The screen flickered, the white background turning green and making the words hard to read. Raymundo rapped his knuckles on the wall, the page blinking back to white for a moment.
“What’s wrong with you?” The answer Raymundo got was a hissing sound as a panel next to the edge of the screen opened up. Upon looking inside the box, he found wires, or, what used to be wires. They were so corroded he couldn’t tell what color the insulation used to be. The wires were thin, bits of them hanging on by only a thread.
He crossed his arms and studied the writing on the box the wires were in. There was numbers and Qwortarian letters. “Will fixing these wires fix the main screen?”
The answer was a flash of YES across the main screen, in blue. Raymundo pulled out his small notebook, and asked the computer for the specs of the wires. While the information from the computer was in English, trying to read it between the screen flashing, colors changing, pixels going dark, Raymundo stood there for a good ten minutes getting the information he needed. At least, about the wires.
“How hard can it be?” Raymundo asked, but the computer didn’t even try to provide an answer.
Raymundo may have been a mechanic, but the electronics was not his specialty. So after work the next day, after filling out his paperwork, Ray leaned against the doorway of May’s office.
“Hey May,” Ray tucked his elbows in close so as not to knock into the plant encroaching on the doorway. “Think you could give me a few lessons on repairing electrical equipment?”
“Of course.” May looked up from her desk. “Looking to broaden your skill set?”
“Yeah.”
“Cars specifically? Or in general?” May held out her hand for Ray’s paperwork.
As Ray passed the papers over, he pursed his lips. “Both.”
“Then why don’t you come over this weekend, I’m installing new ceiling fans.” May thumbed through the pages, before tapping the whole stack on her desk to straighten everything back out. “I can get you started on some of the basics with that. And you’re taller, so that’s a plus.”
“Sounds good to me.” Ray offered his hand again. “Thanks May.”
“No problem.” Their palms smacked and then they just did a quick shake before May waved him away. “I’ll text you my address.”
“See you later.” Ray spun on his heels, nearly knocking into the plant.
“Careful.” May said, chuckling. Ray grinned at her over his shoulder before leaving May to her work.
Word count: 429
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