Brave Fear (boyxboy)

Chapter 2

Zane's morning was rushed. He had slept straight through his alarm and had to scramble to prepare himself for his first day of work. He hastily snatched a bagel from the counter while simultaneously opening the fridge to grab the cream cheese icing. He had to make the bullet train to get to work, and the next train left in. . . he checked his watch. Twelve minutes. He had twelve minutes. Tossing the dirtied knife in the sink, he rushed out of the kitchen, stopping to give his mother a small kiss on the cheek and his father a handshake, and then he was out the door, shouldering a duffel bag and rushing to get to the train station.

Vaulting over a railing, he descended down some underground stairs which opened into the bullet train terminal. He almost landed on a frail old lady but dodged at the last moment. As he ran off, he heard her mutter, "Damn hooligan,". He shouldered his way past people with briefcases and backpacks. He checked his watch once again. Eight minutes.

He hit the ground running, literally. He sped down the small underground passage, skidding to a stop next to a ticket booth. "Where's-" he checked the document in his hand that had been given to him by the head of the experimental science division. "-train F3?" he gasped out, hands on his knees. The small woman inside pointed to the far end of the terminal, where a light signalling impending departure was flashing.

He cursed to himself and bolted for the train, his duffel bag swinging to the side, narrowly missing civilians. He felt each impact when his foot hit the hard concrete floor, and the voices of hundreds of people marauded his ears.

He heard a shout of "Hold the train!" and saw Joseph leaning out the door of train F3. He gave the other boy a gracious thumbs-up and clambered onto the sleek, silvery train. Inside, it smelled of cologne and perfume which wasn't that flattering when mixed together. Everyone was wearing the traditional work attire of New Vancouver; a dark gray suit over a white shirt paired with a navy blue tie. This kind of outfit was required for the workplace, apart from the more physical ones, such as fishing or construction. It was said to promote healthy judgement of others, for when everybody wore the same thing, it was hard to pick out certain people, which was exactly the intended effect. They wanted everyone to know the people as a whole, as one entity, one being.

Zane finally caught his breath and set his duffel bag down beside what was clearly the spot where Joseph had been sitting. Zane let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and slipped his feet from his sneakers. He knew he would have to run to catch the train this morning, so he had slid his work footwear, a pair of shiny black dress shoes, into his duffel and slipped on his sneakers.

He exchanged his sneakers for his dress shoes, and finally, he felt ready for the day. It may have had a rocky start, but he felt he could save it. He tightened his tie and blended into the entity that was the people of New Vancouver. He was just another hard-working civilian, simply a shadow of the overseeing government. If someone were to look within this train from above and be asked to pick out Zane Morrison, they could not, even if given a description of him. For there was no unique, there was only normal.

Apart from one. When asked to pick out the oddball on the train, that someone would have pointed to Joseph Romanson. His dark hair was askew upon his head, a shaggy mat among carpets. His tie was a shade lighter than everyone else's, and it was tied differently. He seemed to want to stand out, to be noticed. He sat awkwardly, one knee pulled up to his chest which must have been painfully uncomfortable in a stiff suit. His chin was raised. He was proud of his uniqueness. In an island of solemn and denied admirations of well-doing, he was the lone tree of pride, able to appreciate his own achievements.

Zane turned to Joseph, releasing himself from the entity if only for a brief second. "Any idea what kind of work we'll be doing?" he asked nonchalantly. He was extremely nervous for today, but he was not going to let Joseph see that.