NoV: Lalalalalala!
Furthermore dedicated to David, the Asian Finny, my semi-new muse. .
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Gene
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Sometime a week or two later that fall, I was patiently awaiting the sound of the microwave beep to let me know that my leftover pizza was ready, when I instead heard a knock on the door. Finny had been out for about an hour putting up fliers for an upcoming track meet, so I figured that he had forgotten his keys and wanted to be let in.
I trudged over to the worn door and unlocked it. Opened it. Instead of my friend, I was met by a delivery man. "How you doing?" he wondered, preoccupied with a clipboard that he wanted me to sign.
I did and said, "Fine," as I heard the microwave beep.
He handed me a medium-sized box. "Have a nice day," he murmured, taking back to the hallway.
I looked at the box, trying to feel its weight in my hand. It was addressed to "Phil. Finny," which disturbed me. While he sometimes used aliases, it was never to purchase something on-line or in a magazine. Several images went through my head as I pondered what could be inside the box. I imagined drugs, porn, hundred dollar bills, diamonds, anything illegal or scandalous. I tended to think the worst in situations, particularly when they involved Finny. That was probably because he always maintained his enigmatic nature, and even though I lived with him and had known him for years, I still didn't have the slightest clue as to what he might do next.
I set the package on our desk and sat down, staring at it. I reached for a pair of scissors, debating whether I should open it or not. My decision was made for me when the door sprung open to reveal Finny himself.
"What, don't you lock the door?" he wondered, tossing his backpack into a random corner. "What if I were a madman? Right now, you could have a stomach full of a rusty knife." He walked toward his bed.
"When did you become so concerned about my gastric affairs?" I asked, putting the scissors back in the drawer.
"So, whatcha been doin?" he inquired, sitting on his bed with his elbows resting on his knees.
"Nothing," I said shrugging. "Microwaving some pizza."
He kept staring at me while he hummed a strange tune. When he began to bounce back and forth I abruptly said, "Package came for you."
"Really?" he asked, wide-eyed. He jumped off his bed, shouting, "I'm so excited!"
I handed him the box, hoping he wouldn't implode before getting it. "Why are you so hyper?" I asked, beginning to get annoyed.
"You let me have candy for breakfast, remember?" he said, feeling for the end of the packaging tape on his box.
"Oh yeah," I said, reminiscing that unfortunate mistake of mine. "That was not smart of me."
He pulled the tan-colored tape off of the top of his box, while I sat, wondering why he was letting me watch him since he probably had a severed head in there or something.
I raised an eyebrow when he swiftly pulled the object out of the box.
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NoV: Weird cliffhanger. Til nexties!
