text: There are a few shops and stores on the street.
  
  The grocery store is open 3 to 6.
  
  The provisions shop is open 2 to 4.
  
  The car lot is open 1 to 4.
  
  The casino is always open.
  
  > say "Borrow"
  Where would you like to travel?[Themes: modern]
  
  You are Johnny Rad, or JR to your acquaintances. You're a short sixteen year-old on the hairier side of puberty, currently sporting some el disgusto straggly hair on your upper lip. You also have an eyebrow piercing, and long green hair. Your name was ultimately a poor choice you made in middle school, and it stuck. Your actually name is Jonathon Craft, an annoyingly bland name. Whenever people ask about your name, you claim it's ironic, and you scowl at them. "Who the fuck are they to judge me?" you often ponder.
  
  You don't have any friends. You don't have anybody you connect with well enough to consider a friend, you simply have acquaintances you surround yourself with on a regular basis. Currently you are in the attic of your large suburban middle class home, which also functions of your room, with two of these acquaintances. There is Dave, who is your best acquaintance. He's really muscular (probably to a freakish extent. His jaw is visible from behind) and both of his biceps are adorned with tribal tattoos. His head is buzzed, as his fascist father made him go to military school in middle school and he was never the same since. You keep him around for a sick sense of solidarity, as you feel like your white bread parents are holding you as P.O.W. He has okay taste in music, mainly metalcore stuff. You think it's a bit too produced for your liking. The other person in the room is Shauna, although that isn't actually her name either. She just wanted to sound more punk rock and you thought that was funny and cute. You guys fuck around, but you aren't really in a relationship. She has quills and dual snake bites. Nobody really talks to each other, you just sit on a saggy couch in your room and listen to your limited collection of records and cassettes (mainly you have just a bunch of Clash and Ramones, which you don't even like that much, but you do have a tape of this one local band called Kyle Massey and the Genomes, which is pretty okay. It's like reggae-grunge fusion, the brain child of Kurt Cobain and Bob Marley.)
  
  Dave is sitting on a milk crate twitching pretty badly because he's only had black coffee (mixed with protein powder) today with nothing to eat (he never really eats), and Shauna is caressing your arm longingly, but she's staring out your window at the pale fall sky with a blank expression on her face. You think there might be a concert tonight at the Revolting Puss Hole (your favorite venue), but then you remember it's 19+ and your parents took your fake ID. Your drug dealer might have gotten parole though. What do you do?
  
  [Author's Note: You're a teen. A shitty angsty teenaged boy in a Canadian suburb. You're filled with such angst, boredom, and cynicism. Will you be able to be your typical teen self or will other things influence you somehow maybe?]
  
  > make out with Shauna
  You turn your gaze to Shauna and your mouth is ajar, emitting a gross noise from your throat. She turns to you and you two start kissing. It starts out slow and soft, but quickly it gets aggressive and sloppy and you have to pull back every minute or so just to wipe the slobber off of your face, as it's running down your chin. You start to take off your rum-stained "I'd rather be a commie" t-shirt, but then you both turn and realize that Dave is still there. He's staring down at his feet intensely in his caffeine buzz, twitching like a man with some bad Parkinsons. You turn to Shauna. What do you do?
  
  > sit back down in the Attic
  Shauna and you are sitting next to each other on your sunken-in chesterfield, and Dave is doing misc. activities on a milk crate across the room. You're all feeling very awkward and also feeling various emotions for various reasons. It's a Friday night. What will our hero, you, Johnny Rad, do tonight?
  
  > get some eats
  Dave's twitchiness is getting unbearable and you yell at him to calm the fuck down. He doesn't reply, he just kind of pauses what he's doing and stares blankly and sighs. Shauna turns to you and tells you she hasn't eaten since yesterday's breakfast. Your stomach rumbles and you think it would be best for everybody if you got something to eat. You decide on everybody's behalf that you're going to Helsinki's, a burger joint downtown. You guys need bus money though. Scrounging around the house leaves you penniless, so you just steal a 20 from your repressed homosexual father's wallet. You can break it down at the bus depot.
  
  The three of you are waiting for the bus in the cold of Fall. Why is it so dark at 4:30 pm? The bus is late, and the doors open revealing a very tall man driving with a shiny, bald head, big gold hoop earings, and a sweaty gut, in cargo shorts and a v-neck. You hold back your laughter and give him a fiver for the three of you. He's annoyed that you're a dollar short, but you tell him to fuck off, and you all force yourselves on the bus. The bus is crowded and the shocks are shot, so everybody is struggling to hold balance. The bus driver misses your stop just to spit you, and you guys all get off without a thank you, and walking back to Helsinki's.
  
  Helsinki's is badly lit with florescent lights that make everybody's skin look plastic and gross. The waitress, who has a big Monroe mole, in her late 30s puts out a cigarette and roller skates to you, like the whole 50s diner thing is still in style. It's funny, in an ironic way. That's why you keep coming back. You each order a Philly cheese steak, and receive them with a cup of copy and their signature dirty dishes. Dave says he's gonna be sick, and runs off to the bathroom. You think he might be bulimic or something. You decide to make out with Shauna until he comes back, and your greasy slobbery kisses warm each other's hearts, chunks of beef and processed cheese floating between mouths, becoming one. You think you love this girl.
  
  > check on Dave
  Although Shauna is an amazing gal, and I guess describing her as your acquaintance isn't exactly accurate, you tell her you need to check on Dave, he might not be okay. She wipes some off some of the grease that hadn't settled into her jean jacket yet, and lets you go. You saunter into the unisex bathroom, and you are taken aback. Somebody actually took the effort to wipe down all of the graffiti. It couldn't have been anybody working here. Anyways, you look through all of the stalls (none of them have doors attached) until you find Dave, hunched over a toilet. You seem a translucent black 'liquid' torrenting from his mouth. The noises he's making are disturbing, and remind you of some bad horror movie sound effects. You ask him if he's alright and he turns around with a desperation in his eyes.
  
  "Call me an ambulance, dude," he utters.
  
  > leave the restaurant with Shauna
  You and Shauna leave Dave to his own devices in the diner, and stroll to the sidewalk. You lift the golden thumb until somebody picks you up. A green 2002 Honda Civic pulls to the side of the road and a man with a grey suit, a pipe, glasses, and slicked hair, almost a caricature of 50s pop art, tells you to hop in. You two hop in the back seat and he looks a little sad that nobody tries to sit next to him. He starts rambling about his teen years enthusiastically and you roll your eyes with a scowl on your face. You realize that you never told him where you were going and just tell him to let you off at Grant street, which is in about four blocks. He drops you off in front of a (formerly white) picket fenced house on a hill, with a tall droopy tree. Shauna's parents chose this location because they thought it would be perfect and scenic, but grew bitter about it quickly, as it became THEE house on the block to target. Egg shells stain the walls and the roof is decorated with wet toilet paper. The business man speeds off with a smirk on his face as you get out of his car.
  
  Shauna guides the way to her bedroom, and you take off your muddy combat boots on her floor, completely forgetting about the carpets all over the house. You crawl into her bed and she asks you if you're ready.
  
  "Are you kidding me? I was born ready"
  
  > ...
  The deed is done. She looks dissatisfied, and you feel mutually. She's staring at her wall, at a Reel Big Fish poster. You sit up on the edge of her bed and sigh. You look at her and then at her muddy carpet. Is this what your life amounts to now? Is this you and your girlfriend? Is this what you do to your friends, I guess you'll call them now? Your eyes narrow in on a single fiber on the carpet. You bend over and pick it up. You are as insignificant as this synthetic polywoven fiber. Jesus Christ, what a way to exist. Too bad you don't have any anti-depressants on you, they're all in your sister's underwear drawer.
  
  "Do you love me?" you ask jokingly to Shauna,
  
  She shrugs and says sure.