Chapter 3: Today's Creativity is Tomorrow's Banality

More of Marcia and Ian.

‘Want to hear my news?’

‘Go on, you never have any news.’

‘I’m quitting.’

‘F**k me.’  

 

The street was so hot that it almost took Marcia’s breath away, the swift current of people continued and this time she needed to get out and into a taxi.  ‘Where to?’  The man turned to her with a genial smile wearing a flat cap of brown tweed, sweat poured down his face despite the air conditioning.  He had a thick cockney accent, his ID badge said, ‘Greetings, call me: Omar!’  

   Marcia sinks into the leather, can already feel her legs gluing themselves to the upholstery, it’s going to kill when I get up.  She stares at the little plaque n front of her, giving her a short history of the black cab, and why they have been the same design for seventy-odd years.  There’s a little container of leaflets, a Madame Tussauds special offer.  €200 to attend a Windsor TM garden party, 30% of the profits going to the RSPB.

 

LOGIN:bluebottle

 Everything is so bloody nice these days.  Yet another party, for my sins.  It’s full of those Japs.  Don’t know why they’re so accomodating, the war wasn’t that long ago.  And I’ve got piles again.  Harry hasn’t called in ChristIdon’tknowhowlong.  One’s children, such a joy, such a royal pain in the arse.  I actually heard a woodpecker this morning.  I hope it s***s on their heads, one really becomes like one’s parents, it’s true.  The world is a good place, we humans f**k it up.

 

Surrounded by landscape through light sensitive glass.  Reacting like threatened prey to the sun and darkening.  She sits in an ‘intelligent chair’.  It remembers Marcia’s shape and stays in it, not at all comfortable. 

‘So good to see you Marcie, rare – really.  Want something?’  Markus drops his pronouns and auxiliary verbs in an effort to seem west-coast-I’m-easy.  He’s hairline is receding and his forehead is shiny.

‘Want something?’

‘A green tea maybe?  Latte?  White tea?’  Marcia is compelled to let her head, she is letting them down.  I feel like cancer, God what a terrible analogy.  I’m going to hell, I am a bad person.  Markus’s forehead reflects her face with the red hair framing it.  What if they don’t find a new voice, what could happen?  Will thousands be sacked?  What if I can’t find another job?  What if we have an economic crash? I’ll become a pauper.  She stares at Markus, the tie is from The Disney Store, it looks like he’s had the same pair of glasses since his Dungeons and Dragons days and he’s talking like a bad actor in an American sitcom and Marcia realises a universal truth, a revelation even.  It is impossible to feel pity for a managing director of a multi-national company.

‘Well as you can see it’s all go here.’   

‘Thanks for fitting me in.’ He gives her a look of arrogant deference, it is enough.

 ‘We have time for all our employees.’

‘Look Markus…’

‘So how about that tea?’

‘What-‘

‘C’mon, we don’t often get such an opportunity, let’s make the most of it.’

‘Fine.’ 

‘Cool.’ 

Markus leaves Marcia in the quiet office. 

‘What’s she doing here?’

‘I have no idea.’

‘You have no idea.’

‘Just so.’

‘Markus she never comes here-‘

‘I know.’

‘In fact I don’t think she’s ever been here before-‘

‘Brittany, I am aware of that.’

‘Hey, what’s up?’

‘Hey Ross, Brittany’s freaking because Marcia’s here.’

‘She is?  She never comes here.’

‘That’s what I said.’

‘So?’

‘Oh Markus don’t be such a butthead.’

‘Make nice huh?  Get her on our side.’

‘I think you both better take a pill.’

‘Dude, wise up, smell the coffee.’  Markus is from Swindon, Brittany from Teeside and Ross is from Margate, just outside actually and they talk like this ALL THE TIME.

‘Take her to lunch.’

‘It’s only ten-twenty.’

‘This could be bad.’

‘Ok, whatever.’

 

There is nothing for her to focus her senses on.  She feels neither heat not cold, there is minimal sound save her own breathing, not even a ticking clock.  There is no sound to cling to, traffic can’t reach the cushioned office on the 23^rd floor.  If she were to scream, who would hear her?  There different kinds of silence, this silence is not familiar.

‘Oh screw the tea, let’s go out for lunch.’  Markus’s glistening cranium pops round the door.

‘It’s only half past ten.’

‘Sure, but by the time we get out and into a restaurant - I know a great place.’  Marcia backside was going numb anyway.

And so, they slide down to solid earth and into another cab to cart them from top of the horse-shoe of the Thames to somewhere less sterile and bright, though all of London is at least a little bright these days.  It hurts her eyes sometimes, just living, day to day in clean existence.  She has expensive facial cleansers to battle wear and tear, there is a filter in her tap.  She has not driven a car in over six months.  I don’t remember the last time I saw wasteland.  An open space with no particular function. I know there are plenty of them, but I never seem to find the time…What am I saying, I always have time. 

 

‘So, we’re going to need you to come in next week.’

‘What, why?’ 

 

The restaurant is a branch of Tokyo Baby, children run screaming around the bolted-down plastic tables, everything red and white.  Three individuals in power suits apparently having a meeting in the window, it cannot be determined what sex they are, one of them is hit on the shoulder with a plastic sword by an overgrown five year old, Wolfgang, apologise!  The waiters and waitresses are dressed in utilitarian futurewear, the process of ordering involves touching a virtual, eternal conveyor belt that carts sushi round and round on a little screen fixed into each booth, clearly children love ordering, hate eating, it’s all squashy! It tastes like fish!   And parents hate the bill at the end, but they have offspring who are fussy eaters and they live in the (vain) hope that to stimulate them with colourful and unusual food that is also fun, because a computer is involved, will result in well-adjusted appetites. 

 

‘A new x-ray system we’re collaborating on, it’s gonna be great.’

‘Look,’

‘Try the sea urchin eggs, they take some getting used to.’

‘I’m leaving.’  He should’ve seen the signs.  Oh why didn’t he see the signs?

‘I don’t understand.’

‘It’s been on my mind for sometime, I’ve not been happy.’

‘Why now?’

‘I need something more.’

‘If you’d said before that you were unhappy… we can work at it.’

‘It’s not you, it’s me.’  Awkward silence, stare at the sushi will it to move by the power of thought, it’s barely dead anyway, thank God for chopsticks, careful attention to eating has never looked so natural, so unforced.

‘But why?’

‘Does it matter?  My mind’s made up, this has run its course and I need something more.’

‘Well, it’s not that easy y’know.  There is something called a contract to be honoured.’

This is going to get ugly, she thinks.

‘Can’t we be reasonable about this?’

‘Marcie, don’t do this, not now.  Think about it, at least for a while.’

‘I don’t think there’s really much point.’

 

Reviews

[G Garcia]

This is good writing, and consistent with the prior chapter concerning Marcia. I love the dialogue intro, and the way that it asserts tone. You have a tense issue that's easily cleared up here:

The street was so hot that it almost took Marcia's breath away, the swift current of people continued and this time she needed to get out and into a taxi. 'Where to?' The man turned to her with a genial smile wearing a flat cap of brown tweed, sweat poured down his face despite the air conditioning. He had a thick cockney accent, his ID badge said, 'Greetings, call me: Omar!'

Put all of that in the present tense and all will be well.

One other bit that confused me came here:

"Marcia is compelled to let her head, she is letting them down." - I didn't get that. :)

Aside from those little issues, this is a fine example of your style. I love the witty observations ("... one of them is hit on the shoulder with a plastic sword by an overgrown five year old, Wolfgang, apologise!") and (in the same example) your unconventional style. The dialogue ("Wolfgang, apologise!") integrated into the sentence is a nifty technique that works perfectly.

The Disney Store tie... LOL!

Great work.

[SamBug]

I really liked this one. It sounded good and you had great writing here. I'm guessing I read it before i read all the other chapters. That could've been why I was so confused. lol. There wasn't too much errors. i don't think I saw any. This was really great though. Even though I was confused, it sounded pretty good to me. Good job and keep writing.