Dreams of Twelfthtide

Buffet at the Beach

When Suzie stands in front of the old bank building, a weird feeling in her stomach stirs. It's a strange
sensation to come to this place after so many years. She was much younger then. And she did not
know about her future. That made it all so scary for her.

Now, years later, she knows what happened afterwards but still she can't shake off this awkward notion of fear and desperation which once
shook her so inwardly.

It all began like any other holiday at the beach. She loved surfing and she did it all day. Her equipment was not the state of art, but she knew it well. As her board got a new fin from another
brand, she took a razor blade with her to the beach for adapting it to the board. Some people may
buy expensive, but Suzie knows how to whittle cheap stuff to get the same results.

It worked but she was sloppy back then, like so many young people. Absentminded she carried the razor blade in her pocket to the restrooms of the buffet shack at the beach. In the cabin she noticed the blade in her
pocket, took it out and threw it into the toilet. Then, she flushed. Instantly the shredder behind the toilet seat started to rumble and stopped its work with a shrieking sound of destruction.
It was broken.

"What was that? You just broke the shredder, didn't you!" A heavy male voice pondered outside behind the locked door. It was the owner of this buffet shop.

##

Suzie realized that there was no escape and she replied. "I guess I did!"

"You come out of there, now! You need to pay for it. A new shredder costs me 250$. Plus 100$ for the fuss."

Hearing him, she reluctantly unlocked the door and pushed herself through while he stood outside with his hands stemmed against his hips, looking at her like a grumpy hawk.

"Okay, I will pay that." She mumbled.

That is how Suzie came to that bank building of this holiday town. Picking her card with a trembling hand and collecting 400$. She was not sure whether he might demand more than the 350$. It was all of her money. After that, she would be broke.
And she returned to the buffet.

When she approached the shack, he was standing at his little outdoor kitchen flipping some sausages
on the plate griller. Having been immersed in his duty he looked up with a surprised frown. "You are back?"

That made Suzie realize he did not count on her return. Was this happening to him several times? For
a short fling she felt stupid for having come back.

Broodingly he continued. "I was thinking. If you dismantle that damned shredder and repair it, you
can keep your money."

Shyly she agreed. "Okay."

##

It took two hours. What a mess! At the back of the hut all parts of the shredder were spread on the ground. It stank like hell. After a few retches her stomach got used to it and with a constantly
wrinkled nose she managed to remove not only the razor parts but also lots of other icky stuff she did not dare to identify further.

Finally the shredder stood again behind the toilet seat and after flushing, it rumbled suspiciously but sufficiently.

"It's okay. Wasn't much better music before." He growled standing behind her while she did some
final adjustments to the peculiar device.

She looked up at him and he scratched his head. "You know, you did quite a job. I feel guilty for having occupied you the whole day with something that may have broken anyways."

There was silence for a second.

She riddled what would come now. He continued. "And as I need to
stay at home today in the evening, I wonder: Are you interested in a ticket to a theatre play? I cannot
go there and want to give thanks for the cleaning job with that shredder."

She never went to a theatre. She wasn't even sure she would like it. But it was an offer, so she said yes.

The thing is...she liked that play so much on that evening by seeing real people acting in a real play without any tv screen in front of her. It made her decide to become an actress.

And now, she stands again in front of the old bank.

Back then, it was the last place and time in her life she was truly afraid.