Depths by C.S. Burkhart Page B

don ’ t
remember a cliff. Or getting pushed off one, and I don ’ t think I ’ m dead …
    No. I ’ m not dead. Of course
I ’ m
not.
    Keep telling yourself that.
    I don't want to be here right now.
    So don't be.
    What do you mean?
    You don't want to be here, so don't be here. Why not
go somewhere else?
    To where?
    I know the perfect place.
    The room began shifting from a bright white to pitch
black. A small pinpoint globe of light grew just off in the
distance ahead of me.
    Little rays of sunlight shown
through the thick canopy of willows … .
    … I parked the car and turned the
ignition off. 24976 Sunny Way. I was here.
    Just be yourself!
    What a stupid saying. Who else would you be?
    I was nervous and got out of the car and took a look
at the street. It wasn't even getting dark yet but it seemed like
it was the middle of the night.
    Sunny Way? I don't think so. The willows blocked out all but the
tiniest slivers of sun, which never stayed in one spot for long.
The breeze made the rays dance as the willows swayed, the rustling
of the leaves the only thing that broke the stillness.
    I wasn't sure why, but this street just made me feel
uncomfortable. I walked to the door and took a breath. My nervous
anxiety was making my palms sweat. I was going to meet her dad
today and I had heard some things about him. Nothing that I liked,
but regardless, I wanted to make a good impression.
    Just be yourself!
    I wiped my hands off on my pants and knocked on the
door.
    A
middle -aged man with big thick-framed
glasses and a receding hairline opened the door. He smiled at me
revealing a large gap in between his two front teeth.
    “ You must be Mr. Green, ” I said as I held out my hand to shake
his.

Chapter
8
    He took my hand and shook it, firmly.
    “ You're right about that, ” he said cheerfully, “come on in, dinner is almost ready. ”
    “ Thank you, ” I returned his smile and stepped inside.
    The house smelled of roast beef
and potatoes, I could already tell that dinner would taste
amazing. She always cooked the best meals. I followed Mr. Green to the
living room and sat on the opposite side of the couch as him. He
crossed his legs, folded his arms and looked me over like he was
studying me. Must be where she gets it from. I folded my arms as
well and tried to think of something to say. He sucked on his
teeth, still looking at me with intense curiosity.
    “ So, ” he
began, “what do you do for a
living? ”
    I hated that question.
It ’ s such typical small talk. Not to
mention that I wasn't exactly living the high life with my job.
Anytime you say what your job is, it ’ s
like you get judged as a person based off what you do.
    “ Well, I work for a company that
sells uh... ” I paused and cleared my
throat nervously.
    Cars, high end electronics, insurance any of those
is better than what you really do.
    Just be yourself!
    He cocked his eyebrow, waiting for me
to continue.
    “ Ahem, sorry about that. Uh, we
sell copy machines. ”
    Unimpressed was an understatement of the expression
on his face. He sucked on his teeth again, quickly glancing to his
left and then back at me.
    “ You sell … copy machines? Do people even still buy copy
machines? ”
    The mocking tone in his voice wasn't disguised at
all.
    I saw her poke her head in from
the kitchen, which connected to the living room. She mouthed “ I'm so sorry, ” to me
and went back.
    “ I guess they do, otherwise we
wouldn ’ t sell
them. Well, I mean, the company does. Sells them I mean. I don't.
I'm a uh, security guard. ”
    “ Security guard? For a copy
machine store? ” He raised his eyebrows as
he said this, like he was in disbelief that something that stupid
could actually exist. I knew how stupid it sounded, shit,
I ’d have the same look on my face if
someone told me that. I hated my job. And while getting paid to
essentially do nothing isn't really a bad thing, it definitely
doesn't help you feel like you do something that actually