Come with me on a fantastic voyage of the heart, of the mind, and in holographic harmony through the quantinuum of existence. Enjoy a tasty multi-bev or dine on my universally famous "PlazMama's Cooking." It's a pylon episode. A roller-coaster of letters and numbers wrapped up in digital relevance with a dash of precognitive serendipity...
When she looked at me that was the signal. We never settled on one. We didn't need to.
I pulled out my pen. "Here's what I think." The juicy oozing of the ink going clickity clack space space, clickity clickity clickity. The sound should have been annoying. Far from it. Soothing, tranquil. The touch? Empathetic. Ergo. Bliss incarnate.
"You know, it's been a long time since I felt someone got the rabbies foam just right. Thank you, garcon." It was true. They must have paid a lot of sweat to get that chefbot.
"More Schlitz, sir?"
"Three more in a doggy bag and could we have the check please?" I was impatient. Sometimes you think the flame is out and then you turn around... Infernos and forehead slapping amidst a cloud of fire retardant and lawsuits.
That's when everything froze. It looked like really expensive and modern special effects in a blockbuster that don't really deliver but everyone says looked cool anyway. A frosty crystalline vapor emminated from your bag slowing everyone until a standstill that would last for 8 minutes. It is impressive but after you've seen it so many times it becomes mundane.
"You couldn't wait for the beer?" I ask politely.
"I have to change" you smile at me.
"Time for...?"
"No, darling, not this time" you cut me off. "This thing's low on juice and we gotta go."
More cat and mouse games. It kept us in shape. Kept us vital. Made us crazy.
"I'll meet you on the roof. And wear something that won't set off the fire alarm this time. I gotta get focused." I get the look she was expecting from me this time. Although she says to cut it out she still likes to hear it. I can see it in her smile and complexion. It's complex. It made us a notorious duo in some circles.
I slammed the handle bar to the door that leads to the stairway up the massive complex with an echoey bash. I do 3 or 4 steps at a time. I pass on the elevators whenever it's an economical option if only to get a bit of blood flowing. I pass a frozen hipster smoking a bowl of who knows what towards the last few flights then fling open the rooftop door with another bash. This time the echo blends into the cacophony of the city's nightlife. I'm barely winded but I breathe deep city breaths of smog in the way urbanites breathe when they visit somewhere else. Appreciatively. Like on the commercials.
I had 4 more minutes and the sunset looked cgi. These calm moments are my salvation moments and rooftops work good for me at these times. I want to take a picture with my new Reach9000b in iridescent leather from AmmuZappu.store but couldn't afford to get caught up in it's seductive capabilities. This "mission" was too important. I push "valet" and slip the device back into my trousers and lean on the rail letting the wind do it's thing while time did it's thing.
"How do I look?" you shout, flinging the door open.
I tingled for the unknownth time. "Fuzzy" I say with a suggestive laugh to remind you to pick up your new glasses soon. You giggle and stride past me. Clever you knew that joke was coming. "You know what I think anyway."
Slow, deep breaths. It always worked for me and always fast. I'm there.
The skycar floated down from around the next building over, the setting sunlight playing on it's sleek angles. I was never into skycars as a kid but I finally got one that I liked. I was picky sometimes. This baby flowed like wine and handled like a woman's hips. Always an exciting, thrilling ride. A modern classic.
I do my hand motion and the gullwing doors open as it sets down in your path. You smoothly slip into the cockpit in one dazzlingly confident motion only a movie starlet would have the audacity to attempt, never breaking your stride. Graceful. You moved that way when you were confident. You were extra confident tonight. "Come on 'Speedy Racer', let's see what you got. I want to pee before we find a seat."
We flew off into the quickly changing lavender skyline, sprinkled and blinking with other skycars and space liners. I searched for a good song and you opened the sunroof and took off your seatbelt. You needed to breathe deep too. We had 39 seconds until the world blew up.
