The Massapequa Park Train Station on an Overcast Sunday

I’m cold. My NYU hoodie can’t hold its own against these Long Island gusts. We’re sitting on the elevated platform at the Massapequa Park train station, waiting for the 2:07 LIRR back into the city. Thomas and Henry are discussing the battery life of their phones. Will is watching the Celtics game. Cars rush by on the highway below. Lots of minivans. There’s a Qdoba across the street. Colored flags conceal the darkest secrets of the parking lot. Thomas tells Henry that one time his parents called him a creative thinker. Henry Hicks was on set last night. It was fun. I played a chef who might have been schizophrenic. I’m not exactly sure. Sidd is checking the Red Sox score for Will. This bench is slightly reclined. My spine is at an 80° angle. I think. I got a B+ in Geometry. Henry could get Mexican for lunch. They are crafting the plan for who’s going to store the batteries. Thomas says that he’ll deal. Sidd announces that he needs to walk around. The gusts pick up. Now I’m actually cold. So is Henry. I ask Will what the score in the Celtics game is. He says that the Celtics are up. Tyler Herro started the game cold. Will asks me about Klay. I say that he’s washed. Will asks me why. I say that I don’t know. There’s a water tower almost directly in front of me. Looks like a Space Invader. Painted turquoise. Pale. Hidden behind the recently reborn trees. My mom told me about the trees dying. Said that it does something to the soul. I agree, though I’m not exactly sure what.

By Elias Tobisman Pearl