Harmon Rottlage, Ruben Tarblatt
Magnets & Batteries, by Mark McAdam
Harmon dropped the shard into the plastic bag and set it aside the sink.
Sorting through the magnets and batteries
Assessing which channels come in
Alphabetizing my cleaning supplies
Singing odes to the aspirin and the gin
The aspirin and the gin
The time had come again for a bit of grooming. Just one or two shards this time. The question; was another necessary? He held his camera up to the bathroom mirror, scanning his own head for any unsightly appendages. And, lo and behold, one on the right side of his crown was getting up there in size.
Harmon set his camera down and positioned it to view his upper body. He grabbed the pliers on the restroom counter and raised them up to his head. He’d gotten used to controlling his movements from varying vantages long ago. He gently clipped the pliers around the shard, taking care not to accidently snap it in half. Once he was sure he had a good grip on it, he pulled his hand away, tugging at the shard. There was a gnashing sound accompanying the movements as the shard quickly began to loosen. Harmon grunted a bit as he gave the pliers another few, quick tugs. That familiar sensation of unwinding a string from his skull returned, and his mouth hang agape as he mustered his strength into one final pull. With an audible
snap, the shard rose from his skull, along with a bit of blood. His ears rang a bit, and the skin on his head shimmered some, rippling with faint flashes of what looked like static.
That always happened. It was normal.
He paused for a moment after the ringing and rippling resides, panting, examining the shard in front of the camera, turning it some. Quite the root on it. Definitely a good one for Ruben’s prototype Brainvault. He pulled some paper towels from the nearby dispenser and dabbed his head some, wiping away the blood. He grabbed the same plastic bag from before and dropped the second shard inside. He zipped up the bag and grabbed his camera.
Pouring through the contracts and the magazines
Arranging the junk drawer within
Seems like most of my life has slipped by me while I
Waited for results to come in
So I think I’ll start over again
Harmon headed for the door with his belongings in his arms. A little dizzy, but nothing to worry about. Just two shards. He’d walk it off. He exited the restroom and proceeded across the hallway, right where Ruben’s classroom was.
He was playing that song again. One of the ones he liked. Helped him relax while plucking shards.
Combing through the bookends and the tapestries
Wondering just how I fit in
Still scrutinizing the walls, it’s surprising
How little kids accomplished their ends
Oh the aspirin and the gin
Harmon entered the classroom. He was met with a white, tiled interior, with double-desks and various forms of equipment strewn about the room. The air was cold – Ruben kept it like that to soothe himself, something like a meat locker – and there were thin, icy veils over the row of windows. Truly one of the more unique classrooms. At least, to the two who occupied it most often.
“Harmon.”That familiar, synthesized voice sounded from across the room. Ruben was seated at a desk, out of his usual pseudo-humanoid shape. He was a huge pile of meat wrapping around a stool, tendrils protruding from the mass and poking through the internal mechanisms of the pristine, obsidian orb resting on the desk. The Brainvault Type 3 – “Cranial Eclipse”, as Professor Tarblatt branded it. This was what Harmon’s plucked shards were going towards. The latent, cerebral-resistant composition of the shards was just what Ruben needed to give it a suitable level of defense against psychokinetic assaults. Not impervious, but it would definitely be able to stand up to most violent minds.
The stereo was on the next desk down. Ruben reached out with another tendril and lowered the volume as Harmon approached him.
It seems like most of my life
Has slipped by me while I
Traded my beginnings in for ends
So I think I’ll start over again
“Here you are.” Harmon said softly, placing the bag with the two shards on the table. Ruben immediately reached for them with the same new tendril and examined them.
“Acceptable. Quantity.” He said, turning the bag.
“Are you. Well.”“I’m fine...” Harmon replied with the same soft voice,
“It’s… it’s better to get a… a clear head, be-before… the new… students, arrive…”“Indeed.” Ruben responded, nodding his
currently adorned Brainvault.
Yeah I think I’ll start over again
Only this time, you won’t catch me wasting the minute
Oh the weather’s just fine
But we’re all killing time
So I think I’ll start over again
“Do you… do you mind? If, if I leave to, maybe… find a seat, for the… welcoming, a-assembly? A little… early?” In truth, Harmon wanted to get some fresh air as well. Bit stuffy in here. And maybe… watch the new wave of students arrive. Possibly meet someone. Make a friend. Ruben had been encouraging him to do so as of late.
“Certainly.” Was Ruben’s reply.
“I. Will join you. Later. In. The assembly hall.”Harmon nodded, giving away the faintest trail of a smile across his cracked lips.
“Th-thank you…” He said, before turning away and proceeding towards the classroom door. He didn’t make it out the door before Ruben called something out though.
“Inform. Some new. Arrivals. Of my. Classes.”“I-I will!” Harmon called back across the room,
“I will…” And with that, he turned and exited the room. As he made his way down the hallway with his camera in hand, he thought for a moment… maybe not the assembly hall right away.
Maybe the garden. For some real, fresh air.
Sorting through the magnets and the batteries…
Member
ML
Enarr