Called in sick today. Wasn’t actually sick. Checked Slack around eleven to see if anyone had said anything. They hadn’t, which was good. Or very bad. They probably all have their own shit going on. Don’t give the slightest fuck what old Jolon’s up to.
Didn’t have a plan for my stolen day, so I went out for a walk. Turned right at the bakery because left is towards work. There’s a new WatchHouse full of man-buns and sandals. Wanky nonsense. A man was arguing with a lamp post outside it, so I crossed the road. Straight into a man with a clipboard. His face gooned at me.
“Not today,” I said. And pointed to my earphones. Forgot I wasn’t wearing any. Still, it shut him up. And wiped that fucking smile off his face.
It was overcast because Britain, but not cold. I quite enjoyed my saunter, watching the world go by. Ended up at the park. Would be a good place for a date if there weren’t geese everywhere. One of them hissed at me. My heel was still a bit stiff, so I chose a bench near the pond and watched a child drop little toy soldiers into it. He saluted each one as it floated away, as if he was sending them to war. His mum was on her phone.
I sat there for a long while. To forget about it all. I felt peace. Checked Slack a few times. Took a different route back home. Made it feel like I did more with the day. Bumped into Simon outside The King and popped in for a couple. Didn’t stay long. He’s a bit much sometimes. Went home to scroll through movies on Netflix. Picked one eventually, but fell asleep before the end.
Woke up a few hours later with a sore head. Ordered a takeaway and finished the movie. It wrapped up nicely. The assassin became a bookseller and married Meg Ryan. Think I clicked the wrong thumbnail. But it worked.
Still nothing on Slack. Tomorrow, I will go to work again. And on Thursday. And Friday. Probably Monday, too. I’m going to try a bit harder. Who cares what they put on a fry-up? I don’t have to eat one with them. I can still be part of the team. Engage. Communicate more.
#icarewhatjolansupto
“It was overcast because Britain, but not cold.”
That sentence establishes Jolon perfectly: funny, irritated, and unwilling to admit he’s lonely. The repeated Slack-checking punctures the comedy, while his resolution to “try harder” gives an uneventful stolen day unexpected emotional movement.
Dry. Observant. Human. I'M SUBSCRIBING!
I write at The Reflective State—do visit sometime.