Stereo Blast Volume 1 [MxM]

Chapter 2.2

Ryan cracked open a can of green beans and shook them into a large skillet he’d found in the dump. The green beans were solidified in the shape of the can and didn’t smell any better than the rotten meat he’d had yesterday. Logan scrunched her nose.

“I’m not eating that.”

“Then you won’t be eating anything at all.”

He lit the stove and placed the pan over the burning flame. The juice spilled over the side of the pan sizzled, evaporating in a second. He stared into the blue flame, the same color as the city, as Mason and all its districts. He’d never been anywhere besides Kitro and Nitro. When he was younger, a kid fighting for his life on the streets of Nitro, he’d thought that would be his life. He thought he would die out there with no one to even miss him. Now he was living the same life in Kitro. Though, this time he had people he cared about. Back then he’d hated himself and the body he’d been born in.

That was behind him now.

From the small cabinet he’d built to the side of the wall, he grabbed two different plates. One was a small blue tea plate with one chip in it. It was a great find he found while rummaging at the dump. The other plate had come with the place. All the other dishes had been smashed to bits when they’d cleared it out and somehow this one had managed to survive.

He sat the two plates on a small crate at the end of his bed. He went back to the cabinet for a fork, a baby spoon, and two glass jars. They might have been stained, but they got the job done, more promise than most things around here. He sat the silverware and drinking cups by the plates. All he had to go with the green beans were some stale pieces of bread he’d picked up for sale at the grocery store. It was cheap for what was being sold around here, but it was still pricey for his budget. Running for the Wolves didn’t pay a lot as most would think.

Water, room temperature, was all he drank besides beer he could score from Taylor or from the Wolves’ den.

“You want a flavor packet?” He asked Logan as he poured the filtered water into the glass jars.

“Do you have strawberry?” She scooted to the end of the crate. She might have snubbed at the less than nice quality green beans, but she was hungry. Hunger would make anyone eat anything. He knew a lot about that.

“Strawberry and lemonade,” he said, placing the jug of filtered water back into the cabinet. In the far corner, a small tin box was shoved so it would be hidden behind the various food items. He cracked open the lid and picked out the two flavor packets. They added some flavor to the water, but without sugar, it wasn’t much of an improvement.

It was better than nothing.

He tossed the packets into Logan’s lap.

Life had gotten better in some ways for him and those in Kitro. There were changes dealt out in the last five years that lowered the cost of food and fuel which made it a lot easier to live longer than thirty, but the jobs that could be found throughout the district weren’t exactly well paying. Illegal acts, drug cartel, prostitution, anything that could get your hands dirty were about the only things that made good money. Even then, like being part of the gang, things were that great.

This was normal. This was how the districts operated.

Even though he’d never seen anything different, he couldn’t help but feel like there was something wrong with the status quo. Nothing ever felt right or complete in Mason, not even when he was younger and had no clue how f****d up the world was.

The green beans burned at the bottom. He stirred them, scraping them off the bottom of the pan with the fork. He dumped the canned green beans onto each plate and stuffed two slices of stale bread in the pan to toast.

The slow minutes passed without much on his mind. He looked out the window, immersed in the lights of the city that were dull and grey in the mid-day sunlight. Each passing day felt the same. Taylor dealt, Ryan followed, and Logan poked her head in when she felt like it. He wondered if it would always be so boring.

But today, when that man had attacked them, had been different. He could decide if it was good or bad it had happened.

Then there was the whole thing with Taylor. How had they gotten themselves into this situation? They used to be…

He furrowed his brows.

What had they been? Close? They were the same, yet there was something off about them. Their conversation felt dry and empty.

God. Maybe he was being clingy. That might explain why Taylor felt so distant.

The bread browned and he flipped them. The gesture released him from his thoughts and pulled him back down to reality. Logan was here. He should enjoy her company while he still had her.

“How’s school?” He killed the flame and place the toast on both their plates. Logan had already finished the small portion of green beans and half her drink. She snatched the bread and bit into it with more aggression than what was needed. She chowed down on it like it was going to run away from her.

“s**t,” she said through another mouthful. Crumbs fell down the front of her shirt and into the pocket of her overalls. “Miss Mayfield was caught with one of the students. She got fired so now we don’t have a teacher anymore. We have to share with the eighth graders now.”

Ryan raised a brow. “She slept with a student?”

She nodded. “It sucks too because now we have to share a room with them until they graduate. And then after that, we have to share with the next seventh grade.”

He scooped a few green beans onto his bread and took a bite. As he chewed down the flavorless food, he thought back how he would react to the situation. He didn’t go to school that long. By the third grade, his parents were dead and half the city was on fire. Nitro had been going through a gang on civilian war when he was Logan’s age.

But he probably wouldn’t have given a s**t anyway. s*x was everywhere. He doubted any kid in Mason didn’t know how to do it by the time they were five.

“Hey!” Ryan jumped, his fork clattering against his plate. Logan stood up abruptly. “I got you something.”

She raced to the side of his bed where she’d been hiding. She knelt down and grabbed something from the floor. When she came back to the crate, she was holding a small cardboard box. She moved her plate and sat the box on the crate, opening the flimsy flaps until what was inside peaked out. Ryan leaned over with interest but was a little dismayed at what he saw.