Jack Linterna

To listen to while reading
"Today is too bright, too dark, too windy, too..." Jack stopped himself, sighing deeply. Every time he began to complain about anything, it always led to the one thing that bothered him most. "Too much money." Tar residue dispersed on the pavement as a light brown cigarette bud hit the floor. "Ugh. I can't even afford to buy these, but it's much cheaper than paying a shrink to de-stress me," he muttered to himself as he strode on the sidewalk. It wasn't that too much money was his problem, but more so that too much money wasn't his problem. He was dead broke. The walking counter hit 0 as Jack approached the intersection, no longer allowing his passage. Fuck, he thought. It's about to happen again. Of all places, I had to get the red smack in the middle of the food district. Several alluring aromas quickly encompassed his surroundings. Sweet pork, takoyaki, bulgogi. He knew them all by smell, but never by taste. "One of these days I'll have enough money to taste you, you little jerks. I just need a better paying job, you'll see! This rat research pays shit!" Jack muttered angrily under his breath. Shortly after, the anger turned to uncontrollable laughter. A thought had crossed his mind. He imagined the head researcher, a tall black haired female in her mid-thirties wearing a lab coat, spouting angrily about how lucky he was to be participating in this "high caliber important research" at such a young age. Several passersby began to whisper about the young adult's sanity. What once were quiet whispers had now spread across all onlookers, and ultimately reached Jack's ears. "He's lost it." As he heard this, he quickly reached for his pocket to double check his wallet. Oh thank god he thought to himself, completely oblivious to the actual meaning behind the words. As the counter turned green, he took one last puff, flicked his cigarette, and continued on his way.