by Kristen Rose
A black BMW glides down a peaceful winding road surrounded by majestic and calm snow-capped mountains. It descends gracefully until the road straightens and flattens out, passing by lush green meadows and plentiful livestock. After some minutes of silent un-interrupted travelling, the car turns down a small street and continues until a small collection of shops appear, almost out of nowhere. The BMW comes to a stop outside a grocery store. The shiny black front door opens smoothly and the driver hops out, whistling to himself in a cathartic manner. He is dressed in cream pants, a white shirt and a black V-neck woollen vest. His hair is blonde, neatly styled and his face cleanly shaven. He skips into the tidy, quaint grocery store. Inside he picks up a package of flour tortillas, mozzarella, sour cream, a ripened avocado and a jar of tomato salsa. Carrying his small collection of items he arrives at the counter and places each one down gently.
‘Good afternoon.’ The elderly, short man behind the counter greets him. He picks up the items, individually priced and one by one punches each number carefully into the register.
‘Afternoon. You wouldn’t be able to tell me if there is a nice butcher around here? I’m new to the area.’ The man with the blonde hair asks.
‘Yes, there’s quite a nice butcher around the corner. Just continue down this road and turn left when you get to the end. You’ll see it easy enough.’ The shopkeeper starts placing the groceries into a bag.
‘Excellent. I’m wanting to get a really nice quality beef roast. There’s nothing like local produce.’
‘True, very true.’ The elder man chuckles. ‘Cooking a Mexican dish?’
‘I am indeed, I wonder what gave that away.’ The man laughs. His laugh is sophisticated, melodic, practised; just like his new accent.
The shopkeeper smiles. ‘Well, I hope it turns out well for you. So, that’ll be eleven dollars fifty sir.’
The blonde man pulls out a shiny black leather wallet. ‘I think I’ve got the correct change.’ He shuffles his fingers around inside his pocket, selects the appropriate coins and hands them to the shop keeper who inspects them carefully with his failing eyes.
‘Oh,’ he looks up, ‘this one’s Australian.’ The shopkeeper hands him back a ten cent piece.
‘Oh. Sorry, don’t know how that got in there. I suppose the currency looks so similar.’ The man smiles.
‘It certainly does, we get a lot of it, people trying to pass it as our own. Have you been to Australia recently?’
‘No, I’ve never been.’ The man takes his bag of groceries from the shopkeeper.
‘You should go, it’s different to here, even though it’s only a few hours flight away.’
‘Yeah, maybe one day I’ll get over there. Anyway, thank you very much. Have a nice afternoon’ He nods his head towards the shopkeeper and turns away.
‘You too.’ He steps out of the shop and walks back to his car. Elegantly sliding into the driver’s seat, he places his groceries on the passenger side and drives off down the quaint silent street.
A man, perched on a motorcycle in the corner alley beside the grocery store, hovers there in silence. He stares at the black car as it drives off down the calm street. Once the shiny BMW turns the corner, the man ignites the bike, revs it a few times and pushes off, heading in the same direction as the car. Dark curly hair pushes its way out of the base of the man’s helmet, blowing swiftly in the artificial wind. He is dressed in heavy black leather from head to toe; the blackened visa on his helmet disguising his scarred face. The only item out of place, his left foot, secured tightly into a heavy black brace, resting gently on the side of the bike – a revolver strapped onto the inside of the frame.
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About the author:
Kristen Rose is a young aspiring author based in Brisbane, Australia. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Griffith University with a major in writing. During her studies she had a short story titled A Punch Bowel Full of Sangria published in the 2010 edition of Talent Implied, a Griffith University creative writing anthology. The Institution is her first novel which she has self-published in ebook format. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Nursing, however spends her spare time pursuing her passion for creative writing. Her next novel is currently in the early stages of development. An untitled fantasy/adventure, it is intended for audiences young and old.
Kristen describes The Institution as an intended work of popular fiction with what she hopes is a slightly unique twist compared to a lot of popular fiction currently circulation. At times she enjoys writing quirky stories bordering on interstitial fiction. Her aim when it comes to writing is to create something entertaining, easy to read and different.
