Dream

“BUUUNK! BUUUNK! BUUUNK! BUUUNK!”

“…sigh…Shut up, already. Yaaaawn! Man, what a night.”

It was 9:15 A.M. when I had awakened. The alarm was set for 8:30 but obviously I slept right on through it. It was beyond long and stressful last night, hence the reason I’m just now gettin’ up. Glancin’ through the window, it was really nice outside; clouds fillin’ the sky just enough to shade the ground from the heat of the sun. Those little rays of light beamin’ into my room and the aroma of freshly cut spring grass sifted through the crack of the window.

Jumpin’ outta bed, I waltz my way over by the window. Pushin’ it up a little further, immediately a light gust of wind caresses my face. The breeze blew gently through the portal of my room and it was as lovely as ev’rything else.

“You know what, Apollo? Today’s gonna be a really good day. It HAS to be!” I said to myself.

Today was my day off and I was simply lookin’ forward to just relaxin’ and havin’ a little fun. I’d been waitin’ for today to come for awhile and I know it’s gonna be special. No worries, no cares, frustrations or distractions. Just me and whatever I decide to get myself into.

Starin’ out the window, I began to ponder: ‘just what WAS I gonna get into?’ Briefly, I stared off into space then another brush of the wind blew across my face. I guess that was my queue to move along and get this party started. I didn’t wanna waste any time; I really wanna enjoy the entire day doin’ whatever. It’s my day away from work and school, so I’m gonna make the best of it.

Movin’ on, I began preparin’ for my shower. I first jumped outta my boxers and socks, ran the water and immediately hopped in. I didn’t even give the water time to heat up. It felt good havin’ this cool water runnin’ atop of my head and down my body. It seemed to ease my mind at the moment and I didn’t feel stressed.

Hastily, I showered but I did maintain a degree of thoroughness. I DO have a long way to go and lots to do. Who knows who I might run into?

When I was done, I made my way outta the shower and began dryin’ myself off. After that, I shaved, trimmin’ around my mustache and beard, put on my deodorant, brushed my teeth, and brushed my hair. With all my groomin’ complete, I had one loomin’ task left to complete:

“What the hell am I gonna WEAR!?” I yelled to myself.

I rushed back into my room, grabbed a pair of boxers from my drawer and slipped them on.

In my closet, I fiddled endlessly to find the answer to my puzzlin’ question. For a second, I just stood there, lookin’ back and forth, up and down my rack of clothes. I wasn’t at all satisfied with anything I had. Nothin’ caught my eye! I wanted to be flashy and cool but at the same time wanted to be simple and comfortable.

Makin’ a decision, I finally reached for my pair of white and black jeans. One part of the puzzle had been solved but I was still unsure of what shirt to offset and match them. I’m not feelin’ any sleeves either so I guess rock my good ol’ blue muscle shirt. And for kicks, I’ll just rock my blue and black Links. These, I’ll definitely be comfortable in. Okay...problem solved. I slipped into my pants and sneakers first then put on my shirt. Once I was dressed, I sprayed on my Roy Ellis cologne. Ladies seem to love this majority of the time so Imma stick with it. Before headin’ out the door, I took one final look in the mirror and brushed myself off:

“HaHAAA!!! Alright! I’m ready now! Time to get this show on the road!” I said to myself.

I was now finished, set and ready to go. By that time, it was 10:02. I grabbed my truck keys, my phone and my CDs, headed out to the garage and got in my truck. I don’t like ridin’ without a good tune, so before I moved, the right tunes had to be chosen. I was in a mellow jam kind of mood, so I put in a mixed tape from one of my favorite artists, Kinzo.

“Time to RIDE!”

Backin’ outta the garage and outta the driveway, I was gone! I can’t wait to see what happens. All I knew was that it was gonna be a good day.

Chapter 1

“Man, last night was off the chain. I’ve never seen people act the fool like that in town before. The one night I decide to go out and kick start MY weekend and I run into THAT bull! I kinda feel like I shoulda stayed out of it but things coulda been a lot worse if I had.” I thought to myself.

Ridin’ along, all I could do was rehearse last night in my head. It was a tough crowd at Vanilla Lounge and those two idiots were drunk beyond reason. Pullin’ out guns and stuff; threatenin’ ev’ryone’s lives! On top of that, SHE was there. Ultimately, she was the reason for me gettin’ involved. I wasn’t about to let anything happen to her because of their mess; some kind of urge overtook me and I stepped in. I had to shut it down however I could. She doesn’t even know: I did it all for her. Come to think of it, I WOULDN’T have gotten in it if it weren’t for her! My reasons could be flawed or it could very well lead to somethin’ else. Who, other than God, knows?

After about a forty-minute drive, I finally made it into the city: Millennium City. I figured I’d go to the mall first. It was about the best and only thing I could think of to do at the moment. Besides, it was still early and chances are, it’s not gonna be crowded. I found the closest parkin’ space I could, so I attempted to grab it.

“BEEP! BEEEEP!”

“What the f...!? How you gonna try to jack me for my space like that, man!? I know you see me already turnin’ in here. Get the hell outta my way!” I yelled. Some idiot was tryin’ to get the exact same parkin’ space I was!

“Are you gonna move or what!?”

“BEEP! BEEEEEEEP!!!”

“MOVE!!! I was already here!” I yelled out of the window that time.

They finally backed out of the way and continued on in the direction that they were originally headed. The guy drove by, lookin’ at me and had the nerve to throw up his middle finger. A part of me wanted to back my truck into his precious little roadster but I just sat there and stared. I wasn’t even about to get riled up over it nor sweat it. Any other time, I would have done just that and had taken out my sword, slashed his tires and sliced holes in his ride but that’s not me today...I’m tryin’ to be cool and be free. So I won’t make time for trivial B.S. like that right now. This is MY day and ev’rything’s workin’ for me and is for me, even if I have to literally take a stroll through hell to get it. One thing’s for sure: nothin’s gonna get in my way. So I rightfully parked in MY space and walked on to the mall.

Openin’ and walkin’ through the doors, I could feel a combination of the breeze and the air conditionin’ from inside rush right over me.

“Oh my GOD that feels good! Whew!” I said to myself.

I coulda stood right there all day and not really done anything else. That’s how good that air felt but accordin’ to plan, I’m lookin’ to get into somethin’. Damn all that!

For a short time, I just walked around the mall. I’d take a glance or two lookin’ into the store windows; just browsin’. I saw several things that I wouldn’t have minded havin’ such as that new Ozynio CX 4 tab phone that just dropped, a couple of dope shirts and matchin’ caps AND a pair of red, black and white Links. But instead of splurgin’, I kept my eyes in my sockets, hands and money in my pockets and kept it movin’.

Walkin’ on, I saw a rather delicious lookin’ woman standin’ at about five foot three, switchin’ ahead. She had some long, silky, shiny black hair with blonde streaks and an extremely beautiful figure, wearin’ a sexy blue skirt, tan wife-beater, and a white shawl trimmed in blue. She had these tan sandals on with them freshly French tipped toes out!

“Wooooooooooo! I know damn well that ain’t who I think it is!” I said to myself.

Her figure kinda reminds me of shorty from last night. Kinda hard to tell though…lady’s hair from last night was up in a bun, so I don’t know. Oh, I started beatin’ feet then! Curiosity took over and we both were now eager to see this woman’s face. She stopped momentarily to take a look into a store from the outside, but never walked in. She then walked away and went and sat on a bench in the middle of the mall. Wow! It IS shorty from last night! The lady I have admired for quite some time now...Vibe Jameson.

“What the heck are the odds of me runnin’ into her today!? Right after all that happened last night!” I said to myself.

As I drew closer to where she was, she looked up and our eyes met instantly...

“Hey you!” Vibe says with a smile.

“Hey! What’s up? How are you?”

“I’m fine. How about yourself?”

“Good! Good…just chillin’…tryin’ to enjoy my day off.” I replied nervously.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing. I wanted to find a few new outfits, but I don’t see anything that I really want. Nothing seems to really grab my attention. I’m thinking of going to Salem City. I don’t know why I didn’t head straight that way anyway. That’s usually where I do all of my shopping; I just didn’t feel like driving all that way today.”

“Hmph...I can understand that.” I was lost for words. I didn’t really know what to say to that other than to agree.

“I don’t know what to do. I’m really bored and still somewhat tired from last night.”

“I can imagine. It was rough last night. You should be home restin’.”

“The same can be said for you too, after all you did, sir! How come YOU’RE not home resting, strong man? Out there man handling everybody.” Vibe replied jokin’ly.

“Haaaa!” She got jokes. I just chuckled and put my head down.

“Yeah...Uh huh! So don’t even try it! YOU ought to be tired and sore yourself from throwing people all over the place! Talking about ‘YoU sHoUlD bE hOme ReStiNg.’ Really?” she mocked.

I just stood there shakin’ my head, almost embarrassed.

“I don’t know...I guess I didn’t really want to stay in ‘resting’. I wouldn’t have gotten any rest no way. I would have just busied my hands doing something that I really didn’t want to. I wanted to be out, so I’m out. I just don’t know what to do.” Vibe added.

“Well, since you’re out, make the best of it. Like me!” I replied.

I didn’t know what to say to her, so I just stood there and looked at her. I tried not to stare, so I’d casually look away at the people that passed by or act like I had taken interest in somethin’ in a store. Some people were just walkin’ around the mall. Others were sittin’ and chattin’ on the benches and some were doin’ window shoppin’ as well. I turned and looked back at her again. Suddenly, she looked up at me and asked:

“Apollo, what’s on your agenda for today?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll probably just walk around here for a bit; browse a few stores to see if there’s anything I want. I may even just ride around. There’s a lot I wanna do but don’t really know where to start. I’m kinda pacin’ myself.”

“A lot like what?” she asked.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind goin’ bowlin’ or to shoot some pool. Maybe even catch a flick or go to the beach.”

“Mmm! That DOES sound like a good idea! I hadn’t thought about any of that. I was only thinking of expanding my wardrobe. Well, you want to have lunch with me? You wouldn’t mind eating with me, would you? Then we can go do something together.”

“Uuuh...Yeah! Sure! I’d be glad to. What time do you plan on eatin’, though? It’s not quite lunch time yet but it IS close.” I replied.

“Oh! It feels later than that. I thought it was passed time for lunch. Well, I’m kinda hungry right now. I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.”

“Why is that!?”

“I don’t know! I guess I was so busy yesterday, that I really didn’t think about it and when I went to the lounge, I didn’t see anything that I wanted, then all THAT happened so I went home. When I got there, I was so tired and relaxed, I just stretched out on my couch, gave in and went to sleep. I didn’t even take my clothes off. I turned on the TV, intending to watch it for a minute or two, but it ended up watching me! I guess too much happened for me to worry about it.”

“Hmph...”

I could definitely understand where she was comin’ from. Again, I just shook my head. By then, she looked back at me with that sweet, allurin', innocent smile.

“So! What do we do until lunchtime, Apollo? Clearly, we have a situation on our hands.”

“Well, YOU need to get some food in your system so I guess we can go ahead and eat now. It’s only a few minutes before lunch time. I’m sure someone is servin’ lunch already.”

“Nah, I can wait!”

As soon as she said somethin’ about waitin’, Vibe’s stomach bumbled loud enough for people in the next town to hear.

“Heh heh heh! You sure you can wait!? Doesn’t sound like it!”

“You know what? I think Imma do like you said and go ahead and eat now. My stomach can’t take much more of this. The cry of my stomach is getting louder and louder.”

“Yeah, I heard! Come on and let’s get your belly fed.”

We then began to walk towards the food court.