Short Stories

Late Again

I walk down these streets every day. I'm not quite sure why everything suddenly seems wrong. The combination of the smell of hot dogs and tacos from the various food trucks and stands nearby and the stench of the people that walked by me made me gag. I bumped into numerous people as I tried to get to the bus stop on time. If I miss this bus today, there will be consequences, ones I can't afford.

My boss, Wayne Thernstrom, is picky about my attendance. Due to that fact, I have grown to dislike working for him. I love my job as a reporter but I don't appreciate how rude my boss is to me. He's very judgmental of my reports and is constantly doubting me. Others have informed me that he only evaluates my work with such detail. I can't think of a reason for him to be so hostile towards me.

The tall, plain buildings bored me as I strolled past. They're mostly shades of brown, tan, and white. The least they could do is add a blue or yellow building in every so often. Nearly all of these buildings hold stores that sell products that I would never even think about buying with my current job. Randomly placed on the corners of some of the buildings and street lamps, American flags were dancing in the wind. The street was full of bright yellow taxis and a few other cars and trucks. A taxi pulled up to the curb right by me and a younger man in a clean suit ran to jump in; I suppose I'm not the only one late to work today.

"Please, anyone! I'm starving!" a man wailed. I turned my head in the direction of the voice. An older man with a ripped winter coat and stained pants was pleading for money. My gut twisted at the thought of all these people walking by, not paying any attention to the poor man. As I walked over to him and pulled my wallet out of my pocket, his long facial hair caught my eye, the uncombed mess shocked me. His feet were bare and brown from dirt.

"Hello, sir, I hope this helps you today," I said to him. He gratefully accepted the money, crimpling the bills in his dirty hands.

"Thank you, young man. God bless you, thank you!" He said, counting the cash in his hand. I smiled and continued on my way.

When I finally made it to the bus stop, my bus pulled away. I just barely missed it. "Gah! If I hadn't stopped to help that homeless man, I wouldn't be here! Now my boss is sure to fire me!" I said to myself.

"You can't regret doing kind deeds for others, ya know," a soft voice spoke. I moved to face a woman standing behind me. She was a shorter woman, coming only to my shoulder, with long, fiery red hair. Her skin was pale, bringing out the beauty of her blue eyes. She reminded me of a fierce munchkin, angry in her own right. My nose caught the strong scent of the fourteen gallons of perfume she must have put on this morning.

"Oh, I-I don't regret it. I'm just-"

The fiery munchkin girl interrupted me, "I'm only teasing, hon. Now, if you would have walked right past that man, then we would have had some issues," she chuckled, "I appreciate your kindness. It's difficult to find people with good hearts these days."

The woman looked behind me to see if the crosswalk light had changed yet. Seeing that it did, she smiled at me and started walking away. I turned around and watched as she began to cross the street. I looked to my left and saw a bus coming down the street quickly. It didn't look like it was going to stop. She's going to get hit if she doesn't hurry.

I made an impulsive decision to make sure she doesn't get hurt. I ran out and practically tackled her. The wheels on the bus squealed as the driver slammed on the breaks. The crosswalk light changed to the bright red hand, saying 'don't walk,' giving the cars and bus a green light, yet no one moved on our side of the street.

A few people rushed to get out of their vehicles to see if we were okay. Besides the bright red hair in my face and the overwhelming scent of pumpkin and vanilla perfume, I would say I was fine. As for the girl, I think she is fine, as well. The bystanders helped us stand up.