REBEL GRAINED

MORNING RUSH

Lars rinsed his face grabbed a pair of grey joggers and a black hoodie.

He went out and clicked open the RAV4 he rented. He climbed in and programmed the GPS for the Parkview police station. Lars didn't have the exact address, but he thought he would remember the route he took that day.

Almost a month had passed since the nightclub incident.

Still, the dancer lurked in his dreams, and the coffee haunted his taste buds. Two supposedly irrelevant elements took turns to play on his thoughts.

Lars saw it as a good sign if he could focus on such things; it meant he was in a better place mentally.

Rain fell, and it was under battering drops that Lars pulled up across from the truck.

"Shit," he muttered as he rummaged through the glove box for a mini umbrella that wasn't there.

The man put on his hood and prepared himself to run under the rain when he got a sudden spark of inspiration concerning the umbrella's whereabouts. He looked under his seat while hoping for a miracle.

The universe was on his side as he felt the umbrella fibers. He tugged on what he grasped, "thank goodness."

Lars stepped out and went to join the queue. Unbelievable, thought the man. It was 6:30 am, and there were already at least fifteen people in front of him.

Inside the truck, Thulile hurried, Palesa ran late. Despite the suffering she came to work, the woman didn't even have the luxury to tend to the bruises Kungawo inflicted on her. Changing the locks to the house did nothing; the man would bust a window to enter.

Thulile hoped he would not come back too soon. The price he took would allow him to live for a while, which meant peace for the woman.

The truck door opened, "sorry, sister, my little one is teething."

"No problem, please take the orders."

Palesa's stare blocked on Thulile's face.

"Child, who did this to you?"

Thulile kissed her teeth, "ah, forget it."

Palesa placed her hands on her hips, "It's Kungawo, isn't it?"

"Palesa, please take the orders."

The older woman understood Thulile didn't wish to speak of the incident. She began to do as asked, and the line moved quickly to Lars' contempt.

"Thulile, I need to pee. The sound of the rain is pushing it out."

Thulile rolled her eyes as if things weren't difficult enough for her. She replaced the black Huf face mask she wore to hide her swollen cheek and turned to the counter.

"Eh, I'll haveㅡ," Lars stopped.

Like in the nightclub, their gazes froze. A New Era cap replaced the bucket hat, and there was the face mask, but the eyes, Lars was sure as his mind juxtaposed the images.

"Eh, ㅡem, twoㅡtwo, coffees Lars stammered.

"You'll have to wait for the snacks."

Her voice, the man thought. Lars nodded; the man didn't even realize his mouth was still slightly agape.

He could not believe he met her in the immensity of Johannesburg without even having to search.

Lars frowned at his thought. Did he unconsciously wish to find her?

Something was off; it seemed she couldn't open one eye properly. The woman already had small eyes, and Lars wondered if she even saw him.

He hurried to take off his hood before wiping his hands on his joggers. Sweaty palms, the situation was surreal.