A Matter of Days

Day Two

The man groggily rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he listened to the ending of some pop song that he thought should have been left unwritten. This time however, when the song finished out, it was followed by several moments of complete silence. The man didn't wait to hear what would happen next.

They seriously need to get better people for these jobs.

He turned off the radio and got himself ready for work, making sure his red tie was neatly fastened.

✧✧✧

~KATE

At the radio station, Kate had frozen. She didn't know how it had happened. All around her, her co-workers were watching and whispering to each other. She could see her boss leaving his office and heading her way. She knew what he was going to say and didn't need him to confirm it. She ran and burst into the women's room in tears for the second day in a row.

Well, that's it: the end of my job, the end of my career...

Her insides were swirling and black. She needed to make time stop, and do it fast. She sank to the ground, pulled her knees up and buried her face within herself. 

Everything's gone. Nothing's happening. It's all over.

She rocked back and forth and tried to calm herself down, but she still felt her heart beating hard and fast. Her fingers were tingling and she clenched them into fists, digging her nails into her palms and creating a nice, painful sensation. 

Maybe just once, just to make it all stop.

She reached into her make-up bag and pulled out the knife. 

✧✧✧

The man began driving down the usual path, and admired his favorite mural. Today he noticed the way the man was standing and made a mental note to try and use such a strong posture himself. 

~ANDRE

Andre had taken a heaping dose of the sweet pink poison yesterday, shortly after the incident on the street with that stranger. Now, 23 hours later, he was well into the symptoms he had read so much about. It had started with a simple headache, followed by the urge to throw up, but Andre had done everything in his power to keep from vomiting, as he wanted to retain as much of the poison as possible. He had gone through periods of euphoria, giggling uncontrollably at the floating colors in the air, but for the last hour or so he had just felt tired. 

His throat suddenly felt impossibly dry. He reached out for his water bottle, but his hand veered off to the right, knocking his cell phone to the ground. He pulled his hand back uncertainly, then tried reaching forward again. This time his hand swerved left and down, sending his knuckles into the table in what looked like a feeble punch. He attempted to stand and slowly began to bring his index finger to his nose, mimicking a drunk test for the police, but none of his limbs were doing what he was telling them to. That was when he felt his body beginning to shake.

✧✧✧

The man in the red tie rounded the corner and parked in the small lot of the Coffee Bean.

~ANNA

Anna glanced up as the man entered the shop. He proceed with his normal pointless routine of looking over their menu and scratching his chin, but Anna was too distracted to appreciate it. Her thoughts churned anxiously and caused her chest to tighten. She hadn't even noticed that her lip had begun to bleed from how hard she was biting it. She tapped her fingers on the counter top, one tap for each time she remembered that she was scared to go home.

I don't want to go back; he'll be there. I have to find a way to get away from him, but you can't just tell the person who's beating you that you don't want to be with them anymore. This sort of situation has to be handled with care.

"Hello? Are you listening to me?" The voice broke through Anna's barrier of thoughts. "C'mon lady, do your job- I don't have all day. I said I want a small cup of the house brew." He turned and muttered to himself under his breath.

"Coming right up." She fought to hold back the swelling tears as she poured his coffee, her hands shuddering almost imperceptibly and causing little droplets to spill on the counter top. The man in the red tie scowled at her as he took his coffee left in a huff without saying thank you. 

Why is everyone always mean to me? Oh right, because you're worthless and you deserve it.

She resumed tapping her fingers.

✧✧✧

The bus had already arrived at the park n'ride when the man pulled in. After a few minutes standing in line, he leaned to the side to see why it was taking longer than usual, and watched the bus driver -what was his name again? The guy had forced it on him so many times- gesturing to a token machine. The man straightened back up and ran a hand contentedly down his favorite red tie. He was in favor of any change that cut down the amount of personal contact during his day.

~PAT

What a wonderful day it was! This beautiful new machine was such an amazing addition to his routine. Sure, the people who already knew how to use it just slid their coin in and moved on without saying a word, but he still called back to them to thank them for choosing Compass Park n' Ride, because that was part of his job. And if they didn't respond, well, that was their loss. And the people that were unfamiliar with the machine, well helping them was part of his job too! He showed them the little slot and explained the simple process of letting their coin drop through it, and he marveled along with them at how modern it was. 

But what about once they all know how to use it? Will they all just ignore me?

He shook his head and let the thoughts pass through without worry. 

Nah, people will still care about me. After all, I'm the bus driver.