The Loop

June 3, 1988, pt 6

Jerome slid out of his bed, and onto the floor. He was slower than usual, still not wanting to go outside at all. It was only day ten thousand, eight hundred, and thirty out of an unknown number, what was the rush to get anything done today of all days?

By the time he was downstairs, his mother was already putting their cereal on the table. She smiled at him with her mouth, but the rest of her face was different.

"It's still not the fourth is it?" He asked as he sat down at the table. He started stirring the cereal in the bowl absentmindedly, watching the milk go around and around, always ahead of the spoon but never being directly pushed by it.

His mother shook her head. "Still the third," she said as she sat across from him.

"You'll tell me when it isn't?" he asked while his eyes remained locked on the bowl.

"Of course I will," she said, reaching across the table and applying firm pressure to his hand. "And I'll help you with anything else you need."

"Except you won't because you spend all day with Mr. Davis," Jerome murmured as he pulled his hand away.

"I can change it if I need to," she said while she rested her hand on her lap. "Do you need me to change it?"

He shook his head and got up without taking a bite of cereal. Mr. Davis was already on the porch, waiting to enter, Jerome left the door wide open.

Outside was moving swiftly, everybody had their own things to do, and didn't see the point in finding out anything they were missing. They were missing a lot.

At the corner of the road, he saw Colin, the guy who came into town two literal days ago. He was sitting on the bench where Jerome usually sat while people asked for the day. Colin looked over at him from the bench, waving him to come closer. Curious, Jerome followed the summons and sat down next to Colin.

"I'm clearly missing something about this town, so what is it?" Colin asked, leaning back against the bench back. "Are you like Amish or something?"

Jerome shrugged, "I don't think so."

Colin nodded, leaning his neck back over the board. "Yeah, I figured not but thought I'd ask."

"What we are is stuck," Jerome said, imitating Colin's stature.

"Clearly, it's still the eighties here or something," Colin scoffed.

Jerome cocked his head as he stood up. "So you aren't from 1988?" He asked.

"No," Colin replied, staring blankly from his seat. "I mean, technically I was born in 88, but that was it, and like, maybe Christmas or something."

Jerome snapped his fingers and started pacing, glancing up at Colin every other pass. That couldn't be right. If he was born that year, he had to be connected. In thirty years no one had come on the town, why should it start now instead of any other time?

Jerome knew he was missing something important, but he didn't know what it was.

"And you've been here four days now, right?" he asked.

Colin nodded.

"Four days as in numerical yesterday, the day before yesterday, the day before that day, and then the day before that day?" Jerome asked as he stepped back.