The Celebration of Johnny's Yellow Rubber Ducky

The Celebration of Johnny’s Yellow Rubber Ducky

  by Jeremy Bursey

  Copyright 2015 by Jeremy Bursey

  All rights reserved.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  YRD101: Intro to Johnny

  YRD201: Basic Fate History

  YRD301: Strategies for Avian Studies

  YRD401: Intermediate Babysitting

  YRD501: Connection Analytics

  YRD601: Intro to Conclusions

  Author’s Note

  Ebook Version

  About the Author

  Other Books

  Contact and Questions

  YRD101: Intro to Johnny

  The Past (Yesterday)

  When Johnny stood on stage facing the thousands of spectators that had come to see him, he had no idea where he was going from there. His life had taken so many unpredictable turns that he thought making any decision could’ve led to heartbreak, and he didn’t want to make the wrong choice. With all of these witnesses sitting in the seats beside him, he felt somewhat obligated to fulfill the ideas they had about him, and about his future. But then, he didn’t really owe them anything. They would feel the same way about the next person to ascend the stage behind him. And the one after that. And the pattern would continue until the loved one they had actually come to support had his or her moment in the spotlight. From then on, they would think about him or her. Not Johnny. By the end of the day, only his family would care, and most of them were on holiday this week. They had to watch the ceremony online.

  Johnny smiled at the chancellor for Oxford University as he took the diploma out of his hand. Then he continued toward the stairs leading off the stage. His fifteen seconds of fame were over. The graduate behind him was now the focus of thousands of people. Johnny’s university life at the New College campus had officially ended for the time being, maybe for good. Where he was headed next was anyone’s guess. His life and his future were up to fate. Any decision he made today and beyond would be left under the scrutiny of destiny, and his goals would be ultimately verified or rejected by factors outside of his control. Even as he headed back to his seat to await the end of the ceremony, he had no clear idea where life was taking him. He just sat down with a sigh. It had taken him too many turns already just to get here, and here felt like anywhere. One more “accomplishment” that added up to a bigger question: Does tomorrow even matter?

  Once upon a time, Johnny believed that the answer was “yes.” Once upon a time.

  ***

  That night, Johnny traveled to the café in Paris where he’d met the girl who got away, hoping that maybe he could somehow recreate the experience. When he got there, several hours after the graduation ceremony had ended, he asked the host to seat him at the same table where he’d sat the night he’d met her. Because another couple was already seated there, he offered to wait at the bar until it was vacant. A few minutes later, the man who sat at the table got down on one knee and asked his date to marry him. She said “yes.” After the couple hugged and kissed, the man ordered a round of drinks for everyone in the room to join in on their celebration—because Johnny was seated at the bar, he was not actually part of the celebration, and was thus out a free pint of beer. The café’s soundtrack then changed into something romantic. Johnny recognized the song as the current trendsetter in popular music—he thought he heard Katy Perry singing—but he didn’t know the title, and couldn’t place the reference completely. Something about kissing a girl, which Johnny assumed was relevant.

  It became clear to Johnny after twenty minutes of watching the couple celebrate that he wasn’t getting his table, so he decided to stay at the bar. His first night as a university graduate and he was tempted to get pissed. But he needed a clear head. He had to figure out where he was going. The girl he had met at that table just a little over two months ago would’ve likely told him to pick a goal and run with it. He wished she could be here with him now. If only she hadn’t gotten away.

  He needed something to echo that night, the night he’d met her. So, he ordered the same dish he had ordered when he was here with her. The bartender brought him the Grape Crepe Su-Steak fifteen minutes later. At the time, it was a brand new dish that the café’s owner and head chef had just acquired from a culinary student and aspiring chef and was eager for patrons to try. Even though he didn’t love it, Johnny recommended the chef keep it on the menu. He ordered it tonight for sentimental reasons. It was the only reason he looked forward to eating it. Like the first time he’d had it, it came with a note from the chef: “Try to enjoy.”

  YRD201: Basic Fate History

  The Past (Nine Weeks Ago)

  He was supposed to meet his friend, Barney, at the Parisian café to celebrate Barney’s purchase of a new home, but Barney was running late—the irony, of course, was that Johnny, thanks to his Oxford residency and complete reliance on multiple transport systems, was also running late. Johnny agreed to hold the table once he got there, but he had agreed to it while he was still in transit. He had no idea when he would actually get to the café, or what the state of the dining room would look like once he got there. Just like his college coursework, he had to guess what would be the most practical decision for the situation once he actually got inside the building.

  Johnny made it to the café just a little after seven. As soon as he stepped off the bus, he raced through the rain across the small puddle-soaked parking lot, stopping only briefly to allow a couple to park in the space he was about to cut through. He was trying to get there before the others who had gotten off the bus behind him could head him off, but the car slowed him down. By the time he reached the door and a rather large man about Johnny’s age came lumbering out with a fistful of cash and a stupid grin on his face, the others had caught up to him, and he dutifully held it open for them to pass through. A girl in a checkered skirt was the last in line. She had short dark hair under a violet beret. The hostess seated her last before all the tables finally filled. Thanks to his politeness, Johnny had to wait at the bar for the next available table. Another bad decision.

  Ten minutes later, a two-top opened in the main room to the left of the bar. The hostess led him over, handed him two menus, and offered him a glass of champagne while he waited for his friend to arrive. Johnny didn’t feel like dealing with the sleepy effects of alcohol during his ride back to Oxford, so he took water instead. While he waited, he scanned the room for some food ideas. He took immediate notice of his former bus companions, who had taken up half the tables in the room. The girl in the violet beret was in the table adjacent to his. She had just been served her appetizer—a biscuit doused in strawberry jelly. On the table, next to her plate, was a curious item, something that did not adequately fit the café’s décor, and was probably something she had brought along for reasons that probably made no sense. She had just inches from her left hand a yellow rubber ducky.

  The rubber duck was pretty typical for the most part. Low to the ground, so-to-speak, with a wide frame, eyes set to the side rather than out front, and an orange beak. What mad
e it different, however, besides the fact that it was not sitting in a bathtub or a fountain, was that it had a long chain necklace wrapped around its neck. Attached to the chain was a flash drive.

  Johnny had been watching the yellow rubber ducky for nearly a minute when the girl caught him staring. Whether she did so out of self-consciousness or spite, she moved the duck behind her bag, which was also sitting on the table, out of sight. Then she went back to nibbling on her biscuit, as if what she’d just done was not the slightest bit odd.

  The hostess brought Johnny his water and informed him that a server would be along to take his appetizer order any moment. He told her not to hurry; his friend was still on the way.

  A few minutes later, Johnny noticed the girl in the violet beret sliding her hand behind her bag. She pulled the rubber duck back into view. Johnny noticed a faded black marking under the duck when she tilted it slightly away from him. The sight of it made his heart leap slightly, but he wasn’t entirely sure why. He looked off in another direction, just to make sure it couldn’t trigger anything inside of him. He wanted to keep his head clear.

  Even though he was now looking at the