Posted On September 20, 2014 By In Miscellaneous, Ramblings

Born on the 5th of July: Part 21

 
 

Record 21: Santa Monica Pier, Monday, July 5th, 2010. Evening.

Tobin and Orlando were at the pier and eating cotton candy, watching panhandlers dance and do bad magic. Tobin, a strapping young man with clean clothes and quite the sane mind, sat outside the arcade under some pretty dang cool neon lights.

Neon lights.

Tobin, whose age was a number, had his eyes locked on the famous Bubba Gump restaurant. Tobin had a wild hankering for some seafood.

“Seafood?”

Orlando’s arms were large and swollen. He wore a tanktop with a logo. He sat next to Tobin under neon lights.

“Yeah well all right.”

Tobin thought about his name. TOBIN. And he got mad at his parents.

“Should we go then?”

Orlando wiped his hands on his tanktop for no other reason than he had hands and tanktops were shirts.

Tobin saw that Orlando was glaring oddly at a MAGICIAN.

“Do you see that MAGICIAN?”
“I don’t believe in magic, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“The MAGICIAN there?”

Orlando pointed.

He pointed at the MAGICIAN.

“Okay. I see your point.”
“Yeah.”

The neon lights got more neon. The sun was setting. Orlando was pretty dang drenched. In neon.

Tobin thought briefly. He didn’t think about much. But he thought pretty dang hard.

Then some child’s mom kicked Orlando in the neck as she left the arcade. She shouted a very unhappy jumble of words at Orlando. The child yelled some very unhappy words at Orlando.

“You’re a nice kid probably! But your mom is mean!”

The MAGICIAN kept doing magic. Tobin, though, was not paying attention. Not like Orlando.

“Don’t talk to my goddamn kid, you guy!”
“Lady, all your words sound like foreign languages!”

The lady, the child’s mom, the one who kicked Orlando, she left. She did some dang feet stomping on her way down the pier.

Tobin worried if his friend was okay.

“That MAGICIAN.”

Tobin looked again at the MAGICIAN and thought: “That will do the trick.”

Onto his feet in a flash, Tobin walked like a cool guy to the MAGICIAN.

“Hey dude like what’s up.”

Tobin was pretty dang cool.

The MAGICIAN said something about cards to some little kids.

The MAGICIAN ignored Tobin.

“Hey dude you know I’m a human too.”

Some fucking kid flipped a playing card around. People clapped. The MAGICIAN bowed. Then the MAGICIAN locked eyes with Tobin.

“Hey dude so my friend is wearing a tanktop and he’s all bummed about some mom-kicks.”
“Say no more.”
“Okay man.”

The MAGICIAN walked across the pathway and stopped right in front of Orlando.

Orlando smiled good. This made Tobin smile good too. Tobin felt like a nice buddy.

The MAGICIAN held out some playing cards.

“Take one.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”

Orlando shot up. Smashed the playing cards out of the MAGICIAN’s hand.

Orlando strode to Tobin.

“Let’s get some seafood.”

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Will is the Co-Founder and CEO of Taken Films. He holds an MFA in Film Production from USC's School of Cinematic Arts. He wrote a book that you haven't read. It's called 'My Blood Feet.'