//------------------------------// // Prologue: Bicycle // Story: Scoota-who?! // by LunaScribbles //------------------------------// Scoota-who?! By: Luna Phobos In life, there are times you don’t get your fair share of the world’s big apple pie. An apple pie meant to provide for everyone in this world. For some goddamn reason, some people got more shares than all the rest of us. Greedy bastards… That’s why I buy apple pie from McDonalds. My name is Shaun. I refuse to use my last name for several reasons I don’t want to delve into. I’m about 21 years old, and I work as a bike courier to support Carrie, my little sister, and her education. It’s a risky job, but it pays well. I need the money to pay rent, food, and the yearly tuition. Life’s been like this for years now, ever since I decided to leave my parents and their sickening lifestyle. That should give you at least a reason why I don’t like to share my goddamn last name. As a bike courier, I may or may not be delivering drugs or some other illegal crap. To be honest, I don’t care. They can ruin their lives for all I care. As long as I get the money to see me and my little sister okay, those people with the bigger slice of that apple pie can go fuck themselves. “One apple pie, please.” I said to the McDonalds cashier. “And some Fanta please.” Yeah, as you can tell, I love the crappy breading filled with sweet hot apple mush that McDonalds sells. It’s a quick and tasty snack when you’re on the road, biking to the destination. Once I got my order, I slid part of the pie out of its cardboard container and took a bite. It was pretty hot, but I’m used to eating very hot food in order to save time going to the next destination. I got my drink and pie, paid the cashier, and went on my way. It was a great time to finally buy a cup holder for my bike because before getting that, I’d always try my best staying alive on the streets by steering the handlebars with one hand. I placed the drink of Fanta on the bike’s cup holder, and the bitten apple pie on the bike’s basket, beside the package. “Another day…” I muttered to myself. “Another delivery.” Kicking back the stand, I pedalled as fast as I can to the destination. There were obstacles in the way like fallen over trash cans, sleeping hobos, and sidewalk ledges, but these meant nothing to me. I always felt that my bike was an attachment to me, it was like an extra body part. Maybe it’s because I’ve been biking ever since I left my parents. Maybe it’s a metaphor that, without this bike, I couldn’t afford any money to give my sister a roof over her head, food on her plate, and knowledge on her mind. With this in mind, I always find a way to pass through any hurdle. I bounce. Easier said than done, unless you’ve been biking for years. Nearly grafting my tires on that hobos face, I made it. Nobody was hurt, and my bike is in ship shape. The house looked like any other house who’d ask a bike courier to deliver for them… A crack shack. Usually, I’d knock on the wooden door, drop the package by their doorstep, and leave as fast as I can. That’s the usual routine I came up with after that big ol’ accident during my first days in the bike courier business. With every routine, it shall be followed. I knocked, dropped, and left. Once that’s done, I come back to the small house where bike couriers get their money from. “Nice job, Shaun. You successfully delivered the package on time.” said the big ol’ lookin guy. He looks like someone you’d see in an action movie, holding two tommy guns, shooting and screaming. “Here’s the payment.” Fifty bucks… It’s enough, I suppose. I got on my bike, ate my apple pie and drank my Fanta, and went home, satisfied with the amount I gained for today. Went back to my apartment. It didn’t look all too good, but it was good enough for me and my sister. I got the keys in my pocket and opened the door. The living room was pretty small, and the bedrooms were smaller. In the living room, I saw my little sister, being studious as usual by reading a book. At least she cares about education more than I did. “Oh, hi there big bro!” she said as she noticed me. “How’s work?” “Pretty good, sis. How’s studies?” “It’s ‘how are your studies’.” she giggled. “Well, you know me sis. I don’t have time to study. I’m busy here giving us chow.” I chuckled. “Not to mention the rent.” “I know. One day, we’re all going to live better lives.” she said as she stared up at the ceiling. “Don’t you think?” “Well duh.” I said as I made my way to my bedroom. “The two of us are going to live better lives.” “Not just the two of us, Shaun.” she said seriously. “The people who’re like us. People who lived with lives like this.” I paused for a second and thought about it. I looked back at my sister, who was still sitting down on the living room sofa, reading her book. “You’re goddamn right.” “I bought this for you, as a good luck charm!” she said cheerfully as she gave me a sticker which appeared to be a crest with the colors red, pink, and violet, with a pink lightning bolt. I raised an eyebrow at her. “What is it?” “It’s Scootaloo’s cutie mark!” she giggled. “Scoota-who?” “It’s one of my favorite characters from My Little Pony!” You know, I sometimes forget my little sister is 11 at some points. Like yesterday, that was some wisdom for a kid her age. Usually, kids would break windows by throwing rocks and steal money from convenience stores. I’m glad Carrie was an innocent kid. “Ponies?” “Yeah! I saved up a lot of money just to buy this for you!” she smiled. “The mister at the shop said that it’s a very good sticker to put on bikes!” It was a pretty high quality vinyl sticker. Perfect for the front of my basket… Even though I have no idea what My Little Pony was, I felt a rush of happiness in my heart knowing that my sister saved up all her money just to buy me this. I patted her on the head and messed her hair around. “You’re a good kid, Carrie. Thank you!” “It’s the only thing I could do for my B.B.B.F.F.!” “A wha-?” “Big Brother Best Friend Forever, silly!” she said as she hugged me. “Now you go now, and do your work!” “Heh sure, Carrie!” The school wasn’t far from here. It was a walk away. I’d always offer Carrie a ride on my bike, but she said that I shouldn’t waste too much time on her; that I should spend most of my time on trying to do my bike courier business. Before I got started, I placed the neat vinyl sticker in the front of my basket. “Lookin good…” I said as I placed that sticker. It looked like I was working for a company that used this symbol. It looked like one of those shield symbols that my sister was studying one time. Oh what was it? The Crusades? Even though this symbol was from some little kids show, the symbol looked pretty good! It didn’t look too girly, and it was a gift from my sister too! Why wouldn’t I show it off?! I begun pedalling off to the bike courier service building. It was just a few blocks away, nothing I couldn’t handle. With my bike, everything felt like a stunt course. Jumping over trash cans, grinding on railings, and other bike tricks? It’s what I do. Anything to reach the destination on time. Now, I felt very cautious not to get a single scratch on this vinyl sticker of mine. It was a gift from my sister, and I can’t let anything ever happen to it! Well, that was until I felt an excruciating amount of pain hit me on the left side as I just flew from my bike onto the sidewalk. I took deep breaths, and closed my eyes. This is how it ends, huh? I could barely hear through my left ear, but I could hear a loud truck horn faintly on my right ear, as well as the gasps from the people who happened to be nearby my body. Carrie! With that single word in my mind echo throughout this entire thing, I tried moving, but to no avail. My entire left side just felt nothing. My right side was twitching, in an effort to at least move. I opened my eyes to see what was going on, but I could only open one of them. I looked around with one eye and saw many people were shocked, horrified, and other words to describe horror. I then turned to myself. My body all mangled. No man could live through this. My brain had to process its inevitable fate. I haven’t said goodbye! Carrie! God damn it, I can’t die yet… I felt someone touching my body, probably the paramedics trying to lift my body, still squirming. With all the effort I had, I took in my last breath and shouted as best as I can. “Carrie Turner! Thank you for everything you’ve done!” And with that, I closed my eyes, hoping that the pain would just go away. Cold. Air is thin. Is this what it feels like to be dead? It doesn’t feel too bad. I still felt my body. I felt no pain, yet some parts were numb. I couldn’t feel my hands, and I still feel like my legs are broken from the impact due to how they were… not in its right place. The surface beneath me felt very comfortable, like the softest cotton I’ve ever felt. That, or I’m sleeping on a hospital bed. I really hope it’s the latter, meaning that I’m still alive. I finally decided to open my eyes. Sky. I saw the sky, the bluest of blue. It’s as if there was no pollution. Sunset. The sun looked majestic that it’s not blocked my smoke and smog caused by cars. Clouds. There were clouds all around me. If that were the case, then that could mean one thing. “I’m dead.”