She giggled as she pulled him along, sprinting between the houses of a quiet neighborhood street. Her shoulder length hair was dirty blond in the sunlight, but tonight, under the moon, it had the glow of a silvery gold. Johnny squeezed her hand tightly as he ran along side her. The extra weight he’d put on over the years seemed to melt away as he increased his speed. He glanced over at her and gave her a crooked smile. They reached an old, gnarled tree in the far corner of someone’s yard. She stopped for just a second to plant a quick kiss on his cheek, not minding the scruff from a few days of not shaving.

“Come on!” she whispered excitedly as her hands found the short boards nailed to tree that formed a crude ladder. She began to climb stealthily up the tree, her small frame barely visible in the moonlight. Johnny began his climb after her, admiring her small tight rear enhanced by the tight, faded blue jeans. He playfully reached a hand to gently push up on her bottom, taking a second to give it a squeeze. He was rewarded with another girlish giggle from above.

Her feet vanished above him as she pulled herself into the crude treehouse. Even in the dim light, Johnny could make out the large pirate flag painted under the window. He pulled himself in after her, the smell of wet wood overwhelming him briefly. A small pair of hands covered his eyes from behind.

“Guess who?” she whispered in his ear, her breath warm and inviting. He took her hand and spun her around, catching her in his arms. As he stared into her sapphire eyes, he felt a warm glow spread throughout his body. For the first time in many years he felt alive. As he tilted his head to go in for the kiss, Johnny watched her pink, thin lips begin to part revealing slightly crooked front teeth that were quickly covered as her mouth closed over his, her tongue darting into his mouth.

“Don’t you need to go soon?” she breathed, as their mouths separated. “You can’t be late.” Still, the blonde girl kissed him again, sending warmth and happiness into his soul. Holding her tightly, Johnny couldn’t imagine anything more important than being right here, right now. His hands caressed her back, occasionally finding their way around her side, under the hem of her sweater. Her pale skin was unbelievably soft and she was much warmer than he was.

The sound of a siren cut through the night. The two lovers broke their embrace and peered out into the darkness. Headlights topped by the instantly recognizable red

and blue lights of a police car began to grow in the distance. As the lights came closer and siren louder, the couple instinctively crouched down on the rough floor of the treehouse. When the squad car turned the corner near them, the headlights blinded Johnny for a moment. He blinked his eyes rapidly and then started quickly as he looked around and realized he was standing at base of the tree. Spinning around, he looked for her. Seeing that he was alone, he turned his face skyward and went to shout for her.

“Hey…,” he began and then stopped, confused. What in God’s name was that beautiful girl’s name? he asked himself. What in the hell is going on?

“Goodbye Johnny,” came her voice, far away in the darkness. “Don’t forget about me! You can’t be late, my dear, it’s time to go.”

Johnny turned as screeching tires got his attention. The squad car was back, this time heading right for him! The headlights made him squint as he tried to find a place to run. The car was only a few feet from him now, and he threw his arms up in a futile attempt to stop the tons of steel from crushing him. The siren blared to life again, so loud it was unbearable. Just as the bumper reached his arms, Johnny cried out.

He sat straight up in his bed, his alarm clock nagging him to get up. He fumbled with the slide lever, succeeding in silencing the alarm. His shade was up, the sunlight bright in his eyes, welcoming him to a new day. With a sigh, Johnny Evans hauled himself from the bed and staggered toward the bathroom. Shrugging off the sweatpants he had slept in, he paused to examine himself in the mirror. His short brown hair stuck out at odd angles around his head. He needed a haircut sooner than later. His piercing gray blue eyes looked tired. Dark circles under them made him look older than his 27 years. Stubble indicated his lack of desire to shave daily. He shook his head in disbelief. Where does the time go? Feels like just yesterday that I turned 18.

He quickly showered. The hot water relaxed him and almost drove the remnants of his dream from his memory. However, as he washed his hair, the flowery scent of the shampoo brought the image of the blonde girl rushing back into his mind. He sighed. How come I can only find love in my dreams?

He finished his shower and dressed quickly. Grabbing a plum as he walked out the door, Johnny sped through the hallway of his apartment building, pausing only to check the ancient metal mailbox near the outer door. Stepping into the sunlight, he squinted his eyes against the invading brightness. His black Charger stood out amongst the sea of beat up sedans and mini vans that overflowed the parking lot. He breathed a

sigh of relief that his baby remained unscratched. He’d parked in the corner of the lot, as usual. That way he only had to worry about one person parking next to him and carelessly throwing their car door into his beauty. Of course, being next to the grass meant the Charger also had to contend with the army of children walking by it as they scurried out of the dozen buildings that made up the apartment complex.

Following his daily ritual, he said a quick “Thank you” to God as he sat down in his dream ride. It was one of the few luxuries that Johnny allowed himself. The V-8 roared to life with a throaty rumble that warmed his soul. Depressing the clutch, he backed out of his parking spot. Creeping onto the street, he quickly worked through the gears and sped up the ramp onto the highway. Settling in at 70mph, Johnny, rolled down the window and enjoyed his ride to work. It would be the only part of the work day that he could enjoy. All too soon, he pulled into the parking ramp of Walker Industries and found himself a corner spot.

With a sigh, Johnny plodded into the building and joined the small crowd in the elevator heading to the third floor.

“What’s up, buddy?” asked Dean Drake, one of Johnny’s friends and coworkers.

“Just another day in paradise,” answered Johnny as he did every morning. “We doing anything tonight?”

“Party at Colt’s going on. You want me to pick you up?”

“What time?”

“I dunno. 9ish?”

“Sounds good.”

Dean was always willing to drive if Johnny was willing to go out. He was the same age as Johnny but much more outgoing. Puerto Rican, his dark skin and darker eyes always made him popular with the ladies. His easy smile made him fun to be around, and Johnny enjoyed his company. They’d become friends shortly after Dean started at Walker Industries and since sharing a drunken night on the town a few months ago, the two men were inseparable most weekends.

The elevator dinged to announced their arrival on floor number three. The two friends made their way to adjacent cubicles on the far side of the room. The room was filled with the excitement of Friday and the smell of coffee. There were thirty or so cubes

on this floor, plus the offices of the big wigs. Glancing around the room, Johnny caught the eye of Colton Standish and waved a good morning. Colt smiled and made his way toward Johnny, an extra cup of coffee in hand.

Colton was a tall man, with piercing blue eyes and spiked dirty blonde hair. He was dressed in an upscale polo shirt without a single wrinkle in his attire. Perfectly straight and gleaming white teeth flashed at Johnny as Colton set the coffee carefully on Johnny’s desk.

“You coming over tonight? There are going to be some fine ladies to chat up,” said Colton, grinning.

“Yeah, Dean and I are going to make it.”

“Dean, huh?” frowned Colton. “You need to keep him in line then.” Dean tended to party hard, while Colton was always in total control. Johnny enjoyed his friendship with both men, but hated having to be the man in the middle all the time.

“Of course,” sighed Johnny, “I’ll make sure that Dean doesn’t do anything to embarrass you.”

“Thanks! Hey, you want to come bowling with me Saturday night?”

“Don’t you bowl in a league?” asked Johnny.

“That’s on Wednesdays. Saturday we are just going for fun. Miranda will bring a friend. It’ll be fun.” Miranda was Colton’s girlfriend. The two of them were always trying to set him up, but their choices tended to be a little too snooty for Johnny.

“Maybe. Let’s see how I feel after tonight,” laughed Johnny, successfully putting off that decision.

Glancing at his diamond and gold wristwatch, Colton began to head toward his own cubicle. “Better get to work before Felix starts cracking the whip.”

Right on cue, Felix Anderson, the supervisor, shouted to the room, “Come on, people. Let’s get to work. Those robots aren’t going to program themselves. We’ve got numbers to hit.” The short man was in his early 40’s, sported a gray buzzcut and a smile. He was a relentless cheerleader. “We’re going to have a great day!”

Shaking his head, Johnny sat down and began working on the new sequence for the J-38. The J-38 was one of many robotic assemblers that Walker Industries produced. It was slightly larger than a man and consisted of multiple arms and actuator that allowed it to perform various human like movements. While the guys on the 4^th floor got to do the magic and create the language that the J-38 spoke, Johnny and the other drones here on the 3^rd floor worked to adjust the minute details that would let the J-38 efficiently build whatever the current contract called for. Right now he was working on a command sequence that had the J-38 taking a bolt from a hopper and then rotating it’s wrist to precisely screw it into the hole while a second arm placed and held the nut in place. Truthfully, Johnny didn’t even know what the machine was building. He didn’t care either. The work was mind numbingly dull. Often he was correcting measurements in the hundredths of millimeters. Once he had the computer simulation running at 99% efficiency, then he would get to go down to the ground floor and test it out with the real machines. Well, he’d get to watch as someone else tested his work and then either approved it or sent it back to him for more corrections. Either way, when he was finished, he’d be assigned another similar piece of code to write.

The day dragged on. At the mid-morning break, Johnny chatted with his friend, Jose Fernandez about politics, while Dean joined a large chunk of the office staff that headed outside to have a cigarette.

“You can’t keep coddling the Super Rich!” argued Jose, “They need to contribute their fair share!”

“Their fair share? Almost half the people in this country don’t pay ANY taxes!” shot back Johnny, “You think that the guy that busted his ass to get an education and great job should give another ten percent of his $200,000 salary to the government so that they can redistribute it to a pair of welfare mothers that have a half dozen kids from a half dozen fathers?”

“That’s harsh, man,” replied Jose, “I understand what you’re sayin’, but it’s harsh.”

“Harsh or not, it’s true. We should be having people on welfare either get ten hours of job training or schooling or community service each week to keep collecting. Anything to give us a chance to stop the cycle!” answered Johnny.

“You can’t blame every poor person for their situation. That person making $200,00 a year probably had rich parents who paid for their college education,” countered Jose.

“Your parents didn’t pay for your schooling and you have a decent job!”

“That’s true, but I’m a rare case. I know plenty of smart Chicanos that never escaped the neighborhood.”

“Still, we need to make sure that welfare isn’t a profitably way of life.”

Jose shushed him and pointed toward one of the women walking toward them. “Quiet, man, if Shelly hears you, she’ll report you for harassment or discrimination or whatever.”

“Screw Shelly!” fired back Johnny.

“No, really, she will. A year ago, Evan Wakos was saying how he was pissed that his sister in law got a $13,000 tax return and Shelly went to the bosses and he got canned for bad mouthing welfare folks.”

“What a great country we have! You can’t debate things without fear of losing your job,” spat Johnny. “Screw it!” With that, Johnny downed the remainder of his coffee, refilled his cup and stomped back to his cubicle.

The rest of the day went by at the speed of a glacier. Johnny let his mind wander as he worked. His thoughts kept coming to rest on the girl from his dreams. Why can’t I find someone like her in real life? he sighed. Finally the end of his shift came and Johnny dodged everyone, nodded a quick “See you later!” to Dean and practically ran out of the building. He jumped into his Charger and sped toward his apartment. He spent the next few hours checking his Facebook, reading science fiction on his kindle, and watching reality television via Netflix. Johnny was bored to death with his life.