I looked at the paper in my hand, thinking to myself how perfectly vexed I felt tonight.

I could barely what the paper said from the light of the streetlights, but I already knew that. I already knew my car had been towed for parking in an “illegal” parking spot. I already knew I had to walk across town to collect it and drive back home. I already knew the parking signs were very unclear on where to park and for how long, causing this incident. I absolutely could not bothered retrieving my car from the towing center today.

I looked up from the worn piece of paper at the darkened sidewalk in front of me. I unconsciously continued to hike down the sidewalk as the cars beside me naturally ran past to their destination. The sky was black with night, even though the afternoon just started to end. The small suburban stores and shops turned on their surrounding lights so people around it could see. And all of the glare the lights made it impossible to see any clear colors. I didn’t like these dry nights. They didn’t let me see the morning sunrise when I woke up.

I walked passed one of the many small stores I had barely noticed my way here, and instead saw a small grass field. Mildly curious, I looked up to see what it was, because I had not been in this section of town for a while. Behind the grass field was a decently sized middle school, all done for the day. Some lights inside were still on, but the majority of the building was dark. Unconsciously, I remembered being back in middle school. The teachers and subjects weren’t interesting or informative, so I taught myself alot of math and computer science, which eventually made the subjects interesting. I wasn’t a bully to anyone, but I did like to mess with and annoy some kids who weren’t as bright as me to stop them from talking to me. However, the kids who were smart enough and amusing to be with I made friends with. Because I was in a higher math group, that friend group included people grades ahead of me. Eventually, most of the friends didn’t last until the end of highschool. Then again, most don’t. As a whole, the middle school days were fun, but nothing I would want to go back to.

I glanced back at the road, trying to find out how far I was away from the towing center. Before I realized it, my leg was being vibrated and my ringtone was playing for the world to hear. I surprisingly reached down in my pocket to get my phone, seeing who was trying to call me. I pulled it up to see one of my friends who I had stayed friends with through highschool. But this particular wasn’t quite as smart as me, and had always failed to be. He had the intention and potential to live up to my standards, but didn’t follow through. I was in a particularly annoyed mood tonight, and couldn’t be bothered to hear what he had to say, whether it was good or bad. But I didn’t want to be rude, so I put the ringing phone back in my pocket, for there was no one walking on the sidewalk that would hear it.

Just after the phone stopped ringing, a loud church bell rang, making me flinch and look to see the church it came from. I wasn’t christian, or jewish, or then again, any other religion, because I didn’t believe in a god or gods watching over us. You worked hard to get where you wanted to be in life. No amount of praying would get you there. I didn’t wait for the bells to stop.

As I continued, I saw that I didn’t have much farther to go, which was good, because it was starting to get colder.

Coming toward me on the sidewalk was a couple talking and telling jokes to each other. At first I thought they could have just been siblings, but then I saw the woman wearing a big coat that the man was supposedly missing, and I stopped looking at them. I myself had never had a partner, but in school I wanted to. There was a girl in my grade who I had met in elementary, but only started to have feelings for at the end of middle school. Yes, we went to places as friends, and exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch, but we were always just acquaintances with each other, and it never became more than that. I never even asked her out or told her that I liked her either, because I didn’t know how to get or keep a relationship. But she stayed with me through highschool. Looking back on it. I didn’t really need one. And I couldn’t be bothered to get a girlfriend at this age.

I strolled right up to the front of the towing center and walked up the staircase to the front door. I raised my fist and knocked twice to check if I could enter. No response. I stepped back to look for a sign that said open or closed. On the window next to the door, there sure was a sign that said “Open” on it. But below it, another sign said “Please walk around to the back door to retrieve towed vehicles.” I hastily walked down the stairs and turned the corner that led to the back door.

Upon reaching the end of the building, I turned the corner again to get to the door in the back. I could now see the lot of cars that were there. I could have tried to look for my car in the lot, but I meeting the man in charge was more important.

Right after I turned the corner, I saw a sight I had not expected to see. A big man was walking down the steps which led to the back door, hunched. I had intended to keep walking and ignore him, but what stopped me from walking was the small glimmer on his cheek, which I confirmed was a glimmer when he noticed me and looked towards me, the small glimmer on both sides. I could not identify who he was due to the harsh lighting, but I most certainly could make out the face he was making.

In a panic, I turned back from where I had came and hid behind the wall. My brain was rattling in its skull, confused and trying to process what I had seen. It only took a few seconds to realize I had made the wrong choice, and it was rude to a stranger to hide behind a wall when seeing them sad.

I regained my senses and went back around the wall, ready for anything that the man might say to me.

But to my surprise, no one was there. I looked around, knowing he couldn’t have gone far. He couldn’t have gone back in the building either. I would have heard the screen door shut behind him.

I shook my head, trying to get the weird idea out of my head, and just continued to walk toward the door. But that weird feeling stuck with me. I didn’t know what it was. Nothing so strange and abnormal had made me think, or worse, feel this much about an event.

Closing my eyes, I tried one last time to stop thinking about the trivial man and his trivial affairs. But my train of thought realized something about the man.

The shape of his body and the shape of his face were parallel to those of a kid I once messed with in middle school, who didn’t do as well in his classes, but was generally a happy kid. I didn’t see him in highschool because I had heard he had moved away at the end of his eighth grade year. I thought this through, trying to conceive if it was possible that he had moved to the same town I had moved into.

No, I locially thought to myself, it’s unlikely. And I probably won’t see him again.

Now that I had confirmed who the man was, I shook away the thought, and continued up the stairs.

But something still nagged at me.

I reached the top step, and grabbed onto the handle.

But I didn’t open the door.

I froze there, feeling the cold outside penetrate my jacket, and my subconscious penetrating my soul.

I let go of the handle, and reached into my pocket to get my phone. I unlocked it and went the contacts. Clicking on one, I waited for the phone to start calling the number, and put the warm glass next to my cold ear. I waited a few seconds for the receiving person to terminate the sound of the dialing phone while taking a cold breath.

And they picked up.