They sit atop a high and grassy hill of polished green that looks down upon a simple valley with a few scattered buildings and a small river running through. A blade of sunlight reflects against the water and engulfs everything in a sparkling veil.
Billy Halls passes her the joint they are smoking. She takes a hit and then giggles.
“You look like the guitarist from the band Rush,” Andella says.
“Alex Lifeson?”
“Yes.”
“Wait. You like Rush, too?” Billy asks.
“Rush kicks ass!” Andella exclaims.
“Sweet! They’re my favorite band.”
“Did you feel alienated as a teen?” Andella asks with a serious tone as she looks into his eyes of Ireland green.
“Damn. I sure did, but Rush helped me get through all those rough times. I used to come home from school; smoke weed and lay out on my bed and listen to Rush with headphones on. It was an amazing escape from the horrors of reality. I was really into A Farewell to Kings back then. I remember the birds chirping and being really high.”
I was picked on in high school because I was heavy and awkward,” Andella says. “Listening to Rush was a perfect escape for me, too. The music really spoke to me. Subdivisions is one of my favorite songs. I mean, man, it’s so right on.”
“Yeah, man. Subdivisions is cool… Be cool or be cast out… I was a cast-out because I was meek and small and everyone else was large and loud. I never fit in. I could never speak up. I had but one so-called friend and he was sort of a cast-out too but not as much. His name was Kraig with a K. I’d often hang out at his house after school and in the summer, and we’d play video games or get high and walk around in the woods. I drank my first beer with him at 15. His mom looked like a fish and just sat around and watched television. She liked tuna fish sandwiches and one day she made some for us and there was no way in hell I was going to eat a tuna fish sandwich, so I flushed it down the toilet. I mean, it was crap. So, it seemed fitting.”
“Did she have onions and celery in it?”
“O god, yes. So gross.”
“Ew. I’d rather eat tree bark,” Andella jokes.
“We seem to have a lot in common. Do you want to be my fictional story girlfriend?” Billy Halls asks.
Andella blushes and looks down at the ground. “Yes,” she shyly replies.
Billy reaches out and takes her hand. It’s warm and soft.
“Where do you think we are? Andella asks as she looks around.
“I don’t know,” Billy answers. “But there’s that white door again.”
“Do you think if we went through it, we’d go back to Texas or go somewhere completely different?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not in any hurry to find out. This place is nice. And we’ve got weed.”
“My parents used to call it devil’s lettuce,” Andella says.
Billy Halls laughs.
And as if someone flipped a switch, there suddenly came before them a great wall of fire. Like a tsunami it roars like a wave and wall and threatens to come crashing down on them.
Andella shrieks. Billy raises his arm up in defense, but he knows it would never be enough. They are about to be burned to death.
But as the flames draw near, just as quickly as they appeared, they suddenly dissipate and disappear altogether. There never was any heat or burning. They pat their bodies to make sure they were not injured. Nothing.
“What the hell was that all about?” Andella asks.
Billy Halls surveys the horizon. “It was some kind of mirage or communal hallucination. Seems someone, somewhere, has noticed us. Come here and let me hold you.”
After snuggling up to him, Andella thinks for a moment. “I’ve seen this kind of thing before,” she says.
Billy hugs her tightly and kisses the top of her head. Her hair smells good.
“You have? Where?” he asks.
“The Planet of the Apes.”
“Apes? You mean like the movie?”
“Yes.”
And it’s then that Andella points and when Billy Halls looks, he sees it. A group of apes on horseback thundering toward them.
The one that is leading them is bigger than the rest, darker in color than the rest. He bears upon his muscular body a more decorated uniform, and on his head a more ornate helmet. His bloodshot eyes are full of rage and his nostrils flare as he stampedes his troops up the hill toward Billy and Andella. Horns of war blow, spears are held in attack position.
“The door!” Billy cries out, and they run to the white door standing ornamentally near them and go through it.
“What is this place?” Andella whispers in the dark.
CEREAL AFTER SEX 