[LJ Idol] SCI, "The Second Day of the Week"
SCI prompt: Open Topic
Author’s Notes: Fiction. Continuation of last week’s Help Wanted ( link). I hope you enjoy!
The Second Day of the Week
The trash-can was full of bits of broken glass and glitter, remnants of a tacky looking snowglobe that until very recently had made its home on the very edge of one of the shelves that housed more sundry knickknacks-figurines and jewelry boxes and a few retro toys-before Derek’s elbow had accidentally sent it flying to the floor.
It had shattered on impact, and from across the room Mr. Tuesday had looked up from his paper. Without a word, Derek headed to the supply closet for the cleaning supplies, still trying to forget just what was kept beyond the first perceptible shelves. He imagined the flickering lamps would be happy to see him, at least, even if he still wasn’t terribly comfortable with the idea that things he never even considered in the realm of possibility not only existed, but were his responsibility to look after. At least from the price sticker, the snowglobe was cheap. Suspiciously cheap.
He realized why when, shortly after cleaning up the mess he’d caused, it began to rain inside the store.
It was a low rain, forming puddles on the floor and trickling down the windowpanes or misting lightly against the counters. There were no clouds, at least, unless he wanted to count the one placed solidly above his head. Mr. Tuesday covered all the books with plastic, but shrugged off the rest, like rain inside the store on a sunny morning was the most natural thing in the world. The first customer of the day, an older woman wearing too much make-up, commented on it, teasing him and saying that at least it wasn’t snowing yet.
The yet was not comforting in the slightest.
“I’ve got a task for you,” Mr. Tuesday said, after he had finished helping the woman pick out some antique brooches; he remembered the ones in particular, large constructs of metal and fake gemstones with a sharp uncapped pin at the other end. “You remember the customer who came in yesterday, don’t you? Picked up that telescope.”
“Yeah.” Like Derek could forget it.
“He left us this”-and he removed a paper-wrapped lump from his pocket and unfolded it, revealing something shaped like a sponge, with strange divots and blunt spikes along its surface, with a pair of thin black threads poking out the top-“but I’ve never seen anything like it before. What do you make of it?”
Then it twitched. Derek stared at it in horror. “It’s…alive.”
“Of course it is. Wouldn’t be worth much to me dead.” Mr. Tuesday looked affronted, and reached out to poke it once on one of the spikes. The two antennae bobbed back and forth. “Since we can’t be sure just what it is, I’m putting it in your care for now. It seems to have a habit of clinging to things, but we don’t know what its habitat is, what it eats…for all we know, it could be carnivorous. I don’t exactly want it getting loose in the shop.”
Derek eyed the creature warily. “Then between us, shouldn’t the immortal one take a crack at solving that problem?”
“Oh, I’m not immortal,” Mr. Tuesday continued, his tone as casual and airy as if they were discussing the weather; overhead, Derek’s thundercloud rumbled. “I merely was lucky enough in my youth to stumble across a curse that granted me ten lifetimes. I’m currently on number four. Well, back to work. Try and see if you can get it to eat something?”
Derek stared at the creature and copied Mr. Tuesday, poking it in the back. The spikes ruffled, but otherwise it did not move; he could not see its eyes, but he still got the strangest sensation that it was watching him.
The rain in the store picked up to more of a sleet, and Derek saw Mr. Tuesday arranging an umbrella bin by the front door, picking one out loudly patterned in plaid for himself.
He managed to corral the puddles to one corner of the store, glancing back to see the creature gliding sluggishly down the side of one counter. He picked it up and settled it on his shoulder, figuring that this way he can keep a better eye on it and find out if it happened to eat either cotton or human flesh.
Luckily for him, it didn’t. Or maybe it just wasn’t hungry. Maybe it was just him it didn’t like. More comforting thoughts.
The thing seemed comfortable enough, shifting around his collar after about an hour to settle on his other shoulder. During his break he got lunch at the deli next door, and tried to offer the creature his leftovers. It wouldn’t eat his sandwich or his chips, and it ruffled its antennae at an offer of a capful of soda, which Derek took to be a polite but firm no.
He worked the cashier for a few customers while the creature kept him company, scuttling around the countertop. He only lost track of it once; the thing had an uncanny ability to camouflage itself, but he found it again half-submerged in a puddle, while snow melted on the glass.
The realization came with a sinking sensation, and when Mr. Tuesday stopped by and asked him what he had learned about the creature he pointed up at the cloud hovering above his ears.
“I’m pretty sure this is it. It likes cold, damp environments. Water. I mean, look at how happy it is.” He poked it again, and it purred, its twitching antennae tapping the water and sending out tiny ripples.
“Please tell me you haven’t named it.” Mr. Tuesday sighed, his rebuke more joke than genuine. “If I can, I’ll sell it, you know. Don’t get attached. Has it eaten anything?”
“Not that I know of.”
Mr. Tuesday reached for his coffee cup, lifting the lid and peering inside when he noticed how light it was. “Did you drink this?”
Same answer: “Not that I know of?”
The second realization about the creature came as swift as the drop on a guillotine. “It drinks coffee. Oh God. That’s awful.”
“Why?” Mr. Tuesday shook the empty cup. “That’s cheap. It could eat diamonds. That would’ve been a really bad deal on my part.”
“No, think about it. If it only drinks coffee, it will never go to sleep.” Derek’s shoulders slumped as he stared at the creature. “I’ll be looking after it forever!” It twitched its antennae back in a show of solidarity.
“Could be worse.” Mr. Tuesday moved around the counter, making to open the door for another customer. “At least it stopped raining.”
--
The next day, when Derek arrived at work he brought a coffee for his boss and a coffee for Spike. The creature followed him around the store, seemingly preferring to crawl across the shelves just out of his reach. At one point, it bumped the edge of a crystal sphere, sending it rolling down and off the ledge.
Derek jumped to catch it, cushioning it safely against his body as he fell to the floor. The sphere safe, he moved it to a lower shelf and collected Spike, swearing to switch to de-caf if it did something like that again.
He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if it had broken. He had too much to think about already, working at the shop. At least he did something right, this time. It looked to be a promising day.