Working Title: "Val"

BY: John Wayne  Arnott
        This is a work of Fiction. The names and identifying characteristics of any individuals in this story are based on some of the people the author has known, any similarity to other people is coincidental, and unintentional.

Copyright 2007. Jon Wayne Arnott

Note: Rember to look at the dates!!!!!!!!

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Chapter 1: The New Person at Work, "Val"


                   August 24th, 2003
                   Time 11:23

         …and as I opened the door I watched a cloud of smoke billow from the room. It could have been from a fire, red hot and burning, but the smell told me it was only from a room full of smokers. I guess I should have expected as much. This being the shop’s break room, where the workers were free to talk, smoke, and gain what slight reprieve they could from the drudgery that put their meals on the table at home. I guess the workers here were lucky in one aspect, if they so chose they could smoke inside the work building, avoiding the frigid cold of winter, and the wilting heat of summer. I’d heard talk that a lot of places were going smoke free, and the fact that smoking was allowed inside the building enabled the beginning of the chain of events that happened during those two months.

         There were five men and a lady in the room. The men were around the table, sitting in brown metal folding chairs with padding, minimal to begin with, now deteriorated to the point of being useless. Their ages ranged from the late teens to the early sixties. Their heights were from near five-six to about six-two.

         The eldest and tallest of the men wasn’t smoking. He was talking vividly and gesturing in a somewhat excited manner about a fishing trip he’d been on and the “Big One” that he’d caught. I thought his name was Roger for some reason, though I’d never met him before that I could recollect. I guess it was something about the way he moved when he talked, it evoked a sense of familiarity in my mind.

         The shortest of them had a forgettable face, and probably an even more forgettable name. He was smoking Kools, a strong menthol cigarette, and I remember thinking that he’d blend into almost any kind of crowd given the right clothes. The small one nodded a couple of times at the large one as he talked.  The younger then made a comment to the elder, but I didn’t take note of it.

         I couldn’t see the faces of the other three, but they were all dressed in plaid with overalls on, of the same build, and about five-nine. For all I knew at the time they could have been brothers, but as it turned out this was far from the truth.

         I hadn’t seen the lady before, maybe she worked with the management. She was sitting in a corner of the room, left leg crossed over the right, cigarette in hand. With a tendril of smoke floating from it into the amorphous haze above. I estimated she would have stood five-five fully extended, fair-hair pulled back plainly into a pony tail, and green eyes like blades of an aloe plant. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, but appearances could be deceiving.

         I thought I entered with a bare amount of notice, and only the lady acknowledged me. She had looked from them to me to them then she nodded at me and smiled. I was quite enthused about this, and I took it to mean that while the men had not openly acknowledged me, the woman having given me her approval had also conveyed their approval of  me. After this brief observation and quick surmise, I strode up to the table and sat.

         As I sat at the table I pulled out my bargain brand pack and a lighter. Drew a cigarette from the pack, lit it, and noticed that one of the Three Brothers, as I thought of them then, was looking at me. We made eye contact and it was at that time I asked him his name. He grunted, “James.”

         After he gave me his name, I took a moment to observe him. He had short brown hair framing a narrow face, thick eyebrows, thin lips, a strong cleft chin with a sparse mustache and dull green eyes. Altogether his features didn’t quite fit. He wasn’t exactly displeasing to look at but I doubted he’d win any awards for good looks. He looked like he was in his early twenties.

         I then asked him how long he’d worked there and he said, “Long enough,” and turned away. This caused me to decide that my first impression of the situation was wrong, until one of the other Brothers, a good looking man with red hair and a beard, said to me “You’ll learn to ignore James most of the time, he hasn’t got a pleasant bone in his body. I‘m Carl and this is Francis.”

         “It’s Frank”, the other Brother interjected. His baby face gave the impression that he was in his late teens. His eyes held the colors of cobalt and were flecked with jade. As soon as they had been given names they were no longer the Three Brothers. They simply became men. They could have been related, but by no means related by anything I knew of, besides a choice of clothes.

         “Yeah. Yeah. He knows that Frank. He was just giving you a hard time,” the lady said, “I’m Ella. What’s your name, stranger?”

         “My name’s Valentine, Tony that is, but everybody calls me Val,” I told her and the room in general. There was a pause in conversation at the table as I said this, and that confirmed my belief that at least they had noticed me. The tall man started to continue his story. A short way into the telling he trailed off and began to say something to me, and then, perhaps thinking better of it, stopped with an embarrassed look on his face. I tend to make some people ill at ease. With a scar running down my right cheek I have a somewhat off-putting appearance, but, to be honest, I could not be a nicer person, maybe a little misunderstood and defiant but still good.

         I was new in town, and had not even made my first friend. I’d left my old town, because of a relationship that had soured. I remember how I thought about her then. In my mind she was beautiful. Her eyes the color of dull amber, and a personality that could make the gods jealous, even if you included her insecurities.

         I guess you could say I thought I loved her at the time. I couldn’t stand the idea of loving her. I hated loving her, but I still thought I did.  Maybe even still do think I love her a little. Maybe it’s impossible to forget someone you’ve loved or thought you’ve loved. I don’t know if it is. I haven’t forgotten one in any case, but maybe I haven’t loved enough. I guess that‘s something only I can decide.

         After she kicked me out I could have stayed in town. I could have gotten an apartment of my own. I could have moved back in with my grandparents, if they’d have me.

         I could have…

         I could have…

         I could have…

         I could have done a lot of things, but I didn‘t. I couldn’t bear the pain of being in the same places as I had been when I was with her. I hurt too much. I guess I became over attached, put too much of myself into the relationship, and in return my reward was a new kind of emotional pain. The old pains were bad enough already without being compounded upon.

         When I got to Sackton I stayed in a hotel for about a week. Found an apartment, and started looking for a job. I was accepted at the first one I applied for. For me I thought getting the job at the shop was pure luck. I later found that the shop was going through a hard time and needed all the help they could get, but it’s not like I was exceedingly qualified for most work. I was just out of High School, and  I’d had little work experience, mostly working part-time at a restaurants bussing tables. I’d have to work with my hands, not exactly a personal favorite, and only be getting a little above minimum wage, on the upside the job wasn’t too hard. It was just making crates and pushing stock(pinewood) through a saw. Not exactly highly skilled labor. The nail guns took some practice to build speed with I was told, but that wouldn’t be the problem. The problem would be the weight. I picked up one just to get a feel for it, and could tell holding it for eight hours at a time would be a struggle.

         I thought it would be best to finish the introductions by asking the tall man his name. I looked at him as though appraising him, then I said “What’s your name, Mister… ?” I called him mister because he appeared to be in his sixties, and I have never been one to disrespect those with age and wisdom.

         He replied to my question by saying, “Skrupes.  Full name Raymond Leopold Skrupes Junior, oh well mannered one. My first…”

         Ella interrupted with, “You don’t have to remember his whole name. You can just call him Leo. Everyone else does.”

         “Thank you, Ella. I was about to say that,” said Leo, then he chuckled.

         “You’re getting slow old timer,” chirped Ella.

         Leo laughed at this and said, “If only all young ladies were as polite as Tony here.” After he said that I smiled, and thought one point for me. At that moment I believed I could come to like this man called Leo. I couldn’t help feeling bad for Ella though. She seemed good natured as anyone, and even though I knew Leo wasn’t serious. I could tell from the way her eyes flickered that she didn‘t like the way he‘d said that. I made the decision that I would try to befriend her, but how would I start? It’s no easy task to coax your way into some people’s confidence…
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Chapter 2: The Girl In the Corner, Ella Levine



                   August 24th, 2003
                   Time 11:23

         …It was first break of the day, and the new girl had just let the smoke out of the break room a minute ago. I was glad she came in when she did. It kept us from having to turn the fan on, which would have ruined all chances at conversation with her.

         She looks odd. She has a wicked fresh looking scar going up her right cheek. Also she has short boyish hair. It’s kind of a chestnut color I would have to say. And she wore a stocking cap indoors, when the temp in the building was around eighty-five.

         They’ve been having trouble with the heat again. It won’t turn down. I thought then that they couldn’t afford to, or didn’t want to get it fixed. I swear sometimes I just don’t understand the management, even though I work with them on a near daily basis, but I’m getting off topic. I was writing about the new girl.

         After she told me her name, Val, she asked Leo his. He was going to be long winded, as usual, but I interrupted him by saying, “You don‘t have to remember his whole name. You can just call him Leo, everybody else does,” before he could get into full gear. If I’d have let him he would have given her the whole reason for each of his names, and we obviously didn’t want to hear that much from him. He’d already started telling a story that would take up all of break. I’m not trying to say that he doesn’t tell a good story, but one story a day is quite enough. He thanked me for telling her what to call him, with a mock sardonic look, and chuckled. I told him he was “getting slow,” he replied by saying, “If only all young ladies were as polite as Tony.”

         On one hand it really got under my skin, but not so much because he said that I was rude. It was more because he’d never said anything in my conversations with him that could be thought of as criticism, and now all of a sudden a new girl had started working here and he seemed to show favor to her over me. Had I not known him longer? Maybe it was irrational of me, but I don’t care it’s how I felt. On the other hand I decided to ignore it. It wasn’t important, and I could tell he was joking. After he said that I saw her looking at me out of the corner of my eye, she was smiling. She didn’t seem to notice that I saw her, but I couldn’t tell. I thought it was kind of strange. He said it to her as much as me, but she wasn’t looking at him. On the one side I thought it was kinda creepy, but on the other side I thought it looked like she cared. I decided to ask her  to spend her lunch break with me tomorrow so we could talk. So that I could get a feel for her.

         I decided to ask her during the afternoon break. After I decided this the conversation came to a complete stop. Leo knew he’d made me mad, and knew I didn’t want him to continue the story. None of the others were especially enthused about the story either. Those of us who smoked finished our cigarettes during the lull, and when Val finished her cigarette break time was over. We all went to our respective jobs after break. I did some filing and paperwork today.

         The boss started telling me about some paper work I needed to get done when I got back. I can’t remember the specifics, but I know it was a pain in the ass. The work drug on for the next two hours until lunch break.

         I went to a fast food place down the street, and had a burger with curly fries and a medium drink. It probably wasn’t the best lunch to have.

         I came back to work at 1:30, and continued with the paper work. By afternoon break I was just about finished. Before break the boss told me when I finished the paper work I could do some filing to fill up the rest of the day. The boss isn’t really all that special, he’s just a nice man. His name’s Bob. He’s due to retire in the next month or so, but he keeps saying he’ll stay on until the shop is back in the black. He’s a good man to work for.

         I left the office and made my way through the shop to the break room in the southeast corner. I’m usually the last one into the break room, and this time I was. The new girl was already in the room when I got there, which made things difficult because she was talking to Leo. Leo is loathe to end a conversation for almost any reason, but I managed to find an opening when Leo asked her where she was from and if she was new in town. Val said she was new in town, and I quickly asked her to tell us where she was from and why she moved here.

         I’m going to quote her reply, “I came here from Lewisville. My reasons for being here are my own and in this company I do not wish to discuss them openly. Perhaps we could discuss it in private at some time,” I thought it was well put, although a little forward of her to assume I would like to discuss something with her in private. However, I took this as my cue to ask her to come to lunch with me. So I said, “Well, although I’m not sure what you’re getting at. I would be glad to invite you to lunch to allow us to become acquainted.” To this she smiled, and said she accepted. I hope I’m not making a mistake… I’ve got a weird feeling about this girl.

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Chapter 3: Break Time for Tony


                   August 24th 2003
                   Time  2:58pm

         …they had just called break, so I went to the air hose and blew the sawdust off my shirt and pants. I like the smell of it, but it’s hell on clothes. I had to wind my way around the shop to get to the break room. Leo was already in the room when I arrived, so I thought I’d try to talk to him.

         He seemed to have taken a liking to me, and I was never one to pass up a possible friendship… unless it was a guy like my last boyfriend before the… before the… before I made the decision. The one that led me through a disjointed series of events to this town.

         “How long have you worked here Leo?”

         He replied by saying, “About as long as you’ve been alive Tony. Nearly twenty years.” I remember thinking it was kind of a strange way to answer, with him not knowing how old I was. But then again older people have long ears, and even longer memories. Maybe he’d known someone my parents or grandparents knew, and had heard through some kind of grapevine about my birth. As I thought this he added, “How old are you? I’m guessing you’re a young kitten fresh out of school. Am I right?”

         I thought that perhaps he knew more about me than he was letting on. I looked older than my age, but he had guessed correctly. I answered by saying, “Yes, sir. Graduated at seventeen, turned eighteen January tenth.” I then asked him how old he was.

         He said, “I am sixty-three years, five months, three days, seven hours, six minutes, and thirty-two seconds old as of the end of this sentence. I’m counting my time on this earth you see. I started counting as soon as I could. I’m at 109,494,366 right now.”

         My most immediate thoughts as he said this were, “This guy is weird.”, “No wonder he works here.”, “I wouldn’t have kept him on the job if he always did this if I was the boss.”, and finally the most positive “Well at least you can give this guy credit for doing something with his time, even if it isn‘t productive.” It was then that Ella walked in. Leo kept rambling about his counting, and I just tuned him out and nodded. Saying things when I thought it was appropriate, and on the whole generally unenthused with the situation. I interrupted Leo by asking him, “So Leo, I‘m not meaning to be rude, but where are you from?”

         “I’m from Lewisville originally,” he said, then added “but I won’t bore you with the details.” He looked kind of upset, apparently the counting was important to him. There was a pause after he said that. He then said, “Are you from here, or are you new in town?”

         “As a matter of fact I am new in town…” I trailed off because I was debating whether or not to tell him that I was from Lewisville.

         It was during this moment that Ella said to me in a rushed manner, “Please tell us where you came from and why you’re here.” I thought it was strange that she would show such interest or at least that she seemed excited to hear more about me.

         "I came here from Lewisville. My reasons for being here are my own and in this company I do not wish to discuss them openly. Perhaps we could discuss it in private at some time,” I answered her.


         She seemed slightly taken aback at my forwardness but replied with the question, “Well, although I’m not sure what you’re getting at. I would be glad to invite you to lunch tomorrow to allow us to become acquainted.” I was sure at the time that she was just being friendly, and that she had no idea that I would accept.

         I smiled and accepted her invitation.

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         Author’s Note: And so for Tony the crossroads that is life had brought her to a dangerous bridge, that she had no intention of crossing again. ______________________________________________________________________




Chapter 4: Paul, The Boy Who Caused Tony Pain


                   May 25th  2001

         I’d met a boy three days ago, his name was Paul. He’s about my age. He’s 16 and seems nice. He had crimson contact lenses, and was fair-haired. I thought he looked kind of striking. He’s about five-eight so he’s shorter than me by an inch or so, but he’s got a nice build. He gave me a phone number to call him at and suggested that we could hang out. I thought he liked me. Well, I called him today, and he said that he was free tomorrow to do whatever  I wanted to do. I suggested that we go to the mall, and maybe see a movie. I don’t think he has a girlfriend, but if he did he would have said no wouldn’t he?

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                   May 27th 2001
                               
         I met with Paul today at a 7-11. We went to a movie, and got something to eat afterwards. It was great. He's got a good sense of humor, and he's pretty good looking. We kissed, he tried to slip some tongue in. But I told him no. I'm not gonna do that with him for a while. Make him wait, ya know?

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                   May 31st 2001

         Me and Paul hung out again, something is not right with him, he seemed different today. He kept staring at me, and smiling. I didn't know what to do because whenever I tried to catch his eye he looked away. It really put me off, I don't want to be stared at. He showed me his knife today... it's a big one, stainless steel, leather handle. Kind of a Bowie knife he said. I thought it was scary looking, when I told him that he just smiled and laughed. I don't think I want to hang out with him much more if he's gonna be like this.

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