Chapter 3

"Chrissy, it's Tom!"

"Oh, hey Tom! It's so nice to hear from you!"

"Guess what!"

"What?!"

"I got a job!"

"Oh my God! I'm so happy for you!"

"Yeah I know! I'm so excited!"

"What is it?"

"I'm working on the set of a movie! In Harrisburg!"

"Wow! That's amazing!"

"I know! I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Well good luck, Tom! Call me when you get there."

"Ok, I will. I love you!"

"I love you, too!"

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

Tom clicks off the phone and smiles. He takes a snort of Rhinocort and walks outside. It's

a beautiful, summer Sunday. He continues down his street, daydreaming about what might be,

letting his unconscious guide him on where to go. Eventually he finds himself outside of the

comic book store.

"I haven't been in here in years," he thinks.

He enters. Mmmm. Still smells the same. Tom walks over to the classic section. Yes. Ghost

Rider. His favorite comic book character. He takes a copy from the 90's and leafs through it.

So evil, so violent, so cool. The Beatles' "Lovely Rita" is playing softly in the background.

"Can I help you with anything, son?"

Tom looks up.

"Oh, just browsing."

"A'ight. Cool. Cool. You into Ghost Rider?"

"Yea," Tom says curtly, not wanting to get into a conversation.

"You should check out Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. I have the first issue from '93.

It's really sexy, stuff, ya know? Dark stuff like that."

Faintly you can hear Paul McCartney singing "sitting on a sofa with a sister or two..."

"Yeah, that's ok, man. I'm just looking around."

"Ok bud."

Tom imagines himself as that flaming skull man, riding his motorcycle through the streets of

Harrisburg. "Maybe I'll meet a girl out there," he thinks. Things with Crissy are ok, ya know,

but lately it's been a bit stale. They met at Penn State. They've only been going

out for, what, like 3 months? It's not really anything serious.

This movie thing might be the beginning of something big. Tom feels euphoric, almost the way

he did when pooting.

"Well, catch ya later boss!" he snarls as he bolts out the door, greeting the sunlight. He

spins around in a circle laughing. "I wish I could be 19 forever!" he declares. This is the

greatest he's ever felt. This is his time to shine, he decides.

"This is my summer."