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The Cellphone

Crap crap crap! Im late!

Brian frantically opened and closed his drawers in the bedroom looking for his phone. He knew that he had it last night but he couldn't find it. His plan was to get a ride from his girlfriend this morning but that was only if he called her and he didn't have a landline phone at his apartment. He had been spending all morning looking for his phone to do that, but he couldn't find it and knowing that he should have left 15 minutes ago, Brian finally decided to give up the search and walked to the closet next to the front door to grab his suit jacket. Hanging it on his arm, he stepped out of his apartment into the hallway. He started walking at a face pace towards the elevator. He should have been running with how late he was, but being self conscious, Brian hated the thought of one of his neighbors coming into the hallway and seeing him running around for no apparent reason.

Today was Brian's job interview. His first real job interview. He didn't consider the interview at the local pizza restaurant during high school that consisted of them hiring him after only asking if he did drugs to count. No, this was the job interview for his dream job. Working for a Fortune 500 company, 60K starting salary, full benefits, a company car. It all sounded too good to be true and Brian remembered how he did a double take when he saw it in the paper, but the details were all there in print. He remembered how he had laid out his clothes so they would be the first thing he saw when he woke up. He had even taken his shoes away from their usual spot next to the front door and placed them at the bottom of the outfit.

Brian had a lot to be excited for. He had just graduated from Briarcliffe college with a degree in Business, his relationship with his girlfriend was doing great and if he was able to get this job right, it would complete the trifecta of events that would put him on the fast track to easy living for the rest of his life.

Brian stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. His mind was worried that he was late, but he always had a back up plan. "I'll just get a cab." A simple problem always had a simple solution in his mind.

With that, the doors opened again on the ground floor and Brian stepped out to quickly cross the white marble lobby and leave out the front doors of the building.

It was nice moderate June day. A slight breeze was keeping things on the cool side and it slightly hit Brian in the face as he walked out onto the street. Now all he needed was to quickly get a cab and there should be no problems. Luckily for Brian, he spotted one heading down the street at that very moment. With a swift hand motion, he hailed it down, and watched as the cab stopped a few feet in front of him. Again walking briskly, he approached the vehicle and got inside.

The smell of an old cheap pine air freshener hit Brian's senses as he sat down. The driver in front of him was an old man, wearing a brown jacket and a sporting a full head of white hair.

"Where you wanna go?" he asked in a gruff voice as he turned around to look at Brian. His face was weathered and wrinkled giving a hint that he was at least in his 70s if not older.

"82nd and Cartwright." Brian replied as he sat back in the seat. The man nodded, and started punching in some of the keys on the device on the taxis dashboard. Nearby the man's taxi license could be seen hanging off a chain looped around the rear view mirror. 'Peter Wilson' was the name on the card. After a moment the taxi was in motion down the street.

The apartments around where Brian lived were near the coast and an accompanying warehouse district with buildings and factories that had been abandoned years ago and were now empty shells of their former selves. In the other direction were the outskirts of downtown. The direction they needed to take lay in the middle of these two sections and eventually the cab started passing the various towering buildings in the warehouse district.

Brian was glad he had gotten a taxi so quickly but how much time he had left was still nagging him.

"Excuse me sir?" Brian called up to the driver.

"Eh?! What is it?" the driver responded with a snap in his voice.

"Sorry to ask but do you know what time it is?"

"What time it is?! Why are you asking me that?! Don't you young kids practically live on your cell phones and your internet? You shouldn't have to ask me that! I thought your generation was supposed to be prepared for all that! Shit kid, when I was young, you didn't go anywhere without a watch at least!" The man was practically yelling all of this.

"Sorry, but I actually forgot where I put my cell phone and I don't have a watch, and I'm kind of in a hurry to get where you're taking me."

"You forgot?! Well see how far that gets you in the real world. Just look at me! One day I forgot to do a shift at my job in one of these warehouses when they were still open, and I was fired the next day. Been a cab driver ever since! It's 9:50 by the way. We'll be there in 20 minutes."

Brian's mind did a flip. He knew he had been running late, but he didn't know it was that late. His interview was at 10:15 and 20 minutes was way too close for comfort in his mind. He quickly pulled his wallet out from his pocket and fumbled his fingers inside until he found a 20 dollar bill. He took it out and held up towards the front of the car. "If you get me there in 10 minutes I'll add another 20 bucks." Said Brian.

The old man looked at the money. "Make it 40 and you got yourself a deal."

"Deal." Said Brian as he went back into his wallet for another 20. He found one, and gave both bills to the driver.

"We'll just have to take a small shortcut." Said the driver. With that, he made a sharp right into one of the driveways leading into the warehouse district.

"Wait! Where are you going?" asked Brian as they passed what used to be the security building for that entrance.

"Relax kid. You want to get where you're going quickly right? Well what better way to avoid traffic and lights than by cutting through here?" he said as he turned and started going the same direction they had been going on the road. As they straightened out, the driver pushed the gas pedal down and they started accelerating down a wide road going between the buildings.

Brian looked out the window at the buildings as they sped by. They were really big up close, with large doors that no doubt had trucks going in and out of them at one time. He was so preoccupied with the buildings on the side that he wasn't paying too much attention to the road ahead. It was a good thing for his sake because the driver was not being very cautious. Several times already they had sped close to debris that was left on the road.

The car was churning at 65 MPH, which could have been what attributed to the drivers sudden realization that they were about to miss their turn back onto the streets.

"Shit!" the driver said under his breath as he tried to slow down for the turn, but it was too late. They had passed it. But the driver still tried to make a sharp turn onto the road. So sharp that they started skidding and before either one of them could do anything, the car was going sideways. Brian only caught a glimpse of the side of the warehouse wall before the car slammed into it with a loud crunch. On impact, Brian's head smacked into the window with a thud and he collapsed onto the backseat clutching at the spot where it had hit.

He lay there for a minute with his eyes clenched shut, trying not to move because he thought it would make the pain worse. All he could hear was a few birds outside and the sound of the car engine as it kept running despite the big impact. He slowly opened his eyes and took his hands away from his head. Expecting blood to be on his hands, he was pleasantly surprised to not see any, but that was quickly replaced with displeasure as another wave of pain rattled his head. He gingerly felt the spot where his head had hit and felt a large bump. It flared up in pain as soon as he touched it, so he took his hand off of it, and decided to slowly sit up. As he did, the first thing he noticed was the driver. He was slumped in the front seat, with blood running down the side of his face, and he didn't appear to be conscious.

"Hey!" Brian said strongly. The man didn't respond. "Hey!" Brian yelled, this time reaching his hand out and shaking the man's shoulder. Still no response. "Shit! What am I going to do now?" he said out loud as he sat back in the seat. As if answering his question, the radio on the dash board came to life with some random chatter. Brian's arm shot towards the device and picked up the speaker on it. Not exactly knowing how it worked, he started pushing buttons on the dashboard. "Hello? Hello is anyone there? Hello?" No answer. Brian scanned the device looking for something that would let him get through but nothing jumped out at him. With a dejected sigh he sat back again and looked at the speaker in his hand. That's when his eyes saw it. There was a button on the device that read 'send'. Figuring it was worth a shot, Brian held down the button and hesitantly spoke into the microphone. "Hello?"

"Cab 134, what is it Cab 134?" came a voice on the other end. Not knowing for sure if this was the cab that he meant, Brian still tried responding.

"We just crashed. This is the passenger actually. The uh..the drivers in pretty bad shape. Can you um..call an ambulance?"

"Why can't you call an ambulance? Did your phone break in the crash?" came the unemotional voice.

"I don't have a phone on me." Brain said slightly agitated. "Can you just please call an ambulance?"

"Where did you crash?"

"In the abandoned warehouse district off Chaucer I think. Hold on, let me see which building we're near." Brian slowly opened the door that hadn't smashed against the wall and gingerly let himself out. Squinting his eyes as he looked up above him for any unique sign that would help the ambulance find them quicker, he saw a big number 33 in cracked paint on the building they had crashed into. Brian walked back to the car and leaned in to pick up the speaker.

"It's uh warehouse number thirty three." He said into the microphone.

"Warehouse number thirty?" asked the voice.

"No warehouse number thirty three." Brian replied, but all he was met with was static.

"Sor...y I di....t he....you. D... yo... say wareh... thirty?"

"What?" asked Brian. "I can't understand you. It's warehouse thirty three!"

But the voice didn't respond this time. Only static came back.

"I hope he got the message." Brian said. With nothing to do, Brian leaned against the trunk of the car thinking of what to do next. His mind wandered to his job interview. Surely there was no way he was going to make it now. A pang of regret hit his stomach. His dream job was not going to work out. Upon this realization, the regret turned into anger.

"Why did he have to be going so fucking fast?! I mean, I wanted to get there fast, but he just had to go and fuck it up!" The realization that if he had not asked him to go so fast then he wouldn't be in this mess passed his mind, but at this point he was past caring. Brian got off the trunk, marched to the front door, and yanked it open. Without thinking, Brian reached into his pockets, looking for his money. His fingers grasped over the bills as he pulled them out. "You won't be taking away my money!" he yelled at the unconscious man.

Then a crazy thought crossed his mind. He could still make it to the interview if the car still worked. Maybe he'd be a little late, but he could still save the job. Quickly he walked to the other side of the car to see if the damage had affected the tires. He walked up to each and gave them a quick look over. Both appeared to still be in good working condition. The only damage appeared to be the cracked windows and the large dent in the side of the car. Walking back to the front, Brian unbuckled the old driver and slowly lifted him out of the seat and out of the car. He was a small guy and was easy for Brian to lift. Once out of the car, Brian placed him sitting up against the warehouse. He was easily visible for the ambulances when they came.

Brian got into the car and closed the door. He didn't want to go too fast and cause the wheels to fall off if there was something he missed. Slowly he rolled the car forward and gradually made a u-turn. So far so good. He drove towards the exit that the cab driver had meant to turn out of and went down the driveway. After a ways he passed another abandoned security gate and found that it led back to the street that they had been on, but past a major intersection where there was a lot of congestion. He turned onto the road and was cruising with no traffic in sight. He could easily make it on time at this rate. A few more minutes of driving and he could see the building. It blended in with a slew of other tall business buildings surrounding it, but Brian had seen it so many times before that he immediately knew it.

His mind started turning to what he would do with the car now that he was almost there. "All I have to do is park the car, leave it, and find a different cab to ride home in." The old man probably won't remember what I look like and even if he remembers this was the place where he was taking me, so many people work here that he'll never be able to find me." It was perfect. Brian spotted a space to park across the street from the building, and drove in. He quickly got out and strode across the street, and into the building.

The apartment door opened and Brian walked in. You couldn't have missed the grin on his face unless you were blind. Not only had Brian made the interview on time, he had gotten the job. Throwing his jacket on his couches armrest, he sat down. He was still taking it all in. Knowing that he was set for life just exhilarated him, but at the same time, he was feeling very tired. "Must have been the car accident. I hope nothing bad happened to the old man." Brian thought. "Nah, I told them where he was. I'm sure he's fine." Brian lay down and closed his eyes. They remained shut for a few minutes before he drifted off to sleep.

"What's that noise?" Brian thought as he started waking up a few hours later. He kept his eyes shut but he could hear something outside his apartment. "Is that someone crying?" he thought as he opened his eyes. Brian got up and stretched. He listened for any more sounds and he was met with the sound of sobbing outside his door. "I wonder who that is." He thought as he walked to the door and looked through the peep hole. He saw his neighbor from across the hall, Ms. Wilson, leaning against the wall, clutching her purse, and she was making no effort to be quiet as she cried out multiple times. The lady was on the back end of her years, at least 70 years old and it was easy to see with the wrinkles on her face and her white hair.

Brian opened up the door and peered outside at her. "Ms. Wilson, what's wrong?" he said as he walked outside of his apartment.

"Oh Brian...I...I...I must look so childish...but...I just found out that my brother...is...dead." Ms. Wilson was having a very hard time speaking as she sobbed in between words. "I was just at...at the morgue...to identify his body. He...he had gotten into an accident."

"Oh I'm so sorry Ms. Wilson." Said Brian. He walked up to her and they hugged in the hallway. "Listen, Ms. Wilson, if you need anything, don't hesitate to come ask. I'll be here to help you with whatever you need."

"T-t-thank you Brian. It's good to know...that even with Peter gone...I still have people here to...h-help me. I only wish he had...retired at his age. He was...far too old to be driving those cabs."

Brian eyes went wide. "He was a cab driver?" He asked with a slight quiver in his voice.

"Oh yes...he even...worked around this area. They found him in that...warehouse area...not too far from here" she said trying to wipe tears from her eyes.

"Um..Mrs. Wilson. I hope you don't mind but was it the accident that directly killed him?" Mrs. Wilson looked up at Brian. His question was having an obvious toll on her. "I'm sorry Ms. Wilson, I shouldn't have asked such a insensitive question."

"No...it's alright Brian." She responded. "The sooner, I can say it out loud...the quicker I'll get over it. But...Peter might have had a chance to live!" she said and with that another big sob escaped her. After a few seconds, she regained her composure a bit. "The paramedics...said that...they might have been able to save him...but the person who called 9/11...told them the wrong place." She started crying again. "They found him sitting...against a wall...and by that time...he was already..." she couldn't bear to finish the sentence as she crouched up against the wall and slid down to the ground.

Brian was having a hard time processing the information. The old man had died. He had left him there to die. But he couldn't think about that now. He knew that he had to take care of Ms. Wilson first. "Ms. Wilson, here lets get you inside. We don't need anyone else seeing you in this state. Come on now." Brian helped Ms. Wilson up and she used the key to get into her apartment.

"You don't need to come...with me Brian. I've bothered you enough already today. You just...go back home. Don't worry about me." She said.

"Are you sure? If you need anything I'll gladly help.

"No dear, I'm sure. If I do need anything...I'll come knocking on your door."

"Please do. Let me know if you need anything." Brian said as he walked back into his apartment.

He closed the door, and walked to the couch. He collapsed into the seat and put his head into his hands. "He died. I can't believe it." Brian's thoughts of the old man started turning into other things. "What if they find out it was me in the cab? There aren't any cameras in those things are there? No. They don't have cameras. As long as I don't do anything stupid and keep my mouth shut, there shouldn't be a problem."

Brian's thinking was suddenly interrupted by a sharp rap on his door. Brian got up and walked the door. "Ms. Wilson what do you need?" he said as he opened up the door. However he didn't see Ms. Wilson standing there. Instead it was two men standing there. Both of them wearing a uniform and the recognizable hats. Police officers.

"Son, are you Brian Wainwright?" asked the officer closest to the door.

"Um...y-yeah that's me." Brian responded nervously

"We have a warrant here for your arrest." Said the other man holding up a piece of paper. "We're going to have to ask you to slowly turn around and put your hands on your head."

Brian couldn't do anything but stare.

"Son, did you hear what I said?"

"What am I under arrest for?" asked Brian

"Grand theft auto, and leaving an old man to die more or less." Said the first officer. He suddenly lunged forward and pushed Brian up against the wall just inside his apartment. 'Now turn around and put your hands behind your back!" he shouted.

Brian started turning around and putting his hands behind his back. He felt the officer put the handcuffs on him, and he was spared no discomfort when he did.

"You probably thought you could just walk away, and not get caught huh? Well you were wrong. Because there was one thing you forgot. The building you went into has cameras too that can see all around the building, including across the street, and when we found the cab, all we had to do was look at some security tapes to see you come out of it and walk into the building. As soon as we showed the tape around to the receptionist and a few others, we were able to identify you. Seems you were going for a job interview eh? Too bad, you won't be working for a long time."

Brian looked behind him at the officer. "Why are you telling me all of this?" he asked.

"Because I like to let people like you, who have done something so despicable, that they are screwed from the beginning. You have no hope of getting out of this."

The officer roughly took ahold of Brian's shoulders and started leading him out of the door. Just as they almost walked through, Brian spotted something on the floor where he normally kept his shoes. His phone. He stared at it for a second before being pushed out of his apartment.

This is the only way I can imitate Mac from Super Troopers

Enjoy Super Bingo!

Just got the offer today. I'm interested in going into a career in law enforcement, and I'll be working at a police station near where I live this summer. Not getting paid, but oh well, it's a great thing to put on my resume. I'll be finding out what my schedule exactly is after I get out of school for the year, but it sounds like I'm going to be spending a week at a time in different departments of the station before switching, and I'll be doing the jobs on all shifts meaning my sleep schedule is going to be weird, but sometimes things are more interesting at different times of the day.

It's good to know that I'll be doing something productive this summer. :D

Now that I'm back to school I have a shit load of work to do, but often times, I come here to procrastinate. So I decided to try out something new where I would put a checklist of things I need to finish this week on my userpage as a constant reminder to stop procrastinating and get some work done.

[X] Finish NAP project
[X] Print out Philosophy articles
[X] Write conclusion of essay
[X] Diagram 2 Philosophy articles
[Incomplete] Study for FSHN (Thurs.)
[X] Study for FSHN (Fri.)
[X] Recover from hangover (Sat.)
[X] Study FSHN (Sat.)
[X] Diagram 2 Philosophy articles
[X] Study FSHN (Sun.)
[NA] Diagram 2 Philosophy articles

Lots of shit done but it never ends.

7 lovely days of mild Illinois weather and dial up connection! Kill me now!

K all better now.

My strange name is Duke Webelos. There is nothing at all wrong with my keyboard. What do I do?

I recorded RageVI singing with all his voice programs and he did a nice job with ad libbing/reading what people were typing.

Listen and enjoy.

http://media.putfile.com/RageVI-Singin g-in-Paltalk

They even made a day about me =/