Number Three

PREMISE:...a penguin, a cheeseburger, a lack of sunscreen, and a freakishly large zit named Herb...

12:35 PM

THE STORY: It was suppose to be the most fantastic day ever or at the very least a very good facsimilie. The day started out with promise for Meghan, who usually was fatalistic about such enterprises. But this was her day, a day that was set aside specifically for "me" time. She imagined that if she were to ever have a boyfriend this would be the perfect set of events on which said boy should be taken on for said date. A drive, lunch, an aquarium visit- perfect. But the lack of said boy could never, she vowed, ever, be allowed to stop her from questing on perfectly sterotypical date adventures.

Meghan put on a skirt she would never wear, and a shirt she'd never wear- with that particular skirt- and so assembled, she felt fashionable. And it always worked. She gave herself one last look in the mirror, and approved. Drawing close however, she observed a large, and now that she grimaced, painful bump developing on her chin.

"That's why you shouldn't touch your face," she said, unconsciously scratching at it. "Well hello -erb," (She dropped the H you know.) "So we meet again. I'll bide my time, and when you're not looking, off with your head."

She applied some cover-up and Herb chuckled at his fortune. Just on the right side of suffocating, he would flourish.

Grabbing some cash, i.d. and keys- not to mention the also fashionable sunglasses, she was out the door. The thwack of her flip-flops could be heard receding down the hall, and then coming closer again, as Meghan had decided that, without at least a bag, it would be an ill-fated adventure. And her bag, after-all, had everything.

In her car with gloss applied and the perfect music on, which was just a touch of alternative rock and something that belonged on a soundtrack, she made her way to the aquarium. At a traffic stop she noted that Herb was asserting his presence so she dosed him with some face ointment, and fluffed her hair.

The aquarium was too expensive but it was a worthy indulgance because they had that antarctic penguin display- there was suppose to be some movie about the life of penguins and how cool they were, but she couldn't remember the name. She had until previous, no real exposure to penguins, save from national geographic and cartoons.

Standing in front of the display she waited patiently as the school children, and mothers and fathers, and children and couples clasping hands, and that one creepy guy in the cardigan- they all filtered past. It was dark and all her focus was on what she could see of the penguins, sort of waddling around, not doing much of anything. Her first instinct was too move on but she resisted, sort of hovering and returning to the same spot. Her theory was that most people really didn't pay attention to anything other than themselves, so she was more than likely invisible, opposed to the single freak who keeps staring at the penguins.

"Hey," came the flat voice out of the void.

Meghan squinted into the dark and saw a finger pointing toward the penguin enclosure. She gasped and ran toward the tank. A penguin was floating face down in the water, bobbing with the waves. Some of the penguins began calling out and waddling over to the edge.

"Oh my god, is it dead? We should get someone." said Meghan. She kept hearing someone screaming in the background, and it was her inner child. She turned and shoved the pointy-finger-"hey" guy and said, "Go get someone!"

"Oh, okay," he said startled.

And like that the exhibit was closed- temporarily.

"Ha, you're still here."

She looked up with disgust, her feet curling in outrage- in her flip-flops.

"No, I mean, I just-" He put up his hands, "I did go get help. You really like penguins?"

"Is this going somewhere?"

"One of those PETA freaks, okay, I'll light a candle for the dead bird when I say my prayers tonight. I didn't see you run for help."

He seemed to be goating her- this annihilator of moments- but then she got up and walked out. Without her bag. She was furious and starving, and didn't notice her bag was missing until she went to pay for her taco combo and her wallet wasn't anywhere to be found. After paying for the meal with her precious laundry quarters and the lint filled change from her car ashtray, she thought about driving back to the aquarium. A few tacos later and she couldn't bare the idea, and when she finally did call, they couldn't find her bag either.

The next day after compulsively cleaning her apartment and writing a full intineray of all the missing and potentially exploited items in her bag, she turned on the Tv. And in the local news there was a brief story about a penguin who was saved by a concerned man aka: local hero: who alerted staff to something "amiss" in the exhibit that day- and he had her bag slung around his body like a messanger bag. She proceeded to brainstorm about how to find out where he was and get her bag back. She went to the fridge for icecream and there was a gap of several hours, blocked out and not remembered. She was attempting to annihilate -erb when there was a knock at the door.

She went to the door, but no one was at the peephole. She opened it and stepped out, stumbling over her bag. She slung it around her body and ran out the door, chasing the man who repelled down 2 flights and on down the street- fairly quickly (let's not exaggerate and say like lightening). She gave chase at full speed and finally caught up to him when he stopped for a traffic signal. He screamed, or rather went, "Ahhh." Then, "FUCK!" once he realized it was her. She then proceeded to turn around and retch over a low fence.

Ryan held his hand up to his mouth in horror, but then instinctively went to grab her hair for her, and then hesistated and said, "weird". He backed away slowly and his second instinct was to run, but then he felt bad, because from the looks of it, something was very wrong with her. When she was done, which was a small eternity, he took her by the arm as she feebly stepped back, clutching her stomach. He looked furtively around, and led her to the nearest place with benches, which was a local burger stand. He got some water for her and sat staring at her like he would an injured animal.

"Thanks," she said.

Ryan nodded, not sure how to proceed,"You run fast," he said.

She smiled and said, "You do too."

"Do you normally go all Linda Blair when you run?"

"Only when I've just eaten a- a lot of ice cream."

He nodded, as if that explained everything so far, and the longer they sat there, a small faint rumbling began in his stomach. And she reached into her bag for gum.

"It's all there. I just looked into your wallet to get your address."

"Oh, Gum," she said, "Do you want something," she said getting up and walking over to the menu.

"Oh, um-"

"It's okay, I'll buy. It's least I could do."

He sat there and all he could manage to say was 'okay' and 'cheeseburger', marveling at a girl who'd just spent 10 minutes puking, and then was proceeding to buy him food. He didn't know what to make of it, and she even got him fries and a Dr.Pepper. He then also managed to tell her his name and eat the burger, saying delicious and 'damn' a couple of times, so much so that she laughed and stole one of his fries. He offered her more.

"All I can handle is one I think," she said, eating the fry section by section.

"So, aw man. I think I'm getting burned."

"Here," she handed him a small bottle of SPF and continued to drink her water.

He didn't really need it, but applied it anyway and handed it back. He couldn't think of a damn thing to say.

"So, we should celebrate huh."

"About what?" she said.

"The penguin, you know, it lived."

"Yah. We should. What would be appropriate for resurrected penguins and your new found fame?"

"Well we could, uh, go to a movie or go get seafood or something."

"Okay. So tomorrow is okay?"

"Awesome. Yah. Tomorrow. Can I walk you home?"

Ryan got up and threw the trash away and Meghan swept the crumbs off the table.

"Yes," she said.

"Cool," he said.

(and SCENE)