I juke right. He jukes left. I cut the engines, turn, and hit the boost extension. My cannons flare. His reactor goes critical. A miniature nova engulfs his Mamba Raider. A great wave of satisfaction sweeps over me, and I start to remember why I'm all the way out here on the fringe, starting from the very beginning.
I flip on the news. Weather, budget cuts, political BS (I should have paid attention to this), a blockade in Aladna Hill? What the hell is going on over there? More border disputes? Clearing the thoughts from my head I decide to head down to Center Market, our local convenience store, and maybe a quick trip to the bank.
White T-Shirt, blue jeans, my black cap displaying the bright orange OSU of the nearby university. Keys? Check. Cell Phone? Check. Dashing smile? Check. Wallet? Nope, sh*t! Where the hell is it I repeat over many times while searching, interspersed with my favorite curse. Getting desperate I start searching the places where it absolutely should not be. And whaddya know its in the microwave of all places.
As soon as my wallets secure in my back left pocket I'm off. Down the street, past the courthouse. Stop to talk to the old guys chewin' the fat, glance at the Terran Marine Corps memorial in front of the courthouse. The Marines secured this planet 20 years ago from the Paranid. Entombed in the memorial are three unidentified Marines who fell in the battle to secure this town. A protestor tried to stage a rally for universal peace here once upon a time. And...well...you can't form much of a picket line when you're by yourself.
Finally arriving at Center Market, its owned by a sleazy Paranid that has no sense of value. Bad for him, good for me. I get a thirty six pack of Mountain Dew for only three credits. Like I said he has no sense of value.
Walk through my door, up the stairs, into my room, switch on my PC and start stocking the mini-fridge. Another small town thursday night. I play some games for a bit, switch on the TV and crawl into bed.
**
Shel and I hop in her car and start headin' to the creek, a little skinny dippin' never hurt anyone. Shel starts to unbutton her jeans and I start hearing a distant ringing. Everything starts drifting away and I blink. I'm no longer at the creek with the girl of dreams, I'm in my room. God why do dreams always have to get interrupted at the good part. Atleast it's friday though.
1st period goes by pretty quickly, probably cause I'm staring at Shel the whole time. 3rd goes by agonizingly slow. Lunch, time to shine.
“Hey Shel, how's it going?” I somehow manage to stammer out.
“Pretty good, the days going really slow though.”
“I hear that, you busy this weekend?”
“Depends, why do you need to know?” She says with a devious smile.
“Well, I was thinkin', if you're not busy this weekend. I thought maybe you'd like to head out to the drive-in with me?” I say with one hand in my right pocket, the other scratching the back of my head trying to look non-chalant.
“I'd love to.” She says and I nearly have a heart attack.
“Uh...uh...cool, i'll pick you up at eight?”
“You don't have license smart-one.”
“Oh yeah.” I stammer out embarrasingly.
“I'll pick you up at seven-thirty.”
“Sounds good. You wanna get some dinner before the movie?”
“Sure”
“Well...uh I'll see you tonight then.”
“Yep.” She replies and bites her lower lip and waves as I leave. I can't believe my luck, me a freshman going to the movies with a senior? Is that possible? A burst of static across the school-wide intercom interrupted my thoughts.
“All students this is Mr.Ussery I have...some grave news.”
Senator Kealtyn was killed in a surprise attack on the military outpost in Aladna Hill. Its not the Senator I'm upset about it. There were 241 Marines on board that station.
We didn't go to the movies that night we stayed my house and talked.
“I gotta start packing.”
“Packing? Why are you packing.”
“I enlisted right after school today.”
“Enlist? You're only fifteen.”
“Haven't you ever heard of lying?”
“Think about what you're doing.”
“I have, I want a set of dress blues and I want to defend our way of life.”
“Well, I'll enlist too.”
“No you won't, I need a reason to come home alive.”
“Alright, will you atleast get this war over by prom? I'd really like to be escorted by a true blue hero.” She said with a smile trying to warm the situation up.
“I'll try, but lets not dwell on the future, I ship out in three days.”
We were Young...Once: Prologue
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hns194
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We were Young...Once: Prologue
Last edited by hns194 on Mon, 24. May 10, 06:58, edited 1 time in total.
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hns194
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