Chapter 7: The Rooftop Duo
Mikey Appleton: January 15th, 1983
I sit in the confines of my apartment, just as gray and dark as usual; just like this entire city if it wasn’t for Neon gas to exist. Luckily I don’t have to work overtime today, it’s nice. I get to stay home and just… uh… Do nothing? I don’t know, other than like watching tv or something; I basically don’t ha- Wait a minute! I can just illustrate on my own… I still occasionally do Mighty Man & Techno-Girl comics, even if it’s few and far between considering work and my daily life. Some people in the office want me to pitch this series to other publishers, but I don’t know… I feel like I’ll just tense up during a meeting, I just can’t do it. I shuffle over to the little desk in the corner of the bedroom, opening a folder revealing some old drafts, and old issues I did of them. I’m surprised I still managed to find the old comics I’ve made back from the 60s and 70s when I was still a kid and tween. I mean, if I wasn’t careful they probably would have gotten destroyed by my parents at some point. The only major damage was them ripping a page in half, at least tape was enough to fix it. I continue to work on this comic for the better half of an hour. It was very time to dive back into doing something I love. It’s in fact really enj-
“AH!” I yell out, startled by the deeping of the alarm on my radio clock.
Oh how things never change… Anyways, that’s the alarm for me to do laundry. I quickly head over to the little laundry room in the apartment… Oh the dreaded apartment laundry room. Either most of the machines don’t work, and when they do it’s basically a full house. Entering the bleached beige colored walls, I begin to check every washing machine aligned to the left of the wall. Well, it’s a dub, dub, dub, dub, dub… Most of them are… Just one saving grace… the one that takes a billion years just to wash… Goshdarnit, why that one? I place my clothes in it and insert my quarters. Well it’s going to take a billion years. I just can’t help but grunt.
However, I hear the door open; I get a little startled… Who can it be? I didn’t expect someone to also arrive here at this time in the laundromat. I specifically chose this time just to avoid meeting with people, that is until I see a familiar face.
“Oh hi Mikey! Sorry if I startled you…” I hear Cherry say.
“O-Oh h-hi Cherry! What are y-you doing h-here?” `
“Just wanted to check up on you! Especially now that I managed to move to this complex.”
“Oh wow… T-That’s n-nice…” I reply, “J-Just a h-heads up… These w-washing machines e-either are b-broken… And when th-they are n-not, w-well then the place i-is super b-busy… “
“Ah, well I think I can work around that. So… Shall I get to know your apartment?”
“U-Uh… Yeah Ch-Cherry!” I reply, walking towards the door, and guiding Cherry to my apartment.
I haven’t really taken the time to notice Cherry’s appearance. Wearing her usual eggshell white sweater, red sweater, and blue jeans or skirt depending on the time of year. Considering the rainy season, it’s the jeans season. I mean, it hasn’t been that long since I’ve seen Cherry; I last saw her on New Years where I did hear talk of her buying a new place. Anyhow, we enter my apartment; where soon Cherry immediately sits down on the couch and looks around the room.
“Ah yes, the classic gray color scheme of this city. Never changes!” She exclaims, as we both giggle.
“Y-Yeah… W-Well Cherry, c-can I show y-you think?” I ask.
“Yeah Mikey! What is it?” She inquires curiously.
I head to my room, grabbing the comic I left on the table being immediately startled from the alarm. I return to the living room, giving the half complete comic for her to review. Grabbing a little apple to eat, I notice how focused Cherry is on the comic; the only real “break” was to quickly adjust her glasses. After 5 or so minutes, where I already finished the apple leaving just the core; Cherry finally gives me her thoughts.
“Wow Mikey, that’s actually really good. Also yeah your art has also gotten way better since the early days!”
“A-Aw th-thanks…”
“I know you get this a lot, but do you ever think about pitching the comic to syndicates?”
I take a sigh, I get that question a lot as I mentioned; I can only really say the same statement:
“O-Oh… U-Uh not really? I-It’s j-just… well… I-I don’t know.”
“Ah, really that’s understandable. I get you don’t really want it to get out of your grasp.
“Y-Yeah, you can p-put it that w-way…”
We continue to hang out with each other, well at least Cherry’s apartment is just down the hall from mine. At least I can always just run up there in case my occasional bi-monthy breakdown happens… Anyways, this day was pretty much like any day I’m with Cherry; we crack jokes together, watch tv, and generally talk about life. I’m, and I guess we’re, pretty happy that we managed to remain close after all these years. I know Todd and his old gang basically disbanded after middle school… But yeah… nothing much I can really add.
We spend the rest of the day out and about, stopping by some diner to eat lunch. I’ve always seen their lights and large billboards cover the skyline, in stark contrast to the rainy nights and gray which many of these office buildings; especially my office, possess. I mean the food isn’t bad, it’s alright I’ll say, but in a setting and time like this; it’s perfect. Well, as rarely as I spend time with people outside of work… It’s a pretty nice feeling… I definitely should do it some time again.
Later into the evening
The inky black sky is upon us. Up on the rooftop of this building is a little gathering space, usually it’s rented out for gatherings; but this time it’s alone for both Cherry and me. The bright primary and secondary colors of the Neon Lights fill the color in this city. They’re much more beautiful when you’re not in a small cubicle in an office. I can’t really stop looking at the lights, like a moth against a candle light. I watch out from the rooftop wall, soon noticing Cherry walk up next to me.
“So Mikey… What’s the situation with your father? Was the surgery successful?”
“U-Uh… Y-Yeah… it w-was…” I reply, getting nervous at the mention of my parents.
“Ah good… Must be strange feeling sympathetic for him…”
“I-It was… I-It was an experience…”
We watch over the city, looking at all the buildings; both in front of us and in the distance.
“Man, this city is nice.”
“Y-Yeah, it is Cherry…”
“Especially when you’re not stuck in the cubicle all night!” She exclaims, as we both snicker and giggle.
“Though on a serious note, there’s something I’ll like to mention.” Cherry exclaims, as I turn to look at her.
“Y-Yeah? Wh-What is it?”
“Well, I have some friends in the publishing world. I know you’re too anxious to do any pitch meetings, but I can help on that part.”
“W-Wait really?” I say flustered, “Y-You can do th-that?”
“Yeah, I can slide them some of the Mighty Man & Techno-Girl comics; both old and new. I’ll also provide your phone number in case they approve the series.”
I start to feel… I don’t know… excited? I finally can have the chance to have my characters out there for all to see… I was always just too tangled in my shyness to even build up the courage to ask a suited businessman anything about them.
“Oh… W-Wow… Th-Thanks Cherry… You're r-really a friend I can c-count on…”
“You’re welcome Mikey, I know how much something like this really cheers you up!”
“Y-Yep… Finally I g-get to prove to my p-parents I will d-do something in l-life!”
We continue to stare around the city, pointing out really anything interesting we can find, such as the music blasting from people’s stereos down below, the signs of businesses where one of the letters’ lights was burnt out, or the calmness of the water. To us, this is probably the best activity Cherry and I does together; just pointing out anything we find interesting in this city while it’s 7pm and the starry blanket of night is upon us. It can’t get as peaceful and better than this, in my opinion; the day off work and just being able to spend the free time with my best friend. I wonder how this can get better.
I stare back at Cherry, and she starts to rummage through her jacket pockets for something.
“Oh hey Mikey…”
“W-What is it, Ch-Chery?”
“Well… I was going through some boxes when I moved in, and…” She says, finally pulling out a piece of paper from the inner jacket pockets, “Guess what I found.”
I observe the heart shape paper… Oh wait! It is the old heart card I made for her all those years ago, after being stuck in the basement that one time…
“O-Oh wow… I-It’s my old c-card…” I reply, bashfully as I start to blush.
“Yeah, even dated 1964…” Cherry replies, where I also notice her blush, “You know, it was pretty nice of you back then to do the card… I knew you wanted to make the old Valentine’s Day card to be much more elaborate back then.”
“Yeah… I was…”
At this moment, we slide closer to each other and we lean on each other’s shoulders.
“You know Mikey… maybe someday we can stay in the same apartment…”
“T-T-That… would b-be n-nice…” I reply, already stuttering from the increasing affinity of this moment.
“You know… Maybe I will reply to your old heart card; almost 29 years later on Valentine's Day…”
“I-I’ll quite e-enjoy i-it Cherry!”
Wow… this is probably one of the best days I had in like… I haven't known for several years at this point… The most perfect night… probably I’ll have for another few years. I start to hug Cherry, as we affectionately watch the passing city together. Without her, I wouldn’t probably have the courage to make my comics, without her I wouldn’t have been able to be released from the grasp of my parents, without her I wouldn’t have had a friend to always lean on. Without Cherry Way, there would not be a Mikey Appleton…