Beside the parking lot of her building, the city had planted a row of stunted trees, that managed some hazy shade where two shadows met. Alaina had dragged her bike up onto the grass, and sacrificed an old tablecloth so she wouldnât lose the pieces in the grass as she pulled itâs engine apart.
All her hair tied into a knot on top of her head so none of it would be touching her skin, sheâd stripped down to the smallest shorts she owned and what was barely a tank-top, but the air was thick and humid, and there was no relief of a breeze. It felt like weeks since the temperature had broken, and Alaina wasnât sure she had slept in that time. the heat in her apartment made it impossible to rest, even at night, and the A/C unit in her window whined when it got too hot. Some nights she couldnât decide if the noise or the heat was worse.
âIâm not taking the fucking subway,â Alaina muttered, bent forward trying to connect a line without disassembling it further. The bike had been new when sheâd bought it, but that had been some time in the early 60â˛s and even without the time sheâd âlostâ, sheâd riden it a decade or more. Working on a farm, Alaina had learned a lot about fixing motors but that hadnât been prepared her to care for a bike that was now an antique. The tube sheâd been trying to gently feed into itâs port slipped from her fingers, and Alaina paused, taking a long slow breath.
Teeth grit, she reached out with her hand and grabbing the first tool her fingers brushed, threw it as hard as she could at the nearest tree. The moment the wrench left her hand, Alaina regretted throwing it, but it struck the trunk with a heavy whack, and then spun out towards the parking lot, skidding across the asphalt to rest just in front of someoneâs feet. Alaina sighed, then slowly stood.
âHey, toss that here,â she called towards the person, nodding at the wrench and holding her hand out for them to throw it back to her.










