by Travis Lloyd
St.” It was the biggest street in the whole state of Colorado. Johnny nudged Brittany to look at the Bakery that was being passed on her side. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull. The Bakery was called Sal’s and it was built right next to the bank simply called “The Town’s Bank.” Large trinkets of figurines were displayed in the showcase. Behind them were boxes filled with donuts of all sorts. Johnny was about to shift over his attention back to the tour guide when he saw the strangest thing in his life. The owner of the shop was preparing an order for an elderly woman and she had red stockings and a straw hat like the ones in the black and white Katherine Hepburn films. She looked directly down at the boy and circled her index finger around the black boy.
“You’re going to look cute when you’re a little higher to reach me, sonny baby.” The owner frantically packed up all six of the boxes and kicked his servant in his buttocks and he jerked to one side awkwardly. Johnny felt ashamed and worthless because he never liked blacks. They all seemed to have the same appearance and look exactly the same to him if they were all in a straight line in public. Brittany turned towards Johnny and sat her head on his shoulder. “Those niggers will never learn.” Johnny’s heart must’ve skipped a beat or two because he nearly pissed his pants in anxiety.” Johnny shoved the eighty pounds white girl straight back into her seat. “I happen to like niggers, okay?” The tour guide slammed on his happy breaks. “What the hell did you say sir?” Everyone on the bus looked confused and somewhat annoyed with his acts of foolishness. The guide pulled his tie tighter around his neck and adjusted the steering wheel with his back turned to Johnny and the others.
“You don’t ever….ever curse and use foul language on Caveman St!” Johnny remained frozen in his seat still giving Brittany the evil eye as she confessed to basically being a racist bigot who hated black people because they were black. Johnny always thought racists were the dumbest assholes on earth. You hate an item, a human being, or something else because of its color. Johnny began to feel sweat drop immensely onto his chest.
“I’m really sorry sir. I don’t want to get kicked off the tour, please!” The guide turned his head counterclockwise towards his target. “I accept your temporary apology, sir. I don’t want to hear anything else from you except good things about how good blacks are and how they can eventually rule the entire country in ten years, ok?!”
Johnny turned and looked at each of the individuals on the bus. He stood up and walked down the aisle slowly towards the guard.
The guard was showing some nervousness in his eyes. “What are you doing out of your seat young man?” Brittany was now engaged in the conversation that was taking place on the tour place. The guide was hunched over his steering wheel.
“What do you want young man? Why are you angry with the world? You have every resource in the world to do better Jonathon.”
Johnny stared deeper into his face.
“You’re a womanizer John. You’re a piece of shit John when you were found laid out the grass that particular night.”
Johnny immediately turned his attention at Brittany who was squirming out of her to jump out of the window. Her ski tight jeans did not allow her to fully engage in running. Johnny slapped the guide on the face and squeezed through the aisle again practically sprinting and kicked the back shaft open. It was more like an imaginary video game. Brittany was a punk rock/emo chick who enjoyed the darker aspect in life. Johnny chased her black body around the whole town. Eventually Johnny wanted to wince in pain. All of those cowboy killers were hugging his white enriched heart. Nothing could hold him back against the black villain Brittany Stokes.
When she turned the corner around this repair shop; she climbed the ladders to the rooftop where there were leftover hammers, wrenches, and screwdrivers from when the construction workers were preparing the leaks in the roof.
Brittany stumbled nearly scrapping the material off her chuck sneakers. “What do you want from me,” she asked?
Johnny examined the scenic atmosphere around them as if they were in a blue bubble filled with numerous spirit birds that have died in the past from horrible deaths. He could slowly begin to smell freely for the first time. Technically speaking, they were still on Caveman St and it was simply beautiful. Brittany was skeptical at this point. She was only ten feet away from Johnny at this moment. She only assumed that this was a trap to make her pull her guard down so he could attack, but he didn’t move for a couple of minutes. It was just the atmosphere that caught his eye. He almost forgot that he was after someone was standing right in front of him.
“What are you looking at,” she asked?
Johnny squinted his eyes at the sky which was a bright pinkish, reddish color like the sky The Outsiders Movie or white as the sky in the movie, Rumble Fish
Johnny walked around in a circle and Brittany hesitated, but followed after him.
“Where I’m from there’s never any unity or equality, you know,” she asked?
Johnny shrugged his shoulders in a jokingly manner.
“Why do you think that,” he asked? Brittany paced around him and he came to a complete stop on the roof. It appeared as if Johnny was on a swivel and Brittany was sampling rotating around him.
“I’m a white suburban girl who loves the rock music. I’m treated unfair!” Johnny took a small breath and closed his eyes to imagine what Brittany was trying to prove or explain to him. “It’s not fair to her,” he asked himself? He shook his head in disbelief.
“Are you talking to yourself,” Brittany asked? Johnny abruptly turned around and pushed her chest gently and she moved back five steps. She was only ninety-five pounds.
“You’re not the fucking victim Brittany. You’re not a fucking victim!” Brittany’s flashed a twinkle in the center of them as if she was a time machine waiting to lift off from the sandy surface of El Segundo.
Brittany felt ashamed and betrayed by him. “What makes you any special Johnny?”
Johnny sat down on the ground and threw his arms to his sides. “I’m not a victim either, you know? I never wanted to hurt anyone or hurt myself while I down there on the front earth side. This shit here is something that can’t be explained in a book or to a grandson who likes to stuff his fucking face with milk and cookies. Santa Claus is only a fucking myth.”
Brittany began to take off her shirt and she threw it to the side like a parrot. She wanted to lean on his shoulder.
“I...I’m sorry Johnny.” Sequence by sequence, she slowly leaned her head on his shoulder. “You want to ride that roller coaster for the only and final time before we leave?”
Johnny remained dormant on the roof of the Bakery Shop. “I don’t want to ever go through this again though. I don’t deserve to be here Brittany, neither do you?”
“Let’s ride it together,” she yelled! Johnny began to smirk on his face. “This is a one passenger ride that can only ride the finest first and that’s going to be me.”
Brittany laughed in disbelief and lifted her head up from his shoulder.
“When are you going to go Johnny?” He put his right hand on his forehead and began to breathe slowly again. “The sun is still looking pretty up there, isn’t it?” Brittany looked up to find the same patterns and colors up there. “It’s the same up there.”
Johnny stood up and looked down at the streets to try to find the tour guide stroller, but it was nowhere to be found.
“They must be off Caveman St. now. This is an important sign for us!” Brittany attempted to stand up to stand next to him when he turned around quickly with a strange, confident look that only reflected what they were talking about earlier.
“I think it’s time to go now, before I miss the coaster. The typical person would be grateful for this amazing opportunity up here, but I would rather be on the low front side earth of the world, you now?”
Brittany grinned.
Johnny proceeded to search his black bag for the special golden coin. It was rather large. Brittany had to feel more c
omfortable, so she scooted back a couple feet to watch him enter the ride. Johnny pulled out the golden coin, but it looked black to the typical mortal human being. He pulled back the wrapping and pushed the coin onto the side of his forehead.
“Are you ready soldier,” she asked?
“I was born ready honey,” he replied. Brittany made a gesture with her arms. “Ride away soldier and don’t forget your memories boy!”
A single tear ran down his cheek and he pulled that special coin and his body blew up into several pieces all along Caveman St.