“My world of late has been a series of
distractions, ruses, and misdirection.”
-Batman
Hush 619

Alex Quinn does not go to church on Sundays.  While priests all over New Jersey are preaching from the early hours of the morning until mid-afternoon, Alex is still cocooned in the X-Men quilt his best friend, Jacqueline, made for his birthday last year.  His younger sister once told him it was far too childish for a twenty-four year old.   He asked his Jacqueline to make him matching pillowcases for his next birthday.  

Around two he sits up, scrubs his eyes with his fists, and wraps the quilt, cape-style around his shoulders.  Shuffling toward the kitchenette, Alex reminisces his dreams.  He is never alone in these dreams.  He is always strong and confident.  He is not this way out of his dreams.  He frets too much and spends far too much time on the internet.  He thinks of friends he can hardly remember and never sees.  

Alex thinks of calling his family.  Then he pours himself a bowl of Captain Crunch and sits on an emerald green beanbag chair.  Batman: The Animated Adventures is on.


Mondays are nothing special for Alex Quinn.  He sits at the desk in the corner of his studio apartment diligently working on the album art for a slowly rising band.  He wants Jacqueline’s opinion on the design and slides open his white cell phone.  After staring at her number in his contact list for five minutes, he slides the phone closed.  

Alex Quinn goes back to work.


On some Tuesdays Alex Quinn ventures out of his stagnant apartment and heads out to his local Barnes and Noble.  He never buys anything there; he simply pulls books off the shelves and settles into an armchair far away from all of the other in-store readers.  

The chair next to Alex is suddenly filled by a body, the lithe, muscular body of a beautiful man.  His glasses reflect intelligence and interested glares.  He smirks and leans close, so close to Alex’s open novel.  Alex pretends not to notice; the man pretends to be interested in the cover of Alex’s novel.

“House of Leaves, huh?   I heard about that.  Any good?”  His voice is smooth and deep.

“The best,” his voice is nervous and strained.  He wants to tell the beautiful man about the book, about how Jacqueline had introduced him too it one vibrant summer afternoon in a white van heading toward Boston, he wants to tell him his name.

Beautiful man takes his one word reply as disinterest and turns back to his copy of A Separate Peace.  Alex wants to blurt out that his name is Alex, that is one of his favorite books, and would beautiful man please, please, please go out to dinner with him tomorrow night.  Instead he places his books back on the shelves and walks outside.  He slides open his cell and calls Jacqueline.  Her voicemail answers.

“I’m awkward and I love you.” He hangs up


On Wednesday Alex Quinn watches a CSI marathon in his pajamas while eating rainbow Twizzlers.  He never really liked the show.  He watched it because it was Jacqueline’s favorite.  The Twizzlers tasted like wax but he kept buying them after she had produced them from a shopping bag on the first and last road trip they took together.  They were a joke.  He thought she had a horrible sense of humor sometimes.  They laughed as they ate them.  

Biting into a yellow one, Alex again laughs at the waxy texture.


Thursdays make him remember all of the work he’s been avoiding.  So, Alex Quinn sits down at his computer and begins to work.  Three games of Solitaire and an hour long update to his online journal later and Alex is hungry.
He drives to the Baskin Robbins down the street and orders a vanilla milkshake.  He doesn’t touch it until he arrives in his apartment.  He sits in his desk chair and guzzles the shake.

His brain freezes.  He thinks of how much better they tasted when Jacqueline made them.


It’s Friday and Alex Quinn realizes that it’s been a whole month since Jacqueline moved to London.  She still has not called him nor returned any of his terse voicemails.  He figures she’s still too busy moving into her new flat with her new husband; the one he had always had a crush on but never said a word.

He wishes he told her so many things before she left.  He has so many secrets to share.


On Saturday, Alex Quinn is dressed in Kevlar and a mask.  He dodges and strikes.  He has hacked into computer databases, he has tracked down the mad scientist, he has discovered how to disarm the chemical bomb that will explodes in two minutes, and he has incapacitated the scientist himself.  He disarms the bomb.  He binds the scientist in ropes.  The police arrive but he has gone back to his apartment, back to his life on his green beanbag chair, cape replaced by his beloved quilt.  

Alex is still awkward.  Alex still lacks confidence.  Alex is still shy.  Alex is still waiting for Jacqueline to call him back.  He has so many secrets he’s ready to tell her because on Saturday, Superhero Alex Quinn saved the world.