Buy Past

菊十二少 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:14:05 +0800

Almost a hundred bucks were still left in his pocket. "There must be something wrong." he became afraid.

For every single day in his recent repeated life, Jeff kept peculiar budget control behaviour. It was not about saving. On the contrary, he had to make out a punctual spending solution every day. At least 250 bucks must be used up within every 24-hour.

It used to be too strange for him to take in all the uncommon changes related to money spending. Until being brought back, though unbelievable at first, to the very day when his salary promotion was rejected, he got to believe that they were all real.

That day he did everything same as usual: got up at 7:00 a.m., stuffed by junks, crushed in the subway, and rushed to where the time-money exchange deal stupidly made. There in the office, buried unaware till 7:00 p.m., he knew that nothing exact had happened on him. It was inactive of him to figure that why his memory always seemed to be lost in the routine.

"No!" Suzanne shouted, rising her voice loud enough to shock every "nothing" that was wasting time out of her office, "Everyone should know it, no matter how long he has served here, or how hard-working he says he is. Number tells everything. You achieve great numbers, you No.1. Not words, not serving years. That's ridiculous! Numbers, give me numbers!"

He shouldn't mistake which day that talk happened on. He termed his life as "repeated" because its contents started getting nearly unchanged ever since he got his first job. But he could never imagine that a certain situation in his life could appear twice with every detail exactly alike. Every word, every tone, every accent was completely the replica of what had existed three weeks ago and would have not re-appeared——after the first rejection, he hadn't mentioned a word with his salary again, let alone Suzanne.

For the first time, he kept his brain working in the office, trying to found acceptable reasons. But the impossbility of existence would not be proved until his ex-girlfriend called for a dinner.

"So, any improvement?"...

"Got flunked, huh?"...

"Why are you so slient? Don't you talk something?"...

"Look, Jeff, look, I think there's a big problem between us. I love you. That's why it is I that proposed our marriage. But see what you've done? You do nothing. You are not even willing to talk to me. I don't like the way you reply, no."

"Is that so difficult, Jeff? To ask for more payment you deserve. I've given you too much patience, Jeff, too much time and patience giving for our love...I doubt if it makes any sense..."

..."Oh, God! Can't you say something? Are you dumb?"...

"Ok, ok. It's gonna end. We are over."

She left, yes. She did it just like what happened on the evening of the day following his first rejection, the cause of which began with her requestment for a marriage house.

Three weeks ago, they had broken up. There was no more contact for the whole three-week. But this evening, after his weird second rejection, she called unexpectedly, and made the decision, which had already got into effect for three weeks. (to be continued...)

(Started writing around 1:00 a.m., on Dec. 15)