Irving Robinson was an older man, somewhere in his late sixties. He never used his true age because his kids never seemed to care how old he was. So why bother?
Irving had recently retired from his job as a high school english teacher. Needless to say, the Juniors and Seniors he taught didn't leave much hair on his head. His grey hair was scarce and his blue eyes were weary from shooting glares at students. He missed teaching. During the week he would sit at home, watching the television, wishing he could be standing in front of a class full of hyperactive teenagers.
But it was Saturday, and every Saturday Irving ate lunch at Wen's Chinese Restaraunt. This Saturday would be one he would never forget.
He was just finishing his meal when his waiter gave him the check along with two fortune cookies. Irving loved fortune cookies; his favorite part of the meal was opening the cookies. He had a whole desk drawer full of fortunes at his house. He enjoyed reading them again just to see how stupid they really were.
After stuffing the last of an egg roll in his mouth, he opened the first cookie.
"'Don't just think, act.' Hm, I think I'm going to eat this cookie." He said aloud to himself and then stuffed the cookie in his mouth. Laughing to himself, he opened the remaining cookie. The fortune inside was unlike any other he had seen.
You are being watched. Leave immediatly and don't look back. They may be following you.
Irving stared at the tiny slip of paper for a while and then laughed. Fortunes were sure getting crazier. He took out his wallet and laid a twenty dollar bill on the table with a note saying, 'Keep the change'. He headed out to his car, excited to get home and watch his favorite TV show. Just as he was opening the car door, his waiter exited the restaraunt with a group of teenagers.
"That's him," the waiter said, pointing at Irving. The teenagers discussed among themselves and then started walking towards Irving. His heart pounded. He looked at the last sentence of the fortune. They may be following you. He climbed into his car and sped off from the restaraunt.
Once he was out on the road, he took a deep breath. He was just being paranoid. Fortunes from fortune cookies never came true.
Then what did the kids want? He wondered. They definitely weren't any of the kids he had taught. He had never seen them before in his life. He focused on driving, letting the fortune slip from his mind. He hit a red light and stopped. Turning on the radio, he sang to his favorite song. Or at least he tried to. Irving may have had a gift for teaching, but singing was not one of his strong points.
Suddenly, a red jeep pulled up in the lane next to his. Looking in the vehicle, he saw the three teenagers from the restaraunt. The front window was down and they seemed to be signaling for him to roll down his window too. And that was when the paranoia set back in.
He really was being followed.
Thankfully, the light turned green and Irving sped off. He didn't care that he was going twenty miles over the speed limit, he just wanted to get away from the kids. But no matter how fast he went, the red jeep was still there in his rearview mirror, slowly gaining on him. He needed to shake them off.
He took the long way home, speeding down a bunch of back roads, until he was sure the jeep was gone. After his seventh right turn, he slowed down a bit and looked behind him. No jeep in sight. Sighing in relief he made a left turn and headed home.
The truck hit the gravel driveway and made a thunderous sound. The gravel sprayed up around the truck, denting the doors a bit. Irving didn't care. The truck wasn't all that special. It was simply a way to get around. He climbed out of the truck, slammed the door shut and walked the path way to his house.
The sound of burning rubber filled his ear. Curious, he turned to see the red jeep pulling onto his driveway.
How'd they find me? he wondered. Flinging the front door open, he rushed inside. He rushed to the basement and pulled out his shotgun. The doorbell rang making Irving jump. Gripping the gun in his hands, he snuck up the stairs, his heart pounding. What did these kids want? Were they some part of a gang? What was going on?
He finally reached the front door and grabbed the doorknob. After taking a deep breath, he swung it open and pointed the gun at the kids.
"What do you want?!"
"Woah, dude, watch where you're pointin' that thing!" One of the boys said, raising his hands. Irving thrusted the gun closer, poking the boy.
"I'll put it down when you tell me why you're here!"
One of the boys reached into his back pocket and pulled out a...
wallet. It was Irving's wallet. He lowered his gun to the relief of the tennagers. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the wallet.
"It's your wallet, sir," another boy said. "We just wanted to return it." He tossed it at Irving who caught it.
"Oh, yes, of course. Well thank you," Irving said. "That was very responsible of you all."
The teenagers all muttered thanks and bolted to the jeep. After jumping in, they sped off, spraying tiny rocks everywhere. Irving cursed. It would take him weeks to get the rocks out. He shut the door and leaned the gun against it. Sinking into his favorite arm chair, he turned on the television. He let out a yelp and groaned.
He had missed his favorite show.
I love the wryness of this piece, delicately humorous and written very well. 
