• The Reasons NOT to Turn Someone Down


    Chapter 1:

    Death of the Rejected


    October 13th, 2006

    “Kris?” A pause. “Kris! Wake up or you're going to be late for work!” Suddenly the bed covers were gone and the woman groaned from the loss of warmth. She opened her eyes and stared into the dark eyes of her companion above her. “You're going to be late for your interview if you don't get up soon.”

    “What if I said I didn't care?” Kris groaned as she searched for the covers to pull them back over herself.

    “Oh no you don't! You will get up right now! I don't want to hear you complaining about missing it later!” The tall, dark haired man grabbed for the blankets and sheets, tossing them off the bed and across the room.

    “Oh! Lloyd! Can't I at least sleep a little longer?” She complained as Lloyd came over at sat on the edge of the bed.

    “Absolutely not!” He said in a low but, firm tone. He leaned over his small lover and placed a quick kiss on her lips. “We both know you want that job. Now, come on. Get up!” Kris mumbled something inaudible and sat up knowing he was right. If she didn't get this job both of them might have to move back into his mom's basement. Kris cringed at the thought. There was no way she was going back to live with that despicable woman. No way.

    -----

    6 o' clock and the traffic was already horribly backed up. Kris adjusted the rear view mirror of her relatively new, 2006 silver Toyota Solara and stared at the long line of cars behind her. She then averted her attention to the line of cars infront her that seemed to stream on forever. Damn it, her mind screamed as she pounded a fist into the dashboard.

    Traffic snailed along, slow enough to literally make Kris go insane. She looked over at the time, 6:57am. Her interview was in eight minutes. Even without this traffic it would still take her at least another ten minutes to get to her destination. Kris turned to look into her rear view mirror for the seventh time in the last hour and fixed her shoulder length, wavy brown hair and tossed her bangs out of her crystal blue eyes. At this rate she'd totally miss her interview and then she would be back to looking for another possible job. And this had be the best opportunity yet.

    Five minutes later cars started to move along a little faster. Kris looked out the windshield of her car and for the first time noticed red police lights flickering about twenty cars ahead of her. She had no idea why she had not noticed them before. As traffic speed up the Toyota Solara got closer to the glaring and flashing red lights. Kris watched as police men ushered the cars up front past an old beat up car blocking the right lane.

    As she passed by, Kris got a good look at the vehicle. She recognized it as an old 90's Cavalier. The rear of the car looked a little busted up but other than that the car seemed fine. As Kris passed by a police officer waving his hands she wondered what could have happened. Speeding away to her interview destination, Kris could hear ambulance sirens in the distance.

    -----

    It was eleven after six as Kris ran into the downtown St. Marshes book company.

    “Oh, I'm sorry,” apologized the woman at the reception desk, “Our new editor was just chosen.”

    “What?” Kris practically screamed at the woman behind the desk, “What about my interview?!”

    “Please calm down,” the woman looked to a small clock on her desk, “You were late for your interview after all so, the next person in line went ahead of you. Unfortunately, for you he was chosen.”

    “Hmph!” and with that Kris stomped out of the building.

    -----

    Kris entered a small cafe, grabbing a newspaper at the front door as she went. She'd have to look for another job to apply for and the best place, she thought, would be in the daily newspaper. Sitting down at a table closest to the windows, Kris took a pen from her purse and started going through job ads.

    What would Lloyd say when she got home? She once again missed a job opening thanks to her tardiness. If only she hadn't been fired from her previous. Kris and a fellow male employ had been in the employ lounge sitting across from each other sipping coffee. After a long silence the man had confessed his feelings for her. He explained to her that since he had first saw her he hadn't been able to think of anyone else. She politely turned him down saying she was already going out with someone else. Things suddenly turned for the worst and he had assaulted her with a gun saying that she was his and no one else's. The whole thing somehow ended with Kris getting a hold of his gun and blowing off his thumb and index finger of his right hand. The man had let out a pain screeching cry as people rushed into the lounge at the sound of the gun shot. The next day Kris was fired. She never even got to defend herself. Stupid George...Kris thought to herself.

    Kris started scribbling in the top corner of the newspaper as she looked out the window to her right and watched as cars pass by. Lloyd would probably get on her case again, saying she wasn't trying hard enough and blaming her for the small apartment they now owned. Kris was thankful for the apartment they now owned, though, no matter how small it was as long as she didn't have to live in the same house as his mother, Mrs. Synclair.

    While Lloyd and she had been living there, Kris and Mrs. Synclair had never gotten along. Lloyd's mother had accused Kris of being a whore and seducing her son. The argument got so heated one night that the crazy old bag had thrown a large kitchen knife right at Kris's head. Fortunately for Kris, she had poor aim and the knife ended up hitting the wall behind Kris instead.

    Kris circled a few last job ads as she finished off the iced coffee she had ordered. She folded up the ad section of the newspaper, leaving the rest of it sitting on the table, and put it into her purse. Kris got up and left the cafe heading for her car. “Might as well go home...” Kris mumbled to herself as she approached her car, her keys dangling lightly in her hand.

    -----

    Kris turned on the car radio as she turned a corner on a busy downtown street. She listened to the radio host as he relayed the latest news and talked about car collisions in the city. Kris turned the volume up a bit hoping she'd hear about the car she had seen on the road earlier that morning.

    As Kris pulled into her parking spot in front of her apartment building she finally heard what she'd been hoping for but, it wasn't really what she had been expecting.

    “...it's seems the man had been driving to work when he shot himself in his vehicle. We believe his name was George Smith after looking at the ID he was carrying...” the radio host announced.

    Kris briefly looked at the radio before shutting off the car and mumbling, "Definitely got what he deserved..."



    To Be Continued.