Yoshi: hey
Mack: hey
Well, so far, this conversation was going about as well as expected. From Yoshi's point of view, they all tend to start out this way, and too many ended this way too.
Yoshi was absentmindedly scrolling through Grindr when he discovered a profile he hadn't seen before. He was impressed with the pic. It showed a bare-chested man, maybe in his mid 40s, standing near a river, holding a big fish he'd presumably just caught. Maybe this Mack guy was new to the area. His fingertips began tapping across his screen.
Yoshi: whats up
Mack: not much
Yoshi waited for some more words to appear on his screen, but none arrived. There was a pause in transmission. He was tired of always being the one to drive conversations. He sighed, closed the app, and went out for a walk along the river.
Brisbane was humid and sub-tropical in March. Summer hadn't faded away yet. The sky was blue and the air was warm, but clouds were beginning to form on the horizon. Locals knew exactly what this meant -- a late afternoon thunderstorm was in store, possibly a vicious one. As he walked along the riverbank, hundreds of people were out and about, enjoying fresh air and exercise. Nobody was worried about the impending storm; they were frequent.
Yoshi pulled his phone out of his pocket. He checked for new messages. None. He brushed his emo fringe out of his eyes and put his cap back in place on his head. He continued walking until he found a pub. He sat at the bar and ordered a schooner of Fourex, Queensland's iconic beer. The barmaid picked a fresh glass from the rack and turned the handle of the tap. Seconds later, the frosty amber liquid landed on a cardboard coaster in front of him. He sipped his beer, but his sips became gulps as he realised how thirsty he was. He looked around the room -- a crowd of people were gathered around a large TV watching a game of Australian football. Yoshi wasn't into sports, and this wasn't his type of place either. He finished his beer quietly and left, walking out into blinding Brisbane afternoon light.
He jumped on the Citycat ferry and boated his way down the river towards Toowong, the suburb he lived in. He turned the key to his one-bedroom rental apartment and closed the door. After a light dinner, he showered and climbed into bed. He scrolled through Grindr again and found the profile he saw this afternoon. That Mack dude was still there, but Yoshi wasn't in the mood to try again. He opened his laptop, watched some porn, and jacked off before turning in for the night.
*
Yoshi finished classes early in the afternoon. He opened the app and tried again.
Yoshi: hey dude what u doin
Mack: not much what about u
Yoshi: just finished uni got the rest of the arvo free
Yoshi waited expectantly, but again, there was no response. This Mack guy didn't seem to be much of a conversationalist. Nobody ever expects to have deep and meaningfuls on an app, but Yoshi wasn't sure what to say to progress the conversation. He wondered whether he was bothering the guy, or perhaps he wasn't his type. He wondered whether mentioning he was a uni student might've put him off -- maybe he was too young for him. Whatever; the dude could always block him if he wanted to.
*
Yoshi was in his early 20s. His dad was Australian, but his mum was born in Kyoto, which gave their son's features an exotic, half-Japanese look. He got good grades at school, but he didn't have any specific career aspirations. His parents expected him to go to university, and he had no good reason not to, so he enrolled in a communications degree at the Uni of Queensland. His parents lived too far away from UQ's Brisbane campus, and he didn't want to spend half of each day in transit, so he moved out to be closer to school. His parents supported him financially, but rent wasn't cheap. He worked a few odd hours each week stacking supermarket shelves to help make ends meet. His belongings were few -- a bed, a fridge, a computer, some books, some clothes and a few CDs, but for now, it was all he needed. In shedding his old suburban skin, he'd left his most of his old schoolfriends behind.
Yoshi stood about 5 feet 8 inches. He was skinny, the consequence of a fast metabolism. His dyed black hair was cut short at the back and grew long at the front, falling down heavy over his dark brown eyes. His fingernails and toenails were painted black. Every single t-shirt he owned was black. Some displayed the artwork of bands or cartoon characters he liked, while others were just plain black. In summer, he wore long shorts, with the legs cut, ripped and frayed at the knees, heavy black boots, and long, stripy socks. The emo uniform. His right nostril was pierced, as was his bottom lip and left nipple. He had a few small tattoos on his upper arms and was already considering what his next one should be. He loved music, and most nights, he was out at a pub somewhere watching a band. And when he wasn't listening to music, his face was usually buried in the spine of a thick novel.
Later that night, he tried again. It looked like they lived close to each other.
Yoshi: hey man whats happening
Long minutes passed, and Yoshi didn't think he'd get a response. There was a little green dot on Mack's profile pic, which meant he was online. Maybe he was talking to other people, or maybe he just wasn't interested. Yoshi put his phone on his bedside table and opened the novel he was halfway through.
Unexpectedly, his phone vibrated.
Mack: you keep messaging me?
The girls at school thought he was cute and highly fuckable, but Yoshi quickly realised he was more into men. In his final year at school, he took to wearing a thumb ring with the colours of the bisexual flag. Most of his classmates knew what it meant. He gazed at it for a moment before turning his attention back to the app.
Yoshi: yeah cause i like your profile pic ... i hope im not bothering u
Mack: i think i might be a little too old for you, fella
Yoshi smiled before replying.
Yoshi: i like older men, but u dont look old, actually you look fit as fuck ... was the fish good?
Mack responded with a smile emoji, and Yoshi grinned. He's on the hook, now reel him in.
Yoshi: are u new? haven't seen u before
Mack: new to what?
Yoshi: new to Brisbane?
Mack: nah lived here a long time but new to the app
Yoshi wondered if he was dealing with a potential midlife crisis.
Yoshi: what are you into
Mack: you mean like in terms of sex?
Yoshi: it was a broad question ...
For now, Yoshi didn't get an answer. Mack didn't really know what he was 'into'.
Mack: where do u live
Yoshi: toowong
Mack: not too far from me i'm in milton
Yoshi: sweet, just up the river from me
Mack: yeah
Yoshi paused for a second, unsure where to take the conversation from here. At least he'd discovered that this Mack dude was a real person (not a bot) and that he didn't live too far away. He waited, hoping Mack would make the next contribution to their chat. After a few minutes, he saw three telltale dots bouncing up and down on his screen for a few brief seconds before disappearing. A few seconds later, they reappeared, only to disappear again. Yoshi smiled. He knew that this meant: his correspondent was happy to keep talking, but he wasn't sure what to say. He waited a little longer.
Mack: how old r u
