Of Dust and Sand: a sci-fi short story collection by Allen Kuzara

Author:Allen Kuzara [Kuzara, Allen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: short stories, scifi humor, scifi horror, scifi thriller, scifi action, scifi stories, scifi alien, short scifi, scifi dystopia, scifi collection

Failure to Appear

JAMES LEE LOOKED like an ordinary fifteen-year-old: a latchkey kid with average grades, a rebellious haircut, and a penchant for spending gobs of time in his parent’s basement playing video games. But he had a secret.

Lunch was both a relief and a source of trepidation. James welcomed a break from the monotony of Ms. Helwinkle’s English class, but he dreaded the lunchroom and its labyrinth of social interactions. Most kids used to feel this way, but James was alone in his double-life.

“Mashed potatoes, please,” he said to the lunch-bot. You always had to say please, or they would give you a pedantic lecture on manners. The lunch-bot, a comical android contraption with wide hips and wiry mop-gray hair, dutifully served James two scoops.

He made his way to the corndog tray, carefully avoiding Sally. That was the nickname of the lunch-bot with the most sass, which James often thought was the result of her primary job: picking food scraps out of the big trash bin. She liked to complain about all the wasted calories as she placed half-eaten burgers and chicken nuggets in a separate compost bin. It wasn’t her attitude that bothered James, though it was the very definition of cantankerous; he was troubled by the sight and smells of the food, specifically the way they mixed together into a slurry that stimulated his gag reflex. He knew better than to pass nearby and tempt fate.

After scanning his thumb at the register, he hurried to the lunch tables. He hoped he had timed it right: not so early he would have to pick his own table and risk his friends sitting elsewhere. And not so late that he missed open seats by Terrance or Gabe.

He was in luck, though he knew he had to pretend like it didn’t matter. He grabbed one of the red stools next to Terrance and set his tray down. Immediately, he spotted it on Gabe’s face who was sitting across the table.

“Uh, you got something right here,” James said, pointing to his own cheek.

Gabe felt for it, then pulled off the dried green booger and wiped it onto an empty part of his lunch tray. “Oh, thanks,” Gabe said. Then he left it there like it was just another tater tot. James’s stomach churned.

He liked Gabe and Terrance, their company and their dumb jokes. He knew sitting with them looked bad—three Asian kids clumped together stood out—but he felt a connection with them that he couldn’t explain. He was sure they didn’t notice. They had other friends, friends that looked different than them. James didn’t.

“So, I heard Tracie started going out with Chad Kirkland,” Gabe said to James.

“Good for her,” James said, acting like he didn’t care. Tracie was James’s first and only girlfriend. It hadn’t lasted long, but it left its indelible mark, nonetheless.

“He’s such a doofus,” Terrance said. “Why do chicks always like jocks?”

James noticed they took turns in the trial called his life, switching between prosecution and defense.

“Why didn’t you ask her out?” James asked Gabe.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.