They Know The End

Russell

3:52 pm

On the way to the shop, Matt relayed our adventures to Sasha--his friend, apparently. I listened in silence as he recounted our story. He was a really good storyteller. Unlike those people talking on the radio, I managed to follow through with all he said, even if he had to pause and give context. It may be an unfair comparison because I had been through the experiences he had told her about first-hand. 

Sasha was a great listener too. Despite the boisterous and strong behavior I observed from her, she was silent the entire time he was rambling. It was clear to me they were pretty close. 

It made me a bit jealous. I wished I had that kind of person in my life. The one who listens to whatever I was talking about and can understand what I'm feeling. 

"You've been awfully quiet," Matt said, cutting through my thoughts. 

"What?" I replied, a bit confused. 

"You've been awfully quiet," he repeated. 

"Oh yeah." I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me. "I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me."

But he did anyway. "Are you still shaken after that whole incident?"

"No." I looked away. 

-

We entered the 7/11 store and began taking as many snacks as we could. Matt and Sasha fell into a comfortable silence as they hugged the pile of snacks they got. I stayed an aisle behind them. I knew that they still had a lot to talk about. 

Matt offered to pay for all the food. The money wasn't much thanks to the Decker discount. 

"I can see why you like to take advantage of this stuff," Sasha chided Matt as we went out of the store. "If you're a Decker, things get relatively cheap."

"I know, right?!" he exclaimed as he dumped the snacks on my tote bag. I lazily lifted my arm up and let him widen the mouth of the bag and place in all the goodies. "They might as well be free."

"The economy in this place is already in shambles," she countered matter-of-factly. "It'll only make things worse. Everything has to have a price. That's how the world works."

He elbowed her. "When did you get so philosophical? Though I still know that you want to have things for free. Remember that you wanted to get unlimited spray cans?"

"I just wish they were less expensive," she groaned in agreement. "Like, I really can't go buying a dozen of them almost every week."

"So you do graffiti art, then?" I spoke up. 

They both looked at me. Then, without skipping a beat, she replied, "Well, I don't vandalize, if that's what you're thinking. Businesses contract me to make them murals for public view. But sometimes"--she lowered her voice to a whisper--"I do it on my own." 

"That's still vandalism!" Matt exclaimed. 

"Nope! Graffiti is vandalism. I make street art. There's a difference."

"There is!"

"There isn't! I'm telling you!"

They continued bickering over what was vandalism and what wasn't until we reached the bus terminal. We sat down and waited for a bus that would lead us to the furthest route down south. They finally stopped talking as I listened to the sound of the buses coming and going and smelled the strong smell of smoke they made. 

"How about you, Rus?" Sasha leaned forward to look at me. "What would you get if everything were free?"

He thought of some superficial answer--like rich clothes or a house--but he couldn't decide on an answer. So he settled for the one he wanted the most. 

"A life," I mumbled mindlessly. 

And suddenly the mood dampened. 

"Deep" was all she could say in reply.

I felt my cheeks burning with embarrassment. "S--sorry. I--"

"Don't be," Matt answered, patting me on the back. "You shouldn't be sorry about that."

"Okay."

"Okay."

-

We got into an air-conditioned bus. It was a godsend for Matt, because he clearly wasn't used to the glaring sun eating away the coolness from every human being, unlike me. 

He slumped on the window seat of the row we chose. I sat in the middle and Sasha sat on the seat close to the center aisle. I snickered. No quality time for you both, I thought to myself. 

We remained quiet as the bus pulled out of the terminal. I sat there fumbling awkwardly while the other two found something to do. Matt was staring out the window as the scenery passed by him. Sasha took out a pencil and her sketchbook. I watched her flip through the pages and stop on a blank one. She tapped her pencil on the paper rhythmatically and looked around. Probably for inspiration.

"What else do you draw?" I asked her. "Aside from. . .street art?"

"I'm as good with a pencil as I'm with a spray can," she answered. "Can't draw on big things if you can't draw on small ones."

"Can I see them then?"

She shrugged as she flipped one page back. There were a lot of doodles and cartoonish drawings on the paper. There wasn't a single focal point, like the landscape paintings I'd see. Everywhere you look, there would be always be something interesting to look at.

"Cool. I really can't say anything other than that."

She huffed. "You don't need to. I can tell you enjoyed it."

We were interrupted by Matt's light snoring. I turned to see his head leaning away from the window. . .

. . .and onto my shoulder.

I tensed and blood rushed to my cheeks. I gently fixed his head's position against my shoulder. I breathed much faster and made sure that he and I were comfortable.

Sasha snickered. "I can also tell that you like him."

I blushed even harder. "Wh--what else do you k--know?"

She was already taking out her phone and trying to find a good angle to take a picture of us. "You guys are so cute. Can I take a picture?"

"Fine," I said begrudgingly. "I still want to strangle you."

She rolled her eyes playfully as I heard the snap from her phone. "You know, Matt's never liked anyone a lot. But a lot of people have liked him over the years."

"Oh?"

"When he moved, many of the girls at his place liked him. But he rejected them all. . .for a boy at his school."

"Has he dated anyone?"

"Tried to. In the end, it didn't work out."

I was silent.

She patted my thigh. "I think you should shoot your shot. I don't know if he feels the same, but I don't want him to die a single man."

I laughed a little bit too loudly at that. "Dying a single man is his choice to make."

But her eyes twinkled. "Fair enough, but with you and your dress? If that's his choice, then he's gonna regret it in an afterlife somewhere."