70 Telephone (2/2)
”I hear ya. I totally get your point, man. That's why I take a few breaks every now and then. Just walk around and escape from all these bullshit.” I replied, thinking about what sort of gay shit this dude is trying to point out after this. I can already guess that he's just easing his way up, so he could modestly invite me for lunch or some shit like that. Not that I mind, as long as it's not for one of those pyramid scheme shit.
”So yeah, my point is that I've been drowning in my work, and then there are these social media things, and you know, I feel just... God... So exhausted. I feel so, so fucking tired, you know? It's all that time. I don't even know what's date already.” I tried to reply by uttering a few grunts of agreement amid his rapid-fire rant until he finally couldn't take it anymore.
”Look, man! I'm available this Sunday, but this Sunday only. If you wanna meet, that's cool. If you wanna talk, even better! We can catch up all we want, that's all good. No need to beat around the bush, eh?”
”Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Sorry, sorry, old habits, you know?” He then chuckled the same way he did in my memory.
”You haven't changed, Mike.” I chuckled while scratching the back of my head, thinking about whether I did the right thing or not. ”So, what now? We can meet, but I'd refuse if you're in a different state right now!”
”Oh, don't worry, I'm in LA too.” He replied nonchalantly like that of a lost child.
”Oh?” I replied with my eyebrow raised. ”How'd you know I'm in LA?”
”I...” He said, stuttering once more with that hint of fear that I could audibly feel as his breathing shook. ”I just...”
”Chill, man!” I chuckled again to ease the rising tension once more. ”Don't have to be so nervous, I'm just messing with ya, you know me!”
”Oh!” He then laughed as I felt his fear gradually disappearing. I could even feel his nervousness leaving his mind by the way his laughter slowly softened. ”Then, maybe we can meet at the 7-11 downtown near that abandoned mall.”
”Say whaaat?” I uttered in a ridiculous, high-pitched tone. As I said those words, even I am unaware as to why exactly I did it, but I continued with that same voice anyway even after knowing how cringe it was. ”Abandoned mall downtown? I didn't know there's something like that.”
”Oh yeah, it's really big too; it's not really THAT abandoned, you know what I'm saying? There are still some open stores here and there. People just call it that because nobody goes there anymore.”
”So where exactly is this spooky abandoned mall anyway?” I said, again, in a cringey sounding silly voice as if I am talking to a child.
Fortunately, Mike didn't really mind how condescending I sounded like. ”Just book some Uber. I'll pay for your ride. The place is quite wonky, and it really hard to go there. That's why not a lot of people visit the mall anymore, but that also means extra privacy, which works a lot for me.”
I do like privacy. I remembered that that was how I met Mike. I saw him eating alone in an open bathroom stall, and we just kinda clicked right away cuz I found his weirdness as something hilarious. I see that he hasn't changed; that's good to hear, at least. Lots of shit are changing in society these days; it's good to see that there's still something that I can recognize.
”Aight, that's cool,” I said while clasping the phone in between my head and my shoulder. I then took my phone in the mattress to set that date in my calendar; I don't want to forget such a rare appointment with a friend after all. ”So, what's the name of this mall again?” I mumbled after pushing the power button at the side of my phone. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.
When I looked at my phone screen, what greeted me was a white screen that says: 'Congratulations! Your membership is complete!' It was written in a small, black Times New Roman font on the right side of the screen. I clicked my tongue and pressed the home button as I heard Mike's voice on the other side of the phone once more.
”Oh.” He exclaimed. ”It's called Plural Heights.”