A Normal Friday Night
3 short interconnected pieces of flash fiction
Published in Metal Magazine
Five Minutes Before
“Hey Tom, you ever see that one movie where the guy flies around like Iron Man?”
“Well, I’ve seen Iron Man, does that count?”
“No, it’s this one other thing, the guy’s in space and he’s played by Matt Damon, and…The Martian, that’s it!”
“Okay, so what about it?”
“I just had the craziest idea on how we can fly like Iron Man in that movie!”
“Why couldn’t you have just asked me if I’ve seen Iron Man, then?”
“Whatever. My dad’s got the shit in the garage, I’ll grab it and meet you by the trampoline out back. This is gonna be so fuckin’ lit!”
Two Hours After
“So, what’s the deal with this guy?”
“I dunno, he was probably just fuckin’ around with his friends and shit went bad. Didn’t you do anything like that when you were a kid?”
“Not involving dynamite and a trampoline.”
“Okay, well maybe not exactly like that, but just doing fun, stupid stuff with your friends, where maybe you thought one of you might die?”
“No, actually, I haven’t.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Nope.”
“Shit, you must’ve been a pretty boring kid when you were younger.”
“I was one of the smart kids, actually. Making good decisions and all that.”
“Yeah, and look where it got you: cleaning up the bodies of people more interesting than you. Just like me.”
Three Days After That
“So, did you hear about that one high school kid the other day?”
“Nah, what happened?”
“Apparently, he blew himself up with dynamite or something.”
“Jesus Christ, why? Was it like some sort of suicide bombing?”
“No, I think he was just doing some stupid shit or something. He was probably drunk or high at the time, too.”
“Is that what the cops said?”
“Well no, but you don’t go blowing yourself up unless you’re drunk, high, or a suicide bomber, and I don’t think this guy was a suicide bomber.”
“I guess you’re right. Anyway, did you see the new Spider-Man movie yet?”