The New Advetures of

ZEROMAN

3 THE GRIND

[BACK] | [HOME] | [NEXT]

I then had a mad dash for the nearest bus stop. Just made it in time to slam my hand up against the driver's window while running along side. He stopped just, right in the middle of the street.

"What's the bloody story mate" he yelled, "You nearly gave me a flipping heart attack."

I cowered and walked stoop shouldered down to the back of the bus after paying my fare, people glaring at me. I pretended not to notice. Nine stops on I got off and crossed the street and an open lot and climbed down an embankment. It was now 5:48am by my backlit LCD watch, I loved this thing. I flicked from 24HOUR to 12HOUR and back again a few dozen times to watch the little AM in the top left hand corner of the display disappear. That nearly got me killed as I clumsily stumbled off the grassy strip into on-coming traffic of a four-lane highway. PAAAARP! I swung round back off the road and started running to conceal my stupidity from myself.

That saw me running up to the forecourt I worked at about 4 minutes early but I was sweating freely now and my head was throbbing. I went and cleaned up in the staff toilets, stripping off my T-shirt and drying under my armpits with the hand towel provided. I couldn't have done much good as Tom my boss commented at length on the inability of today's youth to present them selves in any manner fit for public consumption. No wonder we didn't have any jobs. I didn't know what he was on about as I have four jobs, which he bloody knows the old bastard.

The rest of the day went as usual, a greasy pie about mid morning. The steady stream of cars with morons at the wheel who either: didn't know where they were; didn't know what petrol their cars took; wouldn't get out of their cars; thought I had short changed them or were wondering if I knew what the weather was doing tomorrow. Someone managed to lock the keys in their car and another guy got himself stuck in the rest room. I had lunch at midday at McDonalds just behind our service station and finished up about 2:30 in the afternoon just as it started to bucket down.

I borrowed a bright yellow anorak from Tom and stood in the rain till my bus arrived. It was just after 3 when I got dropped off at the 2nd to last stop just outside the council pool. I passed my afternoon telling overactive teenagers that they couldn't snog and feel each other up in a public pool and no I wasn't going to ring their mother because I didn't give a toss if she thought it was all right or not. Why do the little buggers think its so funny to disregard every word I say about running on a wet floor and then kick me in the bloody shin when they go and smack their stupid little noggins on the concrete. I then hose down the sides of the pool and the boys change rooms, pick up the stray underwear and sweet wrappers and switch the lights out.

By 7:30 I'm in the back room of Ralph and Enid's fish shop digging into a enormous fish supper and slurping happily on a pint of Ralph's very rough cider while the two of them serve the last of the evening's customers. I usually spend a couple of hours cutting, battering and cooking half a ton of fish and potatoes for the next day. I don't get paid much but the company (Enid and her husband are good people) and the food are almost enough, almost.

I'm usually home by 11 to have a quick cuppa with me mum and then off to bed and so starts the Tuesday much like the Monday and the Wednesday to Friday just the same. Saturday I work at a posh riding school for young ladies where they call me Master Elliot and all I do is muck out and exercise the horses. Then on Sunday I have a lie in and do something with mum or head into the city. Bit boring some might say but I'm saving up for something and you got work hard if you want to make anything of your self.

[BACK] | [HOME] | [NEXT]