I pulled into the small employee parking area of Johnsons Burgerhouse, idly noting that Tom’s blue truck was parked in front of the short brick building. The large red and orange neon sign's light reflected off the truck like it always did. I straightened my back for a moment as I got out of the car, getting a small pop from the action, and then carefully slouched. I was average in most ways, my hair was a plain brown and cut shortish, my eyes were vaguely greenish, and I wasn’t especially tan or pale. The only exception was my height, which was 6’3, I preferred not to stand out, so usually I slouched to appear closer to 5’11, still a one the taller side, but not remarkably so (the secret was slightly baggy pants that let me slightly crouch without giving it away) Something was niggling at the back of my mind as I emerged from the car, I was forgetting something, but I couldn’t remember what. I ran through my mental checklist one more time:
Work shirt? Check. Clean pants? Check. Work hat? Check. Shoes? Check. Nope, everything was in place, so what was I forgetting? It's probably not important
I was still trying to convince myself of that when I reached the building. the bell made a happy ding as I opened the glass door and stepped in. Taking a quick look around I noticed the seating area was empty save one person behind the counter. They were a scrawny teenager with long red hair who I recognized as one of the new hires, Paul. Though he looked up when I entered once he noticed it was me he pulled out his phone and resumed whatever game he had been playing. As I stepped behind the counter I noted that there were crumbs sprinkled across the eating area, on both the fake wood tables and the floor; I would have to clean that, but first I needed to cover prep. I grabbed the clipboard and a pen and wrote down 8:20 on the Monday column, ten minutes early as always. I noticed with surprise that there were three others already clocked in, Paul was marked down of course, but Tom and Lilly were also here.
oh yeah, were fully staffed again, I thought to myself, I still felt like I was forgetting something, but it probably wasn’t important; Dwelling on it could wait until I had finished prep and cleaning. I passed Tom looking through the walk-in freezer, his large frame filling most of the space in it. He was in his mid twenties, and his black hair mostly hidden under his manager's cap. I paused as I looked into the prep room. To my my slight surprise I found Lilly already working on prep. She quickly noticed me and paused on the prep.
“Hey Ethan, I’ve got prep covered, but if you need something to do the tables need wiping.” she said, and I awkwardly agreed and made my way over to the supply closet, grabbing a rag and a spray bottle, and then started toward the lobby, when a voice drew my attention.
“Ethan? What are you doing here?”
I turned to see Tom, who had just emerged from the freezer, looking at me, confused.
“I have work today so I–” realization hit me “–I’m not working today am I?”
Tom thankfully spared my feelings by not laughing, though my ears were starting to heat up anyways.
“Kate is today, did you not get the schedule?” he said, still slightly confused, and I hastily replied.
“No no, I got the schedule, I guess I’ve just gotten so used to working all the time I just skimmed over it.”
“Alright just making sure. So anyways Kate is going to be covering your usual shift today. She needs to learn to do closing, and you need a break.”
A part of me wanted to protest I didn’t need a break, but I paused. When was the last time I had had anything but Sunday off? Why was I against it?
Thanking him I clocked out and made my way to the door, stepping into my small tan car and driving off.
Five minutes later I was pulling into my driveway. My parents pristine two story suburban house had been painted entirely bright orange, it had been a nice soft blue when my parents moved in 17 years ago. Mom had wanted it to be more memorable, and, in the ultimate show of love, my dad had went along with it. Mom made sure to wash the walls every time she watered the garden, so it never had a chance to get obscured by grime. Fortunately the aforementioned garden helped draw the attention from the house itself a bit. Moms lovingly tended garden covered in healthy bright orange flowers. The grass was a deep green from all the extra water that reached it. I parked and locked the car as I walked up to and opened the lighter orange door. To my left was the living room with its orange walls, orange couch, Dads orange chair, and of course the blue coffee table. Ahead of me were the stairs upstairs and to the right was the kitchen. Both rooms were free of orange other than the walls of course.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I hung up the keys next to the door before sliding off my shoes and depositing them haphazardly by the door. Next I peeled off my socks, putting them in my shoes and moving them out of the entryway. I stepped on the first stair intending to go up to my room to change when my Mom stepped into view. She looked a bit confused to see me so soon and quickly set about rectifying this fact.
“Ethan, didn’t you leave for work already, did something happen at work?” she asked, and I awkwardly explained how I had forgotten I wasn’t working today.
“That's good, I’ve barely seen you all summer. I’m so proud you have shown so much initiative getting a job and preparing for college, but it's important to take a break once in a while”
She gave me a quick hug, her head only reaching my shoulder, and then started walking away, but she paused for a moment
“I love you.”
I said I love you back and resumed going up the stairs. I passed Peter and Ivy’s rooms and went into mine. The walls were all painted a soft green, respite from the constant orange. I swapped my black work shirt for a blue t-shirt and lacking anything better to do, went downstairs. I grabbed my shoes, and stepped outside for a walk. Immediately I felt a cool breeze and leaves all around rustled in the same breeze causing the sunlight escaping through the canopy to dance in an unpredictable pattern. I started walking down the sidewalk, no destination in mind. At first I just walked along the cracked sidewalk listening to birds tweeting, leaves rustling, and sprinklers spraying. Despite the occasional kid shrieking it was soothing and I started to appreciate just how nice a day it was. In every yard plump bumblebees traveled from flower to flower and then traveled home, wherever that may be. I eventually stopped as I passed a group of kids running through a sprinkler shouting and laughing as they played. The smell of the sprinkler filled me with nostalgia, of days spent running through the soaked grass and cold water with my friends.
I wonder what Jake is doing right now I thought to myself, pulling out my phone and opening my texts. I scrolled through Jakes last few messages. each one was a week apart and the same as the last: [Jake: hey i know you probably have work today but i thought id check if you'd be free sometime this week]
I looked at my replies, each one was the same. [Ethan: sorry, work today, maybe next time]
Summer was over halfway done and I’d been so busy I hadn’t even seen Jake. I really had been busy at work, but that didn’t stop me from feeling guilty, and I quickly composed a message.
[Ethan: good news, I am off work today, so I’m coming over]
Pocketing my phone I turned around and started jogging back home.
----------------------------------------
I slowed as I arrived back at home, pausing a moment to appreciate the garden. Earlier when I had passed them I paid any attention to them, but Mom had really outdone herself this year, and the flowers were in full bloom. The house was surrounded in vibrant reds oranges and blues in little clusters. I started to make my way toward the door intending to grab my keys, but I paused.
I’ve had a nice time outside and Jake's house is only a dozen blocks away, maybe I should just keep walking. I looked between the door and the sidewalk a few times considering which I should do. Then my phone buzzed, prompting me to pull it out and read the text from Jake that had appeared.
[thats awesome, see you soon]
I quickly made up my mind after that, afterall driving is faster, why waste any more time?
I ran back inside grabbing my keys and starting up the car. The shifter loudly clanking as it moved past each position before reaching reverse. I slowly backed out of the driveway, careful to look out for any kids who might run onto the street. Fully backed up I reached over to move out of reverse but everything went crazy. The trees began shaking in an instant windstorm that ended as quickly as it had begun. I looked around in confusion for a moment and then a sound like metal tearing screamed out. I covered my ears as I looked around confused. Nothing had hit my car like I expected from the sound that was only getting louder and louder. after a moment my hands useless and the sound started actually hurting my ears. just when I felt like I couldn't hold on any longer it just went silent, no crescendo, no fade, just there and then gone. What could have caused that sound? I grabbed the shifter, moving it silently into park… Grabbing the shifter I moved it down to drive and back to park again but it still didn’t make a sound. Goosebumps spread across my arms as I hesitantly raised my arms and clapped. My hands collided with a faint sting but not a sound reached my ears.
What if I had gone deaf, the noise had stopped abruptly, what if that was because my ears couldn't handle it and broke. I can’t live without music, I…
As if called by my thoughts I heard sound again as humming filled the air.
I wasn’t deaf! I was more relieved than I think I ever had been as I looked around to see where it was coming from. To my left I noticed a kid beside a rosebush. his ice cream cone was laying forgotten on the floor as he stared up into the sky in awe. I reached for the door as a second voice joined the humming, looking up to see what the kid was looking out. If I had Icecream it would be on the ground too.
A tear in the sky stretched at least a hundred feet wide blotting out the sun with ease. Inside the tear was an expanse of pure black. From within the black void stood a figure, a glowing white silhouette. On either side of the figure floated two lights. The first two lights were red and the second two were orange. As I watched a yellow light appeared on either side of them and they grew brighter as the humming grew once again. When the green lights appeared the figure was easily as bright as the sun but somehow my eyes didn’t hurt as I looked at them. The humming had grown to a whole choir by the time the blue lights appeared. Purple light appeared over the figure and the humming cut out as the ring was completed. The world stood still for a moment, and then everything flashed white.