Chris had very little time left before he had to leave for school. He had already scarfed down the bagel, now he just needed the coffee pot to finish filling. In the meantime, Evelyn was frantically brushing her hair. Her white blouse was partially unbuttoned and barely tucked into the slender black shirt she was wearing.

  Coffee had finished brewing. About damn time. But as Chris stared into the pot, it reminded him of the black void in the hallowed chest, and suddenly he didn’t want coffee anymore. He contemplated adding milk to change the color, but he liked his coffee bitter.

  “Want some?” He asked Evelyn, pot still in hand.

  “Oh! No thanks…  My ride will be here soon. I’m just going to get coffee on the way.” Evelyn replied, brush tugging at the knots in her hair.

  “Yeah, Liah told me this morning you’re working today.”

  “Yup, boss called me yesterday and was insistent that I return” Evelyn worked as a sales assistant at the town's local bank, taking phone calls and doing negotiations with clients. It was a stressful job, but it paid the bills which there was allot of; not to mention other expenses like Chris’s hockey gear, Liah’s hobbies, family outings, new school supplies each year, cloths, et cetera.

  “Is he aware your car is totaled? how are you even getting to work?” Chris asked.

  “He said he's willing to pick me up and drive me home until I can get a new vehicle.”

  “Well…. that’s nice of him.”

  “Yeah…...” A sigh gently passed through Evelyn’s lips as she lowered her head; a look of disdain taking over her face. Isn’t it a good thing her boss is willing to go out of his way for her?

  “Don’t you have any more vacation time you can fall back on?” Chris continued.

  “No, I didn't even have it for this week. I used most of it up two months ago, when Liah got sick.”

  Oh yeah, when she acted as if she was dying from the flu, when in reality she just had a common cold. Just one of many instances where Liah was just taking advantage of Evelyn’s kindness.

  “You seem troubled. Is something wrong?” Evelyn asked Chris. It was a question she would ask often, as if fishing for a problem to work through, but his problems were his and he liked it that way. Thing was, it was obvious that he was bothered by something. He didn’t want to burden her with more complaining about his sister or the crash, and he knew he couldn’t get away with just saying he was fine.

  “I’m...  just thinking about what to do after graduating.” It was the first thing that came to his mind.

  Evelyn began listing off a bunch of things she thought would interest Chris; landscaper, electrician, car mechanic, and any other hands-on trades she could think of. She was correct in suggesting hands on work, as the idea of being some pencil pusher wasting away in a cubicle did not appeal to him, but none of her suggestions appealed to him either. Hockey and music were his only two interests; both had very little viability as sustainable long-term careers. Worst case scenario, I’ll just default to the first thing that comes my way and live with it.

  None of that mattered anyways, Evelyn’s ride had showed up. At the sound of her boss honking, she hastily scooped everything up and put on her shoes. Before exiting the house, she turned to Chris and pulled 20 dollars out of her wallet and gave it to him. “I need you to pick up butter, eggs and bread on your way home from school.” then kissed him on the forehead before leaving.

  Chris watched as she walked to her boss's car. This was his first time ever getting a look at her boss, who was the sleazy businessman archetype if there ever was one; slicked back hair and all. As Evelyn was hopping in the car, her body stiffened and a grimace overcame her face when her boss placed one arm around her. Evelyn's boss looked in Chris’s direction, waved while giving him a wink and a smile that bordered on shit eating grin, then drove off. 

  It was now 8:25. Chris grabbed his bike out from a pile in the basement and left. Once outside he took one last look around him at his neighborhood; small run-down houses surrounded him, lawns covered in patches of dead grass, weeds creeping out from the curbs. Sky was still cloudy.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Chris noticed a cop car, the very same one driven by that nosy Officer Freeland; the cracked siren light was a dead give away. He could see her in the front seat, looking back at him. Their eyes met, even at a distance. What’s her deal? Why is she always around? He didn’t know, but he didn't intend to ask. Her turned in the other direction, hopped on his bike and rode away.