PICS and IT DIDN'T HAPPEN

11. The Current

My mom and her friends from the neighborhood have all gone to an event. She won't be back until late, definitely not in this weather.

It was sunny just an hour ago, and then it all turned upside down. Rain and thunder started pouring down. The power went off, and the back up didn't turn on.

I'm at the front porch thinking about food while my stomach growls.

A food delivery will surely be delayed, and I'm in no mood to cook in this tumultuous weather. Not to forget, there's no electricity.

Just when I begin to resign myself to hunger until mom returned, I see my sister's car pull up at the front.

Her shift must've ended now. She probably decided to bunker down here rather than ride to her place in this rain.

I grab the umbrella and rush to her, full of hope. "Mom's not home yet. There's no power. And I'm hungry!" I say while she gets off.

"Go check the generator, I'll start on the dinner," Karen says.

Full of enthusiasm at the prospect of food, I head to the back of the house and into the basement.

The gauge says the fuel is full. The button says it's on. I turn it off, then back on again. The generator is still lifeless. I look at the top and see a bunch of thick wires coming out of its head. I wouldn't dare mess with them.

This is all I could do. We need an electrician, but in this weather... I gloomily take out my phone from my pants' pocket to make the call when I see Raylan's name first thing in the recent call list.

I chuckle. I've been calling him so often these days, nearly half of the name in my recent call list is his.

He's kinda handy, though.

I glance at the generator, and then at my phone.

Heck, why not? If he's at home, he can be here the quickest.

I call Raylan. "The generator is not working."

He groans. He must've been taking a nap. "It must be out of fuel."

"The gauge says it's full. I turned the switch off and on. Doesn't work."

He groans again. "Call the electrician then. Why are you bothering me?"

"Get your ass down here. Now. Or do you want me to forward Tony the photos?"

He cusses and ends the call.

I pull a stool next to the generator, sit down and wait.

I was hoping not to blackmail him unless and until it was for something very important, especially since he helped with Becca's issue.

But I'm starving now. I can't hold my evil self back anymore.

In a moment, I see Raylan enter the basement, drenched.

"Why the fuck you didn't use an umbrella?" I say. Water is dripping down all over the place from him.

"I couldn't fucking find it," he snaps back.

He takes off his t-shirt. I look away. He twists it and water gushes down. He uses the wet t-shirt to wipe his face.

"Dammit, I'll bring you some towels. You're giving me even more work," I mumble and get up to leave.

"Where are the tools?" He says.

"Top shelf, left."

I return inside the house. My sister tells me Raylan was here, drenched. "Yeah, I called him to help with the generator. Couldn't turn it on myself. He's at the basement. I'm taking him some towels now." I grab some towels and head back into the basement.

After drying himself up a little, Raylan touches the flip switches with a screw driver that lights up each time, except for the last switch. He disconnects the wire from it and attaches the wire to the switch before it.

He flips the newly connected switch and the generator loudly whirs to life.

After this successful mission we head back into the house.

Karen looks at Raylan. "I've turned on the heater in Ellie's room. Go take a bath. She will bring your clothes. And Call Tony. We'll have dinner here."

Ugh, my sister playing the neighborhood group's older sister again. I should've just called an electrician.

I take the umbrella and head to Raylan's house.

I see crumpled chips packets in the living room. Guess I wasn't the only one waiting for their mom hungrily. I quickly grab a change of clothes for Raylan from his closet and hurry back.

The wind is preposterous and the rain is dense. No wonder he got completely soaked. That idiot could've just told me to bring the umbrella if he couldn't find his.

Why am I the only smart person in the world?

Tony had already arrived when I reach my house. Apparently everyone was hungry in our row of houses.

But thanks to my beloved sister, not for long.

End of chapter