Clueless (2013)

 


 I should probably be more grateful for the  self-restocking refrigerator, but Im a little upset that my other  resources don't supply themselves too.  Like, it would be nice if Slip  could keep my water running, or if Tickity could somehow plug into stuff  and work as a generator. What I'm trying to say is, the power went out  yesterday. There was a lot of screaming. Mostly from Mailbox. Why he was  in the house at the time is beyond me. So getting a job has become  suddenly crucial. Good news, before my laptop ran out of battery I  managed to get an email from the local recreation center about my  interview. I'm currently writing this entry from the city bus that just  drained the last of my dollar bills.

I feel bad leaving them with  no electricity but I'm sure they can entertain themselves for a few  hours. Blue didn't seem to want me to leave though, poor girl. I had to  get Salt to distract her with a chew toy long enough for me to get out  the door. In the back of my mind I can still see her at the window  barking at me to stay. She must have some kind of separation anxiety  from her previous owners. Hopefully she won't miss me for too long. 

"The  corner of Luxwood and Oak. The corner of Luxwood and Oak," Steve said  over and over to himself, trying not to forget. This was his only chance  to get the power back on for a long while, he couldn't miss this  interview. The bus stopped, Steve checked the road signs. They were  still on Main Street; he was safe. Steve watched as another group of  people exited the bus and an equal amount got on. The bus remained just  as packed and smelly and hot as before. No relief. Next on the list of  important life milestones: get a car.

The bus was so crowded that  people were bumping into each other left and right in the standing  section. Steve tried to ignore the chaos. "The corner of Luxwood and  Oak," he repeated. "Corner of Luxwood and-AAACK!!!!" Steve yelled as a  cup of searing coffee was spilled on his khakis. He shot up out of his  seat trying to keep the burning pant leg away from his skin.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" Said the woman responsible, "I'm so, so sorry!! Are you okay!? Ill pay for that!"

Steve  sighed as the coffee began to cool, and began to stain. "No, I'm fine. I  don't blame you." He tried to smile. It's bad enough he couldn't have  something nicer to wear, now it was stained. He was very confident in  his ability  to ace this interview. He was also very confident in his  ability to use sarcasm in his thoughts. That was besides the point. The  point was that he couldn't miss his stop at the corner of Luxwood and-  "Oh, shit!!" Steve grabbed his suitcase and rushed off the bus at the  sight of the Luxwood street sign. He winced at his burn as he squeezed  between people to get off the bus. Steve felt like a salmon trying to  make its way up a waterfall; crowded, wet, and in a very big hurry.

He  breathed deeply as he emerged from the bus. The moldy stuffy air was  starting to suffocate him. The overwhelming smell of mocha latte wasn't  helping; but that didn't matter to him now, he just had to make it to  his interview and impress them with his charm. So from here he went down  Oak street till he hit... Wait... There had to be a mistake. This  wasn't the corner of Luxwood and Oak, its the corner of Luxwood and  Speckman!!! In a fit of rage Steve kicked the street sign, only managing  to stub his toe in addition to his other injuries. He really needed to  buy a car.

"It's okay, it's okay," Steve told himself tying to  calm down. "Just be optimistic, you can catch the next bus that comes  and ride it to Oak. No biggie." He sat at the bus stop for a few minutes  before realizing he had no money left for the bus. He sat at the bus  stop for another few minutes groveling in self pity; and another few  angrily squeezing the last of the coffee out of his pants. Steve began  to walk.

He wasn't sure how far Oak street was but he had to be  at his interview in... ten minutes ago. It was at this point when Steve  started running. Sweaty, stained, and in a good deal of pain, Steve  finally made it to Oak street. The sweet relief of the rec. center was  like nirvana as Steve hurriedly spammed the red button on the crosswalk,  and tried to catch his breath.

He was twenty minutes late.  Hopefully they would still let him in. They might if this fricking  crosswalk would let him pass! Steve was growing very impatient. He  rapidly pressed the button, cursing it under his breath. There weren't  even any cars! Steve glanced both ways before dashing across the six  lane intersection without permission from the crosswalk. The red  flashing hand was a constant reminder of his breaking the rules of  society. Steve tried not to care. He was like an intense game of Frogger  only with less cars and his life on the line. As Steve reached the  other side without harm the cross walk sign changed to green. Steve  flicked it the bird and grumbled his way into the rec. center.

He  swung by the men's room before approaching the desk to fix his hair and  try to dab the brown off his slacks with little luck. He tried to put  on a smile as he went to the woman at the desk.

"I'm sorry sir, but the basketball game is sold out, you'll have to-"

"Oh, I'm not here for the game, actually I-"

"The girls from the ballet class don't get out for another ten minutes, sir." she said nonchalantly.

"No, I'm here for an interview. For the position you have open." Steve said.

"Oh," the woman began typing on her computer. "Your late Mr. Burns."

Steve's  heart dropped, "I know, I'm sorry. There was a mix up on the bus and  the cross walk wasn't-" he stopped as the woman lifted her finger.

"No excuses Mr.Burns. Your very lucky, Mrs. Sincrest is still in her office. Go beg for mercy."

"Oh," Steve looked where the woman pointed, "Oh, thank you very much!" He started down the hall.

"Good luck, Steve." she called.

Steve  barely survived his interview. It was a long period of lectures about  punctuality and the importance of a good first impression, followed by a  series of apologies and belittlement, ending with Steve's vain attempt  to make 'college dropout' not sound so horrible. So much for charm. She  did seem to like his application though, and his availability was good,  so there was hope. Very little but it was there!  She said she would  call him if he got the job and that was something to smile about; and  Steve did smile, until he left the rec. center with the sudden  realization that he had no idea how he was going to get home. After all  of that, getting home was all Steve could think about right now.

Surprisingly,  the corner of Luxwood and Oak was a lot busier at ten o'clock at night  then at six. Steve decided it best to wait at the light this time rather  than getting flattened by speeding cars. He retraced his steps back to  Speckman but at that point he was completely lost. He sat down at the  bus stop to catch a breather and try to figure out what to do next. He  could call Joey and beg him to save his hide if only his phone would've  charged last night. He could use a pay phone but he didn't have any  spare change. In fact, for the first time in several years Steve didn't  have any money on him at all. Not a dime.

Steve sat back against  the cold hard bench and sighed. All of his motivation had left him. He  sat at that bus stop for a long while until he decided to just meander  until something happened. He walked around the town in the dark getting  more and more lost with every step. He figured at this point he would  never get home, but so what? So what if he doesn't get this job? So what  if he doesn't have any money? So what if he's a crazy lunatic who  thinks his house is inhabited by magical spirits? So what if these guys  in the alley beat the snot out of him? Steve didn't mind. Sure it hurt,  but at least he had the satisfaction of knowing they wouldn't find  anything. Not. A. Dime.

They took his empty wallet and his dead  phone and left him bruised, bleeding, and probably concussed in a heap  of trash. A heap of trash where he belonged. At least he had the smell  of mocha latte to keep him company. Steve could've gotten up and walked  to the nearest corner store and begged to use a phone, but this didn't  cross his mind until later. He just laid there; cold, hungry, and very  lost.

All he could think about was home. His nice, warm, colorful  home. His big red chair, his cozy bed, Blue. She was such a good dog.  She tried to stop him. He chuckled at the thought, a stream of blood  running down his bruised chin. She tried to stop him but he didn't  listen. He could hear her barking at the window. He could hear her  barking. He could hear her.

He opened his eyes.  The barking was  growing closer. She rounded the corner and ran towards him. Blue. She  really was a magical dog wasn't she? When she found Steve she jumped  into his lap and started licking his face excitedly.

"Who... let you out...?" Steve smiled placing a hand on Blue's back.

"Guys! He's over here! She found him!" Ms. Pepper yelled.
Mr.Salt and Mailbox ran to his side.

"Oh, geez. What happened to you, buddy?" Mailbox cringed at Steve's appearance.

"I just..." he breathed, roughly. "Want to go... home."

"We'll take you home, Steve," Mr. Salt said, gently lifting him off the ground. "Don't worry."

The  children were waiting for them when they got back, all huddled around  the candles with worried eyes. Steve couldn't help feeling like he let  them down. Tickity Tock  had been crying.

"Steve!" They called  as the adults helped him into his chair. Blue hopped up next to him only  to be taken away by Mailbox. Ms. Pepper tried her best to clean his  cuts and Pail and Shovel gathered all the icepacks from the fridge.  After everything calmed down Steve took a shower and went to bed. He  didn't say much to anyone which only made them worry more. Tickity sat  on the bedside table watching Steve climb into his bed as she did every  night. He had his back to her.

"Goodnight, Steve." She whispered.

He  didn't respond. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings, he just didn't  feel like talking tonight. He reminded himself to make it up to her  tomorrow.  At the very least, he made it home. That's all that mattered  to him now.