The News
Cory arrives in Richmond.
Cory: Cute little airport you've got.
Becca: Yep this is the only little waiting room... It's tank top weather.
Cory takes off his 20-degrees-below-zero layers and puts them on top of his carry-on, containing his computer, hard drive, journal, phone, and some books.
Cory: I expect my checked bag not to arrive. I had to run to my gate in Denver.
Cory's bag does not arrive.
Cory: Where's the United Airlines ... thing?
United Airlines Woman: Your bag should arrive in Richmond tonight around 7.
Becca: Welcome to Richmond.
5:20pm: Becca drives Cory to Belle Isle.
Cory: Belle as in "bell"--that you hit? Or as in "belle"--that is beautiful?
Becca: Belle.
5:30pm: Cory takes his first step on Virginia soil, checking to make sure the car door is locked.
Cory: Hmm... Smells like fishing.
Becca: If you stand really still, you can sometimes feel the wind moving the bridge.
Cory: It's pretty dark, I mean, there aren't any lights. Is it safe here?
Becca: Of course! You're with me! ...Don't be a cynical New Yorker.
Cory: (jokingly, to potential muggers in the woods) Well, it's a good thing I LEFT ALL MY CASH AT HOME.
Becca and Cory laugh and continue the joke.
Cory: Yeah, it is pretty creepy here. We could totally get raped.
Becca: No way! Actually, Richmond used to be one of the most dangerous cities in the country, but then we cleaned it up a bit.
Cory: Lucky for us.
Becca: I've never had a problem here.
Cory: Look, hippies. Playing guitars and smoking out on the rocks. I didn't know they had hippies in the South.
Becca: I got some good beer.
6:20: Cory and Becca cross cross the bridge, leaving Belle Isle after walking around most of it in the dark.
Cory: It smells familiar here. Very warm. Comfortable. I think I really like Richmond.
Cory's legs tire.
6:30: Cory and Becca return to the car.
Cory sees broken glass, thinks..."Maybe that is from some other car... from before..."
Becca says something.
Cory: Everything's gone.
Becca says something.
Cory: There's no window...
Becca: No...
Cory puts his arms through where there should have been a window.
Cory: The window is gone. Someone smashed it. They took all my stuff. Do you want to call 911?
Becca: I need to report a burglary ... near Belle Isle.
911: We'll send a policeman right away.
Cory realizes what was in the stolen bag.
Cory: FUCK!
30 minutes pass.
Becca: Yeah, hi. I called 30 minutes ago about a burglary.
911: We'll send a policeman right away.
20 to 30 runners return to the Belle Isle parking lot after what seems to have been a strenuous and fun run.
Cory: Hi. Sorry to bother you. Someone broke into our car and stole all my stuff. Did you guys see anything suspicious?
About 5 runners: Yeah, there was a guy a little taller than you with a jacket just like yours that was reading really suspiciously in the parking lot. And it was dark. It was just really weird. He had dark skin.
Cory: Could you write down descriptions of him?
They write descriptions of him.
1 runner: Fuck!
Another runner: Martha got hit, too. Everyone check your cars!
Everyone runs to their cars.
It was only me and Martha.
Martha calls the police.
Head runner: Well, Welcome to Richmond!... heh...
Another runner: There are nice people in Richmond, I swear.
90 minutes from original 911 call: A dumpy security guard drives by.
Cory runs to flag down dumpy security guard.
Cory: Hi, we called the police 90 minutes ago about a burglary...
Dumpy Security Guard: Sorry, that's out of my jurisdiction. I patrol the other side of the fence.
Cory: You mean, 3 feet in front of our car?
Dumpy Security Guard: Yes. I heard about it on the radio, though. The Richmond police were talking about it.
Cory: My phone was stolen. Could you help us out with the radio?
Dumpy Security Guard: No. But you can call this number.
Becca calls this number.
Policewoman: No. We don't send policemen for burglaries. We just take reports over the phone. But we have to call you back.
Becca: Oh. Then why did they say they would send a policeman? Twice?
Dumpy Security Guard: Well, you could go down to the precinct. It's two blocks that way.
Becca: But there's... glass... all over the car...
Becca and Cory drive to the 4th Precinct.
It is empty.
Becca and Cory wander the halls until they find a policeman.
Cory: We need to report a burglary.
Policeman: Call this number...
Becca: ... That's the number we already called.
Policeman: All you can do is call this number and wait. Where did this happen?
Cory: Belle Isle parking lot.
Policeman: Sorry. That's out of our jurisdiction.
Cory: You mean 2 blocks that way?
Policeman: Yes.
Cory: Oh.
Policeman: All you can do is call this number--that's the 1st Precinct--and wait. They'll call you back.
In the middle of Policeman's sentence, Becca receives a call from 1st Precinct.
Cory: Well, it's a good thing there wasn't an actual emergency. We'd be dead.
Policeman: See, we prioritize things. For you, I know it's a big deal. It's tough.
Cory: Yup...
Policeman: But for us: we don't care.
Cory: Yes. That's quite obvious.
Policeman: Right.
Cory: Well, thank you for your help, Sir.
Cory spends the next hour and a half on the phone with 1st Precinct man detailing all the stuff that was stolen: computer (containing all his short stories, all his academic papers from Sarah Lawrence College, all his photos, all his music, 3 years of letters and personal writing), external hard drive (containing all the songs he has ever recorded at Click-Click records during the last 5 and a half years), journal (containing everything he had hand-written in the last 3 years), phone (on which he had just canceled the cell phone insurance plan), and some books--some his, some borrowed, some containing the 4 plays he was supposed to memorize before next Tuesday.
Cory: Thank you for your help. We went to the 4th Precinct, but they were no help. They said--
1st Precinct Man: Yeah. That's the 4th Precinct. They never help anybody out for shit.
Cory: Yeah......
1st Precinct Man: Now a detective will call you in a couple days.
Cory: Ok. Thanks.
1st Precinct Man: I'm awful sorry, sir. Welcome to Richmond...
Cory: Thanks.
Some time passes.
Cory has a Guinness.
9:30pm: Cory's checked bag arrives.
He is thankful that United had fucked up and that it had not been stolen along with the rest of this stuff.
Becca: By the way, there's this guy I've been seeing--he's 15 years older than me and his name is Slash--and that will probably turn into a pretty serious relationship after you leave, but I don't want that to affect our time together in Richmond.
Some days pass.
Cory learns of Becca's roommate, whose expensive projector was stolen that day.
Some hours pass.
Cory learns of Becca's friend whose CD player was stolen that day.
Cory learns that Becca's bike was bought from a guy who steals bikes in her neighborhood. She bought it after her bike was stolen.
Cory hates Richmond.
Some days pass.
Cory buys his bus ticket home.
He has yet to talk to a detective.
Cory: Cute little airport you've got.
Becca: Yep this is the only little waiting room... It's tank top weather.
Cory takes off his 20-degrees-below-zero layers and puts them on top of his carry-on, containing his computer, hard drive, journal, phone, and some books.
Cory: I expect my checked bag not to arrive. I had to run to my gate in Denver.
Cory's bag does not arrive.
Cory: Where's the United Airlines ... thing?
United Airlines Woman: Your bag should arrive in Richmond tonight around 7.
Becca: Welcome to Richmond.
5:20pm: Becca drives Cory to Belle Isle.
Cory: Belle as in "bell"--that you hit? Or as in "belle"--that is beautiful?
Becca: Belle.
5:30pm: Cory takes his first step on Virginia soil, checking to make sure the car door is locked.
Cory: Hmm... Smells like fishing.
Becca: If you stand really still, you can sometimes feel the wind moving the bridge.
Cory: It's pretty dark, I mean, there aren't any lights. Is it safe here?
Becca: Of course! You're with me! ...Don't be a cynical New Yorker.
Cory: (jokingly, to potential muggers in the woods) Well, it's a good thing I LEFT ALL MY CASH AT HOME.
Becca and Cory laugh and continue the joke.
Cory: Yeah, it is pretty creepy here. We could totally get raped.
Becca: No way! Actually, Richmond used to be one of the most dangerous cities in the country, but then we cleaned it up a bit.
Cory: Lucky for us.
Becca: I've never had a problem here.
Cory: Look, hippies. Playing guitars and smoking out on the rocks. I didn't know they had hippies in the South.
Becca: I got some good beer.
6:20: Cory and Becca cross cross the bridge, leaving Belle Isle after walking around most of it in the dark.
Cory: It smells familiar here. Very warm. Comfortable. I think I really like Richmond.
Cory's legs tire.
6:30: Cory and Becca return to the car.
Cory sees broken glass, thinks..."Maybe that is from some other car... from before..."
Becca says something.
Cory: Everything's gone.
Becca says something.
Cory: There's no window...
Becca: No...
Cory puts his arms through where there should have been a window.
Cory: The window is gone. Someone smashed it. They took all my stuff. Do you want to call 911?
Becca: I need to report a burglary ... near Belle Isle.
911: We'll send a policeman right away.
Cory realizes what was in the stolen bag.
Cory: FUCK!
30 minutes pass.
Becca: Yeah, hi. I called 30 minutes ago about a burglary.
911: We'll send a policeman right away.
20 to 30 runners return to the Belle Isle parking lot after what seems to have been a strenuous and fun run.
Cory: Hi. Sorry to bother you. Someone broke into our car and stole all my stuff. Did you guys see anything suspicious?
About 5 runners: Yeah, there was a guy a little taller than you with a jacket just like yours that was reading really suspiciously in the parking lot. And it was dark. It was just really weird. He had dark skin.
Cory: Could you write down descriptions of him?
They write descriptions of him.
1 runner: Fuck!
Another runner: Martha got hit, too. Everyone check your cars!
Everyone runs to their cars.
It was only me and Martha.
Martha calls the police.
Head runner: Well, Welcome to Richmond!... heh...
Another runner: There are nice people in Richmond, I swear.
90 minutes from original 911 call: A dumpy security guard drives by.
Cory runs to flag down dumpy security guard.
Cory: Hi, we called the police 90 minutes ago about a burglary...
Dumpy Security Guard: Sorry, that's out of my jurisdiction. I patrol the other side of the fence.
Cory: You mean, 3 feet in front of our car?
Dumpy Security Guard: Yes. I heard about it on the radio, though. The Richmond police were talking about it.
Cory: My phone was stolen. Could you help us out with the radio?
Dumpy Security Guard: No. But you can call this number.
Becca calls this number.
Policewoman: No. We don't send policemen for burglaries. We just take reports over the phone. But we have to call you back.
Becca: Oh. Then why did they say they would send a policeman? Twice?
Dumpy Security Guard: Well, you could go down to the precinct. It's two blocks that way.
Becca: But there's... glass... all over the car...
Becca and Cory drive to the 4th Precinct.
It is empty.
Becca and Cory wander the halls until they find a policeman.
Cory: We need to report a burglary.
Policeman: Call this number...
Becca: ... That's the number we already called.
Policeman: All you can do is call this number and wait. Where did this happen?
Cory: Belle Isle parking lot.
Policeman: Sorry. That's out of our jurisdiction.
Cory: You mean 2 blocks that way?
Policeman: Yes.
Cory: Oh.
Policeman: All you can do is call this number--that's the 1st Precinct--and wait. They'll call you back.
In the middle of Policeman's sentence, Becca receives a call from 1st Precinct.
Cory: Well, it's a good thing there wasn't an actual emergency. We'd be dead.
Policeman: See, we prioritize things. For you, I know it's a big deal. It's tough.
Cory: Yup...
Policeman: But for us: we don't care.
Cory: Yes. That's quite obvious.
Policeman: Right.
Cory: Well, thank you for your help, Sir.
Cory spends the next hour and a half on the phone with 1st Precinct man detailing all the stuff that was stolen: computer (containing all his short stories, all his academic papers from Sarah Lawrence College, all his photos, all his music, 3 years of letters and personal writing), external hard drive (containing all the songs he has ever recorded at Click-Click records during the last 5 and a half years), journal (containing everything he had hand-written in the last 3 years), phone (on which he had just canceled the cell phone insurance plan), and some books--some his, some borrowed, some containing the 4 plays he was supposed to memorize before next Tuesday.
Cory: Thank you for your help. We went to the 4th Precinct, but they were no help. They said--
1st Precinct Man: Yeah. That's the 4th Precinct. They never help anybody out for shit.
Cory: Yeah......
1st Precinct Man: Now a detective will call you in a couple days.
Cory: Ok. Thanks.
1st Precinct Man: I'm awful sorry, sir. Welcome to Richmond...
Cory: Thanks.
Some time passes.
Cory has a Guinness.
9:30pm: Cory's checked bag arrives.
He is thankful that United had fucked up and that it had not been stolen along with the rest of this stuff.
Becca: By the way, there's this guy I've been seeing--he's 15 years older than me and his name is Slash--and that will probably turn into a pretty serious relationship after you leave, but I don't want that to affect our time together in Richmond.
Some days pass.
Cory learns of Becca's roommate, whose expensive projector was stolen that day.
Some hours pass.
Cory learns of Becca's friend whose CD player was stolen that day.
Cory learns that Becca's bike was bought from a guy who steals bikes in her neighborhood. She bought it after her bike was stolen.
Cory hates Richmond.
Some days pass.
Cory buys his bus ticket home.
He has yet to talk to a detective.