[h1]A Day of Anticipation[/h1]

Kyle thought he'd be used to bedrest by now, he'd barely left his apartment in the last 3 weeks, in part because his doctor told him not to and also because he wanted to limit his exposure to speeding cars or strangers his mind might trip and fall into. But today was the day, he'd have to start returning to normalcy sooner or later, and what better way to start than by going to a fake Alcoholics meeting which is actually for people who can do "atypical" things like possess a stranger's body. Okay, so normalcy was the wrong word, but he'd need to start becoming active in the world somehow, he couldn't just sit on his couch watching reruns of Community and waiting for someone to come visit. No, today he was gonna call a cab, get to Central Park and then walk to this weird meeting at the community center. It was final.

Now that he had decided that, he just had to wait 6 hours before it was time to go.....


[h2] Not Long Enough Later [/h2]

Kyle was so, so, so, so very bored.

Why did time have to move so slowly? There was still an hour to go before it would even be remotely acceptable to leave! And that's if he wanted to be an eager beaver and turn up to this super-sketchy event nice and early. Which, to be honest, he kinda did want to, but only because of how bored he was. He had drawn the view from outside his bedroom window so many times he could make a whole art show and just title it "What happens when you're stuck inside for a month". That wasn't actually the worst idea. The modern art crowd would go wild for it, probably. But he wasn't exactly in the ideal financial situation to try and rent out an exhibition space. Nor did anyone actually explain how you go about setting up an art show, during his years at Empire State College's Creative Arts department. He assumed it was expensive.

Almost begrudgingly, Kyle flipped open his sketchbook to a blank page and started to draw something new. A picture of a guy in a superhero costume, being hit by a taxi which crumpled instantly. The superhero looked kinda dumb, to be honest, and Kyle didn't feel great about the shading, but it was at least enough to put a small smile on his face.

[h2]Finally[/h2]

Time had come, Kyle rung up a taxi service (no, not the same one that had shattered his pelvis and a dozen other bones and put him in a coma. A different, hopefully slower, taxi service). He left and locked up his apartment, leaving a sticky note on the door which said "Doc said to start stretching my legs, out for a bit - Kyle". He doubted it would be necessary, but he didn't want Mrs Zhang to worry if she did come by for a visit and nobody answered the door. Feeling satisfied, he walked down the single flight of stairs (again, slowly) and made it to his building's front door. He swung open the door with the confidence of a man who hadn't been hit by a car recently, and took a step out the door.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooope. Nope. Nope. No, no, no, noooooope. Too cold. He'd wait for the taxi inside. 

A few minutes passed, which he spent looking at his phone and at one point pretending his cane was a rapier. He knew it was dorky, but boredom stops you from caring so much. Eventually, the cab arrived, and he rushed as quickly as he would dare from the building to the warm interior of the cab. His driver was a friendly middle-aged man, who told Kyle his name but Kyle forgot it almost immediately and spent the entire journey referring to him as "Dude" or "Man", whilst feeling intensely guilty and self-conscious about the fact he couldn't remember what the guy said his name was. He was almost relieved when the ride was over, and he could step out into the frigid air again. Almost. Awkwardness was mildly better than this biting chill. Regardless, he limped his way through the park towards the community center, and was finally inside. 

His leg was killing him, even worse than his back, but he managed to put on an (admittedly fake) smile as he entered the room with the meeting. "Is this the A.A. meeting? I'm new." He said, sheepishly. The room was 3 women, one of which was showing way too much skin for this weather, she honestly made him feel very under-dressed, with his sweatpants and knitted Hanukkah sweater that his mom made him one year. It was a nice sweater, bright blue with white Stars of David all along it, and a menorah in the middle, he was very impressed when she gave it to him. Still felt like he was probably the worst-looking person here, so far. Great start.

He grabbed himself a doughnut from the table, and a glass of soy milk, which he almost spilled because he was holding them both in one hand, and hobbled over to a seat, the closest one to him. This put him a few seats away from the two girls who were already here, but reduced the odds of him pouring an entire glass of milk on them dramatically, which he was fine with. Sitting his cane down by his side, and trying to find a seating position which didn't hurt his back, he prepared himself for whatever it was that would come next.