Wyatt was sitting at his desk in the office, tapping his pen on the table repeatedly as he chewed on his lip, his eyes never leaving the sight of the poster attached to the wall nearby which simply read "There's No Such Thing As An Endangered Forest". He had a nasty, gnawing feeling in his stomach, and he couldn't shake it all morning, no matter what he did. Finally he stood up, walked over to the frame in which the poster hung, and pulled it off the wall. He then headed out of his office, walked all the way downstairs, opened up the backdoor of the building, lifted up the lid of their dumpster and tossed it inside. He then went back indoors and went back to work. The nasty gnawing feeling didn't go away, but it felt a little bit better at least without having to look his guilt directly in the face.
*** "I'm destroying the planet," Wyatt said sourly as he and Celia sat at their table at the nearby bistro for lunch; he continued, "my children are going to have to live with the decisions I've either made or helped make for the sake of money, and their children are going to have to suffer as a result as well. It's making me sick." "Well, I don't think you're solely to blame," Celia said, "but I do think it's good you're recognizing your hand in it nonetheless. You know, I work with a lot of people who would like to enact change, but can't afford to leave their higher paying jobs. I could put you in with one of those groups. You could do some outdoor petitioning, maybe start a community garden...you know, just dip your toe in the water and see how it feels." "I'm afraid to dip my toe in any water at this point, god knows what's living in it now," Wyatt replied, making her choke with laughter; he smiled and added, "but thanks, maybe it is something worth looking into." For the last few weeks, he and Celia had been having lunch like this most days. They each worked downtown, and only about 15 minutes away from one another, so they compromised by finding a spot smack dab in the middle of their office buildings and getting lunch together there. It was a good place, because they each knew nobody from their jobs would travel that far from their respective offices for lunch, so they had nothing to worry about in regards to being seen together, not that they were doing anything besides having lunch. "What's it like? You know...to care about the planet?" Wyatt asked, "Cause my dad, god...he doesn't give a shit about the Earth. He says we have every right to destroy it simply because we live on it. He says the idea of resources vanishing entirely is ridiculous, because why wouldn't the planet just continuously make new resources? Course my dad isn't the sharpest cheese in the drawer." Celia laughed again and nodded, replying with, "Yeah, well, leave that to the generation that thought tupperware was the greatest invention since the invention of inventions." Wyatt smirked. He appreciated Celia's viewpoint on things, and he was beginning to open up to the idea of trying to help the planet instead of hurting it. He and Scarlett had gotten Mona tested a week earlier, and they were simply waiting for a diagnosis, but it seemed like ever since the parent/teacher conference he'd become so much more invested in making the world better for his children, and the children around him, than worse. How much effort would it take before he felt like he'd done right by his kids? Hard to say. But if there was one thing Wyatt was, it was dedicated. *** "I'm late, I know, I'm sorry!" Rachel said as she entered the employee section in the back of the coffee shop, adding, "and I know, how can I be late when I live literally upstairs from the place? Well, it's possible that my alarm didn't go off because it's possible that I threw it at the wall last week and-" Rachel stopped, hands still behind her back as she was tying her apron. She didn't speak. She could barely breath. There, sitting at the table in front of her, was Sun Rai. Her manager, an older woman named Debra, was standing there, holding a clipboard. "Rachel?" Debra asked, finally pulling Rachel back from her shock. "Uh, what?" Rachel asked. "You're late, but it's fine because I'll be on register today while you train our newest employee," Debra said, motioning to Sun, "I'll leave you two to get acquainted." Debra turned and exited the break room leaving the girls alone. "...you're here," Rachel finally said, "...you...you didn't come to the reunion, but you're here." "I didn't go to my high school reunion because I wasn't in town," Sun said, an eyebrow raised, "Do I know you?" "I'm Rachel Minnow," Rachel said, holding out her hand and shaking Sun's, adding, "uh, we...we went to high school together. We had gym class together, do you re-" Sun stood up and hugged her, surprising Rachel, who cautiously hugged her back. "I do remember you!" she said, "You were one of the only kids who were nice to me. I'd ask you how you've been, but considering where we're working..." Rachel laughed. "Yeah, it, uh, it hasn't been great," Rachel said as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail, "What about you though, what are you doing here? I figured you were some successful something somewhere or other." "Boy you're good with words," Sun said, smirking, as she sat back down in her chair and sipped her coffee, "Actually I was a successful something somewhere, but I had to come back home, so. Couldn't stay there anymore. Dad needs me, plus I just...I needed to get away from where I was." "And back to where you escaped from?" Rachel asked, surprising Sun. Rachel turned and grimaced, scratching her forehead as she added, "I'm...I'm sorry, that was rude. Um, it's just that, to so many people we tried so hard to get away from where we're from. Yet, like a magnet, it continually pulls us back to it, and it seems like no matter how much effort we put in, we'll never really be clear of the place." "...is this part of my training, or are you just always this maudlin?" Sun asked, making Rachel laugh. "Well," Rachel said, "I'm happy you're back." "Well, that makes one person," Sun said. *** Wyatt was stood in an aisle of the hardware store, looking at weed killers. He had a clipboard in his hand, taking inventory, but he couldn't get past the imagery on the weed killer bottle; a dozen or so ants killed surrounding a dandelion, which was also wilting presumably from the weed killer. Wyatt reached out and gently touched the bottle, his stomach churning. "Wyatt?" a voice asked, making him jump as he turned to see one of his younger employees, Ben, standing there. "Jesus Benjamin!" he shouted, "don't sneak up on people like that!" "Uh, I was just curious where you wanted this shipment of-" "Ben, can I ask you a question?" Wyatt asked. "Uh...I...I guess, sure?" "Do you think the planet's in trouble?" Wyatt asked, "Do you...do you think we should be doing more, as a species, to perpetuate our longevity instead of killing innocent animals and ruining precious land? I'm standing here, and I'm staring at this weed killer, and...and we consider anything smaller than us a 'pest', you know? Ants, gophers, fucking dandelions. Anything that shouldn't be where we think is okay to be is considered a nuisance, yet we never seem to admit to ourselves that we're the ones who moved in uninvited. We're like an untrained dog mother earth just brought inside without thinking twice, and all we've done is bite the hand that feeds." Ben rubbed his arm, surprised but also a bit confused as to Wyatt's speech. He cleared his throat and waited for Wyatt to finish. "What am I doing here?" Wyatt asked, "You know? Look at this shit, there's poison in this. There's poison in this and we're putting it on the place we live on. The place our children live on. And somehow we think that's okay, somehow we justify the actions we take because oh, we won't be around for the consequences, as if that makes it alright. Ben, please, tell me we're not the bad guys." Ben shrugged and grimaced. "I mean...we're the bad guys, Wyatt," Ben said, "There's...there's no arguing that." "Fuck," Wyatt said under his breath, "...alright, you know what? New store policy. We're not stocking anything with poison in it, and we're not stocking anything that might kill an animal. I don't care if people take offense at my stance, I'll take the hit for it, but I refuse to continue to be an active participant in the ongoing destruction of the planet." Ben nodded, looking at the weed killer, saying, "I'll pack it all up and have it shipped back asap." "Than you," Wyatt said, turning and walking away down the aisle. "Uh, where are you going?" Ben called after him. "To see a lady about a purpose," Wyatt answered. *** "God, how do you stand it here?" Sun asked as they sat at a small table in the corner on their break, eating bear claws and people watching; Sun continued with, "like, all these people who think they're better than you. Though, shameful to admit, I used to be like them, so. Who's the real hypocrite here?" "Mostly I just fantasize about slowly killing everyone in their sleep," Rachel said, "...what do you mean you used to be like them?" "Before I moved back home I was working at a hospital, doing internship while I was getting my degree," Sun said, "and I used to go get coffee for everyone, and I was kind of rude to the people who served me. The people who were just trying to survive themselves. I just thought because I'd worked hard, or because I was in a field that was inherently considered 'worthwhile' - because nobody sees the service industry as worthwhile despite them literally giving us things we need everyday - that somehow I was better than them or something. I feel so bad about that now." "Eh, I think being a doctor is more worthwhile," Rachel said, shrugging, "but perhaps I'm just so jaded that I can't help but be critical anymore. I mean, sure, the service industry is a necessity and sure, nobody deserves to be treated poorly because of the line of work they're in, but let's be real here...a barista never removed somebody's kidney to save their life." Sun giggled and the sound of her laughter filled Rachel's heart with joy. She hadn't heard Sun's voice, Sun's laughter, in ages, and it was just as beautiful as she could remember it. "I mean, I wanted to be an artist," Rachel said, "So maybe I'm not the one who should be making judgements about peoples career decisions." "I'm glad you're here," Sun said, "There's nothing worse than getting a new job with nobody you know." Rachel wanted to cry at this statement. She'd been so upset at Sun not showing up at the reunion, and now she was going to get to see her every day, all day, and she began to feel like, perhaps, she did win in the end after all. *** Celia was sitting on her couch, reading a book, when a knock came at her front door. She put a bookmark between her pages, stood up and walked to the door, answering it, only to find Wyatt standing on her porch. She was, admittedly, surprised. "Are you alone?" he asked. "Well, you're here," she replied, making him smirk. "You know what I mean. Your kid's not here?" "Of course not, it's the middle of the day. They're at school," Celia said, "Please, come inside." She stepped aside, allowing Wyatt to enter the building. He smoothed out his hair as he entered and Celia shut the door behind him. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall as he paced across her living room floor. "What are you even doing here?" she asked. "I had an epiphany today," Wyatt said, "I'm the bad guy. I don't wanna be the bad guy anymore. I don't wanna be remembered by history as one of the men who helped doom the planet and his own species for the almighty dollar. That isn't a legacy to be proud of. Who's going to remember me if nobody's around to remember me?" "Astute observation," Celia said. "So I just..." Wyatt said, scratching his cheek, "I need to do something more. Something better. I need to do some kind of protest work or something. I can't keep doing what I do and ignoring the long term effects for short term results. Just because something makes me money doesn't make it okay to do. Ask the people involved in illegal pornography. Sure, they make buckets of money, but that doesn't make it morally okay." "A weird comparison, but alright," Celia said, half laughing, "Well, we can sign you up for protests and events and whatnot. Any help is appreciated. I'm proud of you, honestly, it takes a lot to admit you're doing the wrong thing, especially when you're directly involved." "Scarlett would never say she's proud of me," Wyatt said, surprising Celia as she crossed the room to the kitchen to pour Wyatt a drink; he continued, "I mean, she loves me, she's my best friend, but...she also loves the money. She loves what I bring to the family, and the lifestyle. She'd be angry at me for leaving it behind." "Well," Celia said, uncorking a bottle of wine and pouring some into a glass for him, handing it to him across the counter as she said, "I can't blame her. It's hard to turn down comfortable living for the sake of continued living for the future of the species. I'm not short sighted, Wyatt. I see why these people do what they do, and I understand it. Just because I don't agree with it doesn't mean I don't get it. You can be wrong for understandable reasons." Wyatt took the glass, nodded, and then downed the entire thing in one swallow. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and sighed. "I need to know that I did everything I could to make my childrens lives, and in effect, their childrens lives, better...not worse," Wyatt said, "How can I be a good father by hurting mother earth? That's just misogyny." "Well I wouldn't go that far, but sure, I get the sentiment," Celia said, chuckling, "It takes a big man to admit he cares about something other than himself." "Well I am the biggest man," Wyatt said, "I am huge in manliness." Celia laughed and patted his shoulder as she headed down the hall to her home office. "Come on, let's look at some of the possible groups we could assign you to." *** Rachel flopped down on the couch when she got home, just sighing, staring up at the ceiling. Sun Rai was back in her life suddenly, out of the blue, and her world felt so much brighter because of it. It was amazing what just having the right person around do for someone. She wanted to go onto the roof of her apartment and just scream about how happy she was, but instead she took a shower, made some soup and fell asleep on the couch to an old western movie. Unfortunately for Sun, her homecoming wasn't as good for her as it was for Rachel. When she arrived at her parents house that night after work, she found her father already asleep in his recliner. She muted the TV, then gently woke him up and took him to his bedroom, where she helped him lay down and put the blankets up around him. Afterwards she wound up in the kitchen, where she found her mother, Shen, making some tea and reading a magazine. "Dad's in bed," Sun said. "Thank you," Shen said, "What do you think of this patio furniture?" she asked, holding the magazine out so Sun could see it. "I think it's garish," Sun said, "But if that's the look you're going for then it's spot on." "How was work?" Shen asked. "...you know what?" Sun asked as she opened the freezer and pulled out a carton of ice cream, "...it was good. I had a good day. I haven't had an actual good day in a long time, but I had a good day today, mom." Shen smiled, walked across the room and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "I'm happy for you," she said, patting her cheek, "I'm going to bed. Sleep good, Cricket." After Shen disappeared, Sun sat down at the kitchen table and ate ice cream out of the carton, thinking about her new life, her new job, her new old friend, and she smiled. Rachel was wrong. There was no such thing as a more respectful line of work. In fact, work didn't even need to fulfill you. You just had to be happy that you were managing to survive. Still, she appreciated Rachel's point of view. She picked up the phone off the wall and dialed a number. After a few rings, Rachel answered, sounding groggy; Sun asked, "I didn't wake you did I? Okay. Sorry. Do you wanna do something? I don't wanna be at home right now. Okay, come get me and we'll go." Sun hadn't had friends in her last job, her last life. That was the best thing she got out of this return home. Not the job. Fuck the job. No. The best thing she got was the friend. Because friends are worth more than careers. It had just taken her a long time to see that, and admit it. So Rachel came and picked her up, and the two of them went to a nearby minigolf course. They had ice cream bars and they had pizza and they played minigolf, and for the first time in a long, long time, Rachel and Sun Rai were both happy again. All in all, Sun was right...it really was a pretty good day.
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A group of former high school classmates reunite at their 10 year reunion, and discover they each want something different, many with someone else there. What ensues is a labyrinthian relationship amongst them involving crime, murder, romance and, in one particular case, terrorism. Archives
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