The Graveyard Shift

By Cali Macknak

The barrage of thunder sent shivers through Meg’s fragile form as she walked towards the side of the cliff. There Brett stood, outlined against the darkening sky, his full figure stretching to seven feet tall. Clenched in his right hand was a hangman’s noose, a derisive grin spread across his face. Meg shivered as another rush of thunder crashed down on her. Her hands were tied with beautiful white cotton. What a shame she thought, it would have made a very pretty sheet. She stood with her back turned to Brett looking over the side of the cliff. If only she could get the money, then she would be free, free from Brett, free to go to Australia, free to be herself. The sharp rocks lunged upward, water the color of pink slurpee crashed all around. The sky grew licorice black, the thunder roared.

Brett stepped forward, grabbed Meg by the hair and wrenched her head backwards. She felt the noose tighten around her neck, he continued to pull on the rope until Meg could barely breathe. He growled, "Now you will die, bitch, but not before I watch you suffer. You never should have left." Before Brett pushed her from the cliff, the clouds parted revealing a single stream of sunlight. A tremendous crash of thunder jolted Meg from her sleep.

Covered in sweat and trembling uncontrollably, Meg awoke to find herself tied and twisted amongst the sheets of her queen size bed. The venetian blinds lit up with the late afternoon sunshine as Meg reveled in her dream. This damn dream about Brett had been a constant torment to her ever since they broke up. Since the night she disappeared from the apartment he had been openly hostile to her. The only place he could find her was when she was working. She left him no forwarding address and she had sprung for an unlisted phone number. He had managed to slice all the tires on her car while she was at work. She was forced to walk. She definitely couldn’t afford four new tires for a car older than she was. She couldn’t prove that it was actually Brett but who else could it have been? Leaving him was the best thing she had ever done. There was no other option after he started using cocaine. She doubted that she had actually loved him at all. Moving in with him had been easy. She desperately needed a place to live and someone to share the bills. Now she wanted nothing to do with him. She didn’t even like him. Every trace of the man he used to be was gone. All she had to do to be rid of him for good was to save enough money to get to Sydney, Australia and find a place to live. A full academic scholarship was waiting for her and all she would need to pay for was a place to live and spending money, not to mention a return ticket.

When she was living with Brett she had enrolled in 2 night classes at the local University. One had been a creative writing class, and the professor had brought in information on a scholarship offered through the journalism program at the University of Sydney. On a whim she decided to submit her story just to see what it would feel like to get a rejection letter. Instead she was invited to join their writing program on a full academic scholarship for 2 years. That was almost a year ago. If she didn’t come up with more money soon the offer would be rescinded. Meg did a mental tally of her finances to date. The sale of the car had netted her five hundred bucks to add to the two thousand already saved. Her total funds could get her to Australia but she still needed more to live on, at least double what she had. If she continued to work full time, every stat, and all the extra shifts she could snag she might have enough. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late. Too late! If she didn’t get out of bed soon she wouldn’t have enough time to make it to the store to get some groceries before work.

Untying herself from the throws of the bed sheets Meg heard the familiar sound of the thunder from her dream. This time it resonated from the apartment above her. Meg lived below three elephants in the disguise of human children, all under the ages of ten. Today, like every other day, they were playing the up/down game in the living room. This game was a continual favorite of the herd. It consisted of standing on the couch, bouncing off, hitting the floor, and making as much noise as elephantly or humanly possible. To the elephants it was a great pastime, to Meg it was a constant source of aggravation usually ending in a screaming headache and sore fists from pounding on the walls.

This afternoon Meg didn’t have the energy to deal with it. Her reoccurring dream had left her shaken and not well rested after working the graveyard shift. Glancing sleepy eyed over to her happy face alarm clock, she noted it was 4:30p.m.in the afternoon. Meg swung her feet out of bed and onto the bare linoleum. As she made her way into the bathroom she debated the virtues of becoming a vampire who feasted exclusively on children. Bathroom was a loose term to describe the closet that housed her shower stall, no tub. The sink faucets protruded from the wall pouring water into a large ice-cream bucket hanging from the hot water tap. No sink; one crappy toilet. The super had yet to replace the sink because he had so many other important and pressing things to take care of first, like his daily trip to the liquor store.

Meg entered the shower picking at the mildew with her thumbnail while she waited for the water to heat up. She reflected on this little hole she called home. The rent was cheap, that had been the deciding factor to live here. It allowed her to save most of her income. Other than that it had little to offer. The apartment was in an old brick building dating back to the late forties. In its time it had probably been one hell of a building, but fifty years had taken its toll. There was no security system that a good body shove couldn’t break. It was four stories high with an elevator that probably hadn’t worked since the late seventies. The current tenant joke was, "Elvis is in the building, only he’s stuck in the damn elevator." Luckily for Meg, she had no cause to use the elevator, she lived in the only ground floor apartment. Ground floor? Meg giggled at the thought. What an understatement. Ground floor meant a combination of half in ground and half above. The windows started waist high, and looked onto the cement lawn. It was a luxurious view, for a little price. She did have something the other tenants only dreamed of; heat, winter or summer whether she liked it or not. Remarkably, the heat always smelled downy fresh as it came primarily from the laundry room.

The hot water finally grunted from the pipes and Meg relaxed as the steam from the shower filled the room. She tried not to think of the night that lay ahead. It was the one she was dreading the most. Most nights at the convenience store were crazy enough given the neighborhood she lived in. There was a constant barrage of drug dealers, the usual assortment of neighborhood gangs, and the odd drug user who OD’d in the bathroom. On the bright side, she could never say her job was dull. Besides, this was her ticket to Sydney. Not all the customers were of this odd lot. There were regulars who had to buy their lottery tickets just from her, and the kids who hung out to talk to Meg because she was the cool clerk. Now and again one of the rookie cops would turn up just to see how things were going and to grab a free coffee. This was the only time Meg actually saw them.

She alone had been robbed on seven different occasions. One time she had to go to the hospital because the robber hit her across the cheek with the phone, leaving behind a gash requiring six stitches. All for $30 bucks and a couple packs of smokes. The cops didn’t even bother to show up. It was a cabby who came in for coffee that had helped her close the store, call her manager and had taken her to the hospital. The cops came by the next day to talk to Mr. Dupis, the owner/manager only because the cabby told them she was working alone. This is illegal; it is mandatory to have at least two people on graveyard shifts to ensure their safety. Mr. Dupis explained to the cops that his nephew was busy in the storeroom when the robbery happened. Meg had not been working alone at all. In her panic she forgot he was there. Luckily for Mr. Dupis, Meg didn’t waver from his interpretation of the events and they left with a warning to Mr. D.

The truth of the matter was, Meg often worked the graveyard alone. Mr. D’s nephew often refused to show up to work. He was either too stoned or too drunk to bother. He was the dirtiest human being on earth. His breath smelled like the sexist bullshit he spewed. Mr. D. never knew any different, he didn’t know that all the paperwork, book balancing and ordering that was supposed to be done by his nephew, was actually done by Meg. She never squealed because it was better to work alone with the nuts in the world than to have to put up with that druggie, sexist twerp.

When he did show up, she often spent more time babysitting him than getting her work done. At least for part of her shift tonight she would be paired with Mike. He at least does his job and tries to have fun. Tonight was going to be interesting enough; they might as well be able to have some fun. Not only was it a full moon, but it was Halloween and that just doubles the working pleasure. When you mix those two things together all hell breaks loose. Well, at least she was being optimistic.

The hot water suddenly turned ice cube temperature. Meg jumped out of the shower. She had just enough time to get dressed and get a few groceries before having to go to work. She usually didn’t start until 11:00pm, but tonight she was pulling a double shift. One of the other girls, a single mom who wanted to take her kids out trick or treating, had asked Meg to take her shift. In dire need of money and nothing else to do, she promised to work from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on a full moon Friday night Halloween. Maybe the drug dealers would be slipping stuff into her slurpees when she wasn’t looking.

"Late, late damn I can’t believe I’m late." Meg she ran to work cursing. "Oh this is going to be a great night! Mr. D is ticked off that I’m the only one who would take the shift, and he has to pay me over time. I wish something in my apartment would work consistently. Figures that tonight the stove would die with half-cooked lasagna in the oven. Thank goodness Ms.L was entertaining and she didn’t mind the extra lasagna in exchange for the use of the oven."

Finally arriving at work by 8:10 Meg cursed selling her car. Just one more item on the list of things to hate Brett for. Mike was standing behind the counter sporting the red apron they were required to wear. Unfortunately it clashed with his flaming red hair. He looked great, since he started working out. He would make some girl really happy someday, a sweetheart with a great body. His hair was tousled and he looked ragged. Mr. D had decided to give out candy to the kids in the neighborhood. His philosophy was, "you give them something for free, they might be inclined to think twice about stealing from you in the future." Mike and Meg knew that by giving out the candy at the store, Mr. D and his wife could go to their annual Halloween party without feeling guilty about not staying home.

As Meg slipped her apron over her head she glanced at Mike who looked like a kid who’d eaten too much candy. Frantically he grabbed Meg by the shoulders,

"God am I glad to see you if I don’t get to go have a smoke soon I am going to strangle the next kid who comes in here and thinks it’s funny to scream trick or treat at me!"

"Go! Go! Get out of here for five minutes. You have to make it ‘ till at least eleven o’clock mister or I’ll feed you to the children!"

As Meg stepped up behind the counter she did a quick money count and decided to drop fifty dollars into the safe. Having been robbed seven times she didn’t like to keep a lot of cash in the till. The list of shift duties had been modified since last night. Their pop order had come in and Mr.D left a note that he couldn’t get into the cooler to put it away so it was left up to Meg. Great, she would have to spend at least two hours in the cooler; at least she wouldn’t have to deal with the crazy people for two hours.

"Trick or treat, trick or treat, give us some good shit to eat!"

A roar of laughter greeted Meg as she looked up from reading. Five small figures dressed in black cloaks and white masks stared up at Meg.

" What happened to being polite? I thought that kids were supposed to respect their elders?"

A small voice piped up bravely from behind one of the masks,

"Fuck you lady, just give us some candy."

As they held out their pillowcases, Meg noticed that bubble gum was the handout candy of choice this year. Slowly she collected all the small bubble gums from the basket of goodies and dropped a small handful into each of the five sacks.

"My goodness, I’ve forgotten to tell you which ones contain the arsenic and which ones have the crushed razor blades. Now, was it the red ones with the poison or the blue? My my, I am sooooo forgetful these days. Oh well, you kids have a good Halloween. Bye bye now."

Quietly the five goblin children left the store, their eyes never straying from the contents of their pillowcases. When they reached the sidewalk just outside the store Meg watched with anticipation. A small debate had erupted between the goblins causing Mike to turn to watch them. Suddenly all five were reaching inside their bags digging through the candy, and small hands emerged full. The five goblin pitchers wound up and decided to target Mike. He ran inside the store for cover.

" Meg, you haven’t even been here for a half and hour and already you’ve turned the locals against us. How are we going to survive this night when even the children decide to get hostile? You know, I made it three full hours without incident before you got here!!"

"Alright, but they deserved it and it was well worth it to see them pelt you with candy. Did you get anything good?

"Nah, mostly those stupid orange caramels that everyone hands out, but nobody eats."

Mike emptied his pockets onto the counter. Meg collected the remaining candy and scooped it into their basket. She opened the spare drawer and dumped in all the candy exclaiming,

"Oh bummer, we don’t have any candy left to hand out to all those great kids that come to visit us! By the way, I have to unload the pop order so I will be spending the next two hours freezing my butt off in the cooler alone, and away from all those who enter. Have fun! This should make it easier for you anyway. You can reclaim your sugar high without having to purchase chocolate bars."

Mike punched Meg playfully in the arm,

"I’ve missed working with you, now go, and maybe I won’t lock you in there."

With that Meg bundled up in the staff parka, grabbed her clipboard and set off to two hours of paid freedom.

"BZZZZZZ!!" The alarm pierced every layer of Meg’s clothing, rattling her insides. She and everyone else hated the alarm, and they only used it when it was absolutely necessary. Mr.D. had the alarm installed in the cooler so the person working the till could have a direct link to the person in the cooler. It was a great idea, but the damn thing didn’t have to be so loud. It nearly shattered your eardrums when someone used it. Through the newly stocked rows of Coke products, Meg could see poor Mike. He was obviously hanging on to his last ounce of sanity by a mere thread. The store was literally packed with people. Actually, they were outlines of people dressed in the most ridiculous costumes. Meg left her private sanctuary in the cooler to enter the zoo like atmosphere.

She had just about made it to the counter where she could take inventory of the patrons when a small woman dressed up as what apparently was a half-hearted attempt at Little Bo-Peep approached her. The poor woman had obviously hit the sauce early on in the evening. Her dress was approximately four sizes too big for her. She had tried to flare the bottom of the dress by using a hula-hoop, which now dragged on the floor. Her bonnet was half twisted to hide half of her face. When she got closer, Meg realized the sideways bonnet was attempting to hide a huge red hickey on the left side of her neck. Little Bo-Peep swaggered up to Meg and whispered,

" Sexcus me, could ya please tell me where I can find some condoms?"

Holding back a very large smile Meg pointed to the next isle over. Little Bo-Peep waddled her way over there, nodding her thanks. Meg smiled and headed back to the counter to rescue Mike. As she made her way from behind the masses, Mike stood red-faced ready to kill. Little Bo-Peep was now at the till. As Little Bo-Peep left the store, Meg whispered, " Looks like Little Bo-Peep is going to loose more than her sheep tonight."

" Heehee you can be so rude!! I’m shocked!.. Hey check it out! That Dracula over there is trying to steal a bunch of chocolate bars, Excuse me Mr. Dracula would you mind paying for those chocolate bars in your cape!"

Mr. Dracula immediately vanished from the store, only after he managed to trip over Ms. Witch who in turn took out Mr. Batman and an adult baby. Mike and Meg looked at each other and burst into a fit of laughter. " Happy Halloween. Is everyone alright? Yes, okay, then who’s next?"

For the next hour Meg and Mike worked side by side dealing with the barrage of customers who came into the store. This was the pre bar rush. The drunks were buying mix, the druggies were buying munchies, and the regulars were buying lottery tickets. During Mr. Dracula’s flight from the store, Meg and Mike didn’t notice the commotion outside at the gas pumps. Someone had decided to take advantage of the hubbub inside and made off with twenty-five bucks in gas. This was by far one of the busiest times of the evening, although so far everyone was still pretty amiable. She hoped they would remain that way.

Looking around the store at the disaster left in the wake of the rush, Meg and Mike sighed. Judging by the mess, it was going to take them at least ‘till 2:00a.m. to clean up before Mike left. "First things first, Meg, I feel it is my duty to inform you that it is now midnight. We must rest, relax and enjoy a cigarette together while no one is around."

" Sounds like a great plan to me, let’s go."

Just then the glass door to the store flew open and in walked Brett, screaming.

" Meg! Where are you? I know you’re here! God dammit come out and face me! I’ve got something to say to you!"

" Brett stop yelling. I can hear you perfectly. I’m standing right in front of you, you dumb drunk."

" I wanna talk to you."

"So talk! Just stop yelling. You’re giving me a headache"

" Move back! I miss you!"

"No."

"Why not?"

" I’ve already told you. I don’t love you and you treat me like shit. I need and deserve better. Now I think you should leave."

Brett lurched forward and grabbed Meg by the shirt so that their noses were two inches apart.

" There’s another guy, isn’t there? Tell me the truth you two timing bitch!"

" Nooo, there isn’t! Now let me go! Let go of me now!"

" I’m not letting go until you tell me who he is!"

" BRETT DAMMIT. LET GO OF ME. NOW!

" It’s me, you dumb-ass! Now let her go, or do you want to go toe to toe?"

Mike had stepped behind the counter when Brett came in. He had silently watching the events unfold. Now Mike stood puffed out like a peacock, his frame extending to show off his large muscles. Mike looked ready to smash Brett’s skull.

" Who the hell are you?"

" I’m the reason Meg left you, you dumb-coke snorting-drunk-woman-beating-piece-of-shit. She deserves much better than the likes of you. She deserves to be treated with respect and not slapped around and interrogated. You got your answer. Now let her go and leave before I make you."

Brett let go of Meg and pushed her towards Mike.

" Your dumb ape thinks he can kick my ass, ha."

Mike stepped closer to Brett, but Meg jumped in between them.

" Stop it both of you. Brett, leave now. Just go!"

Brett backed off towards the door, "This isn’t over Meg! I’m going to find out where you live. Then we can discuss when you are going to move back home with me. You will never leave me! Never! Nobody leaves Brett Mckay! You hear me!"

" Loud and clear asshole! So does the store’s security system. We also record vocal to go with our video. Now Mike’s a witness. I can finally prove to the cops that you are threatening me and I can get that restraining order. Get out of here. I’ll see you’re ass in court!

Brett’s face turned from bright red to stark white. Bumping into the door Brett pushed it open and took off like a plane on the runway. When he was completely out of sight, Meg burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

" What a dumb bastard! Can you believe he actually bought that. We record voices as well as video Like Mr. D. would spring for a security system… Oh shit, I can’t believe he came here. Why did you do that?"
" Do what?"
"Stand up for me?"

" Meg, everything I said was true. He’s slime through and through. You deserve so much better. I don’t want him coming around here thinking there is a chance that you two will get back together. I wanted to put the fear of God into him, but by the looks of it you did a much better job."

" Well, the only thing Brett hates more than me right now is any police involvement in his life. That’s the true way to scare him to death."
"You really should call the cops on him you know. What would have happened if I weren’t here?"

"Alright big guy, ease off the testosterone o.k., I forgot that you are my big protector and I’m just a girl who is at your mercy."

"I love the sarcasm, nice touch by the way, but I was talking about you always working alone! So for that reason I’ve decided that I’m going to stay and protect your little ass until 3:30, no ifs ands or buts."

" Yes master Mike. I am at your mercy."

" Cut it out. I’m being serious."

" So am I. Hmm, let’s see, someone else to help do my work for another hour and a half hmmm o.k. twist my arm. By the way, thanks. You’re a good friend, Mike. Sure you don’t want to come and live with me in Australia? We could be roomies? Both go to University?"

"Well as soon as you rob a bank and have the money I’m there. Otherwise, I’ll just have to win the lottery. Seriously, I’d love to but. hey, I think you really should call the cops on Brett. It would get him off your back."

" Call the cops, he says. How soon we forget their response time. I’d get a quicker response from the coroner, except I’d have to kill him first."

Meg ran her fingers through her short brown hair, grabbing a handful and pulling it up towards the ceiling. " Do you think that I’ll make it the night without going completely crazy like half our clientele? What do you say to going outside and inhaling some more toxins. I never did get that cigarette. Besides, I’m just waiting to see what is going to happen next."

" Lessssta go smoke." Mike cooed, attempting a Mario Bros. impersonation.

"By the way Mike, have I ever mentioned that you suck?"

Mike and Meg start to clean up the store and prep themselves for the post bar rush. Mike did cash off and some paper work, while Meg set off to put out the newspapers and rag mags for the next day. This was the part of her shift that she looked forward to; the headlines could be crazy. Meg laughed and recited some of her favorite headlines to Mike.

" Hey Mike you gotta hear some of these headlines, "½ Fish ½ Man caught off Mexico Coast," or how about "Mafia waging war against locals," sounds almost like us. Here’s one of my favorites, "Sex crazed sea turtle raped us." I can’t even picture that one. And lucky us. Here in local news we have, "Warring gang lords take on downtown," or "Peeping Tom sought in downtown area." Can it get any worse? Hey, think Jay Leno would like any of these?"

"Meg, you really need to get a life or a hobby that doesn’t already play on that wild imagination of yours."

" Ha ha fancy pants, at least I can actually say I enjoy this part of my job."

" O.K. I concede one point to you for creativity, but that’s all."

"I am going to be a writer. It pays to have an active imagination. It could be worse, I could be a paranoid woman who thinks that she gets followed home at night, or someone is stalking me, or the sex crazed turtle really lives in my apartment building."

" You really shouldn’t push it. One of these days that imagination of yours is going to get you into trouble, or it’ll make you famous. Well, look what the cat dragged in. I wonder what we’ve done to deserve his presence here tonight."

Meg turned towards the door to watch Mr. D’s nephew waddle in. He was dressed in black leather pants with a bright yellow shirt that was half undone to expose his chest hair. He looked like a pimp and he acted just as bad. His eyes were all glossed over and he was sweating so much that large pit stains stood out for all to see. He looked like he was in desperate need of a hit fast. The nephew, or Trev as he preferred to be called, walked right up to Meg and pinched her butt.

" Hey ya sweet cheeks, miss me? How about we head back into the office and have a quickie on the old man’s desk?"

" Trev get a grip! I wouldn’t have sex with you even if you paid me, and no one could possibly have that much money."

"Meggie come on. Don’t be such a tease. I’ve seen how you look at me with those pretty brown eyes of yours, always inviting, never asking."

"In your dreams! What are you doing here any way? Run out of money? Need to borrow from the store again? Or did you really show up to work?"

"You are such a pain in the ass. I should tell my uncle to fire you. But, on the other hand, you are the sweetest thing that works here. What else would I have to look forward to?"

"Urgh, the man is impossible!" Meg shrugged her shoulders in Mike’s direction.

" Well Mike, I guess you can go home now, as you can see I am in very good hands."

Mike moved from behind the counter and approached Meg very slowly. Trev finally noticed his presence.

" Hey, ape boy how’s it going? What are you doing here? I thought you were off earlier?"

"Just stayed to tie up loose ends but I’m off now. Wouldn’t want to bill for too much overtime."

Trev turned to Meg, his eyes beaming,

"Well goodnight. Just you and me Meggie all alone, yummy. I’ll be in the office doing paper work if you need me. You off at six? Don’t forget to clean that bathroom, I might need it later."

Trev sauntered off to the office leaving the smell of sweat in the air. Meg and Mike looked at each other and made gagging actions.

" You sure your okay here? I could stay you know? It’s only another couple of hours."

" Mike I really appreciate the offer but you have to work tomorrow. Thanks for staying; it really made the night go a lot faster. Now be off with you , ape boy, before lord of the jungle returns and we have an inter species riot."

"You take care. If you need anything, call me. Don’t rely on Mr. Cool. "

" You are being overly protective tonight. If I promise to call, will you go home?"

"Yes."

"I promise, now shoo."

" Take care Meg and remember."

"I know, ‘call if I need anything."

After Mike left, Meg didn’t even have a moment to think because of all the customers that appeared suddenly. It was the bar rush running a little late. Trev remained in the office the whole time. That’s where he did all of his sleeping when he was at work.

The bar crowd was especially friendly, they mostly wanted to use the bathroom and buy slurpees. Probably too hot from dancing away the night. Other than that the rush disappeared without a major crisis.

By 4 a.m. Meg was exhausted. The bar rush had taken its toll. The store was a mess. Magazines were strewn across the floor, slurpee was oozing out of the dispenser. Just as she was contemplating walking out the door and never coming back, her favorite customer walked in.

Joe was a regular, a cabby who always stopped by at night. He was in his late fifties with a receding hairline, and his belly jiggled when he walked. Meg never knew her father well after he left, so she adopted Joe. He always came in for coffee just to check on Meg. He was the cabby who had taken her to the hospital the night she was robbed. He came by every night just to make sure she was all right.

" How’s my guardian tonight?"

"Hey angel, you look haggard. The locals got you down?"

"The usual. Do you want any lottery tickets?"

"Nah, just the coffee. I saw Mike leave. Was he working late? I’d have to say I’m not the only guardian you have. You two an item yet?"

"Nope, never will. He’s my best friend. He’s just about as protective as you are. I guess I’m pretty lucky to have the two of you watching out for me."

"Speaking of watching out for you, the reason I came in, except for the coffee of course. Over the night, I’ve seen this guy hanging out in the parking lot just staring in the window. He’s out of sight from you in here, but I’ve seen him several times tonight. He was here again just now, but I scared him off. You be careful angel."

"Thanks Joe, I’m always careful. By the way, the coffee’s on me tonight."

"Good cause it sucks anyway. When was the last time you made a fresh pot? Well I gotta run, but I’ll drive by as usual to keep an eye on things. Remember if you need anything, call uncle Joe okay?"

"I remember. You have a good night and maybe I won’t have to see your mug in here again tonight."

" Nite!"

After Joe walked out the door, Meg decided to tackle the mess in the store. After scooping out slurpee from the overflow tray she decided to tackle the magazine isle next. Someone had decided to browse through all of the newspapers. As she was reassembling them, she noticed the headline she saw earlier, "Peeping Tom sought in downtown area." Her thoughts turned to the conversation she just had with Joe about the guy hanging around the store all night. " I wonder if he’s the peeping tom? Nah my imagination is just messing with me because I’ve been up so long." Meg glanced at her watch. It was finally five a.m., only one more hour to go.

Meg finished tidying the store, making it look half-decent. She checked over the coffee stash and made three new pots. Her night was over. Now, all she had to deal with was the morning crowd, and her shift would be over. Having prepped the store thoroughly, and no customers to take care of, she decided to go and check on Trev.

As she turned the corner to the office door a strange sensation overwhelmed her, as though she was being watched. Meg quickly turned around. No one. "Man, now I’m really losing it." Meg tapped on the door only to find it slightly ajar. Inside, bent over the desk, lay Trev. He was laying face down on a small compact mirror coated in white powder. Meg wasn’t worried about him being dead, as his snoring resonated through her whole body.

" Thank God you’re alright, the last thing I would want to do is give you CPR," Meg quipped as she slipped out the office door. No point in trying to wake him up until she was ready to go home. Why make her life more complicated.

Meg returned to the front of the store. The very first customer of the morning rush walked in. She took her place behind the cash register. More and more people started to file in. When she last looked up there were approximately 20 people in the store.

" May I have a double dip and a crazy cash scratch and win. How much are your large coffees?... Is this coffee fresh?... Where is your bathroom? Can you believe there is a peeping tom around here? What about the local gangs, yikes, what next, the Mafia? I’ll take a package of Export A extra mild and this large coffee ... Miss is this coffee fresh?... Can you tell me the quickest route to the library from here ,,, What do you mean you don’t carry out of town papers except these rag mags? ... Can I get change for the bus?...Four scratch and win tickets please, you pick, I’m not that lucky ... How much for a medium coffee?"

By 5:50 a.m. the coffee rush was over and Meg looked haggard. Moving in slow motion she decided to wake Trev. "Let him deal with the mess, Imma outta here." As she rounded the corner towards the office she passed the bathroom. "Shit! I forgot to clean the bathroom! Should I do it or leave it for Trev to do? Ah hell, if I don’t clean it, it won’t get done, and then Mr.D. will be on my ass, dammit!"

Meg went and banged on the door to the office, a startled Trev sat upright in the chair.

" I’m just here for the cleaning supplies for the bathroom, thought you might like to know I’m off in five and your uncle should be here in ten."

"Thanks sweet-cheeks, I was just finishing up all the paper work for the week. I’ve got a lot of responsibility around here you know. Someday, if you play nice with the right people, you might make assistant manager."

" Yeah sure, whatever you say, you workaholic you. I want to be just like you when I grow up, 37 and working in my uncle’s convenience store. Bite me Trev."

" Any time any day, baby. You just let me know."

Meg gathered her cleaning supplies and hurried off to the bathroom. At least she could clean up the slime in there and throw it away.

The smell was the first thing she noticed as she swung the door open. The last person in here must have forgotten their dead cat. Spraying the Lysol freely she was finally able to enter the bathroom. Overall it wasn’t too bad, just a lot of paper towels and toilet paper thrown all over the floor. She had seen and expected much worse. Meg swirled cleaner into the toilet bowl and sink and let it sit to de-sanitize while she gathered up the paper all over the floor. As she reached behind the toilet to grab the wad of towels jammed behind, she felt something heavy lying inside. Tossing the towels into her garbage bag, Meg was left holding a plain black bag about the size of a hardcover book. "Well well, what do we have here? Someone’s drug case got dropped I see." Meg unzipped the case,

" Ohmygod, " she whispered.

Inside the black case was money, lots and lots of money. Meg thumbed through it quickly. 20’s, 50’s and 100’s were all she could see. A thousand questions filtered through her mind, "Who would have this kind of cash? Who left it here? What am I going to do with it? Give it to Trev to hang onto until the owner shows up? No! Mr.D.? No, I’ll take it to the cops ... No... what if it’s dirty money?"

KNOCK KNOCK, " Meggie are you almost done cleaning in there. It’s time for you to go home, unless you want to have a quickie in there?"

Instantly, Meg jammed the black bag down the back of her pants, " Go away you pig I’m almost done." Meg waited until she heard Trev step away from the door, swiftly she finished cleaning and went back into the office to grab her sweater. With the money still stuffed down the back of her pants, Meg hurried past Trev who was now standing behind the cash register.

" See ya! Remind Mr. D. for me that tomorrow is my day off would ya?...Thanks." Meg was out the door and off to her apartment.

The whole way to her apartment Meg couldn’t help but feel as though she was being followed. She kept looking behind her. She couldn’t see anyone, but she could feel them. Unable to calm herself down, Meg’s mind began to race. "What if it’s the person whose money I have ... Oh my god it could be a gang banger and I’ve just taken his stash. What if it’s the peeping tom? Maybe the money is the Mafia’s."

As she neared her apartment building Meg broke into a run, rummaging for her keys as she ran. She ran straight into the front door of her apartment building using it to stop her. The door swung open, " Some bloody security system!" she bolted down the hallway and reached her front door, ramming the key into the lock she opened the door and threw herself inside, slamming the door behind her. Meg relaxed as soon as she locked the door.

Safe, Meg made her way to the couch. Her body was numb; she was trying to figure out if it was from the fifty-yard dash she just completed or from finding the money. The money! Reaching into the back of her pants, Meg placed the black bag on the coffee table. She sat and stared, trying to work up the courage to count it. Finally her curiosity got the better of her and she dumped the contents onto her coffee table. There was over 25,000 dollars in there. 25,420.00 to be exact.

" Whoa, that’s a lot of cash!. Who would be carrying that much money around with them. It can’t be good, it’s too much money to be legit. Oh my god what have I gotten into." Meg shoved the money back into the black bag and looked frantically around the apartment for somewhere to hide it. No where seemed safe enough,

" This damn apartment building, anyone could break in and kill me. They could get in easy enough. They have to know I must have found the money. Oh man." Meg was worked into a complete frenzy. "This is not helping, Breathe. Breathe. Deep breath. Relax." Her body relaxed. She realized that a lot of her craziness was coming from pure exhaustion. She needed sleep bad.

She didn’t feel comfortable with the money in her apartment. She decided the best thing to do was to hold onto the money and stay awake. That way if they came after her she would at least hear them coming and, she’d have a fighting chance. Meg stuffed the money back into her pants and headed into her cubbyhole of a kitchen to make coffee. If she was going to stay awake, it was going to have to be caffeine induced.

Waiting patiently for the coffee to brew, she tried to keep a clear head about her situation. The first order of business was to figure out what she was going to do with the money. Meg grabbed the biggest cup she had and filled it to the brim with coffee. Today she was going for the gusto, no cream, no sugar, just black. Her senses rejoiced in the aroma of fresh brewed coffee. She returned to her couch. She didn’t want to remove the money from her pants; it felt safe there. Grabbing a pen and paper she decided to write down her options so that she could remain objective.

Meg divided the page into two categories:

Meg studied her list intently; each side had a good case. She still didn’t know what to do. Meg sipped her coffee; this was the best and worst thing that could happen. She needed the money so badly, but it was someone else’s. Meg knew that the money was going to be missed and that someone would be looking for it. It wasn’t like finding twenty dollars on the street. Someone was missing this money. Meg decided what to do, "If I call the cops and someone has reported it lost then it must be legit and I’ll give it back. If it hasn’t then I’ll keep it, cause it must be dirty money."

Just as Meg was about to reach for the phone she heard a faint tapping sound. She looked around her apartment. Even though this place made a lot of creepy noises, this was one she didn’t recognize. The feeling of being watched returned. She ran over to the living room window and closed the drapes. Motionless, she remained with her back to the window surveying her apartment. No one could have gotten in here, unless they were already here when she came home. The faint tapping noise returned, only this time it was coming from behind her. Meg froze; someone was tapping on her window. She couldn’t move, she waited and listened ... nothing ... tap, tap .... Meg tore open the curtains to see a faint shadow darting across the pavement. "They know I have the money" she thought, " Well I’m ready for them."

Meg went to the hall closet and grabbed her baseball bat. Ensuring that she had a good grip she returned to the window. She slid it open and pulled the curtains together just close enough so she could peek through. The plan was to come out swinging when she heard them at the window. Meg waited..waited..waited. Finally she saw the shadow returning. Just as it was going to tap on the window, Meg swung the baseball bat from behind the curtains. A resounding crack could be heard as the bat connected with an arm. Shrieks of pain echoed across the courtyard. Meg whipped open the curtains only to find Brett screaming in pain, " You stupid bitch, look what you did to my arm! I’m going to kill you!"

Fear gave way to anger and Meg retaliated, " Why the hell were you outside my window? You’re the one who followed me home and who was hanging around the store. My god! I’m just about to call the cops, cause you just tried to break into my apartment. Care to hang out and join me?" Meg moved away from the window and picked up the phone.

"Fuck you. This is not over! When I get back from the hospital, we’re going to talk. This time you won’t be the one with the baseball bat. Oh yeah, by the time you call the cops and they actually get here, I’ll be long gone. But I’ll be back baby, you can count on that." With that Brett turned and ran into the street. The reality of the situation finally dawned on Meg. He knew where she lived. She had to get out of here before he came back.

Meg picked up the receiver and called the local detachment, " Precinct 12, how may I help you?"

" This may seem strange but I was wondering if anyone had reported a black bag, about the size of a hardcover book, lost or stolen?"

" Just a moment please. No ma’am. Have you recovered such an item? If so, I need your name and phone number and a police officer will contact you."

Meg hung up the phone. All she could think about was it hadn’t been reported. Meg decided to call the airport, " Trans Continental flights. How may I help you?"

" I would like to know the price of an open ended, return economy ticket to Sydney Australia."

" Direct or indirect flight? The more layovers the more money you save."

" Indirect is how much?"

" Nine hundred and ninety-nine return if you wanted to leave within the next seven days."

"When is the next available flight?"

" Just a moment, there is one tonight that leaves at 9 p.m., and arrives in Los Angeles at 11 p.m. Your next plane would be to Honolulu, leaving for Sydney at 6 a.m. on Quantas airlines. Would you like me to book you?"

"Is there a lot of room on the plane?"

"Let’s see, actually the flights are quite empty."

"I’ll wait for right now. Thank you."

Meg checked her watch. It was only 9:00 a.m., she had plenty of time to get her things in order before she left. She had to get out of here. "One more phone call."

"Urgh, hello" Mike was rousted from his sleep.

"Hey Mike, it’s Meg, I was just wondering if I could come over and bunk at your place for a night. Brett was just here and I kinda whacked him with a baseball bat. Now he’s pissed and says he’s coming back. So I was wondering."

" Meg just get your butt over here!"

" Be there in less than an hour. Thanks Mike, you’re a great friend."

" Thanks are not necessary, that’s what friends are for. Now get over here."

" I’m on my way."

Meg dashed into her bedroom and started packing. She already had most of her stuff stored at a local company that was waiting for the go ahead to forward it to Australia. The remaining furniture in her apartment were remnants from garage sales. Besides she could leave it all to Mike. Meg packed all of her clothes into two large duffel bags, the rest of the important stuff including her passport and scholarship papers she shoved into her backpack. Within an hour Meg was packed and out the door, riding over to Mike’s place in a cab.

He was waiting for her when she arrived, and helped carry her stuff into his apartment.

"You alright?" Mike asked as he sized her up.

"I’m fine, I think I broke Brett’s arm though."

"He had it coming. You gonna call the cops this time?"

"Probably. I just needed to get out of my place. Thanks Mike, I really appreciate this."

"You slept yet?"

"Nope, I figure I’m just going to stay up. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do today anyway. What time do you work tonight?"

" I got the night off. Called in sick. Now that you’re safe and sound I’m going back to bed, hope you don’t mind?"

" No, by all means sleep, just cause I’m crazy doesn’t mean you have to stay up with me. Nite."

Mike headed down the hall and disappeared into his bedroom. Later on that day when he finally woke, Meg wasn’t around. She had left all her stuff in a huge pile by the front door. He opened his door and picked up the evening edition of the paper, the front page grabbed his attention. "Police looking for lost 25,000.00. Sometime in the early hours a local business man, while on his way to make a bank drop, lost in excess of 25,000.00 in the downtown area. Anyone with information is asked to call Const. Hawchuck." " Whoa... that’s a lot of money, What I wouldn’t give to find that." While Mike finished reading the newspaper, he inhaled a pot of coffee and ½ a pack of cigarettes. He looked at his watch. It was already 7:00 p.m. Time to enter the land of the living he thought as he sauntered down the hall for a long hot shower.

The phone was ringing when he emerged from the shower. Wrapped in a towel, he dashed for the phone, grumbling as he went, " I really need to get an answering machine."

"Hello."

" Mike, it’s Mr. Dupis calling. I was wondering if you might be able to work the Monday graveyard shift, I seem to be a little short staffed at the moment."

" Sure, I don’t mind working with Meg."

" You won’t be. She just called me and quit, said she was going away somewhere."

"What?"

" Quit, didn’t you hear me? So can you work Monday?"

" I’ll be there. When did she call?"

" About five minutes ago. Thanks for filling in Mike. You won’t have to worry about much though, Trev will be here."

" Great. I’m looking forward to it."

Mike hung up and looked around the living room. Meg’s stuff was gone from the front door. " How could I have missed her?" On the kitchen table lying right next to the paper was a letter from Meg. When Mike opened it seven one hundred-dollar bills fell out. The letter read,

Dear Mike,

I wanted to let you know that I am off to Sydney tonight, I have to go before I lose my nerve. I have enclosed the key to my apartment. Take whatever you want, if anything. Whatever is left, just call the Sally Ann they’ll come pick it up. The seven hundred is over half of a return ticket to come visit me in Australia. I don’t have enough time to explain everything to you; I will call when I get to Honolulu, so be home. Thanks again for everything!

Talk to you soon, Love Meg

Where did Meg come up with the money to go to Sydney all of a sudden? Mike glanced over to the headline in the paper," Police Looking for lost 25,000.00." Could Meg have found it? Would she have just taken it and not told anyone? That would explain her sudden departure to Australia. She still needed quite a bit of money. Mike couldn’t believe it. The more he thought about it the more he was convinced Meg had the money and fled the country. She never even told him. Mike was pacing back and forth, still only clothed by a towel. Anger and betrayal clutched him as he stomped off to the bedroom to get dressed. She never even told him, some friend; didn’t she trust him enough? Twenty five thousand dollars is a lot of money. She could go anywhere she wanted. It wasn’t even her money, how could she. I thought she was...RRRrring.

"Hello?"

" Hi Mike. Sorry I never got a chance to say goodbye, but you were in the shower and I had a cab waiting to take me to the airport."

" How could you not tell me? I thought that we were best friends? The only way I find out that you’ve gone is through Mr.D. who just called to ask me to work your shift. I can’t believe that you found that kind of money and never told me and then for you to just take off out of the country. You know the police are looking for it don’t you? You’re going to be a wanted criminal."

"Final boarding call for flight 1126 departing for Los Angeles all passengers should now be on board" Mike I have to go. I wish I could explain now, but I can’t. I’m really sorry. I’ll talk to you as soon as I can."

Mike was left holding the end of a dead receiver. She was gone and she never answered one of his questions. Stunned, Mike returned the phone to its cradle. Looking up towards the ceiling Mike shook his head and started to laugh uncontrollably "I’ve never been friends with a wanted criminal before. Meg, Meg, Meg." The time was 10 p.m.. There was nothing else he could do from here, and he definitely was not going to turn her in. She deserved a better life. Mike called up a couple of his friends. All he wanted to do was get completely drunk and forget this mess in case the cops came to question him.

After spending the night at the bar and several hours at a local diner trying to sober up, Mike stumbled home. It was around five am, and the paper had already arrived. Instead of bending over to grab it, Mike sat down in the hallway to read the front page. When he was done, Mike stood up and went inside his apartment, the echo of his laughs resonating throughout the building.

25,000.00 Returned to Owner

Mr. Grimes, the local business man who lost over 25,000.00 dollars is a happy man today after a young woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, found the money and brought it to the police station. The police then contacted Mr. Grimes, who rushed to the police station. "All of the money was there, I couldn’t believe it" said Grimes. Grimes who owns a local construction company had been working into the late hours of Friday night completing payroll. He was on his way to make the deposit when he stopped at a local convenience store to use the facilities. Over tired, Grimes placed the bag on the back of the toilet and left. On his way to the bank Grimes realized he was missing the bag. He returned to the store, but the bag was not there. The young woman who was working at the time found the money behind the toilet. She was just completing her shift and decided to take the money home with her, instead of leaving it in the store. She took all the money to the police station. " It was very hard, that is a lot of money. In the end, though, I knew it wasn’t mine." The young woman and Grimes spent several hours together at the police station. A Police spokesman stated that an undisclosed reward was bestowed on the young woman for her honesty. When asked to comment on the reward, the young woman simply said, " Mr. Grimes is a very kind man."