Chance Encounters

City life

The parking lot still being a zoo I parked where I was yesterday.The back of the lot had nobody parked there. Watching all the generic cars pull in I sat and sipped my tea and sparked one up. A slight sigh escaped me. The country had everything I wanted. If only my aunt would have let me stay. I heard a familiar sound, breaking my current train of thought. Glancing in my mirror I saw Mark followed by a 60’ corvair. Parking directly on my left and right I was sandwiched in. “Great…” I mumbled as I watched Mark get out. He walked over to my passenger door and opened it. “s**t skye, already a joint? Also, your truck,it sticks out like a sore thumb.” I laughed. “Better than all the ugly s**t people drive here.” The guy in the corvair got into my truck as well. “Hey, Im larry. Mark would you just get your ass in the middle so we can all sit.” I scooted myself over as far as I could. My hips hitting the door laughing as Mark was trying to adjust between the floor shifter and the hump in the middle. “You wouldn't happen to want to share that would you?” Larry asked. I shook my head and passed him the joint. “What's in the thermos?” Mark asked. I passed it to him and said, “Nothing exciting just some tea.” He took a swallow, “This is amazing what did you do to it.” My face bright red as I answered, “Just some honey.” We stayed in my truck smoking another joint. “So you must be Larry?” I asked. Dumb question, but it was all I could think of to break the ice. He looked at me and smiled, “Yeah, I am, I’m also going to be an engineer just like my father.” I nodded taking in his response. Mark and Larry were going back and forth about life and cars. The only thing that shook my train of thought was the hall monitor catching us smoking. He tapped on my truck window. “You guys, office now.” We hopped out of my truck and following us was a cloud of smoke. Hindsight,it might have not been the best idea to hotbox my truck in the school parking lot.

The principal looked pissed. “What are you three doing in my parking lot?! I expect you two to be in here,but you…” He looked at me, “You just transferred in here, now you are in front of me. Honestly, I just want you three out of here.” We left for shop class, late as hell, but it was better than a punishment.

Larry threw his car on the hoist and all three of us had new brakes and suspension parts on it in a matter of thirty minutes. The tierods came off like icing on a cake. A little bit of heat goes a long way. Mark watched as I pushed the last bolt in place,ratchet teeth clicked and clacked as I tightened the bolts. Larry and I were joking around. The other guys in class were watching an OSHA safety video,so the entire shop was our domain.“s**t Skye, I've never seen a girl wrench like you before.” Larry said. I smiled, “Thanks.” The bell rang and they bolted off to meet their other buddies, whereas I left out the bay door to my first day at my new job.

I started my truck careful to avoid a parking lot monitor like this morning. My truck roared as the ignition cranked the starter. Backing out and taking all back ways to get there. Excited was an understatement. The scent of hay and alfalfa filled my nose as I shifted into 3rd gear. The back tires throwing the gravel road as they gripped.

Pulling into the shop I couldn’t stop smiling. “Hello Frank,it's skye, I'm here” Frank appeared with a bottle of Mtn Dew, “Alright let's change out this wheel bearing.” The tractor was a John Deere, not super big,but definitely enough to get a field plowed. Taking some turtle oil I sprayed the lugs, while I let them soak, I went to get a piece of pipe, attaching it to the end of the ratchet. I didn’t have the greatest set of tools, in fact I was missing quite a few pieces,but being from the country I learned to improvise some things and if that meant using a big pipe to gain leverage than so be it.

The job took me about forty minutes total to complete it. Frank was supervising the entire time, watching carefully as I did each step. The last lug was tightened and I wiped the grease off on my shirt. Frank stood up, “Not too shabby, honestly. I have a stack of work orders, and a job if you are interested.” I grinned, “Yes sir! I will gladly knock out all these work orders, before the first harvest even, the only problem is I'm still in school and I need a note saying I'm working and not just skipping.” Frank smiled, “If that's all that it takes then let me write one up.” True to form Frank handed me a note. I walked out to my truck and got my tool box. It wasn’t very fancy,missing some stuff,but it was worth working with. “There’s an extra bench in the back,I’ll drag it in so you can have your own work bench.” Frank and I moved the steel bench to a corner of the shop and set my tool box next to it. “This will work until you get a bigger box.” I thanked him. We agreed that I’ll be starting work at the same time everyday,until 6:00 at night.

Getting home right before dinner my mom wasn't pleased. “Skye, why have you been skipping dinner?” I shook my head, maybe it was because I was sick of the news playing only vietnam war stuff or it was the fact that we didn't get along; at least not without dad being around. My overbearing aunts were also a problem and nobody is interested in what I do. “I guess I'll join the table.” I mumbled more out of politeness than wanting to.

The deafening war news made my mind go numb so I decided to break the silence. “I got a job.” My mom looked at me. “That's nice.” She said continuing to talk to my aunts about whatever the current war situation was, I decided not to make any more conversation, and got up to clean my plate. “Thanks for the food.” I grumbled as I walked out the door.

I got into my truck and headed up to the parts store, buying a carburetor and two spark plugs for my garbage pickings.Even if I had a “proper” job now,I still like to earn money and I have a natural knack for wrenching. I walked in the parts store. “Hello sir I need some spark plugs for a lawnmower.” He looked in his book and handed me two boxes. “These should be it,if not let me know and I’ll happily change em out for ya.” I nodded my thanks and headed towards the door.

Walking out of the door I saw Mark arguing with someone that was in his front seat, it was a girl. I knew that he was taken. Mark looked over at me as I hopped in my truck. Before I could even start my truck the girl ran up to my door and ripped it open. “YOU NO GOOD MAN THIEVING w***e!!!” I was confused. I’ve never even had a kiss let alone anything else. “What are you talking about?” I asked, confusion would be an understatement. “MARK IS MINE, I HEARD ALL ABOUT IT!!” At this point I was fed up and jumped out of my truck. “Alright, if you are looking for a fight you got one.” She went full crazy trying to drag me to the concrete, but the years of wrenching and survival in the U.P. made me much more lean than anyone thought. Mark yelled in the background, “WE WEREN'T EVER A THING AND IF WE WERE ITS OVER NOW MAY!!!” He came running over to me, but at the current moment I was too focused on not killing her, choosing instead to grab her in a choke hold and throw her on the ground. My knee was on her stomach as she laid looking at me. I growled under my breath, “I suggest not ripping my truck door open again. Otherwise I’ll rip your hair out.” I let her up and she took the opportunity to throw a punch to the back of my neck. What happened after that I will never forget. I spun around, and she took off running,but heels weren't exactly the best to run in. Grabbing the back of her dress I yanked her into my left fist which she basically crumpled to the ground. I knew that the 1% shot I had with him was now tarnished. I glanced over to him and saw him laughing. “Goddamn that is one hell of a left hook you have. I have to drive that disaster back home.” He set her in the back of his car and all I could hear was her wailing as I got in my truck and shut the door.

After that whole mess I decided to hang out in the driveway. Some time to myself. With a few tweaks I got the old carburetor out of the lawnmower. The gasket and bowl were shot so it was a good thing that I got a new one. A joint was hanging out of my mouth as I fired up the thing for the first time since I got it. A puff of smoke poured out as it started. I went into my truck and grabbed a bottle of oil, after checking the dipstick I noticed the thing was low. I added half the bottle and checked again. This time it sounded more correct and no more smoke. I sighed,today was a long day.