Bento Chronicles

Mika, is working at a local burger joint. The clock says 9:58.
 
“Fine, go!” The boss gives the good to go.Mika jumps out the door and to his car. He drives to school just minutes away. Frustrated with the typical routine of changing in the car Mika opens the door a relatively unpopulated part of the school and begins changing from his work uniform to his school clothes. Within moments he is done and headed straight into a building labeled F at a running pace. 
 
As he enters through a small corridor the camera pans from around Mika’s back, toward the front of the room. It centers on an old and frustrated looking man. “Mika, you’re late again,” as the camera flips to a perspective behind the Professor.
 
“I’m so-”
 
“Stop! Don’t apologize. Might I recall that last time I had said that it would be the “Final” time you would disrespect the students of this classroom?”
 
“Sir, I-”
 
“Don’t Speak Mika, don’t sit, I want you out of this classroom,”
 
“Please sir, I-”
 
“Out! Now,” The Professor speaks in a raised voice. Non-negotiable and crystal clear, the professor is heard. Mika backs out of the classroom. Following his scramble down the door step, a girl taps him on the shoulder, “Don’t worry about him, he’s just a little pissed off today.”
 
“You are?” Mika responds, looking at the small red headed girl with green eyes.
 
“Excuse me, I was just added, I’m Helena Pickett. Anyway, I’m sorry for what happened in there, it’s partially my fault. I walked in hoping to get added to the roster but inadvertently interrupted the class too. Apparently the class was full but he was so frustrated with you, now that you’re “ kicked-out,” uhh well, I guess that I’m in. Umm would you mind sticking around? Maybe we could talk to him after?”
 
“Together? I don’t see how that could help. Look, go ahead and enjoy your new spot. I’m better off wasting my time elsewhere” Mika walks away
 
“Bye, it was nice… to meet you..” The girl wears an unhappy face, as she hobbles back through the door.
 
Mika posts a blunt in the parking lot. From here on the day seems to go by slowly. A hazy montage passes of his next three classes, with Mika landing himself in his bed ultimately, intertwined between scenes of him puffing at his getaway. He awakens the next day and then rises toward a pair of sliding doors adjacent to the makeshift bed on the floor. A sunset is available just through the alleyway, and just over a flat field at the end of it. A quick glimpse of Mika in the shower, post shower shaving, and final shot of him slipping his shirt on, Mika begins his journey out of the sliding doors into that alleyway. He takes a miniature stroll through it with no real target destination. Coincidentally the back entrance of another dorm complex opens. Mika rolls right on in, just as a student with a pack of cigarettes exits to the alley, and straight through the building. The lobby is grief and empty but Mika is revealed the morning light through the front doors of the building and as he steps outside the mood changes.
 
 
Mika hastens his pace, hands in pockets, hood on, as he walks across a food courtyard. It is apparent that it is populated for breakfast. Mika finds his way to an art gallery although a crowd of bustling people barricade his path. He opens the front door with an access card and on his first step inside
 
“Hey, hold on, we don’t open till 9,” Mika slows his roll and heads to the over, toward the sound of the voice, coming from entrance panel. A young blue eyed girl is staring at him. “You can’t just walk in here like you own the place,”
 
“Mika, I work here Thursdays and Fridays…and the entire weekend.”
 
“Well I’m Madeline, and I work here today and I know for a fact, that “even”(emphasis) employees have to pay for admission,”
 
“Come on, can you give me a break? Please?” Mika raises his hands to the front of his lips as in strong prayer.
 
“Noooo. I’m sorry, I can’t, that would get me fired. And as a matter of fact, I think that just strolling right in here lik…”
 
“Look, I work here, I do this all of the time and I’m never-”
 
“Mika! Welcome!” An overweight and average height man high hikes himself down the stairs. As he gets to Mika’s side, “Good to see you! Mika this is Maddy Hunter, Maddy this is MC Tightrope.”
 
A light chuckle escapes both Mika’s mouth and Maddy's out of respect for the Boss.

“That was a long time ago Timothy and-”
 
“And! I still miss those good ole days.” Looking immediately back towards Maddy, that was his stage name. He was DJ slash karaoke host for uh that club uhh…the club Nightingale just down the road,” Mika begins to wear an embarrassed look on his face.
 
“Haha, but that was way back when-”
 
“You’re still a healthy young man, a few months isn’t way back when Mika. I was wondering what happened to you, I‘ve missed you!”
 
“I’ve been busy keeping up with my studies and-”
 
“Woah, you don’t have to lie to me son, that’s not what I’ve heard.” Timothy Reid begins waving a No-no finger. Mika begins to blush heavily.
 
“You were kicked out of Gonsan’s class just yesterday for showing up late for the sixth time. Now Mika, that doesn’t sound very much like you, I remember your work ethic. You were always on time here!”
 
“Were?” Speaks up Maddy.
 
“Yes, Mika resigned from his position as a tour guide. He knows all the pieces in here like the back of his hand and as a matter of fact, some of the pieces were even created by him himself!” The boss whiffs both arms openhandedly, pointing at Mika.
 
“Tadah!” Mika spreading his arms wide open.
 
“Ever since then, I welcomed him around here anytime he wants, free of charge. Also, as another matter of fact Maddy my girl, this place”
 
“Last tuition,” Mika interrupts.
 
“Hah! I love this kid! Used to be admission free entrance, that was, you know, until them wild education cuts and such. Well, uhm, I’m sorry I can’t stick around much longer, it was nice seeing you! Honestly, I miss you kid and it would be nice if you could perhaps stop by tomorrow morning. I know you’re always off busy doing whatever it is what you do, but I’d like to catch up and talk son, see how you’ve been. I know it’s been a ruff week. Anyway, I talked Gonsan into giving you back your position in his class, so please, show up there on time this time? For me?”
 
“I’ll do my best sir,”
 
“Atta boy! I know you won’t let me look like a fool. Well, I best be on my way, an associate meeting is going on. I’m always left out of them things but this time I actually got the call! Hope it’s good news,”
 
“I wish the best sir,”
 
“So do I,”
 
“Well, anyway, I better get going, it was nice seeing you. Don’t steal anything!” pointing a finger at Mika, “Hah! Kidding,” the boss walks away.
 
“Can we… can we start over. I’m Mika Toulouse. And you are?”
 
“Madeline Stenstrom, look, you’re kinda of interrupting the-”
 
“Oh sorry, you need any help?”
 
“No! I’m fine,”
 
“Okay then…” Mika shrugs off the scolding words. “I’ll be off. I promise not to destroy anything while I’m walking around,”
 
Maddy watches Mika disappear into the corridor around the stairs. She gets up from her seat and opens the doors to public. We snap back to Mika staring at a piece of his own artwork, “Dear lord, Mika what were you thinking back then?” he says aloud.
 
“More like, what were you feeling?”
 
Mika turns to meet the face of Maddy “Shouldn’t you be working or something?”
 
“I’m sorry about what I did earlier, it was a misun..”
 
“Don’t apologize, you were doing your job. A strange looking man walks into the art gallery with his own personal card. You don’t know him, you’ve never seen him in your life. He claims to work here and you… actually do. I understand.”
 
“That is no excuse for how rude I’ve acted. Let me take you for a bite to eat during my break? Please?”
 
“Sorry, I’m actually…not straight.”
 
“Oh, I’m… sorr…well can…can you come get a bite to eat with me anyways? Please let me make up for it?”
 
“I’m actually really busy…” Mika turns away from her and begins walking toward the wall.
 
“You came to an art gallery to gander at your own work,” Mika’s pace slows. “Look, I may be an ass, but I’m not an idiot. Something’s wrong. Isn’t it?” Mika stops and thinks in his head [oh my fucking god, this woman…is a genius.] I saw the terrible look on your face before I interrupted your thought. Maybe you can talk to me about it?”
 
“It’s nothing I can’t handle alone, really, thanks for the offer. I’m not a little kid any more… if you get out of my face I promise I’ll go without stealing anything besides this.” He points to his piece.
 
“Hold on, that’s our-”
 
Mika walks away and right out of the door, art piece in hand. The next camera views the fantastic face of the building just as Mika exits and scrambles down the stairs. Maddy was following only steps behind as he now distances them. “Wait! Please!”
 
 
Mika is now at his dorm, the painting is staring at him. He sits on the floor crosslegged. All around him, the walls are white and blank, talking to him, calling obscenities. He shuts them out with a scream “Fuck my life!”
 
 
Mika reappears back at the gallery looking at the front desk. Maddy isn’t there, he turns back around and leaves through the door in which he came, without even a second glance. It’s 7:00pm. He heads back toward his dorm, a gigantic modern style building. He walks down the steps toward the building in the shadow of an unnecessary overhang. He closes his eyes and continues his stroll. Something causes him to sneeze, disturbing his walk, and he bumps into a pair of girls knocking all of their books to the ground. Mika immediately crouches to the ground and begins fixing the mess he’s made “Holy, sh..crap, I’m really sorry about all of this,” as he arises to a familiar face.
 
 
“Hi again,” she smiles awkwardly “I know you kind of hate me, but I think”
 
“Your that girl, from the other day, the”
 
“Position theif. Yeah, sorry, about tha…you should know that Gonsan has reconsidered removing you from class”
 
“I’ve heard, thanks for renotifying me. I’m an idiot,”
 
“No problems,” She smiles again, this time comfortably. “So do you think maybe you’ll make it to class this time?”
 
“Haha…funny!” Mika drops her books back to the ground, and walks around her into the building. [Bitch] he thinks to himself.
 
“Fucking asshole. I’m gonna kick you’re ass!” Helena’s friend shouts making a quick turn toward the building.
 
“Rita, no…please. Relax? It’s okay. Let it go,” Helena holds Rita back. “Rita,” she says softly. The fire in Rita’s eye subsides. They begin to collect the books off the ground.
 
 
Mika is in an elevator. He pulls The Peacemaker from his back pocket as he steps off. A strange looking boy runs out of a room just around the corner from its right side  L (shape of corridor) passing by Mika, into the elevator at the bottom across the small gap at the bottom of the L. Mika continues on his path out of the elevator to the left side of the L into a stairwell. He opens up the door to the roof with his left hand, bong wielded by his right. There, he slowly flops to the ground. He lights it, and gazes up into the nighttime sky.
 
 
“Who the fuck am I?” Mika is about to light it but he puts it down atop the smackle and walks toward the edge of the building. The edge of the building has no side guards, Mika stands there, at the edge, motionless.
 
 
A glimpse of a face familiar to only him passes through his mind. [This is not what he would have wanted for me] Mika backs from the edge and flops back down. He begins to sob in his arms. “I miss you,” the bleak pain kicks in, harder than ever. Around the desolate roof he begins to look, looking for some sort of answer. A sign. And all he can see is the edge. He gets back up, wind blowing in his hair, and his white shirt covered in tears and he continues pondering an answer as an aimless gaze guides both his feet and thought. Then he notices it, a glimmer. He walks toward it. The bong is still sitting exactly where he left it. He picks it up in a firm fist.
 
 
Mika begins sprint toward the edge. He looks toward the sky and with all of his rage he throws it over the edge. His momentum glides him across the gravel and he spills over the very ledge he had reconsidered jumping from moments ago. “No! I’m not going like this,” He latches his hands to the side of the building. He takes a deep breath and just as he is about to attempt the impossible the roof door open. A tumult of laughter follows. “Hey! Help! Help!” The laughter dies. “I’m fucking over here!” The strange boy from earlier is here, atop the roof, now with friends. The only hope in a desolate night are the stars. Maybe they do have a plan. Because this very night, the stars are what saved Mika. Three boys hustle to the ledge to the sight of Mika. “Craig, grab his arm! We got ‘cha, We got ‘cha,” The boy named Craig is already on his knees prepared to help. The third boy, the strange boy himself, the frail and undersized boy speaks “So uh, what brings you over the ledge tonight?”
 
 
“Fuck me right!?” Mika gets his footing.
 
“Well, I mean shit, you were just in a life or death situation. It was probability pointing toward you being a better mood. Perhaps grand? Grateful? You know, there’s a whole list of emotions out there that should apply to a man that just found him self in a situation like yours and hath survived to tell the tale,”
 
“I apologize for not being in a mood for cliff related humor fucker. But, thank you,” He takes a breath to calm down and relocates as far away from the edge as possible, in the center of the building, past the boys and just behind their telescope,” He peers through it, it is targeting black. He looks to the three boys around him once again, “Truly, thank you, all of you. May I know my saviors’ names?”
 
“Liam Harper,” Mika shakes his hands
 
“Craig Gibson,” The young man’s hang is monstrous in comparison to Mika’s.
 
“I’d shake your hand but I’m afraid you might crush me like you did my arm back there,”
 
"Haha, sorry, my momma always told me to be careful. I don’t know my own strength,”
 
“Melvin Rhys at your ser-”
 
“Shut the fuck up, I asked them, not you,”
 
“Woah woah woah, what’s with all this hostility man? We could put you back over the edge if you’d like?”
 
“Haha very fucking funny. They(emphasis) could put me back over the edge, not you… icicle.”
 
“Oh, now he goes on making small fry jokes. You, my friend, are an-”
 
“I… I know, I’m an ass, I’m working on it,”
 
“Are you? Because if you are, just how much progress have you made?”
 
“Do you want me to strangle you?”
 
“I’d very much enjoy that,”
 
“Haha, alright! There, you happy? You got a chuckle out of me,”




I wrote this a while back and I'd love some input. It's a lot less than a novella