They Sat in Front of the TV

Sziliana and Ivo sat in front of the TV, browsing Netflix. They stared blankly at the screen as the second one rhythmically pressed the down arrow on the remote every few seconds. Sziliana reached forward to grab a can from the coffee table. She hovered for a moment with her hand in the air, wondering which of the twelve cans was the one that still had beer in it. Finally, she made a choice, got it. She waved her hand; the liquid inside was sloshing around, hitting the aluminum walls. Then she tipped the can, taking a few long gulps.

“It tastes like shit”, she muttered to her friend, who completely ignored it. She crushed the now-empty can and added it to the collection, under which the tabletop was slowly disappearing. “Why did you buy it?”

“Cause it was on sale”. He was still staring at the screen, even though he knew full well that he wouldn't select any of the movies he was scrolling through.

“I thought you didn’t like capitalism”.

“Yea. That's why I paid them less”.

The bird looked at him in silence, blinked slowly, and looked at the TV. She began to wander her hand to the right, looking for something on the couch. She finally grabbed a pack of Marlboros. She opened it with her thumb without looking at what she was doing.

“Want one?” She broke the silence again, sticking the cigarette between her lips.

“No.”

Dead air. She lit the cigarette, inhaled the smoke, closed her eyes. Like a chimney, a cloud of fume billowed out of her nose, and the stench of tobacco filled the room. She took the cig out of her mouth and rested her arm on the side rest.

“Don't shake it over the floor”, said Ivo. It seemed disinterested, but it could change quickly.

“I don't have an ashtray”.

Ivo glanced at her with thin eyes. Maybe he was squinting; maybe it was just the way he looked.

“Are we going to watch something, finally?” Sziliana started to get a little impatient.

“I don't know, do you want to watch something?”

“I don't know”.

The silence lasted for a few long seconds, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They were often silent, and that was okay. They just sat next to each other.

“Wanna go get some ladies? To El Dorado or something…” Sziliana said after a while, turning her head to her friend. He shrugged.

“Yea, we can go.”

They did not move.