The Runner (Part Two)

‘Do you know Catholaphia?’ he took a sip of the coffee.
‘What?’ she said.
‘Catholaphia’ he put down his coffee.’ It's a disease, or a condition’
‘Uh huh…No I don’t, tell me what it is’ she took the phone cord between her fingers.
‘That’s just the official name for prank calling’ he reached out to his pack and pulled out a cigarette. ‘One out of every five people has it’ he lit the cigarette.
‘Prank calling’s okay, I mean’ she cleared her throat. ‘As long as you are talking sense, and not being sexual and all that’
‘Huh’ he took a drag and had a long exhale. ‘Have you ever got one of those calls?’
‘What? Prank calls?’ she giggled. ‘I am getting one right now’
‘No, I mean the ones not talking sense’ he turned his head toward the cat. The cat had just walk past the kitchen.
‘Hell no’ she made a nervous laugh. ‘But what we are talking here doesn’t make much sense either’
‘Huh’ he put down the cigarette on the ashtray and reached over to the brochure. ‘Have you seen the brochure?’
‘What?’ she said.
‘The brochure’ he said. ‘What brochure?’ she released the cord between her fingers.
‘The little booklet thing…’
‘I know what brochure means, but what brochure are you talking about here?’ she said it seriously.
‘The Befrienders’ brochure’ he said.
‘Uh huh’ she said. ‘Why?’
‘Is your face in it?’ he turned the pages looking for the picture he remembered seeing it somewhere.
‘Is my face in it?’ she turned to one of those brochures attached on the bulletin board.
‘Yah’ he picked up his cigarette and took a drag.
‘Is my face in the brochure?’ she said, still looking at the bulletin board.
‘You mean you haven’t seen it?’ he said.
‘No, no’ she removed her hair from the forehead. ‘I just didn’t have that question coming…Yah, yah...my face’s in it…why?’
‘Nothing’ he went closer to the picture printed on the brochure. ‘I just thought it would be funny if you happened to be one of the people in the brochure’
‘Why would it be funny?’ she leaned against the chair.
‘I don’t know’ he took another drag and still looking at the picture. ‘I guess it’s not funny…who took the picture?’
‘Who?’ she said. ‘ I don’t know, some guy from the art school or something, why?’
‘There’s no depth of field in the picture’ he flicked the cigarette’s ash. ‘And you guys look like you are posed’
‘We are posed’ she said. ‘We actually hit the marks he taped on the floor’
‘Well the thing is you shouldn’t’ he was still flickering the cigarette. ‘You shouldn’t look posed even if you are posed…It’s like how The Apprentice shouldn’t look scripted …even it’s scripted’
‘Is The Apprentice scripted?’ she leaned forward to the desk.
‘Yah’ he said. ‘Everything’s scripted…even the news are scripted’
‘Yah, I am aware of that’ she giggled. ‘But is The Apprentice scripted?’
‘Hell yah’ he took another drag. ‘The Survival is scripted, The Meaner is scripted, The Temptation Island is scripted, The Amazing Race is scripted…you know, all those stuffs are scripted’
‘Yah, but is The Apprentice scripted?’ she said. ‘Why would a guy like Donald Trump made a fool of himself?’
‘That’s not Donald Trump’ he drank his coffee. ‘That’s someone else playing Donald Trump’
‘Are you serious?’ she turned to one of her coworkers, as if she couldn’t wait to share the information with her. ‘That’s a ripped off…is that true?’
‘Yah’ he put down his coffee. ‘Everything’s a ripped off, basically’
‘I wish you hadn’t told me that’ she let her breath out. ‘Me and my colleague just bought the whole season 3, and we sort of think we’ll be watching after work today’
‘I wish I hadn’t told you that too’ he giggled as he put out the cigarette. He looked at the picture in the brochure again. ‘So which one is you?’
‘What?’ she was trying to make a sign to her colleague. But she didn’t notice.
‘Are you the one with the curly hair?’ he said.
‘You mean the picture in the brochure?’ she said. ‘No, that’s my colleague…she’s cute isn’t she?’
‘Yah’ he paused. ‘Thought that would be you’
‘I am sorry to kill your imagination’ she giggled. ‘I have quite curly hair when it’s dry’
‘But I don’t see anyone’s hair’s wet in the picture’ he said. ‘And there’s only one curly…so which one is you?’
‘Mine’s wet in the picture…’ she turned to the bulletin board again. ‘Not exactly wet, you know, greasy?’ she made a laugh.
‘Oh…’ he looked closer at the picture. ‘I can see what you are saying…’
‘What do you think?’ she chuckled.
‘What do I think what?’ he said.
‘Is that how you’d imagine me to be?’ she crossed her leg and let herself sank into the chair.
‘Not exactly’ he said.