|
|
 |
| Alarmingly Strange Stories |
|
|
Morning Bells |
|
| . Some days, especially Sunday, no one comes in. If I didn’t work here, neither would I. I find Sundays especially gloomy – but I don’t know why. The sun could be shining, and the world would open wide with a smile, and I would say, “Dude, tomorrow’s Monday. Since I work Sundays, my week runs together; smashed like a train wreck where Saturday is the way in or out. But I get to spend my train ride watching cute and shining Disney films. The ones in the overly large, plastic boxes. The ones that never fit quite right on the shelf. The ones that say Disney Classics on the side. Yeah, those movies. We’re not allowed to watch anything that isn’t drawn by a team of fine-tuned animators. And So It Goes. So, Sunday is the beginning. Someone actually walks in. Ding, Ding, Ding goes the bell on the door. This is to let me know it’s time to work. I still sit, though. I guarantee it will be hours before they are done and made one last decision. The ones that do come in on Sunday, well, they’re just not like the others. I sit in my hard foldout chair, and I watch them on the security television. I watch; they squat. I watch; they walk. For nearly an hour now. They move with the slowest of pace; up and down the isles. They never break contact with the titles on the shelf. Sometimes they walk into each other. I work at a video store and I watch the customers. That’s kind of funny. It’s like, I have the cake, but don’t eat it. I almost stand up when he starts walking with a box toward my counter. He turns around and puts it back on the shelf. The hunt continues. Sometimes they will do this for hours and just leave. Sometimes they come in and never rent a single thing. The videos have won, I guess. People will come in out of the rain and stand around, getting the videos wet. They won’t rent anything, and I can’t make them leave. It’s like a homeless shelter for people who can’t commit to the price of a video. Too bad…but it doesn’t rain much in Texas. But this isn’t Texas. Jersey…maybe. Seattle…Washington? No, no we are in St. TownNowhere. It rains here, and it rains too damn much. “Sir, you finally picked a gem?” I say. He doesn’t even know I’m talking. My hands are ready to swipe his bar code. It’s ‘14633 14398’, and I’ve rented this movie out before. It’s a large, white Disney case. I say, sorry, sir, it’s out. Now he listens. “What do you mean!? You’re watching it.” He, of course, turns and points to the TV across the room. As it turns out, it is playing. But for your information, I wasn’t watching it. I glance and say, yeah it’s all checked out. He stares and continues to point. I say, sorry, it’s my fault. This shouldn’t have been on the shelf. Try again tomorrow. With a very red face he says, “But you’re watching the damn movie!” My name is Justin. And I am a video store clerk. . |
||
|
Navigation: |
||