Crystal & Caveman

*Introduction

Caveman was stretched out on his back, the hot September sunlight hitting him directly in the face. The grass beneath him was dry and sparse (it hadn't rained in a few weeks.) Below the slope he was lying on was a body of green water, Lake Purity (not actually a lake, really a pond pretty much, but everybody called it a lake.) The slope was secluded from the street behind it by a thicket of wild shrubs, and was accessible only by a narrow concrete walkway. Two slim docks floated by the shore, filthy with algae and discarded fishing bait. Caveman and Crystal (his girlfriend) were "indoors people," but the nice weather and lack of AC in Crystal's high school (she was a senior, he had been out for just over a year) had driven them outdoors for the day. Caveman closed his eyes against the warm sun and saw colorful spots on the backs of his lids. He felt a few locks of his long, curly hair brush his face, and he shook his head to get them away. His hair, along with the patchy beard that always covered his chin and cheeks, made him look like the illustrated pictures of Neanderthals found in common social studies textbooks.

"I think growing up and having to go to work every day is the biggest scam in the whole world," Crystal said. She held a cigarette in her hand, the smoke pluming delicately. "It's like you're forced to work just to survive. You either exchange your freedom for money or you end up homeless and starving to death. It's a completely miserable way to live, yet no one does anything about it."

Caveman played absentmindedly with the lid of his pack of cigarettes. He dug his fingers in and slipped one out. "Some people enjoy their jobs," he said to Crystal.

"Yeah, because they don't have the perspective to realize shit sucks. They're brainwashed. They get told that not wanting to toil away their whole lives for nothing makes them lazy."

Caveman seemed to consider this. "It's going to suck to have to go to work every day," he agreed.

"I could never picture you with an office job Caveman. You'd never be able to wake up that early." She gazed out at the lake. "I don't think I could either. I don't like being told what to do. I'd end up punching boss in the face." She grinned. "So fuck that. I don't care about money that much. I'd rather be poor and happy."

"I don't think being poor is that great either." Caveman toyed with his cigarette.

"I know. The whole system is stupid."

Caveman was slightly behind her, so his view was of the back of her t-shirt. Her cigarette was almost down to the filter. She sucked the last pull of tobacco from it and put it out on the bottom of her shoe. She waited a moment for it to cool off, then tucked the butt gently into her Hello Kitty wallet. She returned the wallet to her side and stared out at the green water again.

Caveman propped himself up on his elbows and followed her gaze out to the lake. His head hurt a little and his mouth was dry. He had spent most of last night inebriated and hadn't gotten enough sleep. He wished he had eaten more than just a banana that morning. A glass of water would have been good too. Smoking was making him lightheaded; he regretfully put his cigarette out on his shoe like Crystal had.

Suddenly Crystal stood up. She glared at the lake for a moment and began marching down the slope. "What are you doing?" Caveman called after her, but she didn't turn around. He pushed himself up onto his feet (his left one was asleep, he had been lying with his ankle bent in a weird way) and staggered after her. She stopped when she reached the muddy shore, raising her hand to shade her forehead from the sun ("Asshole sun," she had muttered when they left Caveman's house that day.) Caveman stopped short behind her and squinted, the sunlight reflecting off the water hurting his eyes and making spot appear in his vision.

"Do you see that?" Crystal asked. She pointed toward a non-distinct spot in the middle of the pond.

"No." Caveman squinted again. Suddenly as the spots faded he actually could see something. It was small and conical and red. Apart from these details he couldn't tell what it was. It was poking out of the water a few hundred feet away, too distant for him to make out.