Normal; Anything But

Chapter 1

The door to my apartment creaks open and I step into my dreary home. When I say home, I actually mean small room in a building that just happens to be where I live. It stinks of alcohol and sorrow. The alcohol comes from its previous occupants. The sorrow comes from me. Well, I guess some of the alcohol comes from me, considering I work at the bar.
I set my purse down on the small desk in the corner. The desk's only use is a writing space. Yes, I write stories. Most only average. Others below. I'm not a very good writer, or so I'm told. I tried to publish one of my pieces before, but I was turned down. Multiple times. Oh well, what can you do.
I have work tomorrow night, but nothing in the morning, so I can stay up later than usual. I sit down on the grubby couch and flip through the channels on my old television. There's nothing good on, as always, so I settle with the news.
The news anchor is all dolled up looking beautiful, as always. How fake. I'm not exactly paying attention to her as much as staring out the window. Then something catches my attention.

Blah, blah, blah- in other news there have been three more missing person cases since last week. Police have no leads, but the FBI has been spotted asking civilians questions.

The FBI? Wow this must be really serious. The little town of Selinsgrove PA never gets any attention. Maybe I should write a story about it. I ponder the thought for a moment. Nah, inspiration gone.
I turn the tv off and turn out the light. There's nothing to do, so sleep is the best option. I lay down on my bed and try to close my eyes, but all I can think about is the missing people.
Eventually, my eyes begin to feel heavy, so I give in to sleep. I've got work to do tomorrow.

~

Early in the morning, construction wakes me up. They're working on the sidewalk outside and they begin work at six in the morning. Why not wait until everyone's awake? That should be illegal.
The new earplugs that I bought yesterday do nothing to help. I guess I'll have to buy headphones. Oh well.
      I have nothing to do in the mornings, so I just walk over to the kitchen.
      The kitchen is like the last clean spot on a dirty floor. It works like it's new, and everything shines. I have leftover pizza from dinner a couple nights ago, so I eat that. The microwave is noisy and my neighbors are sleeping. I flinch every time it beeps.

Beep

Beep

Bee-

I tear the door open to cut any noise off. I wait a moment to see if anybody has risen. Nope, the only noise is the construction. Annoying as it is, I'm glad. I can't have anymore complaints or I'll be evicted. I complain about my house a lot, but it sure beats living on a park bench.
      I take my lukewarm pizza and sit at my depressing, one person dining table. I eat in complete silence. I am alone with my thoughts, scarily.
      I finish my pizza, leaving the crust, and sit for a while. I don't have much too do, so I decide that I need some fresh air. Sometimes I go on walks to get away from reality.
      Once outside, I look around. Shall I go left? Or shall I go right? Being the indecisive person that I am, I choose neither. I carelessly cross the street not bothering to look both ways. I am almost across the street when a car whizzes behind me, narrowly missing. It's a nice car, a black Chevy Impala. It's going pretty fast and the driver doesn't stop in concern. Oh well, I wouldn't either.
      I continue on my walk listening to the birds tweet their tunes. The cars that pass play loud music, but are soon gone. I have been walking for a while, so I am hungry and my legs are tired. I decide to stop at the nearby diner.

Chime...

The bell above the door rings as I step inside. It's not crowded. The time is two o'clock, slightly after lunch hour. I sit at a booth and cross my legs.
      As I scan the menus, my stomach growls louder and louder to the point I'm pretty sure it's audible.
      Finally, the waitress comes over. I set my menu down and order.
      "I'll have a burger, please," I say. She looks up.
      "I'm sorry, honey. Could you repeat that," she asks.
       "A burger please," I repeat, slightly impatient.
      "Ok. Anything else," she asks.
      I order a Pepsi to go along with my burger. The waitress walks away after picking up my menu. I pull out my phone. One message.

Boss: Cassidy, you have to come into work early today to set up. Fredrick quit, so I'll need you to take his spot at the bar instead of kitchen duty. I'll need you to be here by 3:30. Thanks.

The text is from a while ago. I feel slightly bad for not answering, but the boss will understand. It is two thirty now, so I have an hour to eat before I have to go in to work.
     The waitress is back now. She sets the burger and my Pepsi down in front of me and tells me to enjoy. I thank her and she walks away. I'm glad she's not talkative. I once got stuck in a conversation with a waitress that lasted ten minutes. She was nice though.
      I pick up my burger and take a bite. Ugh. I forgot to ask for no tomato. I swallow the bight in my mouth and pull the tomato out of the rest of the sandwich.

~

Once I get to work, I go to the bathroom to change into my uniform. The boss gave me a new one because I'm a barista now. In my opinion the uniforms are trampy and they show too much cleavage, but I have to admit, I look good. I am relatively skinny, but this outfit shows off my curves.
      I walk out to find that people are already arriving. I think it's still a bit early, but it's their night. I help the other baristas set out the coasters. Nobody ever used them, but it's mandatory.
       Once more people show up it turns into a busy night. Lots of people are ordering drinks.
      As I set a beer down in front of a regular customer I look up and see two sharply dressed men walk in. The men are extremely good looking. One of them looks to be 6'2" and the other appears to be two inches taller. I have absolutely no luck with men, so I try to steer clear but they walk right up to me.
     "Hello. I'm Dean Smith, FBI. And this is my partner Sam Smith."