Call of the Hero: One Day (Edited version)

Chapter 6: Party Rock (though not in the house tonight)

Chapter 6: Party Rock (though not in the house tonight)

After a boring church sermon, something to do with genealogy and how that had nothing to do with the jeans he was wearing, Azaiah made his way through the city to his friend’s birthday part. The one thing about New York was that there were tons of different people from all around, but it oftentimes involved lots of traveling to actually get to wherever it was he was going. And it being in the middle of the day, flying really wouldn’t be the best way to get there, so instead Azaiah found himself on the subway, keeping an eye on the map as to make sure he didn’t get lost. He really hated the first time he was on the subway by himself; his phone died so he couldn’t call for help if he got lost, and when he finally got off it, he started walking the wrong direction so ended up just walking around for an hour before finally making it home. Not the most fun thing he’d ever done. However after living in the city for some time, he’d gotten used to it, and now was the one laughing at the tourists who seemed confused by all the different colors, numbers, and letters. Though in some ways it reminded him of algebra, which might explain a few things.

After riding for about five minutes, he saw a person get on walking a cat on a leash. He didn’t know cats would walk on a leash, though he’d heard of some crazy people who tried. Still, she wasn’t the strangest person on the subway, that award would have to go to the person in the corner of the train dressed like the grim reaper, scythe and all. When he finally got to his stop, he got off, attempting to avoid as many strange people as he could.

Once he emerged, he noticed he had no idea where he was. He gritted his teeth, looking for the street signs, to realize that he was the one who ended up getting lost. Pulling out a phone, he sent a quick text to DJ to say he was going to be late, and then walked back down into the subway, hoping that he was just off by a stop or two, however upon a careful examination of the map, he saw that in fact he was on the wrong train the whole time. “Stupid city,” he grumbled.

“Got on the wrong train?” a guy who looked like a wizard asked Azaiah as he walked from the map.

“Yep, what gave you the first clue?” he asked throwing his hands up in defeat.

“I have a way with people. You new here?”

“Lived here about 4 months, I thought I figured out the subway.”

“Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. My wife and I lived in this city for 30 years, one day she took the D train, and never did come back. Got a call from her three months later saying that she was in Portland Oregon and married a florist named Georgia.”

“Ah, I see, well, I think my train’s almost here, so I’m going to be going now.” If there was any place in New York where the strange people gathered, it would have to be the subway system. He never knew what he’d see, and in some cases, he never wanted to see some of these things. Oh well, he could chalk it up to a cultural experience. He knew of some people who would keep a notebook when they visited and write down everything they saw or heard and then use that in a novel later.

After getting on the correct train, having a bald Asian man try to convert him to Islam, and having an old man ask if he had any pictures of Grover Cleveland on him, he got to the right exit, glad to be out of the bizarre underground world. However, as he got to the rock, which was a community center one of the churches sponsored that had a climbing wall, he saw someone walking up toward him, someone he knew quite well, but really didn’t want to see right now. “What are you doing here, Angie?”

“Shopping, New York has some great stores.” She held out some bags with clothes in them, almost as proof. He just rolled his eyes, though it made sense, if she was out in public, she was typically disguised as a normal person that no one would ever notice or think anything strange of.