Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Chloe

Chloe stood behind Evan as he lifted his brush to continue painting, and placed her right hand on his shoulder. “Do you mind if I watch you paint for a second?” she asked. “No problem,” said Evan, feeling her hand next to his neck. Chloe was a misfit in Brooklyn, or maybe she was just a sign of the changing times. She was a bubbly blond, with tan skin and a curvy body that existed in a world of tall paper thin brunettes with constant frowns and peppered with tattoos. It seemed as if some wicked wizard had magically transported her from a beach in Florida to a cramped L train, commanded her off at the Lorimer stop, and left her to survive by her own devices, which of course she did, with little trouble. Chloe was smart, but didn't mind masking it with her appearance, in fact she used it to her advantage. If anyone assumed that she was dumb because of her tan and blond hair and playful persona, they would soon come to regret it. She didn't just look at things, she cataloged them. They were stored in a permanent record; some metaphysical database, to which only Chloe had access. This is undoubtably what she was doing as she watched Evan paint. He felt his art (and more importantly, the process that became his art) becoming part of that record, and felt incredibly privileged.
Evan loved Chloe. She was the closest thing to a sister that he ever had, and he always wanted to say something about it, but never wanted to risk sounding like a sap. It probably didn't matter, he figured she already knew. He had barely know David without her, and felt as if there was no real way that either of them existed without the other. Chloe removed her hand from Evan's shoulder and stepped back, to observe from a different angle. “I-”, Evan barely got his mouth open before Chloe cut him off. “No, keep going,” she said. Evan nodded his head slightly, and got back to work. The cold sun was burning, the row houses gaining form, the street straight and the perspective perfect. Evan looked at his sketch again and considered the blades of grass. He motioned to Chloe. “Do you like these blades of grass sticking up through the cracked concrete?” he asked her. She answered with a question of her own, “Will they be little dots of bright green?” “Yes, haha, the brightest things in the whole painting.” “That's exactly what I was thinking,” said Chloe, “You owe me a nice dinner when you sell this thing.” At that moment, David returned with the take-out Chinese food.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Evan meets Alex at the party...

“Evan Achilles!” Alex caught his eye's and broke the mental loop he was stuck in with her wispy, high pitched voice. “Alexandra, hey, what's up?” “Nothing y'know... at a party, that's about it.” The two dudes who were talking to her grinned a little, but clearly were annoyed at another male entering the group. Evan shot them an I-don't-know-who-the-fuck-you-are-but-we-comment-on-each-other's-Facebook-status's look, which did little to alter anyone's perception of the situation. “Well, I'm at a party too”, Evan stated the obvious, “So...” Alex interrupted him, “Do you want me to get the door?” Evan realized he was holding an open beer and two six packs, one half full and the other fully full. He had failed his primary mission of placing beers in the fridge. Not a good sign, as life didn't get any simpler than that. “Yeah, that would be great.” Alexandra opened the door and smiled at him, “Mind if I grab one of those?” she asked. “Of course... I mean, of course I don't mind” Evan stuttered. Things seemed to be going terribly, but in handing her a beer, they briefly made eye contact, and Evan felt a million times better.
“Greg”, said one of the dudes, breaking up the split second of silence/eye contact/soul reading in that I'm-acting-like-a-nice-guy-but-I-want-you-the-fuck-out-of-here sort of way that fooled no one. “Evan”, said the other dude. “My name's Evan too”, said our Evan. “Evan-tu is a funny name, sounds Inuit.” joked the new Evan. “Super”, original Evan thought sarcastically, but somehow let slip out loud. “Evan Achilles”, added Alexandra, trying to salvage the situation. “How are your heels feeling?” joked Greg. “I'm sure he's never heard that one before” sarcased Alex. Damn, thought Evan, she's saving the goddamn day. Realizing the risk of getting stuck in the social hell pit of trying to talk to the girl you like whilst surrounded by two d-bags, Evan took bold action, “I'm gonna run some beers over to David and Chloe, do you remember them?” “Oh yeah, of course I do”, Alexandra said, “I'll come with you and say “hi”.” “Nice to meet you guys” faked Evan, giving a salty salute. The pair headed into the living room.
“Chloe, Dave! You remember Alex?” This wasn't the ideal situation, he didn't have her alone, but at least he was in friendly territory. “Hey, how have you been?” asked David. “Good, you know, living life, all that, kicking ass, taking names, forgetting them.” replied Alexandra. Everyone threw back a sip of beer. “I can't believe Tommy's thirty”, remarked Chloe, “I guess we're all getting up there. How old are you Alexandra?” Dammit, thought Evan, I was better off with Greg and other-Evan. Alexandra smiled, “Twenty-four years young, but I consider myself wise beyond my years.” “What do you do for a living?” asked David. Evan wondered if this interrogation was really necessary. “I work in a coffee shop, but I'm a musician also, looking for a band.” answered Alex, “What do you do?” David smiled, eager for a chance to talk about his boring as hell job, “I work in advertising. Actually I work with Tommy. We have fun, but it's hard work too. For example, we're working on the new Jameson campaign, and I like whiskey, but they are trying to appeal to a demographic who-” “He likes to ramble on about his job” interjected Chloe. Thank God for Chloe, thought Evan. Chloe continued, “Anyway, it's so nice to see Evan with a girl.” GODDAMMIT CHLOE, the thought almost broke through Evan's cranium. Alex awkwardly threw back a swig of beer. “Oh, this lady killer? I'm sure he's got ladies left and right”, remarked Alexandra, saving the day once again.