[FILE 4.2.2] - - the goldman file / archive - basement files / short stories / the setup

the setup

I got the door mom don’t get up. What’s upper dude?

Aye. What’s up?

Chillin’, chillin’. Been looking for my camera, but…

Yeah bro that’s too bad. You know where you lost it?

Yeah it stinks bro, my parents are pretty upset too; but no, if I did then I wouldn’t have this problem.

True. Well do you remember where you had it last?

I think I was doing something in my room with it but I’m not 100 percent sure. Now, I’ve looked behind the bed between the frame and the wall, I’ve looked around that chest and in my closet. Too many times too count. 

It looks like your room’s changed a little bit. 

Well, I moved that long chest from under the window to up against the head of my bed. But that was partly in searching for the camera. 

Did you check your army pants? We were filming our army movie earlier this week; maybe you left it in a pocket.

No I checked my pants and my jacket but nothing. I’m gonna to look over here in this closet again; can you look over there for me? 

Okay sure…Brett I found it! 

What? Where was it?

Behind your bed!

Behind my bed? Weird, I looked there over and over again.

Well here it is bro! Just didn’t look hard enough, I guess.

Geez, that’s really odd. I look for it and look for it and I can’t find it and then you show up and it appears like magic. 

That is weird, but bro I think you just didn’t look hard enough. 

Well I mean you can only look so hard! But c’mon, you don’t think this is a little too coincidental? 

It is pretty coincidental, but you know, I did find it. It was behind your bed. 

…Eric, you don’t get it do you?

Bro, what do you mean? I came to help you look for your camera and I found it!

Dude, take a look at what’s going on here. Cameras don’t just appear out of thin air. Understand that I’m not mad bro, I just wanted my camera back, I got it for my Bar Mitzvah, that wasn’t even a year ago.

What are you talking about dude? Are you saying—

Man, we’ve been best friends for too long and have done way too much stuff together for you to not be honest with me. This wouldn’t even be the first time; I can’t remember how many times I’ve come over to your house and there in your TV room was my Two-Face figure. Or went upstairs to your room and there was my plastic army commando. Or when you even came over one day wearing one of my Packers hats while trying to play it off like it was yours!

Brett, just because I’ve done those in the past doesn’t mean I’d take your camera! That’s an expensive item, plus I have a video camera of my own.

That camera hasn’t worked in months!

So this is what I get for helping save your ass? Still, why would I take it if we hang out all the time and I could just use it then?

I don’t know man maybe the same reason you took my Two-Face, you had other villains to play with. You had other plastic army men. Also, the camera being expensive wouldn’t be a deterrent for you; remember the time I came back from vacation in Santa Cruz and our garage door was open. You broke in to our garage simply because you wanted to use a prop to film a video on your friends green screen. Not only that but the garage door was left unlocked in Stockton of all places! Do you know how lucky we are we didn’t get our whole fucking house ripped off? I hate to be put in this situation. 

Okay so I had it. I thought I was just borrowing it for a day. Sorry for the confusion bro I just didn’t want to make a big scene about it.

But don’t you see this is making a big scene about it? 

I do now but I didn’t mean for it to turn out this way. I just wanted to make a Lego city movie that would rival Craig Marsh’s. I was just borrowing it I’m telling you.

Are you serious dude? That’s why you took my digital camera? His movies suck anyway.

Yeah bro it would’ve been tight too. 

Seriously though Eric, just ask me next time and we could at least make it together or something, then we wouldn’t be in this situation. ‘Cause you were just borrowing it.

Brett I was just borrowing it. Let it go it’s perfect weather outside to throw the football. 

Just borrowing it.

Yeah let’s go then! 

Right.

You wanna play as the 49ers or the Chargers?

It’s gonna to be too dark, man. I think I’m gonna just call it a night. 

C’mon, we at least gotta do something now!

Nah, it’s all good, I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll play football in the morning. Saturday after all…does that sound good? Here, I got the door.

Yeah, call me tomorrow.

Alright man, take it easy…just not literally.