Sax
The laptop battery finally gave out in my last post. I almost burst into tears right there and then. It feels horribly foolish, being so attached to this thing I’m doing here, this chunk of moulded metal and plastic, this journal of my strangely spiralling life. We seem to cling to the strangest things when things fall apart. Little trinkets, big trinkets. This is mine, I guess.
It was Sax who fixed it for me. The big, quiet fella who likes to carry a dented saxaphone around, as if it carries the memory of all the songs it has played. I remember the soft wail of it in the mall, and the picture he made in his faded suit. He seems more solid these days, but it’s hard to know if that’s just because he’s not a part of the scenery to me any more.
Turns out, he’s a dab hand with electronics. He got Dillon to fetch him some parts, and he rigged up a power-converter-type thing to hook up to a car battery. There are lots around, all of them useless since the ignitions fried. It feels naughty, sneaking in under a bonnet and sucking out the juice, but it’s not like anyone else is here to use it. I’m still not used to all the stealing.
It was Thorpe who asked how this beautiful piece of machinery is still working when everything else has fried. I had wondered before, but honestly, I was afraid to ask. As if that might magically make it not so. Like a wound that doesn’t hurt until you look at it and know that it has to be painful.
Trust Thorpe to be a douse of ice down our backs. He’s a miserable piece of work, but at least he puts his shoulder in with the rest of the group. He’s probably the strongest of all of us; he’s certainly the tallest and broadest, though Sax beats him on sheer bulk. If only he wasn’t such a dick.
There was an accusation in the way he looked at me, as if I had somehow conspired to keep this machine safe. As if somehow I was responsible for all of this, as if I had known about it all in advance. I was so shocked that my throat closed up; I just stared at him. It was so ridiculous I had no idea how to respond.
Sax came to my rescue. He’d just got done making Nugget drink something and turned his ponderous attention onto Thorpe.
“The case saved it,” he said, as if that explained everything. We all looked at him like he was talking in tongues.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Trust Thorpe to recover first and inject something disparaging. The thing was, I had no idea what the case had to do with anything either.
“It’s made of metal,” Sax pointed out. Then he said something about creating a cage and that meant that the pulse couldn’t get through it. I didn’t understand that part, but basically the case stopped it from being fried. It’s also dented from some of the recent punishment.
I only bought the case because it was silver and shiny and I liked it. Who knew, huh?
And now it’s back and working, and here I am typing away again. The thin thread of my comfort and sanity has been restored. I’m so relieved that I could dance around.
Tags: Sax, Thorpe
- Category: 03. Aftermath,Uncategorized
