Center of Center (7)
a serialized novella-in-flash by Chris Wiewiora
On break back at Torideo’s HQ, Roger holds out his hand to introduce himself to me. I already know him and his gray mustache that looks like a frown. I feel forgotten everywhere, but I remember everyone.
After shaking hands, Roger asks if I heard the radio call with Miles who dispatched on the CB radio’s circuit channel that morning.
Roger: There’s a woman with a cat on my bus who says it’s an emergency.
Miles: Well, you shouldn’t let her on…or ride.
Roger: You want me to physically remove her?
Miles: Well…tell her there’s no bus back.
I want to tell Roger that I think the confrontation was passive aggressive, but I think that pointing out those kinds of ironies won’t go over so well with Torideo drivers who’ve sunken into their perceived hardships with passengers for years and don’t want to lighten up. I think about how teachers get stuck in their ruts of labeling bad students and good students and they don’t recall that students can be both bad and good just like passengers. Instead, I start to say to Roger that I tell potential rule breakers, In the future… but he just interrupts me to monolog:
It’s like food. I just ignore it. Not worth a complaint. They could say I don’t have an appropriate tone. I don’t care about food anymore, I just drive. And I think management doesn’t care either. They just don’t say anything to us.
I don’t say anything more to Roger.
CENTER of CENTER is a serialized novella-in-flash by Chris Wiewiora. Go here to start at the beginning. Paid subscribers have access to every installment of our serial fiction.
Installments: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
Fiction Attic Press accepts flash fiction and novellas-in-flash. Go here to submit your work.