Perspective, By Jeff Servetas
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. SLAM! Evan grumbled to himself as he
lifted his hand off the snooze button on his alarm clock, and rolled back into
a more comfortable position. If he didn’t know any better, he might believe
that 7:00AM was starting to come earlier and earlier every day. As he lay
still, with his eyes closed, hoping that time might magically rewind a few
hours, and grant him some more of his beloved sleep, he went over everything
that he’d be doing that day.
The day was likely to be typical.
In a moment, he’d roll over, and get out of bed, take a quick shower, throw on
his clothes, and go downstairs. He’d probably pick over whatever his mother
cooked him for breakfast, though she tended to go overboard, making a lot more
than he really felt like eating so soon after waking up. He might catch a few
minutes of the morning news on TV, and then he and his little sister, Emma,
would walk to school. A few blocks, and he’d arrive, and go through a typical
boring day. Hopefully, he’d get a little time to hang with his best friend,
Matt, and would likely see his girlfriend, Sarah, as well. Then, he’d come
home, accidentally on purpose forget his homework, and play on his computer,
until he decided to go to bed. Sounded like a pretty typical day.
Unfortunately, what Evan had failed
to anticipate was how long he was taking to plan his day. He suddenly noticed
the obnoxious beeping he had subconsciously been ignoring, perhaps in attempt
to return to beautiful sleep. As his eyes snapped open, he rolled his body around
again, and with an exasperated sigh, realized that he was nearly 15 minutes
late in getting up and moving. He tossed the covers off and away, and jumped to
his morning preparations. After another
10 minutes, clean and clothed, he stomped his way down the stairs, and into the
kitchen.
“Sleep in this morning, did we?”
his mother quipped as he came into the kitchen. Evan only half heard her,
grabbing his bag from its resting place beside the table, and beginning to
collect everything necessary for the day. “I made you breakfast!” she smiled at
Evan, and pointed toward a plate of food on the counter, sat next to a plate
adorned only with crumbs, which had likely at one point held his sister’s food.
“Uhh… Thanks, Mom but I’m not
really hungry.” Even didn’t bother to look over at his mother, busy collecting
the various papers he had left on the table the night before, and stuffing them
into his knapsack. His mother gave a small frown, but didn’t argue with him.
She reached over and grabbed the plate of food, and moved it to the back of the
kitchen. As she returned, she carried a small envelope in her hand.
“This was in the mailbox this
morning. It says it’s for you.” She walked up next to Evan, and held the
envelope out. Evan, still working to collect his papers, hastily grabbed at the
envelope, and stuffed it into the bag amidst the rest of his things. He then
zipped the bag, slung it over one shoulder, and gave his mother a quick thanks,
and a hug, before moving his way out of the kitchen and into the living room.
His sister was sitting on the couch, her eyes affixed to the morning news.
Looked like an interest piece on some neighborhood fundraiser, nothing special.
“Come on squirt, we’re gonna be
late!” Evan waited for his sister to start to get up, then made his way across
the room. As he opened the door, his sister crossed the room in two great,
excited bounds, and passed in front of him.
“I’m the one that’s been waiting
for you, silly!” She laughed playfully, and walked her way up the path from the
front door to the sidewalk. Evan shook his head, and made a mental note to be
sure to tease her a little extra today, before making his own way out the door.
“Love you, Mom!” he shouted, before
quickly shutting the door, and dashing to catch up to his sister. She had
already rounded the end of the path, and had started along the sidewalk, in the
direction of the school. “Wait up!” he shouted, just as he was catching up to
her, “Why are you in such a hurry?”
“I don’t know!” She smiled
mischievously, and began to half-walk, half-skip her way along next to her big
brother. “I just get the feeling that today is gonna be a good day!”
“Is that so?” Evan asked
skeptically, not really expecting a response. He had the opposite feeling. He
never liked to get up in the morning, but having to jump up in a rush always
put him out of sorts. What’s worse was that, this morning, he really would have
liked to have something to eat. He looked downward and rubbed his stomach in
disappointment.
“Looking for some good luck, there,
Buddah?” Said a familiar voice. Evan looked up, and saw his friend Matt
standing farther along up the sidewalk. He was grinning from ear to ear,
excited about something unknown. “Or are you just so sexy that you can’t keep
your hands off yourself?”
“Hey man, you wish you had this
body!” Evan shot back, as he and his sister reached the spot where Matt was
waiting, and his friend fell into place alongside them as the continued to
walk. “So, what’s got you in such a good mood?”
“I finished it, man! I had to work
most of the night, but I finally finished it! And it runs great!”
“Hey man, sweet, congrats! Can I
come over later and see it?” Evan asked. Matt had spent the better part of the
last two years working to restore his father’s 1978 Chevorlet truck, which had
been in the family ever since Matt’s grandfather sold it to his father.
Unfortunately, it also hadn’t been in anywhere near working condition since
before Matt was born. A while ago, Matt had started spending all of his time
learning about the various parts and pieces that went into making the old truck
go, and spending every cent he got from birthdays, Christmases, and hours and
hours of working on his grandfather’s farm in order to buy manuals, spare
parts, and tools to help with repairs. Now, apparently the project was
finished, just in time for Matt to graduate and be able to take it with him to
college.
“Evan!” his sister piped up,
suddenly, “You promised that you’d help with my homework tonight! Plus, Mom
needs your help to clean up for when Nana and Pop visit tomorrow!” She wasn’t lying.
Evan had “promised” to help his sister with her book report last night, albeit
only half-heartedly, in an attempt to stop her from pestering him. His mother
always went into a frenzy whenever his Grandparents visited. Evan never really
understood why, but he knew that the night before they came, he probably wasn’t
going to have much time to himself.
“Whatever, Squirt, I’ll take care
of it. Now lay off, will yah?” He deflected his sister’s pestering, and then
spent the rest of the walk to school trying to come up with the best methods to
keep everyone off his back, and still be able to go and see the truck that
night. As they rounded a corner, the school grounds came into view. Nearly a
hundred students and teachers milling back and forth, carrying in boxes and
bags from vehicles, enjoying the nice weather with a quick game of hacky sack,
or simply standing in a circle and talking, trying to enjoy their last few
moments of freedom before that accursed clarion call signaled that their
educational internment for the day had begun.
Before they had even made it to the
school’s lawn, Evan’s little sister took off running, and made a bee-line for a
group of her friends, assembled outside one of the school’s side entrances. He
and his friend made for the large front door, and as they entered, the school’s
bell rang to signal that they had 5 minutes before classes began. Just inside
the door, Evan gave Matt a quick fist bump, before his best friend ducked into
a near-by door, while he continued on into the school, and up a flight of
stairs, making his way to the first class of the day.
Evan’s morning was uneventfully boring;
most of it spent staring out of the windows of the various classrooms he was
in, thinking about nothing in particular. When the mid-day bell signaled that
it was lunchtime, he let forth a palpable sigh of relief, and made his way
through the crowded hallways and down into the cafeteria. As he entered, he scanned the tables, his
eyes passing over various groups of people, eating their lunch and enjoying
light conversation. As he finished his look around the room, he moved his way
to an empty table near the back of the room.
“Weird,” he thought to himself. “Sarah
usually beats me to lunch.” He didn’t really dwell on it, suddenly realizing
that he hadn’t remembers to pack himself a lunch. He pulled his bag on to the
top of the table and frantically dug. A wave of relief washed over him as he
reached into the backpack’s front pocket, his hands feeling the distinctive
crinkle of the brown wrapping paper his mom used when she packed him lunch. He
pulled out the sandwich his mother had packed him, and unwrapped it. Turkey and
cheese, his favorite. He silently sent a thank you in his thoughts to his
mother, and chowed down, sipping on water from the green metallic water bottle
he carried around with him.
Lunch passed uneventfully. No sign
of Sarah, and only a quick wave to Matt, as he entered the lunch room at the
same time Evan was leaving. Back up to the second floor for history class, and
another session of staring out the window. Evan had never been one for school,
but history was his least favorite class. Talking about all these things that
had happened a long time ago in a far away place always bored him. What did
they matter anyway? They never had an effect on his life, and worrying about
them just seemed like an unneeded stressor. Evan was much more a “live in the
moment” kind of guy. Deal with things as they come, and once they’re done,
they’re done.
The rest of the day went as
uneventfully at the first, and Evan was almost surprised when the final bell
signaled that the day was over, and that he was finally free. He slung his backpack
onto his shoulders, and stepped out into the hall. He began to make his way
towards the exit, but stopped short when a voice called out to him
“Wait up, man!” It was Matt, racing
up from the opposite direction. “You still wanna come over and check out the
truck?”
“Definitely! But we gotta make it
quick, dude, Emma wasn’t lying, I gotta
make sure I get home in time to help my mom out.”
“No problem, yo! We’ll go check out
the beautiful beast, listen to her pur for a little bit, and then maybe I can
even tag along, help out at your place.” Matt gave another massive smile, and
the pair continued down the hallway, and out the door of the school. As they made
their way to the bottom of the school steps, Evan suddenly realized that he
could see someone out of the corner of his eye, looking in his direction.
Looking off to the side, he saw
Sarah, looking his way, with an unpleasant look on her face. “Oh great!” he
thought to himself, “What did I do this time?” Matt followed Evan’s gaze, and
once he saw Sarah’s face, he began to tease his friend.
“Uh-oh,” he quipped, “Looks like
you’re in trouble!” Matt chuckled to himself, and chuckled more when Evan
looked back at him distastefully.
“Oh, shut up, wouldja? Listen, I’ll
just go see what’s up, and be right along. I’ll meet you at your place, ok?”
“Alright, man, but don’t take too
long. I’m not sure if I can keep that beautiful monster in her cage for too
long. Not that you don’t already have your own ‘beautiful beast!’” Matt lauged
again, and quickly leapt to the side to avoid the playful punch Evan had thrown
at his shoulder. “See you in a bit, man!” Evan gave a half-hearted harrumph,
before turning back towards Sarah, and walking in her direction. A few strides,
and he was standing in front of her, looking down into her face.
“What’s up, babe?” he asked. She
didn’t respond, instead closing her eyes, and turning her head to one side,
giving a disapproving grunt that told Evan what he had already guessed, that
she was upset with him. “Come on, what’s the matter?” he asked again, this
time, eliciting a more vocal response. She turned her head and looked angrily
into his face.
“Where were you today?” she asked,
quietly, but curtly. Evan returned a quizzical look, not understanding the
question.
“When?” he asked. Her nostrils
flared, and her pupils dilated ever so slightly, as she set her jaw angrily
before answering him.
“What do you mean when? Today at
lunch!”
“I was in the lunch room!” He
replied, still confused, but fairly certain that whatever she was mad about, it
was unwarranted. He wasn’t in the mood for this, he had things to do! Her jaw
stayed set in anger, but her hand reached up and brushed some of her hair out
of her face, before replying again, more forcefully than before.
“Look Evan, if you didn’t wanna
come, you could have just said so. I sat out here for almost an hour waiting
for you! Not to mention all the time and effort I put in last night…” The
situation devolved from there. Nearly 2 hours later, after the exchange of many
heated and angry words, Sarah left in tears, and Evan watched her go, his arms
at his sides, fists clenched in anger. “What a crazy bitch!” he thought to
himself. “I didn’t do anything! She gets all upset with me, won’t explain why,
and now, she kept me long enough that there’s no way I can swing by Matt’s.
Damnit!” Once Sarah was out of sight, he started to make his way home, cursing
under his breath the entire way. He looked over longingly as he passed Matt’s
house, wondering just how pretty the truck sounded when it was running.
A few minutes later, and he made
his way through his front door, dropping his backpack, and reaching down to
remove his shoes. The smell of dinner was strong in the house, smelled like
taco night. Evan didn’t really like tacos, but after that fight with Sarah, and
the walk home, he was starving, he made his way into the kitchen, finding his
mother and sister already seated at the table.
“Well, hello! Nice of you to join
us!” His mother said, as he slid into a chair on the other side of the table,
reaching out to grab the taco shells and beginning to heap a pile of hamburger
into them. “What kept you?” his mother asked.
“Nothing,” he said, dolloping sour
cream on top of his nearly-finished dinner, and bring a taco up to his mouth,
taking a large bite. “Just had a fight with Sarah.”
“That’s not good! What about?” his
mother asked.
“I don’t know, I couldn’t get a
straight answer from her. I think she was just in a mood.” Evan replied.
“Plus you went over to Matt’s
right, to see his new truck or whatever?” asked his sister, as she brought a
glass of milk up to her mouth to drink.
“No, I didn’t even have time for
that, thanks to Sarah!” he grumbled, taking another bite of his dinner.
“Well, that’s too bad. Good to know
he finally got that old thing fixed though. He’s been working on it for so long
now, but as busy as he gets, I wonder how he managed to do it by now!”
“Yeah, I guess he just likes
working.” Evan said, finishing off his first taco, and reaching to begin
preparing another. After he and his mother and sister had finished eating, he
helped clean up the table.
“Now, Emma, why don’t you go get to
work on your book report?” His mother said, once the table was clear. “Evan, if
you could do the dishes please, and then, once you’re done, I think you promised
to help your sister?”
“Yeah, whatever,” Evan said, as he
made his way over to the sink. He put the plug into the drain, and turned the
water on. As he reached for the dish soap, he watched his mother and sister
leaving the room. “You know, we should get a dishwasher. It would make this a
lot easier.” His mother stopped for a moment in the door, and smiled knowingly
in his direction.
“I keep telling you, Evan, just as
soon as you go out and win the lottery, we can get all the nice things you
want, and life will be as ‘easy’ as you want. Until then, I’m afraid you’re
just going to have to suffer with pruned fingers.”
Evan sighed as his mother left him
to his work, and he complained to himself as he began to scrub the dinner
dishes. “It’s not fair, he thought. Sarah’s family has a dishwasher, and a
big-screen TV! Heck, even Matt’s got a dishwasher at his place, and here I am,
bent over the sink when I could be relaxing. Why can’t Emma do these?”
A half-hour later, Evan pulled the
plug out of the bottom of the sink, and let the water drain away, wiping his
hands dry with a dish towel. He then wiped off the dirty dishes counter, and
brought the towel along with him out of the kitchen, tossing it into the hamper
just inside the bathroom door, and then continued on out into his living room.
He found his sister seated on the couch, with a pile of papers, her nose buried
in a book. He took a spot on the opposite end of the couch, and reached over to
the end table, grabbing the television remote.
“So,” Evan said as he switched the
TV on, “whatcha working on?”
“It’s my English homework. I’ve
gotta write a book report on “A Christmas Carol.” His sister replied.
“What are you reading that for?
It’s practically summer, already!” Evan said, flipping through the TV channels.
“Mr. Haggerty said that there’s
valuable stuff in the story, lessons that apply even though it’s not Christmas.
That’s why I wanted your help.” His sister said, passing him the book. Evan
hadn’t found anything particularly interesting on TV, so he left it on the
local news, and reached over to grab the small paperback out of his sister’s
hand. He flipped through a few of the pages, scanned through some of the words,
and handed it back.
“I’ll do my best,” he said, closing
his eyes, and letting his head fall back and rest on the couchback. For the
next few minutes, his sister asked him a myriad of questions about what he
thought certain scenes meant, why certain characters acted the way they did,
why the story had a happy ending. Evan gave answers he thought sounded right,
all the while leaning back and thinking about how lame the day had been. Getting
up late, fighting with his girlfriend, missing out on seeing Matt’s truck. He
figured his sister was wrong when she had said the day was going to be good,
but he hadn’t wanted her to be this wrong!
Eventually, his sister packed up
her papers and made her way upstairs to take a shower, leaving Evan alone with
his thoughts. He swung his feet up over the edge of the couch, and sprawled
out, letting his head lay on the armrest. He rolled over and looked up at the
TV. The show had switched to some boring “How it works” show. Looks like
tonight they were talking about movie cameras. How boring. Evan let his eyelids
fall down over his eyes, and let his brain carry him away as he hoped that
tomorrow would be a better day than today.
“Having a nice nap, Mr. Man?” Evan
heard a voice he did not recognize, and opened his eyes. His vision was a
little blurry, but as he blinked the sleep away, and looked around the room, he
realized he was still alone. Suddenly, there was the sound of someone, wrapping
on glass, accompanied by the voice again. “Over here, sleepy-head.”
Evan turned towards the TV, which
still appeared to be on. The images on screen of movie cameras being assembled
had been replaced with a blue-robed humanoid figure, wearing a large,
wizard-like hat, whose brim obscured all of the features on his face, save for
two bright-glowing ovals, which appeared to be his eyes. In his right hand, the
figure held a wooden stick, bent and crooked at the top, which the small figure
used to wave at Evan, before using his other hand to indicated that Evan should
come closer. Evan, apparently more curious than he was frightened, made his way
over, and squatted in front of the television, waving back at the curious
figure.
“Are you Evan?” the figure asked,
in the same voice Evan had heard before, higher pitched than Evan’s, with a
touch of age and wisdom, and with some jollity. Evan imagined that if he ever
met Santa Claus, that he would probably sound something like this. Evan nodded,
then watched as the small figure put his hand up against the screen, as though
he were standing just on the other side of the glass. The figure then exerted
himself, acting as though he meant to push the screen off.
Instead, however, Evan watched as
the figure’s small, blue-gloved hand seemed to melt its way through the screen,
and into his living room. Evan leapt backwards, clumsily rolling his way back
into the couch, and bring his head up in just enough time to watch the rest of
the strange figure follow his hand, and come tumbling onto the floor of his
living room. Picked itself up and dusted itself off, it looked over at Evan.
“Thanks for catching me,” It said
sarcastically, adjusting its hat into a straight position. Evan tried to catch
a glimpse of the figure’s face, but, it seemed that, though the hat moved, the
shadow on the creature’s face didn’t.
“Who… what are you?” Evan asked,
eyes glued to the curious invader of his living room. The figure, standing not
quite 2 feet tall, even at the tip of its hat, made its way towards Evan, and
extended a small gloved hand.
“The name’s Dziga,” it said, “Z for
short.”
“Uhh… nice to meet you?” Evan said,
extending an unsure hand. As he reached forward, the small creature grabbed the
end of one of his fingers and shook it vigorously. “Am I dreaming?” Evan asked,
suddenly remembering what he had been doing before the creature had arrived. In
response, the small creature lifted the crooked stick, which was nearly as tall
as it was, and used it to deliver a swift bonk to Evan’s forehead. He brought a
hand up to the place of contact, and rolled himself back up into a kneeling
position. “Hey!” he protested, “What was that for?”
“Guess you’re not dreaming, are
you?” Said Dziga.
“Apparently,” replied Evan, rubbing
the spot on his forehead where he had been hit. “If I’m not dreaming, then why
is there elf in my living room?”
“I’m not an elf, you fool, I’m an
imp! And I’m here to help you get a little perspective.” Dziga said, making his
way back towards the television, and seeming to examine the screen that he had
come through.
“What do you mean?” asked Evan.
Instead of replying, the imp turned back around, and, grasping the end of his
crooked stick with both hands, brought it up above his head, and swiftly
brought it through a downward sweep, slamming the end into the ground. There
was a bright green flash, and Evan reached up to shield his eyes with his hand.
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