Chapter 1
Jonathan Carrier
Beep… beep… beep… beep…The motion had become seamless at this point. I reached out from under my warm blanket and slapped the alarm clock that was screaming eight thirty in my face. I was never thrilled to wake up, regardless of the day had planned for me. I was single, I had a dead end job at shitty insurance company and the scream of my alarm clock would remind me of these things every day.
The morning routine had become just that, routine. Nothing ever changed, always the same everyday. What I would have given for just a little excitement. Looking back I guess the saying ‘be careful what you wish for’ will forever have a new meaning for me. After what I am about to tell you mediocrity will sound like a trip to the Bahamas. But I am getting ahead of myself.
As I was saying, morning had oozed into my small one bed room apartment once again. I dragged my self to the bathroom and leaned against the sink. The thirty-two year old man staring back looked like he wanted to back hand me, and I wouldn’t blame him. The wrinkles forming on his forehead and at the corners of his eyes said that time had passed while he had wasted it. But the look in his eyes was the most disturbing, he looked as if time had left him in the dust and he was scrambling to catch up. I pulled and stretched trying to smooth out the lines to find the twenty-five year old who was full of life. But every time I thought I had found him the wrinkles formed again and I was left with the bitter man.
A sharp ring from deeper into my apartment pulled my attention from the man in the mirror. My apartment was bland and I hated it. The off-white walls were enough to drive a man insane if you stood still for longer then ten minutes and the pieces of art and sculptures that dotted my living room did little to improve its esthetic. They were just something to offset the horrid color of the walls.
I reached the phone and pulled it from its cradle. For half a second I thought about just hanging it back up, but what good would that have done me?
“Hello?” I answered surprised at the serious lack of interest there was in my voice.
“John?” the voice on the other end answered sounding bewildered.
“Yeah, this is John.”
“John, man, you sound like s**t.” Manny did little to improve people’s moods.
“Thanks… did you call just to comment on my mood?” I was in no mood for him at the moment. Being my bosses son, Manny got to tromps around the office like the little self absorbed p***k he was. And for some unknown reason he attached him self to me like a leech.
“Damn, man, I just called to tell you I am having a poker game tonight. You in?” he sounded excited.
I had nothing to do tonight but I still had little interest in going to a poker game. But Manny had an uncanny ability to know when people were lying. “Yeah, I’ll go. I just need to stop by the bank before work.” It took a lot to muster the small amount of emotion.
“Nice, dude, I’ll see you at work. Later.” Then the line went dead. I took another deep breath as I turned to face my reflection again, but then decided, ******** the shower. I walked back to my room and pulled my worn suit from the closet and laid it on the bed.
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