Novem (Chapter 2)

You can read chapter 1 here.

There’s a coffee shop next to the main entrance of his flat, but the coffee is too acidic and slightly over-roasted. Across the street, on the opposite corner, there’s another, but it always felt overcrowded.

Two blocks to the east, across the street but on the same road, is his regular stop. It’s more convenience store than cafe, but it’s never crowded and there’s a backwards bench where a bus stop used to be. Instead of facing the street to see when public transit arrives, it was installed to face an unadorned wall between two store fronts. Joshua likes the spot, since it is the only nearby spot where there are no screens in his peripheral. It’s low enough traffic to provide five minutes of solitude while he drinks his first cup of coffee.

As soon as he enters the door, he’s greeted by a familiar voice who has been waiting for his visit since her shift began. This is partly due to him, and partly due to the boredom of working at a store with fewer customers than hours in the day.

“Good morning Joshua, how are you today?”

“Good afternoon Lorraine! You know it’s not morning anymore if I’m here.”

“I know sweetie, but I’m waiting for the day where you don’t correct me.”

“Am I that predictable Lorraine?”

“Yes, and you’ll have a large cup of coffee with no cream, no milk, and no sugar. You also will have two pieces of buffalo fried chicken.”

“One of these days, I’ll finally get tired of it, and I’ll show you Lorraine!”

“That will be $6.44, sweetie.”

Joshua waved his hand down. past the payment beacon. After reading the financial data from the chip in hand, it charged his checking account instantly. His bank immediately sent a message to his Personal Phone & Computer.

“But before I leave and you go to a commercial break, there’s one thing we must do, Lorraine. We have to find out if you’re lucky or not!”

“Is it that time, sweetie?” Lorraine asked dryly, smiling.

They had another section to their afternoon routine. Every day, Joshua would place a $5 bet on a PPC roulette game. If Lorraine made the correct call, he would tip her the winnings. But to keep it interesting for them both, Joshua had to deliver it with all the drama of NASDAQ N.

“Lorraine! What is your lucky number on today’s episode of ‘PPC Gambling’? I have a feeling I may know what number that is…”

Lorraine took a page from Joshua when it came to lucky numbers. “I have a feeling that 28 is my lucky number today,” she said.

“Before we spin the wheel, will you explain to this crowd of millions why you chose that number? We’d love to know the reasoning behind your choice,” Joshua said with the full agreement of the empty store.

“Because my son was born on September 28th, and I’ve felt luckier ever since he was born.”

“Well Lorraine, we’ll see if this day is as lucky as that day. Dana, spin the PPC Wheel!”

There was no Dana. Joshua touched the screen of his PPC and the wheel began spinning. The virtual ball tumbled over the two-toned wheel for a few seconds, even though the algorithm chose the result as soon as the touch was made. Holding the screen towards himself and away from Lorraine, he alternated between smiles and grimaces, basking in the drama of the small, viceless vice.

As the program made its last few noises, Joshua mimicked the sportscasters from his youth. “Could it be? Could it really be… your lucky day, Lorraine! 28 black, you are a winner! Today really is your lucky day! We will send your winnings right now in exchange for a small pack of mints.”

“That sounds like a good deal to me,” she deadpanned.

After ringing up the mints, Joshua typed in the $175 tip and waved his hand down then up so the scanner would authorize the tip.

“Thank you for being a part of today’s episode of ‘PPC Gambling’, Lorraine,” he said. To the missing audience, he added, “Join us next time at the same time, and remember to chip your pets and animals.”

“Have a good day, sweetie. See you tomorrow!’

Joshua would never admit it, but he only shows her the screen of his PPC part of the time. On her bad days or his good days, he will still tip the payout no matter what actually came up on the roulette wheel.

Coffee in hand, he began walking outside to the holy bench of solitude. He glanced down momentarily to place his PPC away, then looked up to see a ghostly blur coming toward him at full speed, now only a few feet away. His mind filled in its gaps and alerted him that an albino scarecrow with blue eyes was attempting to spear him. He tensed up to take or deflect the hit.

At the last second, the apparition slowed slightly and turned sideways to avoid any sidewalk catastrophe. Shimmying by, he sputtered, “I’m sorry, so sorry excuse me,” deftly avoiding the contact. He kept running past Joshua and made a left turn into the nearest alley.

Joshua wasn’t sure what sort of person he nearly ran into, whether an old boy, young man, or old man. But after he exhaled sternly and shook his head, he continued on to his piece of urban nirvana.