Part 11 has arrived. Only incredibly late! Apologies for the shortness. This shouldn't happen again. (Part 10 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/18.72805.3469238].)
(Part 12 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/18.72805.3511157].)
The next one should be longer. "Should" being the operative word.
I am an arms dealer, fittin' yooou, with weapons in the form of woooooooooords!
When I woke, my headache was mostly gone. Which is a good sign. I let the helicopter lob itself joyously around the room, crawling over to it only when it landed.
'An I don't really care which side wins, as long as the room keeps si-
The music muffled as I pressed the "Cease Alarm" button and returned the helicopter to its dock. Someone must've changed my alarm's setting to 'Radio.' I frowned, bitterly. Probably Neezilla. As much as I'd like to believe it was haphazardly on my least favorite radio station, I wasn't convinced.
After my shower, I got dressed for work and left early. By the time I got to the cafe, I still had a good half-hour until my shift. Not that it mattered, because as soon as I walked in, I saw Erana behind the counter talking to Neosage. They paused their conversation long enough to tell me that Puppet needed to see me in the backroom. Crap.
When I got to the store room, Puppet was across the room, writing quietly on a clipboard. "Hey Puppet, what do y-"
"Sit."
I sat, he had never cut me off like that. "Look, Puppet, hear me o-"
"You're fired, Nuke. Even after what I did yesterday, this business is co-owned by Kari and I can't call all the shots. We talked about it, and your walking out proved not only that you don't partake in conflict resolution, but also that you're unwilling to work under duress, something that is proving more fatal to the business than my attraction to you.
"Honestly, after Kari heard about yesterday, she was going to fire you anyway. Nothing personal, but I'm a liability to the function of business like this. The real problem is that you're part-time, expendable, I'm not. If it were a question of me or you, Kari is cutting you. I wish it could be different Nuke, but that's how it is. You can have all of your normal checks this month, but that's all I can afford, and that's coming out of my own pocket. And...
"Screw it, I can't see you anymore. Not here in the cafe, nor out there. I was wrong, I was lying to myself. I still love you, and I can't have that. So... Just... Go. Maybe I'll call you in a few months back under control. But as it is, if I weren't staring at this paperwork, I'd be unable to have this talk with you. Now, hun-bunz, please leave before I look up and see you. It's better for everyone. Your checks will be in the mail."
I got up, floundered a bit, and tried a smile. "I... understand. I guess... Goodbye Puppet."
"G'bye hun."
I left the cafe, and frowned. What the hell was I supposed to do with myself? I called Neesa, but the call cut off before the second ring finished. Rejected... Damn... I started walking down the block, exploring the downtown. I stopped in random stores, and talked to the workers. I traded a lot of names, shared a lot of stories, but probably wouldn't remember them by the end of the day.
At noon, I settled down for lunch at a local bistro. The mid-afternoon breeze was just perfect, and it was settling down to be a comfortable mid-afternoon temperature. Although I'm something of a picky eater, I found a turkey sandwich that looked pretty good, and tried to clear my mind of the day's events. I was finally starting to clear my head when my phone rang, Neesa.
"Look Nuke, I guess it was wrong of me to jump to conclusions like that. You've always been the flirtatious type, and it's the reason I didn't ask you out a long time ago. I guess I was afraid something like this would happen. I... After Baby Tea, I'm no so sure I can handle this kind of thing. I don't hate you for it, and I can't say I'm specifically mad at you. Just that this sort of thing happens to you a lot. I'm going to let you keep flirting with whoever. I just can't be here for it. Not like this. G'bye Nuke."
She hung up the phone, and I just stared blankly. "But... I liked what we had. More than any amount of flirting." The disconnected line offered nothing but silence. I sighed, and tried calling back. Nothing.
Tried again, with similar results.
I gave up, and headed back to my apartment. The walk there was long, lazy, and I couldn't bring myself to meet anyone in the eyes. I had a sunken feeling in the pit of my stomach, and was certain that this was only going to get worse before it would get better.
Back at my apartment, I fired up my computer and shot off an e-mail to an old friend. It wasn't likely that I'd have the time to get this done, or the money, but at least it's an idea. I tried my hand at writing an article. It came out alright, and I fired off a draft to the website, and started on another one. It didn't come out at all like the other one, so I resigned on that pursuit for the night and shut down the computer.
The television wasn't really holding my interest, so I tried in vain to call Neesa back. Nothing. Damn. I shook my head, and gave up for the night. Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow would be better.
When I woke, my headache was mostly gone. Which is a good sign. I let the helicopter lob itself joyously around the room, crawling over to it only when it landed.
'An I don't really care which side wins, as long as the room keeps si-
The music muffled as I pressed the "Cease Alarm" button and returned the helicopter to its dock. Someone must've changed my alarm's setting to 'Radio.' I frowned, bitterly. Probably Neezilla. As much as I'd like to believe it was haphazardly on my least favorite radio station, I wasn't convinced.
After my shower, I got dressed for work and left early. By the time I got to the cafe, I still had a good half-hour until my shift. Not that it mattered, because as soon as I walked in, I saw Erana behind the counter talking to Neosage. They paused their conversation long enough to tell me that Puppet needed to see me in the backroom. Crap.
When I got to the store room, Puppet was across the room, writing quietly on a clipboard. "Hey Puppet, what do y-"
"Sit."
I sat, he had never cut me off like that. "Look, Puppet, hear me o-"
"You're fired, Nuke. Even after what I did yesterday, this business is co-owned by Kari and I can't call all the shots. We talked about it, and your walking out proved not only that you don't partake in conflict resolution, but also that you're unwilling to work under duress, something that is proving more fatal to the business than my attraction to you.
"Honestly, after Kari heard about yesterday, she was going to fire you anyway. Nothing personal, but I'm a liability to the function of business like this. The real problem is that you're part-time, expendable, I'm not. If it were a question of me or you, Kari is cutting you. I wish it could be different Nuke, but that's how it is. You can have all of your normal checks this month, but that's all I can afford, and that's coming out of my own pocket. And...
"Screw it, I can't see you anymore. Not here in the cafe, nor out there. I was wrong, I was lying to myself. I still love you, and I can't have that. So... Just... Go. Maybe I'll call you in a few months back under control. But as it is, if I weren't staring at this paperwork, I'd be unable to have this talk with you. Now, hun-bunz, please leave before I look up and see you. It's better for everyone. Your checks will be in the mail."
I got up, floundered a bit, and tried a smile. "I... understand. I guess... Goodbye Puppet."
"G'bye hun."
I left the cafe, and frowned. What the hell was I supposed to do with myself? I called Neesa, but the call cut off before the second ring finished. Rejected... Damn... I started walking down the block, exploring the downtown. I stopped in random stores, and talked to the workers. I traded a lot of names, shared a lot of stories, but probably wouldn't remember them by the end of the day.
At noon, I settled down for lunch at a local bistro. The mid-afternoon breeze was just perfect, and it was settling down to be a comfortable mid-afternoon temperature. Although I'm something of a picky eater, I found a turkey sandwich that looked pretty good, and tried to clear my mind of the day's events. I was finally starting to clear my head when my phone rang, Neesa.
"Look Nuke, I guess it was wrong of me to jump to conclusions like that. You've always been the flirtatious type, and it's the reason I didn't ask you out a long time ago. I guess I was afraid something like this would happen. I... After Baby Tea, I'm no so sure I can handle this kind of thing. I don't hate you for it, and I can't say I'm specifically mad at you. Just that this sort of thing happens to you a lot. I'm going to let you keep flirting with whoever. I just can't be here for it. Not like this. G'bye Nuke."
She hung up the phone, and I just stared blankly. "But... I liked what we had. More than any amount of flirting." The disconnected line offered nothing but silence. I sighed, and tried calling back. Nothing.
Tried again, with similar results.
I gave up, and headed back to my apartment. The walk there was long, lazy, and I couldn't bring myself to meet anyone in the eyes. I had a sunken feeling in the pit of my stomach, and was certain that this was only going to get worse before it would get better.
Back at my apartment, I fired up my computer and shot off an e-mail to an old friend. It wasn't likely that I'd have the time to get this done, or the money, but at least it's an idea. I tried my hand at writing an article. It came out alright, and I fired off a draft to the website, and started on another one. It didn't come out at all like the other one, so I resigned on that pursuit for the night and shut down the computer.
The television wasn't really holding my interest, so I tried in vain to call Neesa back. Nothing. Damn. I shook my head, and gave up for the night. Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow would be better.
(Part 12 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/18.72805.3511157].)
The next one should be longer. "Should" being the operative word.
