Après-Denouement
Sept. 26th

- Audio Transcript -

On the weekend, I met with Jaijit at the park. He was running up a slide, letting his feet slip so he could move in place. He turned to me when I approached and let himself casually descend. The sand took his feet like it was hired to do so.

Jaijit:
Look, as good as you were at the game last night, I don't want to date you. I can't be with someone who's actually two people! Like midgets in a trench-coat, or politicians. Then again, if those midgets are sexy...

Dryce:
Jaijit, focus. I'm not asking you for a date.

Jaijit:
Good, cause you? Are one frigid case of cola. I couldn't hickey a drop of life out of your snowy carcass. How are those marks by the way, eh? Lemme see em-

[I slap my own neck.]

Dryce:
They're sore and you're a leech. I just need you to tell me what happened at the game in the second inning.

Jaijit:
The second inning? More like the rest of the night! If coach let me have my Spark, I would have been right there with you...

Dryce:
What did I do? All I remember is a lot of jumping and wood.

Jaijit:
(Grinning.) That's what she said.

Dryce:
Is that your catchphrase?

Jaijit:
A good player has several, ready for any occasion. You want to know what you did from the second to sixth inning?

Dryce:
Yes.

Jaijit grips my shoulders, and with a flame in his eyes, through gritted teeth he tells me with a shaken, breathy voice...

Jaijit:
You were a GOD.

[I cough, covering it with my elbow.]

Jaijit:
Then again, you saw me go on first, and I'm definitely a god at baseball. So you'd be more like the son of a god. An heir of the sun, if you will... whereas I'm more of a fiery ball of destruction incarnate, like Shiva on land, you were sort of like... how shall I say this? A light in the darkness.

Dryce:
A light.

Jaijit:
You were floating, in the sky... hovering for just a brief moment, where time stood still. It made me proud to call you my son. You might not be a very good catcher or pitcher, but you're a hell of an outfielder.

Jaijit gets distracted by a flock of birds, and watches them fly overhead. He just seems to like anything airborne.

Dryo
(Outfielder. That's the one that stands around and waits for something to fly by. Nobody really wants you to catch it, they wanna see the other guy get a home-run. Which you probably never will. The crowd is pretty much always hoping the ball will land in the stands, instead. So you spend all day tryna get balls in your hands, and nobody cares about you. Now that you mention it, that DOES sound like you!)

Dryce
(Then maybe baseball is a stupid metaphor to begin with, because nobody dates like that. I don't want any 'balls' in my hands, at least not without dinner first.)

Dryo
(Hilarious.)

Dryce
(I'm not obsessed with people's bodies like that, and I don't like people based on what's in their pants – I like them based on what's in their hearts. And none of that makes any sense, cause the outfielder can't get a home-run no matter what they do.)

Dryo
(Grinning.) (Still sounds right to me.)

I gritted my teeth, and tapped Jaijit on the shoulder.

Dryce:
(Annoyed.) Is that it?

Jaijit:
IS THAT IT?! Oh, my heir of Shiva... shall I call you heshiva?

Dryce:
What?!

Jaijit:
Sorry, are you Latino? I can never tell from the skin. In your language, it would be... Yeshiva. We could shorten it to Yeshua, I suppose. Or Yeshus, if we're getting creative. Or does that make it sound like you're the Heir of Zeus... I can see myself as a Zeus, but like, more fiery.

Dryce:
I'm like, Italian, or something. I don't know. Probably mixed.

Jaijit:
Aren't Italians Latino?

Dryce:
They're from different continents.

Jaijit:
Ah, so the English pronunciation! Joshua. Or Jesiva. Jesus! No, that's taken...

Dryo:
This is going nowhere, dude.

Jaijit:
That's what I thought about YOU! But when you put on that glove... I couldn't believe my eyes. Nothing could get through! You caught every single one! The other team was crying and pissing in their pants... you sucked at bat, though, and they stopped us from scoring any more points. But the GLOVE!!

Dryce:
Okay, so I was a really good outfielder. Did the... crowd notice?

Jaijit:
Don't get vain, now, my son. You wouldn't wanna swell up your delicate ego with that crowd-pleasing nonsense. Obviously they were looking at me!

Dryo:
My jaw is starting to hurt from listening to this. Is that normal?

Dryce:
You mean my jaw?

Jaijit:
Speaking of jaws, I have an eighth-grader with braces who's curious about French customs. I'll see you later, Drytes. You let me handle the swing and pitch, and you stick to that five-finger magic you do in the leather glove, and we'll be alright.

Dryce:
It's Dryce.

Jaijit:
I find it's more of a reddish brown? But I'm not here to make fun of the colorblind. Au revoir!

I turn around to leave, at my absolute limit for the day, and I immediately meet with this stocky East Asian girl. She's dressed in all-black, but she's holding the white dress. The dress!

???:
You stole this from me.

Dryce:
Nuh-uh! I got it from a friend.

???:
Then your friend stole it from me.

Dryce:
That's possible.

???:
I'm guessing it was Jaijit?

Dryce:
I guess I wouldn't call him a friend, exactly.

???:
You just did a second ago.

Dryce:
Maybe he's wearing me out.

???:
Like you wore out my dress.

Dryce:
I'm sorry? I didn't exactly have your name on it, I couldn't find you to bring it back. So I maybe... wore it a few more times.

???:
My name is Lian Mu.

Dryce:
Like a cow?

Lian Mu:
No, stupid. Lian Mu. I'm from Hong Kong.

Dryce:
Oh, okay. I'm sorry about the dress.

Lian Mu:
Do you know why he had it?

Dryce:
He didn't say.

Lian Mu:
Are you two dating? You seem a little younger than us.

Dryce:
Lemme puke and then ask me again.

Lian Mu:
Looks like he already bit you.

Dryce:
Okay, so it happened once, but that's it. We didn't DO anything.

Lian Mu:
Have you DONE anything like that before?

Dryce:
Uh...

Lian Mu saunters closer, and takes a precarious index finger and pokes my chest in the center. Immediately, I'm warm again, but this time I'm full of static. Like a battery that's overflowing. She leans in for a kiss, and I'm still. Still standing there. She finishes and leans back.

Lian Mu:
It's no fun if you just stand there. Don't you want me?

Dryce:
Uhhh, like as a girlfriend?

Lian Mu:
No, like... to want. Y'know.

Dryo:
He's a good boy, he doesn't just give himself up like that.

Dryce:
I would.

Lian Mu:
You're weird.

Dryce:
I'm trying! What am I supposed to do?

She turns away and stuffs the dress back into her bag.

Lian Mu:
You aren't SUPPOSED to do anything. There's no script. You just do what you feel like.

Dryce:
What if I feel like doing something bad?

She stops walking, but doesn't turn around. The wind starts blowing.

Lian Mu:
Wouldn't that be interesting?