Fan Fiction ❯ Reaper ❯ Work sucks. Even when you have a cool job. ( Chapter 4 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

         Loud, tasteless music pumped through the speakers. Oh, wait the party was over. Soshitsu rubbed her ears, which still were throbbing from last night's eternity in the hell that is being hit on by men while your roommates rant about how the Katrina, the fashion queen of the Limbo world of Reapers, stole her outfit from last week and how one's time would be better spent devising a way to conveniently get out of the party, all the while keeping poor, poor Soshitsu far, far away from the exit. Far, far away Soshitsu remembered that she still hadn't returned Star Wars : Return of the Jedi to Blockbuster. She'd have to do that.
         Soshitsu walked through the doors and mumbled a good morning to the person behind the front desk. She trudged past the desk and to the time clock. Just like yesterday a torrent of cards came pouring out. She slumped down and picked up the cards lying on the floor. She hadn't had a good nights sleep and was still drowsy. Today she wore the traditional black cape with the red lining and scythe ensemble of the stereotypical Grim Reaper. She didn't want any repeats of yesterday. EITHER part of yesterday, although another party was unlikely.
         Still, if she didn't look the part people didn't take her seriously. But she got to wear her Mickey Mouse watch. No one messed with Soshitsu's Mickey Mouse watch.
         "Good morning, Soshitsu! How's our head Reaper feeling this morning? Ready to show us some of that Soshitsu Reaping magic?"
         Soshitsu tensed and forced a smile.
         "Good morning, Mr. Jacobson!" Soshitsu said chipperly, hiding the fact that she felt overworked and underpaid for the junk she had to deal with from her boss. "I see you're back early from your trip to Jamaica! How were the islands?"
         "Wonderful, glad you asked! There were plenty of hurricanes and quite a few, ahem, unfortunate casualties, but you know I never get tired of that place! But enough about my trip! I was expecting this place to have gone to hell, but I'm glad to see at least one of my employees sticks to my mandated dress code even when I'm not around! Keep up the good work my dear!" Mr. Jacobson moved on through the hallway, carrying a big box that Soshitsu assumed was filled to the brim with impulsively bought Jamaican souvenirs.
         Soshitsu let out a sigh and slouched down to the "I'm tired and underpaid, so just leave me alone" position. It was out of sheer luck that she'd been wearing her work uniform today. Oh, well, why argue with good luck. Her boss was odd. She had no idea what it was that had him so enamored with Jamaica lately. He'd been there at least five times in the last three months. It was odd to imagine him out of his traditional Grim Reaper outfit, let alone in tropical themed shirts. He was so old fashioned. Soshitsu sighed again and resumed walking.
         "Let's see what's on the menu today" She murmured as she shuffled through the cards. "India, famine UK, old age Lithuania, okay that's just plain stupidity" A pretty easy seeming bunch all and all. They'd even been nice enough to give her a few mass deaths, which may seem like a mean thing to say, but greatly reduced the amount of work she had to do. Nearly through the day's assignments, she suddenly saw an incredibly familiar face.
         "AAAARRRRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT THIS GUY AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
        ;  All through the building Soshitsu's dismayed cry could be heard. Newbies turned their heads, suddenly doubtful of their choice in profession, seasoned pros figured moderately successful someone had messed up and had to do the same person again. Ren and Kira-Kira, just dragging their carcasses into work, recognized the voice and wondered if some guy from last night's "Plan Happy Soshitsu" fiasco had decided to find Soshitsu at work.
         Soshitsu could hardly believe her eyes. The man from her mess up yesterday's picture stared back at her, almost identical to yesterday's card, with a few notable exceptions. The approximate time, place and cause of death had all been changed, and the card was now marked in thick red pen that read:
"          Soshitsu groaned again. This was going to be a rough day. She bent down again picked up the cards that had slipped from her hands when she had her little outburst. It won't be that bad, she told herself. Everything will come out peachy, this is a fine chance to correct that little, teensy-weensy, tiny, barely visible, nearly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things,
         "I MEAN FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, IT WAS JUST ONE TINY LITTLE MESS UP! THEY'RE COMPLETELY BLOWING IT OUT OF PERPORTION!" Soshitsu raged, picking up a pale purple vase of flowers to smash against the wall. She was about to throw it when a strong hand caught her left arm.
         "I'm guessing this isn't about the fiasco at the party then?" Ren said smoothly, keeping a tight grasp on Soshitsu's arm.
         "Oh, good morning Ren." Soshitsu replied, as cheerily as she could.
         "Wanna put down that vase now, Soshitsu?" Ren said, not loosening her grip on Soshitsu's arm.
         "Oh." Soshitsu moved to put the vase back down. "I was just a little frustrated. Work's been tough. You know how it goes."
         "Yeah, but for different reasons then you do. I got demoted today, too much 'unauthorized escorting' if you know what I mean. I'd give anything to get the amount of work the boss gives you ." Ren began walking down the hall and Soshitsu followed her.
         "No, you don't want the amount of work I have to do. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better just to go to the other side" Soshitsu's thoughts trailed off with her voice, and she stared absently at the hallway as she trudged along.
         "Personally, I never want to leave this job. It's just like before I kicked the bucket, only better. And if I ever do cross over, well, lets just say I'm not gonna be Ms. Popularity. Assassins aren't exactly high on their assassinees friends list." Ren chuckled.
         "Uh-huh." Soshitsu had heard her roommate's two cents, but hadn't really processed it. Her mind was somewhere completely different. Somewhere her mind hadn't strayed in a while. Back before she was a Reaper
         The two women emerged from the hallway into the building's cafeteria, where Reapers of both the human and animal death divisions could eat, socialize, or just ignore each other completely. It was a large room with a high ceiling, host to the birds some of the more old fashioned employees used to relay messages from office to office. The walls that weren't host to various assorted restaurant selections were painted white. On the far right wall there was a bulletin board where flyers and posters were tacked up and tacked over repeatedly. Katrina, the diva from the human division, was standing by the bulletin board and handing out her flyer of what was in, what was out, and who was eligible and interesting in the bachelor/bachelorette department.
         "Come one, come all! I've got enough flyers for everyone! Find what's hot, what's not, and who's single and interesting! I've also got the special coverage of last night's party! Come on there's enough for everyone!" Katrina tossed up a bunch of confetti and continued soliciting her flyer.
         Nearby, Kira-Kira glared at Katrina over her food. Ren led Soshitsu over to the table. Noticing their approach, Kira-Kira brightened up and waved them over.
         "Hey, Ren, Soshitsu! Over here!" Ren and Soshitsu sat down next to Kira-Kira. Soshitsu's mind was still somewhere else. She couldn't help it. Ren and Kira-Kira started to have a conversation that soon turned into a small argument.
         Meanwhile, Soshitsu's eyes wandered, aimless and unseeing, around the room. Over people, tables, chairs, walls, and anything else that happened to be in the room. Eventually, her mind came to rest on the clock. The clock meant something, a small voice in her head tried to tell her. Something important. She heard the small voice and curiosity got the better of her still dazed mind. What did the clock mean again? It meant
         "I'm late," said one of the Reapers at the other table, glancing up at the clock.
         "I'm late," Soshitsu parroted softly. "I'm late" She said in a slightly different voice, still testing the words out. And then it all came back.
         "Agh!" Soshitsu exclaimed, shooting up from her chair. "I'm late!"
         "Hey, Soshitsu!" Kira-Kira piped up.
         "No time Kira-Kira, I'm-"
         "Late. Yeah, half the cafeteria heard you. I was just wondering, since you and I have someone to escort in the same place today, I thought we could go together!" Kira-Kira smiled broadly.
         "We both have a person to escort in the same place? Then why didn't one of us just get- Oh, yeah, I forgot, you're in the animal division."
         "In other words the division for people with no talent" Ren muttered.
         "Hey!"
         "Ren!" Soshitsu barked. She turned to Kira-Kira. "I'd love to go with you."
         "Great!" Kira-Kira grabbed Soshitsu's arm. "Let's go then!"


My brain is broke-ed.-------------------------------------------
sorry I haven't updated in so long. *bows deeply* I was (cue lame excuses for why I haven't updated. You don't want to hear them? REALLY? Amazing. Just skip down to the next paragraph then. But, you'll be missing out on my "what I did this summer" speach! *Looks at two people still reading my rarely updated tale* Okay you probably already know what I did.) really busy all summer. I was in a production of Fiddler on the Roof (that last word took me three tries to type...). I was Yente! For those of you who don't know the play, Yente's the village matchmaker. She's a lot of fun to play. ("All I do at night is think of him and even thinking of him gives me no pleasure, for, you know as well as I, he was not much of a person. Never made a living EVERYTHING he touched turned to mud, but still better than nothing.") That took up half my summer. Then I went to a computer camp and took a course in web design. Maybe I'll actually have my own website soon. (Tenetive name: Middle of Somewhere) Then I had school start up and I actually managed to make straight A's last quarter. So that's why I haven't updated.
that that's out of the way, just out of curiosity, how was everyones turkey day? *waits for everyone's responce, then realizes that what D.O.E.-chan is typing isn't even on the internet yet* Well, mine went well, even though I had TWENTY-THREE people at my house! Twenty-three people meant the only place to hide from small children and annoying... Hey, does anyone out there know what one calls one's parents cousins? Would they be aunts and uncles, or what? I dunno. Did you know that there is no name for the back of your knee? Wierd, huh? Anyone else out there read Dragon Knights by Mineko Ohkami? And do any of you know where I can find scanned translations of Full Moon Wo Sagashite that don't need to be downloaded? After downloads totalled my desktop a few months ago (yes, totalled. It seems to believe it has no hard drive. Has it really been over a month though? Seems like only yesterday...) I've tried to stay away from them. Any help on the above problem would be deeply appretiated. I can even do untranslated if you can find me a non-download site.
I would like to thank the people who are helping make Reaper possible. First off, my muse, who has finally decided that she doesn't need to be completely nocturnal. Second, to my pets, Sammy, Fred, and Cathy, for being nice to me when I feel blue. And, most importantly, to Ha-chan(and her DAOD, especially those neon orange Carrion crows), who has encouraged, praised, and threatened me and my precious toes ever since she first read Reaper for the first time. Now, Stuffies for everyone! I expect that the next update will be sometime in the next month! I'm shooting for monthly updates this time round!
ne to all you beautiful peoples.