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new short fiction
one.
- they have me traveling a lot, which is great, because i love to travel. i mean, who doesn't love to travel am i right?
his hair was slicked back, like they all did, cool, sleek, his cerulean eyes affecting sincerity. he leaned over the table to sip from his margarita through a straw.
she leaned over the same to sip after he sipped and they looked at each other and around the room.
- do you like new york? he asked.
- oh, i love it.
- ya, me too, so, ya know, i miss it cause i'm on the road so much.
he sipped, she sipped. her hair was long and brown and straight and enticing and they both wore smart, slim suits.
- you've been here a while now right? he asked.
- 2 months.
- 2 months?
- ya.
- really?
- ya, i love it, but sometimes i miss home.
- where's home? canada?
- ya, southern ontario.
- oh, nice, i was in toronto last, no, two months ago.
- very cool.
- just missed you.
- haha ya.
- ya, it's nice up there.
- ya.
- a little cold.
she smiled, sipped.
- ya. she replied.
he sipped and looked around the empty restaurant. perhaps he started to sweat.
- excuse me, i gotta use the little boys room.
he got up, she watched and ate a chip and looked about. a waiter passed, refilling their waters. she wondered the purpose of the lunch, she thought he looked nervous, not the confident, collected man who'd hired her.
as he sat back down, she couldn't help but notice a rim of dark blue specks around his nostrils.
she leaned over the same to sip after he sipped and they looked at each other and around the room.
- do you like new york? he asked.
- oh, i love it.
- ya, me too, so, ya know, i miss it cause i'm on the road so much.
he sipped, she sipped. her hair was long and brown and straight and enticing and they both wore smart, slim suits.
- you've been here a while now right? he asked.
- 2 months.
- 2 months?
- ya.
- really?
- ya, i love it, but sometimes i miss home.
- where's home? canada?
- ya, southern ontario.
- oh, nice, i was in toronto last, no, two months ago.
- very cool.
- just missed you.
- haha ya.
- ya, it's nice up there.
- ya.
- a little cold.
she smiled, sipped.
- ya. she replied.
he sipped and looked around the empty restaurant. perhaps he started to sweat.
- excuse me, i gotta use the little boys room.
he got up, she watched and ate a chip and looked about. a waiter passed, refilling their waters. she wondered the purpose of the lunch, she thought he looked nervous, not the confident, collected man who'd hired her.
as he sat back down, she couldn't help but notice a rim of dark blue specks around his nostrils.
- so, you know, bre just wanted me to have a sit down with a the, em, new recruits, talk about the future for you, for us, at makerbot.
he paused and inhaled deeply through his nose:
- filament. is the future. things. are now digitized. and everyone can use it.
she sipped.
- isn't it incredible? he asked.
she nodded, thinking that he must usually do this for larger groups.
- at makerbot, we are doing something completely new. bre says it's the next industrial revolution, and i can't underscore that enough.
- me too. she interjected.
- right?
- so far, i've found a real sense of community at makerbot.
- i'm really glad to hear that. community is something we value very deeply at makerbot.
- ya.
- i mean, we created an online communityyy of makers and designers where one can download plans to print just about anything.
he leaned back on the cushion in their booth, stretched out both his arms and winked:
- where do you see yourself in five years?
- um, well i hope still with makerbot.
he laughs:
- i guess what i meant was, where don't you see yourself?
at first, she wasn't sure what answer he wanted. as she realized, he was already speaking:
- toy stores, ikea, walmart. the only thing you'll need is a whole foods, but we're working on that, too.
- haha, sure.
- this is the new america. everything printed, from home. people printing for free instead of buying shit.
she winks:
- except for filament.
- our PLA filament is a nontoxic renewable bioplastic made from corn. when it's, ya know, printing, it makes a smell like popping corn.
- mmm. she purred through her lips.
- emphasize the smell in client meetings, the second generation product had a really bad like plasticy odor.
- ha, ya, i remember.
he paused and inhaled deeply through his nose:
- filament. is the future. things. are now digitized. and everyone can use it.
she sipped.
- isn't it incredible? he asked.
she nodded, thinking that he must usually do this for larger groups.
- at makerbot, we are doing something completely new. bre says it's the next industrial revolution, and i can't underscore that enough.
- me too. she interjected.
- right?
- so far, i've found a real sense of community at makerbot.
- i'm really glad to hear that. community is something we value very deeply at makerbot.
- ya.
- i mean, we created an online communityyy of makers and designers where one can download plans to print just about anything.
he leaned back on the cushion in their booth, stretched out both his arms and winked:
- where do you see yourself in five years?
- um, well i hope still with makerbot.
he laughs:
- i guess what i meant was, where don't you see yourself?
at first, she wasn't sure what answer he wanted. as she realized, he was already speaking:
- toy stores, ikea, walmart. the only thing you'll need is a whole foods, but we're working on that, too.
- haha, sure.
- this is the new america. everything printed, from home. people printing for free instead of buying shit.
she winks:
- except for filament.
- our PLA filament is a nontoxic renewable bioplastic made from corn. when it's, ya know, printing, it makes a smell like popping corn.
- mmm. she purred through her lips.
- emphasize the smell in client meetings, the second generation product had a really bad like plasticy odor.
- ha, ya, i remember.
- you had one?
- uhuh. and the first one.
- well, a fan? i had six. of the first gen. a dozen more of the second.
- a hobby?
- side business, more of a side passion. i print spare parts. huge markup on eBay.
he wasn't sure if she was impressed.
- what are you printing right now? he asked.
- uhhh
- you should have like a quick go-to for the what-are-you-printing-now question, even if you're not, but, come on, why wouldn't you be?
- what are you printing?
he smiled, showing his teeth because his mother had liked it as a child.
- i'll tell you later.
he leaned in, still smiling:
- can you name all the colors?
at this point she decided she had better at least try to like his game, maybe she licked her lips before she started:
- true red, neon pink, true brown, true orange, neon orange, true yellow, neon green, true green, true purple, true white, warm grey, cold grey, true black.
she sipped through a smile.
-you forgot one.
she cocked her head and squinted at him (her thinking face) then grinned as the thought formed:
- true blue.
- true blue. my favorite.
- why's that? she asked, coyly.
he felt a tingling sensation at the base of his neck that ran up his head and down his spine and he tried to contain a shiver.
- you should have like a quick go-to for the what-are-you-printing-now question, even if you're not, but, come on, why wouldn't you be?
- what are you printing?
he smiled, showing his teeth because his mother had liked it as a child.
- i'll tell you later.
he leaned in, still smiling:
- can you name all the colors?
at this point she decided she had better at least try to like his game, maybe she licked her lips before she started:
- true red, neon pink, true brown, true orange, neon orange, true yellow, neon green, true green, true purple, true white, warm grey, cold grey, true black.
she sipped through a smile.
-you forgot one.
she cocked her head and squinted at him (her thinking face) then grinned as the thought formed:
- true blue.
- true blue. my favorite.
- why's that? she asked, coyly.
he felt a tingling sensation at the base of his neck that ran up his head and down his spine and he tried to contain a shiver.
- it grinds up the finest.
she laughed, probably the first real reaction she had displayed all day:
- well aren't you something else.
- you're... familiar with
- blowing blue?
- you're... familiar with
- blowing blue?
he grimaced at the sound of the phrase, the media hype, the connotations associated. the spiral that he. just. can't. get. to. slow. down.
he felt his pores on his forehead fatten with sweat. his face cheshirized:
- yes, well, you know, we all can't be expertssss.
he could hardly control his words:
- there is nothing i can't print. nothing goddamnit. i am the pinnacle. i am the alpha azzzure atonement. the new order is here. everything i am saying is fucking true.
he had begun to feel a warm wet in his nasal cavity, he wondered if she noticed.
had he been speaking?
- nick, your nose is bleeding. here, lemmie
- no, no, i'm fine.
he excused himself again, saying that this happened sometimes, that this was due in large part to his acute allergies as a child and by the time he came back to the table, she thought his face had a renewed hue. he picked his jacket from off the rack (evidently, he was ready to leave), picked up his briefcase, and, as she stood, he whispered through a sneer:
- i'm printing bullets.
he felt his pores on his forehead fatten with sweat. his face cheshirized:
- yes, well, you know, we all can't be expertssss.
he could hardly control his words:
- there is nothing i can't print. nothing goddamnit. i am the pinnacle. i am the alpha azzzure atonement. the new order is here. everything i am saying is fucking true.
he had begun to feel a warm wet in his nasal cavity, he wondered if she noticed.
had he been speaking?
- nick, your nose is bleeding. here, lemmie
- no, no, i'm fine.
he excused himself again, saying that this happened sometimes, that this was due in large part to his acute allergies as a child and by the time he came back to the table, she thought his face had a renewed hue. he picked his jacket from off the rack (evidently, he was ready to leave), picked up his briefcase, and, as she stood, he whispered through a sneer:
- i'm printing bullets.
tbc...
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