MILD TROUBLE: Empty Spaces, Heartfelt Goodbyes

A Short Story by LDPaul

Scribe Post 004

Adapted from the screenplay of the same name

Act 2

The sounds of distant mild street traffic accompanied by the cacophony of police sirens and ambulances, juxtaposed with gentle breeze, crickets, and katydids, can all be heard. They linger on for a short while.

Brooklyn Army Terminal Building B (BAT), Brooklyn, NY - Night

A vast, industrialized atrium comprised of steel-reinforced concrete slabs, overgrown railroad tracks, and staggered balconies is where Jessica stays low as she levitates crosslegged over the abandoned railway, smoking a second spliff. She telekinetically spins her lighter and cell phone around in dissonance. From her phone's speaker, Chynna's "fuckery" plays, as if it were an 8D version.

Suddenly, Maverick Williams, 24 and African American, teleports as a mass of wispy smoke that resembles his form, before materializing as himself. He's strikingly tall, lean yet athletically built, dressed in a black, long sleeve crew neck that accentuates his muscular frame, black jeans that fit just right, and black and yellow Huaraches that rest calmly on his feet. He walks through a walkway with his fur-lined denim jacket in hand, the moonlight from the skylight shining on his dark Cesar cut and sandalwood brown skin.

He looks onto Jessica as she continues to levitate crosslegged, the tail of her coat and braids swaying from both the interior breeze and by her influence. A cloudy, scarlet-like aura that only Maverick sees enshrouds her form, giving way to her emotional state. He continues walking up to her at a stealthy, stalking pace so he doesn't alarm her.

"You know I can sense you, right?" Jessica exhales smoke.

Mavericks sighs and grins. "I haven't noticed."

He walks around and sits before her on the railing of the walkway. Jessica continuously hovers, taking in another pull.

Maverick bops his head to her music. "I fucks with this song. You could've requested it at the party, ya know, if you came."

"I know, I'm sorry. I swear I thought I'd have time to pull up and I overslept-"

Maverick waves his hand in denial of her rebuttal. "-Shhh, nah, nope, fuck all that noise, you cancelled!"

"Nigga, bye. Fuck the apology now." Jessica rolls her eyes coyly.

Maverick chuckles. Jessica smiles at his amusement.

"So how was it?"

"It was dope, we had a good time, y'know? Drinks were flowing, we was getting lit, the music was dope, yeah."

"That's good, that's good. Look, you know me. I don't do crowds for more than 25 minutes, 'specially with this whole Covid thing. If I came, I'd probably just be in the cut and vibe out, wouldn't have interacted much."

Maverick nods in acceptance. "Hurd you, Summer Walker."

Jessica chuckles as she blows out smoke. "You're annoying."

They both laugh. Jessica waves her spliff in a 'You Want It' fashion towards Maverick, as she exudes another cloud. He shows hesitance.

"Don't worry. You know you can purge it quicker than most. Won't even pop up in your drug test."

Maverick furrows his brow and shrugs. Jessica mentally directs the spliff into his outreached hand. He takes a few pulls - the first he holds in for a few seconds then exhales a wispy cloud. The second he holds longer before expunging a wheezing cough. Jessica laughs.

"I'm glad-", Maverick begins to choke, "-You find this funny."

"Why wouldn't I? You forgot I'm lowkey a bitch?"

"Aight c'mon, you don't gotta call yourself that."

Jessica scoffs, rolling her eyes in indifference. "Okay, Drake. But wassup? I can tell you got some stuff on your mind."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"I don't know, you gotta tell me."

They sit in silence for a little bit while looking down. Jessica glides toward Maverick before lowering herself down a few meters away, sitting atop the edge of the walkway's railing. She turns her music off. "I know you're the empath-slash-healer in our mix but, I know when something isn't all the way okay."

"When is anything ever all-the-way okay?"

"Is that a trick question, are you being rhetorical...?"

"Jess..."

Jessica tries to restrain her chuckle. "Sorry. Umm, I dunno. I guess when you decide to make it okay. Okay-ness is something subjective that you gotta decide for yourself."

Maverick nods. "Exactly. I'm tryna tell myself that me going off is a good thing."

"And what would be good about joining the Marines again?" Jessica inquires sardonically.

Maverick decides to play along. "Well aside from the benefits, I'd-"

"-Be able to use your powers in public and help those who need saving?" Jessica interjects.

Maverick sighs. "So maybe I ain't think it through properly?"

"You want my opinion or you want my opinion?"

Maverick shrugs. "Keep it a stack."

"Okay good. I honestly thought you was tweaking' on K2 when you signed up but then I was like 'Hey, lemme not judge'." Jessica holds her hands up in defense. "You and I both know I don't always make the wisest decisions."

"Hmph." Maverick puffs one last one before passing back Jessica's prized possession to her.

"Have you thought about what would happen if you got caught?"

Maverick shrugs again. "'Course I did. I thought it through a million times. And logically, I know it's unwise. But in my heart, it makes sense cuz I know why I'm doing it. That's the thing though... why not follow my heart?"

"'Cuz, Maverick, the heart, just like everything else is connected to the head. And sometimes you should listen to it."

"So your head often tells you to puppet master them dudes who flaunt their riches at them spots you hit up?"

Jessica is taken aback but she nods her head in astonishment. "You got jokes, that's why I fucks with you. But since we bringing up my dirty laundry, let me remind you of this principle: if you flaunting all that fly shit, then you wanted it to get snatched, metaphysically speaking. They'll be aight, I've got my motive and I stick to it. The question is, what's yours, and is it worth following through with?

Maverick sighs.

"It doesn't have to sound like it makes sense. Just speak your mind, bro."

"...I wanna make a difference. Y'know, in our world, superheroes, all that spectacular shit ain't supposed to exist. But maybe I can come close." Maverick pauses. "Maybe on a rescue mission or whatever the hell it is I'll be doing. I can put my gifts to use. Cuz that's what we have - gifts."

Jessica rolls her eyes dismissively. "Is that what we're calling them?" She smokes again.

"Well, yeah. I don't think we've been given them for no reason, Jess. I think we can use them to find out what our purpose is. And I know you're averse to the 'destiny and purpose' bullshit."

Jessica holds her hands up again. "I ain't judging. I hear it."

"If I can work within the machine, change a couple gears - fuck that metaphor. If I can change the system, on the inside, maybe that can set a new standard. This just makes more sense to me than to try and be some next, vigilante or sitting on my ass, working regular jobs."

"I know. Is part of your decision for going because of what happened between you and Angelo?"

Maverick doesn't respond. Jessica nods her head in confirmation.

"You can't change the past for what your brother did. You can't bring back that dude he shot, by saving another life for the one he took. Accident or not. He made his choice when he started bangin' on the streets. That's not your burden."

"I know it's not... But I'd be lying if I said that still ain't keep me up at night. I gotta see this through, however it turns out."

Jessica solemnly nods her head. She looks down. "I know... So there you go. You have your motives." She then looks back up at Maverick. "Stick to it. Stay ten toes down on that shit, you hear me? It's alright to get cold feet. It means you care, but be careful. Always watch your back and know when and when not to flex."

"I gotchu."

They both sit without speaking, taking in the atmosphere, along with everything that's been said. Maverick breaches their internal stream of consciousness.

"Not gonna lie, I almost decided against going."

Jessica immediately looks onto Maverick. "Why?"

"I thought of you. I thought about us." Maverick pauses. "I know you've had it rough for a while now, especially with the way you had to grow up. With getting tugged and pulled, back and forth in foster care. With the people you've come across, most of 'em being shitty and some of 'em being actual good ones that are hard to compass. But then you had to leave them. Or nine times out of ten, they sent you away or left you. It's never always black and white, sometimes it's gray. But even then, you and I, we managed to find each other... 16 years from then doesn't seem so far now. And things've gotten a little better, yeah. We became our own little family. And now that I'm leaving, I know things are gonna be different."

"Let me tell you something. I'm not your responsibility, okay? You gotta do what's best for you. I'll be here when you get back. We'll find a way to make this all work." Jessica looks directly into Maverick's eyes. She tries to assure him in her voice but her face translates a different tune.

They both sit, continuing to just be present in each other's company. Jessica moves closer to Maverick. She wraps her arm around his and rests her head on his shoulder. He lays his head on hers.

Love what you've read so far? Continue on to the final act. And be sure to check out the teaser for things to come...