Tales From the Midnight Shift Vol. 1

by Mark Allan Gunnells

  The metaphorical light going on over his head, Ross turned back to the girls who were walking away from him. “Hey, is there a recreational center or something like that?”

  The blondes stopped and one of them said, “Yeah, the Student Center is just around the back of Curtis.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

  One of the blondes started off again, but the other remained behind, smiling at Ross. “I have some paperwork to fill out in the Financial Aid office, but afterwards I’m headed to the Student Center myself. Maybe I’ll see you there.”

  Ross was a bit taken aback to realize the girl was flirting with him, but why not? He was practically her age, after all. His life had just taken a different turn. “Well, yeah, maybe.”

  “I’ll look for you.” Then with a wink, the girl hurried to catch up with her friend.

  Ross followed the paved path that led behind the Administration building, shaking his head in a bemused sort of way. He spent so much time in a self-imposed sort of isolation that he wasn’t used to people flirting with him, especially girls. Barking up the wrong tree, missy, he thought. I’m on a manhunt today.

  The path led to a four-story brick building, and the Student Center took up the entire bottom floor. Video games, a large flat-screen TV, snack and soda machines, even a pool table. It was a pretty nice set-up. Even at this early hour, there were a good number of students in the place. Any one of the guys could be Chuck, but short of standing on the small stage up front and yelling the boy’s name, there was no way to be sure. However, in the center of the space Ross found what he was hoping to find.

  A large Community bulletin board. Notices were stuck all over it. People looking to buy used text books, to sell used text books, announcements of available work study jobs, flyers for plays and recitals, offers of tutoring services, the week’s menu for the dining hall. Ross yanked down a pale pink flyer for a student production of The Importance of Being Earnest and flipped it over to its blank side. He turned it sideways and with a pen from his shirt pocket scrawled in large block letters across the top, “CHUCK WESTMORLAND” and under that wrote, “Please contact me as soon as you can regarding an urgent matter. I assure you it will be worth your while.” He then jotted down his cell number.

  Using pushpins to tack the flyer back to the board, Ross knew chances were slim that Chuck would actually see the message. But there was always the chance that someone who knew him would see it and tell the boy about it. Anyway, unless he wanted to stalk out the dorms and ask every single male that walked out if they were Chuck Westmorland, Ross didn’t really have any other options.

  As he turned away from the board, he saw the young thin guard entering the Student Center. Ross quickly ducked out the back and hurried to his car and off campus, all the while hoping for the best.

  * * *

  Ross wanted to be nearby if Chuck called, so he got a room at a Comfort Inn out by the Interstate. He couldn’t really afford it, would have to live on Ramen noodles and tap water for a few months, but getting the Big Dog back had become the most important thing in his world. He would do whatever was necessary to make that happen, regardless of the cost. Besides, once he got his laptop back, he’d be able to write again then maybe score a few more payments like the one for the anthology.

  He found himself sitting on the bed, just staring at the phone like some desperate single waiting for a potential suitor to call. He tried to take his mind off of things with TV, but nothing held his interest. Hundreds of cable channels and not a damn thing worth watching. Which was why he preferred books, but he’d left in such a hurry that he’d brought none with him. There was always the Bible in the nightstand drawer, but whoever had dubbed that the Greatest Story Ever Told had apparently never read The Stand.

  Ross ended up pacing the motel room, practicing in his head exactly what he was going to say to Chuck. He’d really botched things with the boy’s mother and the old fart from the Registrar’s Office. He didn’t want to blow it with Chuck, not when he was so close to retrieving the Big Dog. He had to play it cool and smart.

  By the time 8:30 rolled around with no call (except two from Julie which Ross didn’t answer, didn’t even listen to the voicemails she left), he was forced to entertain the possibility that his cell wasn’t going to ring. It was probable Chuck hadn’t even seen the note, or maybe he’d seen it and ignored it. It was pretty vague on specifics, after all, but Ross hoped that would at least peak the boy’s interest.

  The call finally came while was Ross was sitting on the toilet…naturally. Luckily, he’d brought his phone into the bathroom with him.

  “Hello,” he said, trying not to sound like he’d been waiting on this call for hours.

  “Um, hi. I’m Chuck Westmorland, there was a note for me to call this number.”

  “Yes, I’ve been expecting your call.”

  “What is this all about?”

  “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ross Berkley, I’m—”

  “The computer guy?”

  “Um, yes.”

  “My Mom told me about you, said you were looking for some information you think you left on the laptop. I don’t remember seeing anything on there, man.”

  “I just really need to get that computer back,” Ross said, trying to keep the pleading tone out of his voice but failing.

  “Well, that might be a problem.”

  “Can we just meet face to face? I happen to be in Gaffney so it’s no trouble. Please, I won’t take up much of your time.”

  Chuck was silent for a moment then said, “Are you the guy that was asking about me at the Registrar’s Office earlier today?”

  Ross swallowed so loud he was sure the sound was audible to Chuck over the phone. Busted. “You heard about that?”

  “Yeah, they called me in, said some weird guy was trying to find me, said my grandfather was dead. Considering both my grandfathers passed away years ago, I knew something was up.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m just a little bit desperate. That computer is very important to me.”

  “Then why’d you give it away to a thrift store?”

  Ross took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes, willing himself to keep calm. “It was a mistake, never should have given it away. Will you please meet with me?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “It can be a public place, anywhere you want, I just need fifteen minutes to plead my case.”

  “Well, okay. I know you know where the Student Center is.”

  “Sure thing, I can leave right now.”

  “Whoa, man, slow down. It’s almost ten at night.”

  “So?” Ross said testily then reminded himself, Cool and smart, don’t blow it. “So…when would be a more convenient time for you?”

  “Meet me in the Student Center around 11 tomorrow morning.”

  “I’ll be there. How will I know you?”

  “I’ll be wearing a Limestone T-shirt and a ball-cap.”

  “See you then.”

  Ross hung up, flushed, and went to bed a happy man.

  * * *

  A Limestone T-shirt and a ball cap…

  When Ross stepped into the Student Center and looked around, he spotted three different guys in Limestone T-shirts and ball caps. Two of them were playing each other in a game of pool, the other sitting at a round table by himself. Ross headed straight for the loner.

  As he approached, the boy looked up. He had wide hazel eyes and smooth skin with just a sprinkling of acne on his forehead. He was actually quite beautiful. “Are you Mr. Berkley?”

  “You must be Chuck,” Ross said, shaking the boy’s hand. He looked around the table but saw no sign of his computer, but he tried not to let that panic him. He had brought along his Dell in a sleek carrying case, and he placed it on the floor next to his feet as he took the chair across from Chuck. “I really appreciate you meeting with me.”

  “Yeah, it’s cool.”

  “No, really. I know you didn’t have to, but
I’m grateful you did.”

  Chuck nodded, staring at the tabletop as he methodically popped the knuckles of one hand then the other. He seemed nervous, first-date nervous, and it was starting to put Ross on edge.

  “So,” Ross said, deciding to forego small talk and get straight to the point, “about the laptop—”

  “What is it so important to you?” Chuck interrupted. “I mean, I see that you already have a new one, so why’s it so important to get the old one back?”

  Ross took a deep breath, considered his options, and decided a version of the truth would work best in this situation. “Let’s just call it sentimental value. I should never have given it away, it was like giving away one of my organs or something.”

  “People donate their organs all the time. Rarely do they ask for them back.”

  “Touché,” Ross said with a smile. “Look, I know your mother bought the computer for you, ‘fair and square’ as she put it. I’m willing to buy it back from you. In addition—”

  “I don’t have the laptop anymore.”

  Ross stopped speaking. In fact, for more than a minute he stopped breathing. The entire world seemed to dissolve around him until all that existed was the kid across the table from him. The kid he suddenly wanted to throttle.

  “What do you mean, you don’t have it?”

  Chuck leaned forward with his hands to his stomach, as if experiencing painful cramps. “I haven’t told my Mom because it’ll hurt her feelings. I know she meant well, wanted to help me out by getting me a computer. And I know she couldn’t afford anything better, but that laptop was a joke. It was so old I think Moses might have wrote the Ten Commandments on it, couldn’t get online, and it didn’t even have any decent games on it. Not even solitaire. I mean, it was pretty much useless.”

  Ross felt anger rising like a bloated corpse from a watery grave, but he balled his hands into tight fists under the table and tried to push it back down. “So when you told your mother you checked to see if I’d left any files on it…”

  “It wasn’t a total lie. I mean, when I first got the thing, I did play around on it a little, and there were no files that I noticed, but yeah…by the time she actually called, I had long since gotten rid of the computer.”

  “How exactly did you get rid of it?” And please God don’t let the punk say he threw it out.

  “I gave it to Dr. Fredericks.”

  “Who’s Dr. Fredericks?”

  “Oh, he heads the Computer Science department here. He collects old computers and other electronic equipment to use for parts.”

  A wave of dizziness swept over Ross, making him feel week, and he wondered idly if this was what it felt like right before one fainted. He closed his eyes and gripped the edge of the table until the lightheadedness passed. “Parts? You mean he disassembled the Big Dog?”

  “The what?”

  “My computer,” Ross said a bit too loudly, causing the pool players to glance his way.

  “Probably not,” Chuck said, looking at Ross with a new wariness in his eyes, like maybe he was a dog that had seemed friendly enough at first but was starting to growl and bare its teeth. “I mean, he hasn’t really had it all that long. There’s a good chance it’s still in one piece.”

  Ross didn’t speak until he was sure he’d put the lid on his emotions and was not in danger of having them boil over again. “Why didn’t you tell me this on the phone last night?”

  “Well, I kind of thought I’d be able to get it back for you before we met. I stopped by Dr. Frederick’s office this morning before Intro to Psych, but he wasn’t around. The schedule on his door says he has office hours this afternoon starting at 2. I’ll be in Bio lab by then, but I can try him again when I get out.”

  “No, just tell me where to find him and I’ll handle it.”

  “Well, his office is on the second floor of Hamrick. That’s the big brick building across from Ebert dorm with the sundial out front.”

  * * *

  Ross arrived at Hamrick Hall around fifteen ‘til two. He staked out a spot just across from Dr. Fredericks’ office and leaned against the wall, waiting. Ten minutes later a short stocky man with red hair and matching beard approached the door, pulling out a key.

  “Excuse me, Dr. Fredericks,” Ross said, stepping up next to the professor.

  “Yes?”

  “I really need to talk to you, if you can spare a few moments of your time.”

  The professor stared at Ross, his eyes slightly squinted. “I’m sorry, are you one of my students?”

  “No, sir. I don’t attend this school. Or any school, for that matter. This is in regards to an old laptop that Chuck Westmorland gave you.”

  “Ah, the Texas Instruments. Come on in.”

  The office was a tiny cube, meticulously tidy. Not a book or paper out of place, and if Ross were to run a white-gloved finger over the desktop he was sure it would accrue not a speck of dust. Dr. Fredericks took a seat behind the desk, but Ross remained standing, the strap of the Dell carrying case slung across his shoulder.

  “You must be Mr. Berkley,” Dr. Fredericks said.

  Ross couldn’t have been more stunned had the professor pulled a water balloon out of a desk drawer and threw it in Ross’s face. “How did you know?”

  “I ran into Mr. Westmorland out on the quad just after lunch and he filled me in on the highlights. Said I should expect a rather…er, intense young man to stop by about the computer.”

  “Sir, I just really need my laptop back. I can’t even begin to tell you how important this is to me. Please tell me you haven’t taken it apart.”

  “Not at all. In fact, I keep forgetting to take it home with me. Still have it right here.”

  When the professor reached under his desk and came up with the old worn carrying case for the Extensa, Ross couldn’t stifle a gasp. He had the irrational urge to just snatch the thing from Dr. Fredericks’ hands and take off running. The temptation to do just that was stronger than he would have imagined.

  “Sir, I would love to buy my computer back from you,” Ross said, his voice thin and breathless. He took the Dell and placed it on one of the chairs on his side of the desk. “In fact, I have a brand new Dell laptop here, barely used, that I’m willing to trade for it.”

  Dr. Fredericks’ eyes widened at that one, and a disbelieving chuckle sputtered from his lips. “No need for all that, young man. If you want the laptop back, you’re more than welcome to it.”

  Now it was Ross’s eyes that widened. “Seriously?”

  “Of course. The machine is obsolete, practically worthless. If it means that much to you, by all means take it. Please, I insist.”

  Ross reached out hesitantly for the carrying case, as if afraid this was all a cruel joke and at the last minute the professor would snatch it away again. He ripped open the Velcro flap of the case and pulled out the Big Dog, just to assure himself that it was really there. The first thing he noticed was the slightly discolored square on the top corner.

  “What happened to the sticker?” he asked, running his fingers over the sticky residue where it had been.

  “There was no sticker there when I received it. I suppose Chuck must have peeled it off at some point. Does it matter?”

  “No, of course not,” Ross said, and that was the truth. The only thing that mattered was that he had his laptop back, and he would finally be able to write again. He placed the computer back in the carrying case and started from the office.

  “Mr. Berkley, wait. You’re forgetting your Dell.”

  “Keep it,” Ross said then hurried out the door without awaiting a response.

  * * *

  Ross sat at his desk staring at the Big Dog, his body trembling slightly with anticipation. He was like a man about to make love for the first time.

  Well, not exactly. More like a man who had been separated from his first love for years and was finally reunited.

  Running his finger along the mouse pad, he clicked on Microsoft Word an
d opened a blank document. All that white space and the blinking cursor spoke of promise and potential, and he felt a fluttering in his stomach as a world of possibilities blossomed in his mind.

  Taking a deep, cleansing breath, Ross began to type.

  * * *

  When Ross opened the door, he found Julie standing outside the apartment. A déjà vu moment.

  “This is becoming quite a habit, isn’t it?” she said, barging in without waiting for an invite. “You just drop off the face of the earth, don’t answer your calls, then force me to show up over here to see what’s wrong.”

  “I’m not really in the mood for this right now, Julie.”

  “Well, I don’t really care what you’re in the mood for. I’m your friend, best friend in point of fact, and you can’t just—” Here Julie paused, staring across the apartment at Ross’s desk. “Is that…what I think it is?”

  “It’s the Big Dog,” Ross said, his voice flat and without inflection, sitting down on the edge of his bed. “I got it back.”

  “How?”

  “It’s a long story and I don’t feel like getting into it.”

  “Where’s the Dell?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  Frowning, Julie took a seat next to him and put a hand on his knee. “What’s going on?”

  “You just have no idea what I went through to get the Big Dog back, and it doesn’t even work.”

  “What? It’s busted?”

  “No. I mean, it works in the sense that it comes on and all the programs function, but something’s wrong with it, something’s missing.”

  “Ross, honey, you’re not making any sense.”

  “The magic’s gone. I can’t write on it anymore. I’ve been at it for hours, with no more luck than I did with the Dell. Whatever special quality the Big Dog had, it’s not there now. It’s like it died or something.”

  Julie looked at him in a way he’d never seen before, in a way that suggested she was looking at a stranger, and a dangerous one at that. Normally such a look from his friend would have been cause for concern, but he couldn’t really make himself care. “Ross, when’s the last time you got some sleep?”