Fictionlet
Greg was lightly dozing, with the familiar weight of Ozymandias across his stomach and the memory of a light jazzy tune playing across his mind as he drifted further into sleep, when a sudden crashing sound made him leap five feet into the air. In the harsh column of light that spilled down on him from his bedroom door having been slammed open, he caught a brief glimpse of a white streak that was Ozymandias getting under the bed. Silhouetted in the door frame was a male shape, and from it was coming Alex’s voice.
“Greg!” shouted Alex. “Greg! Wake up! I need your help!”
“Unh?” said Greg in vague alarm; then “Ow!” as the lights came on and stabbed him in the eyes. “What in the world—”
“Julie broke up with him!” Alex said. “Finally! Like for good! Now’s my chance!”
Greg managed to pull a few of his fingers away from his eyes and squint up at the invader. “Alex, how did you get in here?”
“What?” said Alex. “Brigid let me in.”
“Did she,” said Greg flatly. “That’s dirty pool, even by her standards.”
“What?” said Alex again.
“What do you want, Alex? And why does it involve breaking my door down at midnight?”
“Julie!” Alex said, seemingly ready to wave banners and strike up the band. “She broke up with that jerk of hers!”
“Uh huh. And…?”
“And so this is my chance! Finally! But I need your help.”
“What the heck am I supposed to do about it?”
“Help me come up with ideas,” he said. “You’re a writer! I’m no good at that romantic stuff. Help me think up ways to sweep her off her feet!”
Greg narrowed his one opened eye. “Please tell me you didn’t wake me up and give my cat a coronary just to beg me to play Cyrano to your Christian.”
“Do what to your where now?” said Alex. “Dude, wake up, you’re not making any sense. And come out to the living room where we can work around the table. Where’s your laptop?” He exited, stage left, towards the main section of the apartment.
Greg calmly stood, closed the door, dragged a dresser in front of it, then turned off the light and went back to bed. Roughly thirty seconds later, Ozymandias jumped onto the bed and settled back into place.
-The Gneech
