Blue Rose

[hextraterrestrial]

 

While Fred waited for the Tank to review his Data Set Catalogue he thought he would go for a drive to the local gas station to pick up some more smokes and some beer. Beer sounded good to him at the moment and he had rationalized to himself that it would also be a good idea. He hardly ever drank but when he did he made sure to make it count. Zak had left earlier to run some errands, so he figured it would be ok.
Grabbing the company car keys from the hook by the lab door, he checked his monitor one last time to make sure no new notifications had come in. Satisfied, he left the lab, securing the door behind him, trotted down the stairs and out into the blazing heat of the parking lot. He'd been sleeping in the office the past few days and had forgotten just how warm it was out. Not actually knowing what car to use, Fred kept pressing the button on the key chain till he heard a vehicle beep and flash its tail lights. It was nothing fancy, just a white Ford van which he realized was packed with mass amounts of computer components once he got in and seated. Adjusting the mirror, he put on his belt and turned the key. The van started promptly and the radio came on blaring some country music. He tried listen to the twangy, winy song for a moment until he heard the heavy pop influence that country music had recently been experimenting with. He could barley listen to regular country music but this was too much. Country was dieing and slow and painful death but Mudi was sure that the infusion of pop or rap would only serve to kill it off faster. He shook his head and quickly turned the dial. Finding a classic rock station he was satisfied and backed out the parking spot. He headed towards the part of town with the most buildings. He didn't know his way around but there wasn't much but sand off to the right. As he got up to 45 he cranked the volume louder as Def Leppard's "Pour some sugar on me" came on. As he drove he thought to himself how the 80's sure knew how to Rock & Roll. He wondered what happened to the rock industry as he drove. Gen X was pretty good era of rock but it had gone far darker, morphing into alternative and grunge. But after the millenium, Fred had been hard pressed to find anything worth listening to; in almost every genre. He made a mental note to look into that later. He drove maybe five minutes before finding a gas station off to the right. It was a old and shabby joint which looked like it had been built in the 50's. After parking, he went inside the shop surprised to find it had been renovated to appear as any modern station. He nodded to the teen age cashier with purple hair in pigtails and a looped ring in the center of her nose. In the back he found a 12 pack of suitable pisswater and grabbed a bag of chips on his way up to the counter. The clerk smiled and asked him how his day was going.

He feigned a smile replying with "Oh, you know, so-so. How are you?"

She smiled back with sincerity saying "Another day, another dollar. Can't wait to get outta here. Two more hours and I'm bouncing."

Fred immediately realized that was not so much as a neutral statement as it was an invite to query her more on her plans and possibly strike up a conversation. She was cute he thought and actually considered flirting with her as he fumbled for a reply and his billfold. Looking at his feet he considered several options as he pulled out his wallet asking for a pack of smokes. He was about to ask her what her plans were for the evening but was struck dumb as he raised his gaze towards the girl. He was about to look her in the eye but was drawn to a piece of paper taped to her register.  Drawing a blank, his moment passed as she turned to fetch the pack he had requested. Upon her return he was staring at the back of her register instead of looking at her.

"Do you mind if I take a picture of this?" he asked, pointing to the little drawing. She looked slightly confused until she realized what he was pointing at.

"Oh, sure, go ahead." she smiled.

Fred pulled his phone out and opened the camera app. "Do you mind if I asked who drew this?"

"Some little girl waiting for her mom." she answered.

Fred snapped the shot asking "When did she do that?"

Looking a little puzzled the cashier replied "Yesterday morning."

Fred let go a true smile trying to find an excuse as to why he was so interested. "It's I just have a few friends who are sci-fi geeks who'd appreciate this. Thanks." Fred threw his money on the counter, more interested in the drawing than his change. He read the message to himself repeatedly thinking of the synchronicity of it. Trying to guess at the odds of it. The problem was he wasn't a coincidence theorist. This was meaningful beyond measure. He found himself looking at it a bit too long and was embarrassed when he realized the purple haired girl had been holding out his change longer than anyone would expect. He grabbed his change and stuffed it carlessley into his pocket as he walked out the store. The idea of romance was not even in his headspace as he stared at the picture he just took, walking back to the van. He looked at the primitive drawing of a person  working a counter by the telephone and a computer. He read the words over and over smiling to himself:

"To: Captin Kurt. Artist Blue Rose"