Scrap Metal

Posted by Conor Meier in English 2 - Pahomov - A on Monday, November 23, 2015 at 1:28 am

“this always happens, everytime i get a new rider something horrible happens to them they always get into accidents.I was really starting to like this owner, I was starting to think that he would actually stay this time. he was really nice and he took good care of me,he got my oil changed I never had less than a half tank and I was always kept squeaky clean and shiny. I never stayed with my owner for more than a year, and then we got into an accident and then i went to another owner. it did not always happen that way though sometimes I was gifted away, sometimes I was bought off of people and I remember that one time I was stolen from my owner. That time was crazy because after that I got a new skin put on so I wouldn't be recognized as the stolen bike, this really weird for a while cause I was not used to it but after a while I started to like it but then we got into an accident and my skin got scratched and they had to peel it off and I was back to normal.

after that I went to a dealership because my owner went to jail for getting into an accident and hitting someone, while on me, that was also a really sad moment for me because I felt partially responsible for the person's injuries. After that I remember going to a different owner he was about 19 years old in college and he was trying to impress girls with “his new shiny motorcycle”. our time together did not last long because he actually did not know how to ride a motorcycle, so him and a girl got into an accident he was trying to merge on the highway and braked to fast and the car behind us rammed into my back and sent all of us flying. although i got a bit banged up they both went flying and they had to go to the hospital. while he was there his parents took me to an used car dealership and they sold me. I Stayed there for a while collecting dust in the back with the other cars and bikes that everyone at the dealership. gave up hope of selling. then one day a strange man walked in and he asked if they had any bikes for sale, he looked kind of weird standing there in his late teenage years asking for a motorcycle. He was wearing khaki skinny pants a tight t-shirt and a pair of running shoes. They brought him over to my area with all the other bikes, at first he didn't see me but eventually he came over and he said this is the one and he asked the person helping how much and i was and the man asked how much he had and the boy said about 3500 and the man automatically took him up on the great offer, I was actually quite flattered given the fact I was not worth that much in my current state. After we left the dealership he immediately took me to an auto shop. On the front it read “jim’s auto” and we both went in and he stood me up strait and started taking me apart cleaning me up and putting my pieces back together and fixing my dents. I heard one of the other mechanics in there calling him a “ greaser” so that is what I started calling him. as soon as he was done cleaning I was all shiny and he filled up my tank and we went out on the highway at first I got scared that we would crash so I did not get clingy but at first we did not crash for days then days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and by then we were good together and I thought this is the time that we are not gonna crash. Then it happened we were just going out for a cruise in the neighborhood and a drunk driver was speeding down the street and blindsided us and he flew 50 feet and I went under the car. I heard him hit the concrete, he fractured his pelvis and broke his back and got paralyzed from the waist down and as for me I went under the car and this was finally it for me I got crushed my engine got ran over, my handlebars got bent in two different ways and my rear got torn from my front. and that brings me to now I am laying in the junkyard waiting to be melted and turned into something new. But until then I am still the same piece of scrap metal that I started out as.

Comments (7)

Addison Zheng

I couldn't connect to this character, but I like how you took the role of something different. What will stick to me is how the bike got into an accident and how you were fixed again, but then got into another accident.

Athalia Tan

I couldn't really connect to the character, but I like how you took the role of the bike. I felt that you could've talked in emotion a little more, but from reading and hearing your piece, trying new things and exploring the world isn't so bad because everything/everyone around you are just trying to help you become who you are.

Tia Roberts

I liked how you took the role of the motorcycle instead of the human. But you seemed more factual of every event that occurred instead of showing some true passion and emotion of the Motorcycle.

Fatoumata Camara

I cant really connect to your character but it was an out the box idea and it was really good. Instead of a person you used a bike that was cool . A moment I will keep is you kept getting sold and sold

Ethan Halprin

I liked the concept of the character being a bike. I wish you had focused more on the personification of the bike, and it's feelings, rather than all the events that happened to it to change it's look. This would do a better job making you show and not tell. The best moment for me was the last line, because it really showed what the bike thought of itself.

Lily Palmer

I really like how you did it from an inanimate object POV. I feel connected to the feeling of blame for something you can't really control. The part that I connected with the most was the end, re-imagining themselves as a new being. It made me think that, even though cliche, everything gets better and you can always change yourself for the better.

Aidan Williams

That was a trip. Can't say I saw it coming, but I think it was done pretty well. Even though the character was a bike, you did a good job of personifying it, and, even though I haven't had the experience, I really felt for the thing. I think it will definitely stick with me, just because it was so out there.