He placed the burger down on the grill, the sizzling and spitting oil hitting his skin as he did. For a moment he winced. Just for a moment.
There were many things to learn before venturing out into the ‘real world’, so-to-speak. For one, though he was theoretically able to get into (almost) any university he desired, he had no interest in continuing his education. What a mistake that was.
It came as no surprise to anyone when Felix Marcus Fergus was awarded with top of his year level at his graduation ceremony. His grades were astronomically high and his reputation in the school for being that one quiet kid who got good marks was higher. The genius of Jelson High, they called him, despite his protests. What did come as a surprise was the fact that he refused to commit to any university or further education.
Felix had sighed when asked, and merely replied, “I don’t know.”
Looking back, that was probably a mistake. If he had gone to university, he would have maybe figured out his future along the way. But he didn’t, and now here he is, wandering aimlessly about life, with no way out of the hole he buried himself in.
He sighed. Again. He’d been doing that quiet frequently lately.
“Hey, new kid!”
The sudden voice broke through his thoughts and brought him right back down to reality. There he stood, spatula in hand and sweat dripping down his forehead, the scent of burnt burgers drifting up to his nostrils. Up by the kitchen window stood his new boss, Samantha - a middle-aged woman with the voice of a chain-smoker and the heart of an angel.
“Yes, boss?” Felix asked, careful to accentuate every syllable.
“Am I paying you too cook burgers or am I paying you to daydream?” she said. Felix felt himself shrink under her glowering gaze. “Get back to work, or your ass is out of here.”
Felix bowed his head. “Yes, boss.”
Right. Now wasn’t the time to dawdle and think about the past. Now was the time to concentrate on what mattered to him at that moment… cooking burgers. A fine art, he surmised, but one he was certainly no professional at. He was a decent cook at least, and that seemed to carry him through his job. Felix flipped a burger over and cringed at the blackened meat on the other side. Right now, he had a choice – either throw out the burger and start all over again, with the possibility of receiving a complaint from the customer on the meal taking too long; or he could serve as is and receive a complaint about burnt meat. Either way, he was, for lack of a better word, screwed.
He continued to cook the meat. It would be a waste of food to throw it out, and the customer would understand that, right? He hoped they did, anyway. Felix prayed to whatever god he could think of, placed the burger in the paper bag and rung the bell.
Sure enough, about five minutes later when he was well into his next order, the same customer had barged up to the counter and demanded a refund. Felix almost – almost – rolled his eyes. People these days had nothing better to do. However, Samantha was constantly glaring at him, and he felt it was wise not to act sarcastic in front of her. He was soon called out to the counter and issued a dozen apologies to the stuck-up customer, before promising to make another one.
“Wait. Have Lomi make it,” said Samantha. “I want you to come to my office. Now.”
He passed by Lomi on the way to Samantha’s office, who gaze him a sympathetic pat on the back. She seemed to be his only solace in this nightmare of a fast-food restaurant. But now he was left by himself to the beast.
The office was small and cramped, with no windows to the outside and small desk in the middle of the room. It was a cheap desk, too, he noted. He pulled back a plastic chair and sat down, fidgeting his thumbs. Samantha sat down on the other side of the desk.
Silence fell over them both.
“I’m sorry,” he began to say, at the same time as Samantha began, “Look, Felix.”
He winced. “Sorry,” he repeated. “Continue.”
Samantha leaned forward, her face surprisingly concerned for someone who had just been glaring daggers at him a few minutes earlier. “Listen, this is the third time this week we’ve had a complaint,” she said. “I’m just not sure if you’re cut out for this job.”
“I am,” he protested. “I just – I get distracted easily, and the fumes give me a headache, and –”
She held up a hand and he stopped. “I’m giving you one more chance. Come in next week with a fresh start and be ready for work. Otherwise I’m gonna have to ask you to quit.”
Felix bowed his head. “Right. I understand.”
This wasn’t the first time he had almost been fired. He’d been faced with the wrath of the manager many times over the course of his working career, thanks to his constant day-dreaming and wistful thinking. But that didn’t mean it made it any easier. He blinked furiously, holding back tears.
“Are you okay?” Samantha asked.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”
She sighed. “Take the rest of the evening off.”
He ran a hand through his blond hair, slicking it back. “I swear, I can do better –”
“Felix.” The finality of the word made him stop. “I’ll pay you for your full time today. Go home and get some rest.”
Saying his goodbyes, he left without another word, wiping at the corner of his eyes and ignoring Lomi’s questions as he did. It wasn’t like he meant to be bad at his job. He was supposed to be a genius, after all. It was just something was holding him back, that was all. He just needed to find himself a job that suited him.
He walked down the street at night, the lamplight guiding his way as he wandered throughout town. Occasionally a dog would bark at him from behind a fence and he’d jump.
Home. The very word made him scoff. Go home, and then what? Experience the ever-so-lovely home life of Felix Marcus Fergus?
He kicked a can of beer down the path.
His aimless wandering soon led him to the park. It was a place he’d often come to throughout his adolescence years to escape home. Yet, even if it seemed much more menacing at night, he couldn’t help but approach it. The swing-set’s chains creaked as it swayed in the wind, the carousel moved slightly forward, and the small lights nearby did little to ease the appearance of a playground in the dark. It was cool, he concluded, seeing the playground at dark.
He just hoped he wouldn’t get stabbed or anything.
Felix climbed inside the playground, curled up into a ball, and laid down on the cold plastic surface. It wasn’t ideal, but he didn’t care. He just wanted any excuse not to go home.
He didn’t know when he fell asleep, or how long he slept for. All he knew when he woke up was that it was daylight, he was no longer sleeping in the playground, and something smelt like shit. Literally.
Gasping and gagging, he shot up, bits of something sticking to his clothes and hair as he did. He seemed to have woken up in some kind of barn, judging by the hay (that he had apparently slept on) and the sheep resting in with him. His clothes were replaced with some kind of bandaged wrapping and linen shorts. The smell was atrocious. His gaze slowly rested upon the droppings on the floor. Disgusting.
As soon as he caught sight of the door, he sprinted out without another thought, coughing and wheezing along the way. Nothing around him seemed familiar. The landscape was totally foreign to him – fields and mountains and lakes. The only man-made objects that he could see was the barn he had just ran from and a cottage to the side.
His skin paled and he swallowed. Out in a farm. The perfect place to hide a body. No one would expect a thing.
He spotted a rake leaned against the side of the barn, and took hold of it. While he certainly wasn’t strong, by any means, anyone hit with a pointy stick was bound to get hurt. Besides, it was just for self-defence, anyway.
With no determination at all and his hands shaking, Felix slowly approached the cottage. But before he could sneak in and attack his kidnappers, the door swung open, and Lomi stared at him from the doorway.
Felix dropped the rake.
“Lomi?”
“Faelis?”
He blinked. “What?”
However, she gave him no chance to process the scene before him. Without another word, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his body and burying her head in his shoulders. It took him a moment to realise she was sobbing.
“Oh, Gods, I thought you were dead!”
…Huh?
“When you touched that – that thing – you were passed out for days!” she said. He still didn’t understand. “We had to carry you all the way to Yun’s farm. I was so worried! And I –”
She froze and stepped back, giving him a chance to breath. But suddenly breathing was hard to manage, and something in his chest was hurting like hell. Felix glanced down. “Oh.”
Red liquid was seeping through his bandages. Blood.
He fainted.
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