The Life of Professor Quartz

Chapter 3

Unsurprisingly, my guts was right, that job was horrible. While the rules were easy to follow, the actual work was hard and the condition in the factory was awful. There were rats running around freely, the machines often broke, the demands were unreasonable, and for some reason, it was hard to breathe properly while in the main working area. I've witnessed many children, most whom was younger than me, got their hand stuck in the textile machines while working or cleaning them, causing injuries and severed fingers. To top it all off, Mr. Miller had the habit of appearing behind the workers and even yell at them if they were slacking off. Working there was one of the biggest mistakes I've made, and also the dumbest.

Father eventually found out about everything. The job, the drop out, and my condition. He was not happy about it, at all. That day, he came home early from work, around 8 PM, from his expression, I could tell that he was angry. Before I could react at all, he held me tight with his arms and cornered me. "What is wrong with you?! How dumb can you be, Lemon? I told you before, I've told you hundreds of time, you don't need to help me. You don't need to worry about me, you're just a kid. Why did you drop yourself out?! Why?" His eyes were like bullets as they pinned me. Up until then, I never saw him this angry. With his voice practically screaming. Even without looking , I knew that some of our upstair neighbors were watching us, including the twins. I opened my trembling mouth "Because school was useless for me. I had to sit in a classroom for hours and what did I get from it? I'm sorry, but please stop wishing to much fromme! I'm no different than you, I'm no different than any other kids in this street. My future wouldn't be much different that the lives of any man in this slums, " I looked down, facing the floor. "And even if I have, just a tiny speck of hope, I wouldn't reach my future if we're struggling now. We ofen go to sleep while starving, we can't afford enough clothing especially for winter, and we even have to share this small building with 10 other people. I'm sorry, but I just... I want a better life, I want it now. I can't keep on trying and waiting too long for a future no one I know of ever reach, " Still facing the floor, a single tear slide on my right cheek. Father let go of me. I could sensed his body started to cool down as the seconds went. He held up my face to meet his and I saw his eyes looking at me with worries on them. After at least a minute passed, he started to speak again "But why would you work like this, you know how terrible working in a factory could be. You've seen me collapsed before, son. You can't be this stupid, " A mixture of worry and disappointed was clearly heard. I agreed with him, It was a stupid decision. I was blinded by the payment they would give me.

We simply stand there, both avoiding facing each other. My feet was getting tired, both from work and from the tension. I didn't know what's going to happen, what will he say or do to me after this. Father was always a man with few words. Unlike me and Mother, he would rather run away and avoid any confrontation with people. With that, all of this was new, a rare instance that both of us were uncomfortable with.

All of the sudden, he ordered me to sit on the chair. Without talking, I did so and he got close, getting himself lower to my position and started opening his mouth. "Where did you even know about the job, About Elijah, about the workshop? " He asked slowly, with an expression as if he saw a ghost. I was worried at that point, "James, the blonde kid from next door told me, he also work there," There was fear in his eyes. " Lemon, I need you to listen to me, while this is mostly rumors, some of the things have been proven to be true, " The cold air around us made the scene more terrifying. "Elijah Miller might not be human. They say that he feeds of the worker's liveliness , that's the reason why the job became harder when he's in charge. Some even say that he ate the workers once they are no longer of use to the workshop... " at that point I was in disbelief on the things he said, but he continued "... And it's nearly impossible to quit the job, unless you can give him another worker who is as good as you or even better, "