Glowsticks

“Likewise. See you later, Joseph. I’ve got a boring job to get to.” I said giggling and waved. Before I entered the small shop, I heard him yell something, and then coughing. I ran to him and he grabbed my hand for support. I barely knew this man and he was making me so concerned.

“Are you alright?” I said feeling his forehead. He wasn’t burning or anything, so I ran and grabbed him a small bottle of water and he drank out of it. He handed me some money, but I just pushed it away. “This is on the house.” I smiled a reassuring smile. Of course it wasn’t on the house. It was coming from my own back pocket. But he seems a nice man. So why not help? It’s not like money bring happiness. ‘No, but they pay the bills. The many bills you have.’ I thought but I pushed that thought away. Shame on me for thinking like that!

“I said if you’d like to come to my house. You seem a pretty intelligent young girl, and I’d like to play a game of checkers with you.” Even though he was so sick just a few seconds ago, he acted like nothing happened. I grinned and nodded my head.

“Sure Joseph.” He grinned as well and winked at me.

‘Yep, definitely his time’s heartbreak.’

“Tomorrow at noon?” Asked Joseph hopefully. I mentally calculated what day tomorrow is and I nodded my head again. It was a Saturday. Which meant no work, all play.

I shyly smiled at him and said: “Tomorrow it is, Joseph.” And I watched him get inside his car.

“See you later, Andie.” He bid me before driving off. Dust was flying behind; a small trace of the car that occupied this place just a couple of moments ago.

“Later, Joe.” I whispered into the stubborn sand flying around, and went inside the shop. Facing another eight hours of no human contact whatsoever.

xXx

‘Two hours until it ends. Yeah!’ I said turning up the radio and dancing around to the old school pop music that was coming from it. Right now I’m sure I looked like a mess. I tugged on my hair like a mad woman and cleaned this whole shop just to make the time go by faster.

Right now, I was arranging the registers. All the bills and money had to be counted and checked to see if everything was okay. I bent down and grabbed a huge brown thick notebook. I coughed because of the dust that entered my lungs. No wonder why; this thing has been abandoned for quite some time now.

“Oops?” I said grinning guiltily and scratching the back of my neck. I laughed nervously and looked at the last date that was marked in it. 17 January 2007.

‘What?! Great. Thank you, fate. Really.’ I bumped my head on the counter for quite some time before realizing that won’t help me write the two years and six months missing from it. Not that there were many bills. Hardly any customers ever came by. Makes me wonder how this place has been staying open for so long.

But I also had to write down all the electricity bills, the transports, the gas that came, everything. And that, my friends, is what you get for being sloths.

‘Great.’I huffed annoyingly and started writing down. I was covered in bills, papers and pens. It must be a sight to see. Too bad I can’t observe some other poor bastard writing them, instead of me.

‘I don’t even know why I bother. It’s not like they ever check them or not.’ But I decided to write them, no matter what. ‘Damn conscience!’ I started scribbling rapidly and before I knew it, I reached August, 2008. I still had a long way to go, but at least approximately one year was done. Then, a breeze caressed my face and the bell at the door rang.

'Who could it be at this time?'