Small Exchange by Corey Evans
- Corey Evans
- Apr 2
- 2 min read
I want to change my hair. My hair has always been the same, ever since my mother gave me a parting when I was six or maybe seven. I should shave it all off. Or get a purple mohawk, that would look sick, wouldn’t it? I should buy a new car too. Or maybe just get rid of it and take up cycling, build my cardiovascular system to its peak. Optimise. My clothes? I should burn them. I never had a sense of style anyway. Shoes? Fuck them! For all I know I could be a sandal guy. I’m actually quite partial to a croc. Have you ever worn a croc? They were crafted by the gods, I swear. I need to change jobs or sack it off completely. I find myself in bed, scrolling through Facebook, looking at snapshots of other people’s lives, which seem far better than mine. They seem so happy. You know, I’ve never left this town. Not properly. I’m twenty-seven years old. That’s nearly ten thousand days stuck with these people; people who are just empty clones, mindlessly working their way through existence. What are they working for exactly? I’m sorry, but that life is not for me. I need something real, something better. The main change I need is to stop saying I’m going to change and then not following through. I think about all the stuff that floats in my head but avoid doing anything. I’ve always wanted to travel the world; see things and places I have only ever seen on screens. And now I will. I’ve bought a train ticket – to Slough. It leaves in seven minutes. I didn’t even buy a return. It’s not far and fuck knows what I’m going to do when I get there. But that’s okay, right? It’s okay to feel that way, isn’t it? Tell me it is. Please.
The barista stares at him for five, six seconds, sighs, and slides a decaf americano across the counter before gesturing to the next customer.
About the author: Corey Evans (@coreyevans95_). I’m a writer from Swansea, South Wales. I graduated from the creative writing course at UWE last year and am currently studying for a Masters at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. I have a passion for writing scripts, primarily for film and theatre. I’m currently developing a full length play called Splinter. A story about the fractured relationship between a mother and her son, before and after a violent act they never discuss. The play is experimental in form while exploring the themes of grief, violence, love, and trauma.
