Doot-doot-doot, doot-doot-doot
The alarm clock may have woken you up, but it failed in making you open your eyes. Maybe if you didn't, you considered, you wouldn't have to move. You wouldn't have to head to the downstairs of this frustratingly small house. You wouldn't have to leave for another day of work behind that crummy bar. You wouldn't have to carry on this mundane--
Doot-doot-doot, doot-doot-doot
Eyes springing open, you slapped the 'Dismiss' button on your phone screen.
After shoving on some nearby clothes without even bothering to check if they were clean, you pulled open the door and headed out onto the landing. The door to Kyle's room was already open. You were hoping you could slink out before he woke up, to avoid conversing with the guy. If only you'd gotten out of bed sooner...
"You're gonna be late again."
It was an irritating choice of greeting, but that's what Kyle chose to utter the very moment you entered the kitchen. He was sat at the nearby table, already turned in your direction as if he'd been awaiting your arrival. You offered him a very brief glance in response; instead remaining more focused on the adjacent kettle. Considering it could supply coffee, it was significantly more important to you right now.
"That'll be the fifth time this week." He continued, arms crossing. You remained unresponsive as you filled the kettle under the tap. That was clearly irritating to him, as he promptly leaned forward and pointed a threatening finger. "I swear to god, if you end up losing this job and I've gotta pay the whole of this month's rent, then I'm absolutely kicking you out."
You observed the nearby clock. "Aren't you late too?"
He quickly reverted back into the seat.
"Uh, w-well..." His response prematurely cut off, and he awkwardly cleared his throat in order to continue it. "That's only cuz my boss...doesn't really care."
With comical timing, his phone buzzed and the screen lit-up. As you stood at the counter and stirred the coffee, it was rather difficult to make out the text message he'd received at such a distance. However, you could make out the name of whom sent it, 'Boss'. That was all you needed to arch your eyebrows and give him an almost victorious smirk.
"Anyway!" Kyle quickly pocketed his phone and leapt from the seat. "If you're done yapping, some of us have places to be!"
He headed for the front door with a rather childish stride, especially for that of a man in his mid-twenties. You didn't even have the energy to shake your head. Rather, you grabbed your coffee mug and took up his position at the table, gently sipping at it as you gazed off through the window.
To his credit, he wasn't incorrect. You were already late for work, and that was discounting the fifteen minutes it would take to walk there. Sitting here and casually drinking coffee wasn't going to make the scolding you'd soon receive from your boss any more lenient. However, as you sat and observed the birds that flew too and from the nearby oak tree, it was difficult to really care. The amount of disrespect you were given from customers behind the bar was already high; what was one more guy yelling at you?
You hadn't even seen the movie Groundhog Day, yet you knew enough about it to know you were living in it. Anything to spice up your life, just anything at all, would be great! But, considering your current financial situation, a spontaneous vacation wasn't exactly on the cards. Ever since your parents kicked you out, it was a miracle enough that you'd met Kyle and agreed to share the rent of this dilapidated home, otherwise you'd be on the streets.
Although, after living with him for all this time, maybe that would be preferable...
You sighed and gently shook your head, almost as if to swat away the depressing thoughts. Downing the remainder of your coffee, you sluggishly vacated the table and grabbed your hoodie from the coatrack. You exited the home and turned to lock the front door behind you. The very moment it clicked, you felt the contact of a single raindrop on the back of your neck. Eyes narrowing, you arched your head up, offering the darkening sky above a pleading gaze.
"Please. Please don't..."
Five minutes later, you were hoisting your hood as far above your head as physically possible, as the downpour relentlessly soaked your entire form. You'd expected a deep ball of anger to emerge the moment the rain started, but at this point, your lack of surprise at the situation made getting angry pretty pointless. Rather, you marched on ahead, your lips drawn in a fine line and your pupils completely void of vigor.
Vrrrmmm...SPLASH!
A car quickly sped past, going right through the completely avoidable puddle at the side of the road. It created a huge wave of dirty water, one that was perfectly aimed right at your head. It got in your eyes and soaked your lips, and was startling enough to nearly make you stumble to the ground. After blinking rapidly and rubbing the water away as best you can, your head spun around to offer that speeding car a deeply venomous gaze.
"Okay..." You whispered to yourself, as your fists instinctively clenched. "Now, I'm angry."
After what seemed like the longest walk to work in your life, you arrived at the bar. Your clothes were so completely drenched that it was as if you'd actually swam here. Still, despite being soaked right through to the bone and looking more miserable than ever thought possible, your punctuality was all the boss cared about as he came to meet you at the door.
"We discussed this yesterday..." He quickly began. His tone was low and quiet, yet his anger was layered thick inside. "I can handle a couple of late days, but you're really starting to take the piss."
"I know, I know, I just..." You let loose an extremely dense sigh as your words tapered off. You pulled the hood back down, allowing the water in parts of your hair to begin dripping out. "It's been really difficult."
"Life's difficult for all of us, kid." Another voice entered the conversation. You turned to find an elderly gentlemen sat at the end of the bar, eyeing you from behind his pint of beer. "Just think, you could be like that couple from down the road, going missing inside your own home. You should be counting your lucky stars."
Anytime people said that, you had to resist the urge to roll your eyes. If anything, you were growing even more jealous of that couple that suddenly disappeared last week as time goes by.
"Well said, Pete." Your boss's firm gaze returned to you. "I gave you your last chance yesterday, so I really should be firing you. But today's the busiest day of the month, so we're really gonna need you. Now go on, get behind there."
With that, he stormed off. You took off your hoodie and hung it up on the nearby hangers, all while relentlessly shivering. You'd forgotten that today was gonna be busy. It was the final of...some big sporting event. Maybe it was football? You'd barely paid attention when you were told. Regardless of what it was, every final of every sporting event was always carnage in this place. That's just the kind of clientele it attracted.
The kind that loved watching sports, getting blackout drunk, and causing as much trouble as humanly possible.
Heading through the staff door and behind the bar, you were shocked to find no-one else behind here with you, and a frighteningly long line of customers who had evidently been waiting for some time, based on their angered expressions alone.
"Wait, where's Oscar!?" You exclaimed aloud, at nobody in particular. "He's supposed to be working with me, too."
"Think I overheard your boss say that he was going to watch the football final today." The elderly Pete explained. Your mouth hung open incredulously. "So, it's justttt you."
You once again observed the crowd of unruly customers. "B-B-But, I c-can't d-do this on m-my--"
"Enough of that stutterin', kid!" Pete quickly downed the remainder of his beer and slammed the glass on the bar. "Rack me up another."
Thirteen hours later, after what was easily the longest and most exhausting shift of your entire life, you were collecting your hoodie from the hanger. You were shivering again as you grabbed it, but unlike before when it was due to the cold, it was due to the horrific fatigue in your muscles. That and the anxiety of dealing with drunken sports fans for so long. You practically fell through the front door as you left, your legs struggling to retain balance.
The moment you exited the building, you dug out the deepest sigh you could conjure. On the plus side, that shift was finally over, and you could head back to the peace of your bed. That, and from what you'd seen through the windows, the rain storm had long since finished. It should be a peaceful end to the most unbearable of days.
A rain drop hit the back of your neck.
Your gaze arched up to glare at the night sky, as the clouds only added to the darkness. Unlike this morning though, your expression was significantly more threatening than pleading.
"You cannot be serious..."
As if to reaffirm what was happening, the downpour wasted no time and started instantaneously. You closed your eyes and frantically worked to suppress the utter meltdown that was brewing inside. However, at this point, it was becoming a rather difficult task. Despite being in public, you absolutely couldn't help but yell out a violent reprimand at the world.
"Can things get ANY worse!?" You have the following choice: 1. Continue |
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