Smoke Break (Satire)

By Biff Mitchell

Kyle should have known better than to get into an argument with a creature smarter than him, especially trying to define humans.
(Satire)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Biff Mitchell
• Release date: Jun 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215212639

Biff Mitchell

Biff Mitchell is a speculative fiction writer known mostly for his quirky humor and keen insights into those aspects of life that likely won't be relevant to anything in our lifetimes, but possibly in some future reality. His most recent publication, Blowing Up (from Double Dragon Publishing) unleashes a barrage of mostly humorous short stories guaranteed to confuse and amuse the most contemporary reader. That just might be you. But...before you dive try dipping your literary toes into some free reading at crazymanadventures.com. Be warned though...nothing good can come of any of this.

Book preview

Smoke Break

By Biff Mitchell

Copyright 2023 Biff Mitchell

Smashwords Edition

A kettle boiling water into dry hell―Kyle’s first thought as he stepped out of the air conditioned

building. Pools of heat wavered visibly on the rooftops of mini vans and cars parked in the

asphalt lot as Kyle cussed himself for wearing a suit and tie. But the radio had said rain today,

just like it had yesterday, when the temperature had soared to an energy-sucking ninety-five. He

loosened his tie and undid the top two buttons of his shirt. He took a package of cigarettes from

his jacket pocket, opened it and thumbed out a cigarette, thinking that maybe after this pack he’d

try quitting again. Yeah, quit the damned things for good and stay inside all day in the office

rooms filled with computers and cool air. Pocketing the pack with one hand, he reached into his

pants pocket with the other and took out his lighter. Sweat popped out of his underarms as he

fired his cigarette and put the lighter back in his pocket. God, it was only mid-morning. What

would it be like in the afternoon? He took a deep drag, his first cigarette of the day, and felt his

head spin into a nicotine high.

He blew out a long stream of bluish smoke that traveled straight ahead, dissolving into the air

without even a slight movement upward. No wind to cool down the scorching heat. Sweat

dribbled from the pores in his forehead. He wiped it away with the palm of his hand and then

dried his palm on the inside of his jacket. He took another long haul on the cigarette, wondering

why the hell they couldn’t put aside just one small air conditioned room for smokers, a room

with vents to pump the circuit-destroying smoke outside into this godawful hot day.

Beside him stood a three foot high air conditioning box churning out a strained humming

sound, the diamond mesh grill on top ripped open by a snow plow during the winter. Kyle

looked at the splayed metal and thought that maybe the heat wasn’t so bad after all, not after the

skin-numbing temperatures of a winter that had seemed to freeze and storm forever. The problem

with weather, either too cold or too hot, but at least you didn’t have to shovel driveways in the

heat.

As he lifted the cigarette to his lips,