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Moon
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2020
Luka glanced at his watch. The digital display blinked 23:07.
“Late,” he sighed. He’d spent too much time at the store quietly debating the differences between red quinoa and white quinoa. How did the flavors compare? Was one easier to prepare than the other? Which one went better with his discount tilapia? And why couldn’t he just have asked an employee instead of standing there for half an hour?! Actually, no, he would have rather died than be forced to interact with someone.
The cat shivered against the cold night air lashing his face. Pros of taking his bike: he could buy more things and not worry about the bags busting on the way home. Cons of taking his bike: his cheeks and nose were cherry red and he looked like a sad clown. Next time, he would bring a scarf. Next time, he wouldn’t be at the grocery store til nearly midnight. Thankfully the store was only a few kilometers away and he was nearly home. He just had to go down this alley behind the shop, and-
His bike ticked to a halt. Luka stared down the alleyway. He heard an awful lot of scurrying and scratching. Was it a raccoon stuck in the dumpster? No, too big to be a raccoon. Dog maybe? No, bigger. He listened carefully while his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit culdesac.
Luka froze.
...Bear?
He couldn’t outrun a whole bear. He couldn’t exactly sneak around it either, much less with his bags full of groceries and a bike to carry upstairs. Luka swallowed hard. What was he supposed to do in a time like this? Was this his divine punishment for telling the employee he didn’t need help? Four times? Luka groaned to himself, realizing his fate. If he was to be eaten by a bear, he still wouldn’t ask for help.
He blinked. The void had shapes now. He could see bags of trash open and spilled all on the ground. And he could see the dumpster… lid latched. Whatever that crawled inside had accidentally trapped itself. Luka weighed his options. He could go safely past the trapped creature and let the garbage man deal with it in the morning. Or, he could set the thing free and be mauled to death in thanks.
He propped his bike against the wall.
“Hello in there,” Luka called quietly. “I’m letting you out, okay?” As he popped the latch, he briefly wondered if he should have sent a text to his friends to let them know he’d be dying and therefore unable to hang out this weekend. Or ever.
“Late,” he sighed. He’d spent too much time at the store quietly debating the differences between red quinoa and white quinoa. How did the flavors compare? Was one easier to prepare than the other? Which one went better with his discount tilapia? And why couldn’t he just have asked an employee instead of standing there for half an hour?! Actually, no, he would have rather died than be forced to interact with someone.
The cat shivered against the cold night air lashing his face. Pros of taking his bike: he could buy more things and not worry about the bags busting on the way home. Cons of taking his bike: his cheeks and nose were cherry red and he looked like a sad clown. Next time, he would bring a scarf. Next time, he wouldn’t be at the grocery store til nearly midnight. Thankfully the store was only a few kilometers away and he was nearly home. He just had to go down this alley behind the shop, and-
His bike ticked to a halt. Luka stared down the alleyway. He heard an awful lot of scurrying and scratching. Was it a raccoon stuck in the dumpster? No, too big to be a raccoon. Dog maybe? No, bigger. He listened carefully while his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit culdesac.
Luka froze.
...Bear?
He couldn’t outrun a whole bear. He couldn’t exactly sneak around it either, much less with his bags full of groceries and a bike to carry upstairs. Luka swallowed hard. What was he supposed to do in a time like this? Was this his divine punishment for telling the employee he didn’t need help? Four times? Luka groaned to himself, realizing his fate. If he was to be eaten by a bear, he still wouldn’t ask for help.
He blinked. The void had shapes now. He could see bags of trash open and spilled all on the ground. And he could see the dumpster… lid latched. Whatever that crawled inside had accidentally trapped itself. Luka weighed his options. He could go safely past the trapped creature and let the garbage man deal with it in the morning. Or, he could set the thing free and be mauled to death in thanks.
He propped his bike against the wall.
“Hello in there,” Luka called quietly. “I’m letting you out, okay?” As he popped the latch, he briefly wondered if he should have sent a text to his friends to let them know he’d be dying and therefore unable to hang out this weekend. Or ever.