By Brandon Salkil
Little Randall Wheeler plopped into a dilapidated rocket ship and prepared for flight.
No movement.
A boiling rage came over Randall as he reared up his foot and kicked the machine’s coin slot. “I said lift-off, dammit!”
A harsh, low grumble came through the speakers.
“You want lift-off, Cadet? I’ll take you on a ride you’ll never forget! The last kid made it as far as Neptune before his heart stopped. Let’s see how far you’ll make it, Randall.”
The voice turned to a sinister laugh as the rocket ship burst from its concrete base and disappeared into the cumbersome clouds.
Interesting story. Is Randall actually being lifted off the planet or is he simply imagining it to be so? His first instinct to solve the problem by kicking the coin slot indicates a tragic home life. Perhaps Randall is the victim of child abuse and he takes out his frustrations with violence the same way his drunk father or quick-tempered mother does. Also likely is that his sudden exit from the arcade isn’t due to the machine literally lifting off, but to the arcade attendant physically removing him for kicking the machine (arcade attendants HATE that). The act of violence perpetrated by the attendant reminds Randall of the severe beatings and casual face smacks he receives at home and he immediately retreats into a safe imaginary place where he’s not being assaulted, but being transported to another world, perhaps one where an acid-tongued mother, bitter from a divorce from a husband she drove away with her acid-tongued comments and indifferent frigidity, cannot harm him.
Skillfully set up and the ending is left to our imaginations or we can take it at face value,
A funny story with a lot of questions
How can clouds be cumbersome?