Wasting Time

There was something off about the girl. He couldn't decide her age. Her spine was ramrod straight, despite her armful of enormous books. When she stepped into the light, she stayed under the eves of the building, to keep the books out of the hissing rain. In her arms, they looked like weapons. He stepped back. She watched, blonde and unsmiling. Was it her cold eyes, sweeping up and down, with a judgemental edge? Or was it her strange clothes? Pink gingham pinnifore and black ribbons.

"Errr," Seamus wasn't adept at navigating social situations at the best of times. "I'm here about the ad...?"

"Are you asking me, or telling me?" the girl peered at him, as if she could look under his skin and figure out how he worked.

Seamus cleared his throat, and let his voice drop into the judgemental chasm. "Telling you," he said, meeting her stare with his own.

"You can call me Tiffany," she told him, turning with a swish of her blonde hair.

Once they were sat in the diner, she spread out the books.

"I will take tea," she said, her brisk tone at odds with the way her patent-shoed feet dangled several inches off the floor. She paused, and lifted her glittering gaze to meet his. "You will, of course, be expected to order."

It's a job interview, Seamus realised. I didn't even shave.

"I need to determine your understanding of the theory involved. Beyond that, what will you bring to this operation?"

Flustered, he said the first thing that came to mind. "I didn't bring any weapons."

"More fool you," she said, turning pages.

They were interrupted by a spotty young man bringing their drinks. When he left, Seamus groped for the thread of the conversation, and picked it up again.

"You said you'd done this before..."

The silence stretched.

"What happened? Did you have someone with you?"

"No," she said. "That's why I'm... like this."

Seamus stared, his face blank.

"A child," Tiffany paused in her riffling her eyes wide and hard.

"The procedure went wrong. There's no way to fix it. I've made corrections, and, this time, I should be able to successfully bend Time."

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Word count: 366

(NB. This excludes the title, subtitle, and author's note.)

Submitted on Tuesday 12th November

Quick Author's Note

It continues! I think One more might do it... but I haven't decided yet which way it's going to end.

A Year of Stories: I'm writing (and submitting, here) a story every day this year. This continues my 317 (!!!) daily micro-fiction story streak since 1st January.

ONLY FORTY-NINE DAYS TO GO!

That's just seven weeks!

Please consider lending your support to the other creators on this madcap "a story every day" adventure. They're putting out excellent content every day!

Rachel Deeming

Gerard DiLeo

Thank you

Especially if you are one of the wonderful people who has been staunchly reading these daily scribbles since the start of the year. I see you, and I am extremely grateful for your ongoing support.

Thank you to those who leave feedback/comments.

I am still plodding away, catching up on reads. If I'm already up to date with your stories, I read someone else's!

If you enjoyed this one, the very best compliment you can give me is to share it, or read another!

Many thanks to Vocal for recently making this one a Top Story:

Here's my latest dollar challenge. I think you might enjoy it:

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Thank you again!