10 Minute Tales, Part 2

Sep 11 - Timekeeping

She yelped as her foot caught a loose brick, sending her toppling to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of her. She grunted in pain as she bounced a little, scraping along the ground. She winced in pain as she got herself up, whimpering quietly as she felt something against her wrist. She looked at it. Her watch had broken! The glass covering it had shattered, and a little piece was now cutting into her wrist. She winced as she tugged it out, a little blood following it.

"Oh, great, I need to report to the nurse's office now..." she huffed, standing up shakily. She glanced around to make sure nobody had seen her, then walked back into the building she had tried to leave. It just wasn't her day... she fiddled idly with the watch, conscious of its state when she suddenly realised. The watch was still working! She sighed in relief and looked it over. The hands of the watch twitched slightly as they circled their path, but they were still going around. She blinked as she observed it, smiling gently. She had always been curious about their workings. She put a finger in and stopped the minute hand. No sooner than she did, every sound seemed to come to a dead stop. All sound ceased. Everybody had stopped moving, some hung in the air. Even the birds had stopped. She looked around, panicked as her arms swung around defensively. As soon as she moved, things returned to normal. The sound, the people, the birds, everything was back to how it was. She blinked, confused, then looked at her watch. She couldn't have... could she?

-----

She reached the nurse's office, staring at her watch still.

"Good morning!" the nurse greeted, surprising her. "How are you feeling today?"

"I-I'm okay." she replied, lowering her watch. "It's just... I fell and got cut."

"Oh, that doesn't sound pleasant." the nurse frowned in thought. "I should probably have a look at it, make sure it's not infected. Where were you hurt?"

"Right here." she brought her wrist up, glancing briefly at her watch again. It was so tempting to try it again..."

"Okay, I'll begin if I may."

"Sure, go for it." she nodded, poking the watch with her other hand as subtly as she could. The nurse got to work as she pushed the minute hand forward slightly. Things jumped around wildly, making her flinch away from her watch again.

"All done!" the nurse smiled. "Sorry for how long that took. You looked bored as heck." she chuckled awkwardly.

"Sorry, I..." she mumbled, looking at the watch. "I was lost in thought..."