in a crawl between the stalls. Inside their bulky shopping bags there are fruits, vegetables, and groceries of various kinds that have transformed the bags into boulders they struggle to carry each time the queue advances. Yet they too don't seem too bothered, enthralled as they are in their conversation.
"No, no, I'm telling you!" Miguel says gesturing wildly, underlining the sheer importance of his words "The sequel HAS to include zombies! It's the only way they can finish this mix!"
Caro snorts, her face one of disgust "Zombies? On this franchise?" she shakes her head, raises a palm "I already conceded this mix will end with another pandemic, the signs are all there. But 'zombies' Miguel...? How many Millennials are watching this?"
She giggles, Miguel rolls his eyes and hands her smartphone back. They leave the stall and follow the crowd, the boy's thin arms straining to carry the shopping bag as he walks.
They stop in the middle of the next intersection, Miguel drops his bag and scans the street market with narrowed eyes, looking for a specific vendor in the distance. Caro waits nearby fanning air to herself by waving the fabric of her oversized hoodie. She seems like she's about to give up and take it off, but then notices the people throwing glances at her and she reconsiders.
Then she notices something else. While most people just throw annoyed stares at them for the way they obstruct the flow of the crowd, some eyes glue specifically on Miguel, staring at the lanky boy as if he were a piece of forgotten jewelry laying on the street —and provoking a similar moral dilemma in people's faces—.
Caro grows more and more nervous as the crowd seems to move closer. As if it was getting ready to swallow the boy. She moves closer to Miguel with one hand inside her kangaroo pocket and the other hovering mere inches away from his arm, readying to hold him with all her might.
Miguel smiles and points towards a parked brown van in the distance. "There! That's the last one!" he announces. Caro breathes in relief. She lifts her heavy shopping bag and follows him.
The stall in front the old Arrival van sells cheese, milk, meat, eggs, and other lab-made products arranged around a U-shaped white table. An old man with a cowboy hat and two identical teenage girls with hairnets and white aprons scramble inside taking the client's orders. Normally it would be near impossible to distinguish between the twin girls, but thanks to the six-month belly of one of them it's much easier. When the pregnant teen sees Miguel approaching her face illuminates and she hurries to attend him. Her non-pregnant sister notices him too but is unable to reach him first given she's busy attending to a client.
"Hey Migueeel...!" says the pregnant teen with a flirty tone "We were just talking about you! I need your help with a pet project of mine..."
***