He squinted. The fat girl had been talking continuously for 2 minutes and 43 seconds, which to him seemed like hours. Her face seemed very far away at the end of a dark tunnel.
He suddenly became aware of his expression but didn’t change it as he decided it could be perceived as deep concentration, and a second thought, that it didn’t matter under the circumstances what she thought of his face as he had pretty much decided he was repulsed by hers.
I bet she tries hard in bed. the inner voice commented.
This thought and the sudden eruption of noise around him, violently yanked him back into his surroundings. The faces around him seemed twisted and distorted into grimaces of disgust and pain. A cold sweat broke out on his face and flooded down his body.
‘Did I say that out loud?’ After a few confused and agonising seconds he realised they were laughing not at him, but with the fat girl. And catching the warm wave of social acceptance from her audience, she dropped the second punchline.
More laughter, clapping and slapping of the table ensued. Looking around he felt like he didn’t recognise the reality he found himself in. Like he’d been dropped into some badly scripted show from the 90s, obvious jokes and canned laughter. The inner voice with an expression of revulsion now asked;
Who the fuck are these people? And the urgent answer;
Get out. He looked around for an escape route. Again the voice, this time like the Terminator;
Get Out.
No longer caring and doing as instructed he pushed back the chair and stood. The room spun slightly as he surveyed and quickly located the exit. Moving toward the door he felt a rush of freedom creep through his body and mind. Three steps and almost clear of the table he was suddenly caught by the arm and a feeling of terror tore through him so fast he thought he would vomit.
“Jack, where are you going?” He looked down at the hand and followed the arm up to the red piglike face of Mikey. With eyes of fire and vengeance piercing into the back of the pigs skull he replied
“Out.”
And if you even try to stop me I’ll wipe out your entire existence, past, present and future. breathed the inner voice through clenched teeth. “Back in a minute” he added with a strained smile and shook the hand free.
There was a blur forwards to a burst of liberation and the rush of cold air. Jack breathed deep into his lungs sucking in the sweet and crisp winter night and feeling the expanse of space around him. An emotion that he didn’t know rose up from his stomach through his heart and throat and into his face. Suddenly feeling self conscious he turned briefly to look back and then quickly moved away from the door.
Unfinished 2018
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