Post-Shift Discussions

Do you remember when you were a little boy racing through the wind on your bicycle trying to catch your breath from the adrenaline that runs in your veins to make the jump that you and your friends had set up in your neighborhood street and see how far you can make it without touching the ground? “‘That’s how I feel when ‘I’m around you guys all the time,” said Mousaka to Ashlyn and Yan after they finished surfing the waves of the “Kabira” which was the big city in the country in which they lived.

Now at that time the three boys we’re done with school and off to the summer vacation after four years of not seeing each other due to Mosouka changing schools, and of course, some of their families took part in some arguments and distanced themselves, and they’re children from each other. A lot can change in four years, and every day was a new adventure for them, just a couple of teens trying to explore life to it’s fullest and being interested in almost every new hobby they get to know.

Because in contrast to the other kids in school that was their idea of “being cool,” not smoking, drinking or doing illegal things although Ashlyn leaned a little to that sort of lifestyle, he still didn’t go too far since his peers were not much of troublemakers. A year ago Mosouka didn’t have many relationships not in school or outside it; He used to spend his days on some loop which went like this:

He wakes up at 7 AM after half an hour of his family trying to get him out of bed and ready for school without having enough time for breakfast. Going to the school in the morning was one of the most cringes that he felt, with everyone looking slammed out of bed and into the schoolyard directly with eyes half-closed and a breath that smelled like raw eggs and trash. And all of them seemed to be talking to each other at the same time, which caused a considerable amount of noise for the ones who weren’t listening. The school finally rings for all the students to rush into class, and the noise doesn’t stop until the teacher arrives at the course, screaming to shut the students up. In class, Mosouka tries to stay focused on what the teacher is lecturing about, but he always seemed to lose track out of boredness that leads him to focus on other things like the lady across the street, yelling to her neighbor to get her some cornflower or to come and grab a cup of coffee. He might even start drawing meaningless objects or poking his friends, which occasionally leads the teacher to shout at him. The bell rings after an hour and a half for a 30-minute recess. At that time, every student goes to his/her “pack.”. Except for Mosouka, he either sits alone and tries to read a book or stands around with the “nerds” group because it’s the most accessible group to be around with, they don’t ask many personal questions, there is no gossip they just talk about fun facts, learning or comic books some even video games. So like all of us when needed, Mosouka learned to improvised by just reading about some fun facts when he gets home only to not be quiet all the time when he stands with his “friends.” When the last bell rings for the schoolday, Mosouka starts fantasizing about watching tv and eating his lunch, which is the most relaxing thing he can do after such a schoolday. After getting home and relaxing, he just heads to his room, plugs his headphones in the Xbox’s controller and starts playing until it’s bedtime.

“Now, before jumping into conclusions and criticizing my past lifestyle,” said Mosouka to his co-workers after their long shift. “I see a lot of worse cases happening here with people living the life of work and studying strangled by the need to survive safely just like the rest of us. Some even don’t study, merely work day in day out without also developing any hobbies. To be honest, I’d rather die than live such a life with no meaning.