"Times New Roman" - My English Story

13:24pm Eyes draw lines around the room lazily in search of a particular file. 13:40pm File belongs to a Mr P Johnson. He owes the bank $301210. Interest is unrealistic, but who minds the details. The monochromatic grey room glares at the sudden burst of light as I open the blinds. Street below, people walking backward and forward, mindless.14:07pm I need coffee. It costs $5.00. I don’t know why.

14:35pm sitting behind glass watching people as they stand in line eagerly waiting to give me their money. Feeling like a zoo animal. Take notice of the different clothing and accessories people find necessary to have. I lose track of focus. Eyes drop to my uniform: “Gray’s Bank” I read my place of occupation, underneath my neatly typed Times New Roman font name tag “Tom”. I sit behind the bulletproof glass, seated adjacent to several other clone style workers. I feel mass produced.

17:37pm Driving car, change gears, window wipers. The streets of Seattle ripple with movement as I drive past. A thick crust of snow hugs the pavement while grey mist dances across the streets. As usual there is patchy rain outside. Locals tread home clasping in one hand the most adored accessory in this city, an umbrella and the native beverage, a star bucks coffee in the other. 17:45pm I turn into my street. One storey houses gather together to keep warm. I reach my destination. 17:52pm it is a tall 5 storey apartment building. The pimple on this neighbourhood’s humble, clear face. I step on the elevator, it groans, and I take the stairs.

18:01pm Slowly my apartment wakes up. Its crème and pine coloured walls still half asleep. I sit at my desk to retrace my thoughts. 18:15pmThe plans are layed out before my eyes. Sketches, etchings, plans and diagrams. This is full proof and untraceable. The urge to complete my design process is too strong, I grab my keys. 18:27pm I walk out of the shops, loaded with plastic bags. I have filled these plastic bags with a various array of materials. A quarter of the way there.

19:00pm At home on the leather couch. It holds me tightly in its second hand leather arms. I feel safe. Television turns on, it is a game show. The host has a wicked grin on his face and he is handing a simpleton man an oversized cheque for $20 000.00. The man is happy. I don’t understand. 19:02pm Does this oversized cheque really make this person happy? I don’t understand this constant 360˚revolution around the assumption that wealth results in happiness. Is money really our new replacement of oxygen? 20:38pm Drugged and put to sleep.

7:03am body awakens. Today is the day. Brushing yellow teeth, pointless. Shower, rinse lather and repeat if necessary. 7:39am suited up and out the door. My plastic bags accompany me to my car, I hold their hands. 7:43am The drive is smooth. I am lost in my own thoughts. It takes 20 minutes and 32 seconds to get to work. 8:20am I am seated in my office chair staring at the outside railings of the Nordstrom across the street. All the buildings in this province are mass produced. I open my plastic bags. There’s ,much to do.

11:17am I’m on lunch early. I catch the elevator to the top level. The outside railing feels crisp and cool. 11:30am I set the timer to exactly 3:00pm. I return to the elevator and travel to the next level down – number 11. I set the timer for 2:59:57pm. I return to the elevator and travel to the next level down – number 10. I set the timer for 2:59:55pm. I continue this process until I reach ground level. I descend to the foyer toilets. Toilet lid closed, door is locked, timer is set to 2:59:40pm. No one is standing outside. I climb over the top of the cubicle. One more now.

Grays bank has one underground parking. It is virtually impossible to obtain parking in these premises. I set the timer for 2:59:20pm. 11:40am I travel back up the elevator. As the doors of the elevator slide open I realise I have intruded on one of my colleagues in the process of removing spinach from his teeth. I smile, he smiles, all is forgotten.

12:00pm I gather my personal belongings. All of my belongings fit into a single shoebox. 12:30m I have driven 5 blocks away and parked behind a tree. The walk back is tiresome but worthwhile. 13:23pm filling out my resignation papers. I look up and catch my reflection in the chrome lamp. My mouth smiles, it intrigues me. So rarely do i see my own smile.

13:40pm Time for drugs. I open my bag. Inside are four boxes. The blue ones make me drowsy, good for sleep, the red ones keep my metabolism fresh, taken with breakfast. The two boxes of white ones are to control my “disorder”. It reads on the packet “for treatment/control of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”, alongside this I have written in felt tip pen “stop irrational thought”. I decide not to take my pills today.

14:15pm With 45 minutes remaining I am half finished. I shut my office door. 14: 18pm Nobody is in the hallway. I pull the fire alarm. The building awakens with colleagues and disoriented members of the public fighting their ways towards the exit. I take the elevator. The building is breathing out people like toothpaste out of the tube. 14: 25pm the building is completely evacuated.

14:40pm I stand on the 7^th floor veranda in Nordstrom. I watched a movie 3 days,12 hours and 16 minutes ago. In this movie I was touched by a particular quote. It spoke of destruction being a form of creation and filmed a group of children burning money. They just wanted to see what happened when they tore the world apart. They wanted to change things.

14:59pm Silence. 15:00pm the noise is incredible. The ground shudders with the first explosion. The second explosion follows soon after. The piercing sound of glass shattering as windows break. The third explosion occurs. I watch in complete delight as the empty shell of concrete and money crumbles at its own feet. Fires have broken out; they passionately kiss the building as it groans for help. 15:00pm the explosions dance in succession, one after the other. 15:01pm I smile as I gaze down at the broken and decapitated shell of what used to be.

15:02pm Silence, Creation