Categories
Glass

Glass Man’s Tale

Rylee didn’t bother knocking. She’d been through enough, fighting her way through the glass and steel factory, to bother with etiquette. She didn’t care if Jon Saleson was in the middle of a conversation with the Queen of England – she was going to talk to this man now.

The fellow bolted upright in his chair, placed directly behind the middle of his desk. He wore a pair of fancy spectacles and had an obnoxiously waxed moustache. “Who are you?” he asked, wide-eyed. “What do you want?”

She stalked over, slamming both fists on his ebony desk. “Tell me everything you know about the Francis couple and their estate in the hills!”

Terror shifted away from the man’s expression, his dull eyes suddenly filled with glee. He let out a ground-shaking roar of laughter. “Oh, you’re here because of Henry Francis? He finally found the mystic energy in himself to lead someone on that wild goose chase? Well, you’ve found the goose. I’m the end of the line.”

Rylee narrowed her eyes. “Fine by me. I didn’t climb over one of the best glass balustrades Melbourne has ever seen for nothing, though. I want answers. I know the Conclave of Mechanists attacked Francis when he refused to join them. What do you have to do with this?”

Jon Saleson leaned back. “Well, I didn’t always associate with steel manufacturers and professional glaziers. Melbourne was a different place back then. I did my time with the Mechanists, and I was there that day. We sacked the place for fun, and it has belonged to the Conclave ever since.”

It… belonged to the Conclave? That didn’t make sense. That didn’t make sense at all. The house had belonged to Cole’s grandparents, hadn’t it? This just didn’t add up.

“No, you’re lying,” Rylee said, staggering back. “You have to be lying. That house belonged to my boyfriend’s family.”

Jon Saleson laughed again, even harder this time. “Believe that, do you? That’s precious. Love does have a tendency to make one blind, I suppose. 

Categories
Cars

Sibling Rivalry

car mechanic Moorabbin‘Do you ever feel…’ I whispered, staring out the window. ‘Do you ever feel like you’re just going round and round in circles? Like you’re just writing the same thing over and over again? And that one day, you’re just going to–’

         ‘What was that Pete?’

         ‘Sorry,’ I chuckled, turning to look at my sister as she drove. ‘I was just wondering when was the last time you got your car looked at?’

         ‘Like, serviced?’ she frowned.

         ‘No, I mean, when was the last time another human being looked at your car. It’s filthy!’

         Eyes still on the road, she leant over and flicked me on the ear. Deadly accurate, even after all these years. Laughing, I reached over to turn on the aircon.

         Nothing happened.

I frowned and scanned the climate control buttons to see if there was something I’d missed. It all looked fine, like I was supposed to be being blasted with cold air right now.

‘What is it?’ my sister asked.

‘I think you might need to get it serviced after all. Your AC isn’t working.’

‘What?’ she frowned, looking down at the buttons I’d pressed.

‘Maybe your car needs an aircon regas or something,’ I suggested.

‘I’ll give you fifty dollars, cash, if you can tell me what an aircon regas is,’ my sister rolled her eyes. ‘Go!’

‘I read it on a pamphlet once,’ I frowned. ‘You’re the one who drives, you should know all this stuff!’

‘I do what I’m supposed to!’ she protested. ‘I look after this car pretty well, thank you very much.’

‘Then why am I boiling over here right now?’

She flicked me again.

‘I guess I need to find a decent mechanic close to Moorabbin,’ she murmured to herself, as I rubbed my smarting ear.

‘You don’t even have a mechanic yet?!’

‘We’ve only been here…’ she frowned and started mouthing numbers as she counted in her head.

‘Five,’ I interrupted. ‘The number you’re looking for, of the years that we’ve lived here, is five.’           

She flicked me again.

Stop doing that!’

Categories
Conveyancing

Goodbye Conveyancing Firms

They didn’t move Maphira that night. She slept on the floor of the large conference room they’d shoved her in, and when the morning came, she was almost glad that today was the day of Project Bender’s test. So many nights of sleeping on rough carpet, without so much as a pillow. Not the worst sleeping conditions she’d ever experienced, but damn close.

Around noon, the door to her room swung open to reveal Vai and Cole. Two grunts of the Conclave entered behind them. They approached Maphira and bound her hands with rope. She offered no resistance.

“Off to a conveyancing firm in Carnegie, then?” Maphira asked.

Cole, still obviously a robot, shook his head. “We cannot risk being followed. To get to the testing site, we will be taking the sewers.”

Maphira rolled her eyes. “Really? Is it just me, or have the sewers become a recurring location in anyone else’s life these last few years? I feel like I’m going in and out of there all the time these days. It’s ridiculous.”

“Get over it,” said Vai, who then turned to Cole. “Tell the conveyancing and settlement team that they can have their office back. We’re out of here.”

Cole turned away and left the room. Vai moved behind Maphira and shoved her forward. Together, they headed toward the back of the building. 

“What, you’ve got a secret sewer entrance here? That’s convenient.”

Vai let out a puff of air. “Whatever. Now shut up and walk.”

When they reached the wall, Vai lifted a poster of a joyful conveyancer and pressed a button beneath it.

“Straight out of Minimon: Version Red,” said Maphira. “Real original.”

“What?”

Maphira turned back, feigning a shocked expression. “You haven’t played that game? Typical of you to have missed a cultural icon. In it, the team of thugs have an underground lair in a casino. You have to push a button under a poster to access it.”

Vai growled and pushed Maphira again as the wall retracted, a staircase heading downwards appearing before them.

 

Categories
Cars

Errands and Cars

It’s a lovely sunny day today, so I’ve decided to run errands. There are a lot of things that I have to do, since I’ve been putting my list off due to the colder weather. First of all, I have to vacuum my entire house and clean the cabinets with this special lemon-scented spray I bought last week. Then, I have to go to the post office to pick up some mail that was delivered when I was at work. Finally, I have to find a mechanic that offers a car logbook service. Northcote has a number of these around, but since my car is new, I would like to ensure it stays under its warranty.

Some mechanics offer this special type of service that follows the manufacturer’s guidelines, meaning that the car can be serviced to a really high quality and also maintain its warranty. At least, that’s what my best friend told me. I’m not super knowledgeable about cars, since this is my first car. I’m assuming that the service is going to involve a number of basic checks on the important components of my car, such as the engine, the windscreen wipers, the lights, the transmission fluid, and other auto electrical things, too. It might even involve a tyre service. I’m not sure how often tyres need to be changed, but I’ve only had my car for about six months. I guess I’ll just ask the mechanic when I see them.

The errand I’m most excited for is picking up my packages. Last week, I ordered half a dozen clothes, including this lovely, deep blue dress that is almost longer than my entire body. I’m going to wear it to my cousin’s wedding next month. Along with two of my other cousins, I’m a bridesmaid. It’s in the country and is going to be a long drive, which is why I want to get my car serviced as soon as possible.

Categories
Renovations

Watching Kitchen Videos

I’ve been watching a lot of videos on the internet lately. No, not those kinds of videos. The good kind. The ones on that very popular video sharing platform, MeTube. I get a lot of different genres of videos recommended in my feed, which is only really a good thing. Although it can be inconsistent and sometimes jarring, I ultimately end up learning a lot of really cool things that I hadn’t ever thought about before. Take, for example, my most recent obsession. I’ve been really into kitchen renovation videos. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? But they’re actually so therapeutic. I think I would be a good kitchen renovator, if I actually ever bothered to try it one day. I’ve got a good grasp on things like colour schemes and interior design, and I’ve seen enough videos to understand the basics of plumbing, even if I have never actually tried it myself before.

This whole thing is actually a little bit frustrating. See, I know what I am capable of. I know that I’m talented, and smart, and good with my hands, and that I could very easily become an expert kitchen renovator. But, I also know that if I went to any of the best kitchen designers Melbourne has to offer and told them about my plans, they likely wouldn’t believe that I could do it. If I asked for an apprenticeship, they would probably tell me to just go back to school and learn a few things first. I don’t really have time for that. My MeTube video recommendations seem to be telling me that entrepreneurship is a really popular and simple goal. I am inclined to agree. However, I really admire all the kitchen designers and interior designers who have become successful in Melbourne. I want to take what I have learned from MeTube, and from these designers, and use it as a lesson for my own career.

Categories
Cars

High-Altitude Blowout

‘Well this is unusual,’ Hawley buzzed over my intercom.

         ‘You’re telling me!’ I buzzed back, laughing. ‘Are you ready?’

         ‘I guess,’ he replied. Even over the scrappy comms system, I could tell he was nervous.

         ‘You’ll be fine,’ I soothed him, turning so he could see my face under the visor. ‘This is just a routine wheel replacement.’

         ‘There’s nothing routine about it!’ he said. ‘This has never been done before.’

         ‘Well then,’ I grinned, reaching for the airlock lever. ‘Let’s go make history.’

         The silence was eerie as we floated around the ship, hugging the metal as we made our way to the underside. I radioed to the flight team that we were ready, and they dropped the shuttle’s landing gear for us to inspect.

         ‘Oh yeah, that’s a nasty blowout,’ I whistled. ‘Definitely no landing on that.’

         ‘What’s the plan, boss?’

         I quickly scanned the terrain and the damaged wheel and told Hawley to follow close behind me. We clipped ourselves to just underneath the landing gear, so we could easily reach everything we’d need. I pulled out my knife and quickly cut away the damaged tyre.

         ‘Where did you learn how to change a tyre?’ he asked with a raised eyebrow.

         ‘I used to spend time with the mechanic near Toowoomba,’ I said with a laugh. ‘That trick is all me though. Do you have the spare?’

         He pulled it off his back where it had been mounted and passed it to me.

         ‘Alright,’ I murmured. ‘How do you want to go on?’

         ‘I wish I’d spent more time taking shop at school,’ Hawley muttered.

         ‘You’re a fighter pilot who doesn’t know how to change a tyre?’

         ‘The thing about changing tyres, in my experience,’ he explained, ‘is that if I looked hard enough, I always managed to find a professional tyre fitting in my area.’

         ‘How’s that working out now?’ I asked, slipping the new tyre onto the wheel.

         ‘You’re the one doing it, aren’t you?’

         I laughed and gave the tyre a final punch to make sure it was seated right.

         ‘Looks like we’re good to land,’ I said, flashing Hawley a thumbs-up.