Wednesday Afternoon

It begins with Shane starting in a predicament that wasn't exactly
what he had hoped for. Often times he would wonder what it was like to
go with them; could it be just like all the TV shows and movies? He
never thought so, and it didn't bother him to remain at home and enjoy
the life he was living for almost 16 years now. He liked the comfort of
his room, his computer, and all the luxuries that came with living in a
middle class family. But there was always the thought in the back of
his mind what it would be like to go out on that limb and see what it
was really like to be one of those. He knew most people were like that,
but he also knew many people that were like him, and he talked to some
of them often through the technologies that came with his
generation.

He believed that one-day, he would be in this position. No way would
Shane never get the chance to enjoy the part of his life he was
missing. Sometime he thought that it would always be this way and that
he would just not think about it, that if he didn't experience it, that
aspect might just slip far enough away from the window so that it
wouldn't always be there peering in. At this point, he knew now that he
had let it come right up to the door and it was just a matter of
invitation before he could finally get the chance. But now he found
himself, once more, considering how great it would be not to go on that
trip. He knew what it was like without it; he wasn't sure what would
happen with it.

Shane was left with two choices: either walk away with that social
normality or back to his life the way he was so used to. He felt a
strong attraction from both sides of this society. He wanted to go left
and walk over across that bridge one more time, as it was what he
constantly experienced day in and day out, and had finally accepted it
to be the fun, correct way. Personally, he knew it was the exact
opposite. He knew that if he went right and walked down that path with
this other group, he would see for himself what he had always wanted.
He would now know what he was missing all along. And the thought of
finally finding out scared him to death.

He stood looking back and forth in both directions, unable to make up
his mind. He knew which way he liked and he knew which way was
unfamiliar. He thought long and hard which he wanted to do today, for
if he not go with the unknown he may never get the chance again.

The boy was tired of being scared of the right, but he was just plain
tired of the way things were. Others watched him as he glanced from
side to side, looking unsure of his presence in this state. A symbol
walked by and continued to move it's way past him almost pulling Shane
over the bridge with it. He observed one or two shopping carts glide by
and watched in envy at their lack of attraction to the others. It was
obvious that they were alike and that he was merely a carbon copy of
the still shining yet fairly rusted carts. But there must be something
different about him, as he had received the request from the right to
join them. He used to wonder why he was never asked; now he was
wondering why he was asked. The right was something he had so dreamed
for, but the reality of things now was he wanted to run. Run back home
and never leave the small confines of his room, for it had been good to
him, always standing with support and suggestions to help him make it
for the past 15 years.

Shane knew, soon enough, that he was going to have to make this
decision. He had only been standing there about 14 seconds when the
right started yelling atypical comments, having to do with an
increasing amount of money. The money was not an incentive for Shane,
though he hoped it appeared that way. So it was time; either follow the
wind across the bridge back to the censorship that had become his life,
or go with the obsessive impurities of the outside universe.

He started to walk in the direction of his choosing. A loud roar
climbed to the top of the cemetery plot that had been waiting for an
unsuspected death. But Shane was unpleasantly surprised; he heard a
call that made him stop dead in his tracks and reconsider his
conclusion. It appeared that someone or something from the right was in
total agreement with the invitation to Shane. It looked as though a
part of the Right didn't want Shane after all, and this caused a sharp
pain in the heart, mind, and spine of this baffled beast. It was loud
and clear a majority of actions from over there was in his favour, but
the one loud cry of objection was holding Shane back.

He stood thinking, for unable now to make a clean assessment of the
situation or for his own thought process to function at par. His mind
almost seemed clearer now; someone had torn off the window shudders
that had been blocking his view of the truth. And the truth was now
this: he knew all along which way he was going to choose. Shane now
knew there would only be one way he could go, for he not fit with the
Right after all.

He turned, and slowly walked over the bridge, only peering back twice
to glance and the missed opportunity, which he now entitled "Life".