First Day of Retirement

by Tara B.
(New York, NY)

9. Create a made-up story using the following words: paycheck, job, alarm clock, and suit.

The day was certainly going to be one of the most glorious of his life; every moment of his career had led up to it, every job, every paycheck. John woke up when his body told him to, not when the alarm clock did; he lounged in bed and thought about what to wear that day, now that he had gotten rid of all his suits. The first day of his retirement was upon him, and he was ready to enjoy every moment of it.

But who was that calling him so early on his first day as a free man? He fumbled for his cell phone as it chirped at him from the nightstand.

“John, we have a meeting this morning!" The phone was screaming now.

John was so shocked to hear his boss on the other end of the line that he was at a loss for words. His boss Jim had always been out of touch, but he was pretty sure that he had had some cake at his retirement party yesterday. He stammered in reply, “but, but...uh...no."

“Well we were supposed to meet in my office but if you are having a slow start I will meet you in the cafeteria. 10 minutes!"

John just stared at his phone as it finally went silent. Maybe it was a prank, he thought, though not very funny. He slipped into his bathrobe and flung open the door, but it would only open about halfway. There was a desk wedged into the hallway outside his bedroom and his (ex?) secretary was sitting behind it.

“Good morning John, here are your messages," Sally cooed. John had to admit, as bewildered as he was, he never tired of having beautiful Sally coo over his messages. He stopped for a moment, but then continued to shove past her into the hall. What sort of insanity was this?

As he barreled down the stairs, he rushed past two of his (former?) co-workers, who chirped “Hi John!" as if it were any other day at the office. He got down to the kitchen, and found his boss waiting there in the “cafeteria" for their meeting. “You’re late!" he cried. John pushed him to the ground and made a beeline for the door. He didn’t know what was happening, but he wanted no part of it! Outside, his yard looked like a parking lot, and more of his colleagues waved as they got out of their cars with their briefcases and coffee. Where could he go to escape this madness???

The bus pulled up and the office cleaning crew got off and headed for the front door of John’s home. Suddenly, he had a stroke of inspiration. He knew where he could go to get away from work and start enjoying his retirement, someplace where no one who wanted him to get to work could find him!

He got on the bus and went to the office.



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