April was always so cruel, signaling soon he'd have to leave his lucky jacket at home. That jacket was his armor, his security blanket. But only teens and punks can get away with leather in the summer. Grown men? No, lest they become &quot;that guy.&quot; But this morning was too brisk to go without. He quit smoking months ago, but kept a pack all winter. He liked the way a pack balanced that coat, resting in an inside pocket. He'd dropped the habit, but someone might need one, and there he'd be: A Boy Scout on loan from RJ Reynolds. Hands in pockets, head down, he hiked the three blocks from his apartment to the train station turnstile, then cursed quietly. The monthly pass was sitting on his kitchen table, exiled from his other inside pocket the night before. No pass? No ride? And no ride meant late to work. Cursing again, he turned and steamed into a curious girl in a battered leather jacket. She wasn't hurt, was laughing actually, but still he apologized as he offered to help her stand. &quot;Nice jacket,&quot; she said. 2008-05-17T22:39:37Z http://ficlets.com/feed/story/30408 <p>Nice. Reads a little bit like a commercial for said jacket, which is not at all bad given the nature of the short form. Setup, payoff, good.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/30408?basename=63017 2008-05-17T22:39:37Z Will Hindmarch http://ficlets.com/authors/wordstudio <p>&#8220;Life is what happens to you while you&#8217;re busy making other plans.&#8221; &#8211; John Lennon</p> <p>This is a great snapshot.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/30408?basename=62748 2008-05-16T15:44:28Z Seth Miller http://ficlets.com/authors/mostlymuppet <p>I had a friend in high school who carried around a pack of smokes just to give them to other people. At least, that&#8217;s what he said for a long time. He eventually picked up the habit himself, naturally.</p> <p>Nice moment here.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/30408?basename=62720 2008-05-16T14:14:10Z Rusty Tanton http://ficlets.com/authors/rustytanton