“Hey
aren't you Bill Frasier?”
It's a gray 7-11 at nobody knows what time. Gray. Flicking fluorescent lights give the place a slowed down strobe effect. Gray everywhere. Bill Frasier pictures the gray as crude and all-encompassing, like he's a victim in a poorly shot snuff film.
Outside, a naked body is sprawled on the hood of a car, split open from neck to vagina. The ribs have been snapped into pieces and most of what was once housed inside is gone. The flesh on the outside of the gash that used to be a woman's body has been nailed hastily to the hood of the car, the tops of nails bashed in at weird angles.
A man whistles and walks past, fumbling for a Camel Light.
It's a gray 7-11 at nobody knows what time. Gray. Flicking fluorescent lights give the place a slowed down strobe effect. Gray everywhere. Bill Frasier pictures the gray as crude and all-encompassing, like he's a victim in a poorly shot snuff film.
Outside, a naked body is sprawled on the hood of a car, split open from neck to vagina. The ribs have been snapped into pieces and most of what was once housed inside is gone. The flesh on the outside of the gash that used to be a woman's body has been nailed hastily to the hood of the car, the tops of nails bashed in at weird angles.
A man whistles and walks past, fumbling for a Camel Light.
Bill
Frasier stands at a 7-11 counter trying to open a candy bar. When he
hears the voice behind him he starts, then focuses his attention back
on the candy bar.
“Yes,
yes I am.”
“Hey,
yeah, Billy! Remember me, Robbie Schwanker?”
Bill
looks down, fumbling with his candy bar wrapper, avoiding eye
contact, trapped at the convenient store counter.
“Uh,
yeah, Robbie. Hi.” Pause. “How have you been?”
“Oh,
you know, you know. I'm a regional manager over at Pep Boys now!”
“That's
great, Robbie,” Bill says, sounding dead inside.
“Yeah...Jesus,
man, I haven't seen you since Senior year! What have you been up to?"
Bill
stops twisting the wrapper, looks at Robbie's gray eyes, eyes that
thankfully recall to Bill no memory of who this person was, and he says,
“Nothing. I haven't been up to anything.”
Bill
dimly realizes that he has Robbie at a loss but he couldn't care less
about this faux pas.
Robbie tries a different tactic.
“So,
what about Jeanie Blew? I remember you two having a real heavy
thing going. Man, what happened? Everyone thought you guys were
going to get married!”
“We
did,” says Bill, and the look on his face prompts an “I'm sorry”
from Robbie.
“Don't
be,” says Bill, his voice now perking up, him starting to eat his candy bar. “It was just one of
those things.”
“Didn't
work out?”
“Nope.” Bill tosses a square of the chocolate into his mouth and masticates loudly.
“Nope.” Bill tosses a square of the chocolate into his mouth and masticates loudly.
There's
a pause, and then Robbie lowers his voice to say, “So I guess you
got divorced?”
“Oh
no,” Bill says, appearing totally at ease now, pushing the last of
the candy bar into his mouth.
“No?”
“Nope.
I killed her.”
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