JIMMY.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
It’s 7 AM. My hand instinctively went for the alarm to mute it, as my eyes opened slowly. I rolled over and looked at my wife, Emily. She stirred, but she didn’t move any further. I thought for a second whether to lean over to give her a back hug, but decided not to wake her fully. Instead, I leaned in to the nape of her neck and took a whiff. A faint scent of jasmine, probably leftover from her bedtime routine. I smiled at the familiar, comforting scent.
I got out of bed and went about my usual morning routine – a hot shower to wake myself up, while brushing my teeth. As I looked in the fogged up bathroom mirror, I smiled wide. Handsome looking chap! I chuckled to myself.
After a quick breakfast, I was dressed and out of the house. From the bed to the door, I typically take about twenty minutes. I am quite the efficient person.
As I waited in the lift lobby, I saw my neighbour, Gerald, coming out of his house. ‘Hey! Morning’ I shouted. Gerald and I are not just neighbours, but friends. I know all about him, as we chat regularly when we bump into each other. He has been married for 10 years, and has 3 cute sons, ages 10 (Ha! Probably a wedding night baby), 7, and 3. At that moment, his 3 year old was coming out with him, but when he saw me he darted behind his father’s legs.
‘Aww, still so shy eh? Hello Lucas!’ I tried to use a sing song voice to make myself less threatening, but the 3 year old Lucas stayed behind his father. Gerald walked over and returned my greeting. ‘Morning Jimmy!’
‘So how’s the renovation project?’
Gerald raised his eyebrows. “How do you know about that?”
I laughed. ‘I saw you bringing home a new drill last week, and then saw the deliveryman bring in some disassembled stuff.’ I lowered my voice jokingly and said the next line with a wink: ‘I’m quite the Sherlock Holmes you know’.
Gerald laughed too. He really likes my sense of humour. That’s why we get along. Gerald stepped aside and said ‘Lucas, say hi to Uncle Jimmy!’
I bent down so I was at eye level with Lucas. ‘Hello Lucas! How are you?’ I reached over and ruffled his hair. His eyes went to the floor, and he kept silent.
‘Lucas…’ Gerald began, a note of consternation in his voice.
‘It’s alright! He’s just shy.’ Children normally love me. This one will warm up soon enough.
---
It’s seven thirty in the morning. My train arrived quite quickly, thankfully enough. I don’t like being late. I always aim to arrive at office at least ten minutes before ‘official working hours’, and the daily commute takes the good part of an hour. Need to keep up the good impression I have among my co-workers!
The train rumbled on, and I turned and saw a familiar face. A young, twenty-something girl with soft features and a cute nose, the kind that looks like a rabbit’s nose and you just want to tap it lightly and go ‘boop’. We made eye contact and I flashed her a big smile and a thumbs up. She looked flustered and nodded in acknowledgement. Don’t worry, I’m not a creep. I know this girl. There was once when it was raining, and I offered to shelter her with my umbrella all the way home. We had a lovely conversation along the way. She’s a university student, studying Life Sciences. Did I mention she had a cute nose?
I looked up from my thoughts and saw she stood a little further away than when I first saw her. She must be getting off soon.
---
It’s eleven fifty in the morning. My stomach was growling, and I can’t wait for lunch. But first, I had to get through this meeting with Ms Chan, my supervisor. I was presenting my arguments about a particular policy we had to change, and I had just finished up my 3 point argument. She seems to be deeply considering it. Either that or she is hopelessly lost. She’s a nice old lady, but not very wise. I’ve had to repeat my brilliant arguments multiple times before she got it. Why is she looking at the figures now? That’s not the crux of the issue. Any sensible person will know that it is the trend that matters, not the details. And the arguments are definitely strong and correct.
I leaned back in my seat as her frow furrowed, and she flipped through the pages of the printout. I glanced at my watch again. It has been twenty minutes. When will this meeting end?
‘Jimmy, let me get back to you again on this ok? Perhaps we can discuss after lunch.’
“Sure Ms Chan!” Actually, I did not want to return, but I wanted to get out of the stale room that smelt of lavender (probably some weird air freshener she used), so I didn’t say anything further. I’ve gotten used to it, my bosses, colleagues, not being able to keep up with me. That’s the problem of being too smart.
The clock finally turned twelve, and I walked around my colleagues’ cubicles. ‘Lunch time!’ I saw Rachel and June huddled at Stephan’s desk laughing about something, but they stopped when they saw me. ‘Lunch?’ I repeated.
“Oh yes, definitely! Give me 5 minutes!’ Rachel chirped. June also smiled at me, while Stephan was still looking at his screen. These three were my lunch buddies… though you could say they were just some of my lunch buddies. Being quite sociable, I tend to mingle around a lot with all of my co-worker, and have good relationships with all of them. Today shall be Rachel-June-Stephan day. I stepped away to my desk to grab my wallet.
---
It’s six thirty in the evening. Time to head home! My wife, Emily, is a primary school teacher, so she always reached home before me. I whipped out my phone to send her a message.
‘Hey darling. What would you like to eat?’
I’m so grateful for our relationship. Just today, at my mid-day socialising, I heard that one of my co-workers was getting a divorce. Not me! Emily and I have a tight bond, and we spend a lot of time with each other. Every time when I reach home, we’ll chat about our day, before I get on my computer to play games and watch some shows.
DING.
I looked down at my phone. “You decide! What’s your ETA?”
‘About twenty minutes? Ok, I’ll get Western.’
Life is really going well for me. I have a loving, supportive wife, I have a great job which I am good at, and awesome co-workers. I’m on good terms with even my neighbours. I’m not sure what could go wrong.
DING.
‘Ok, no rush! I’m not that hungry yet.’
Emily always reads my mind. I was thinking she may be hungry, given how she has a tendency for small lunches. Sometimes if school kept her busy, she may even skip meals. I shall get her an extra serving later. If she can’t finish it, I’ll have it. Sounds good.
It’s seven in the evening. As I entered the lift of my flat, a well-dressed man came out. As I passed him, I caught a whiff of jasmine. Nice cologne! I like jasmine. The lift went up, and I entered my house.
“Honey, I’m home!”
---
EMILY.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
It’s 7 AM. Emily stirred awake, but quickly stiffened. Fuck. If I show that I’m awake, he’s going to roll over and start touching me again. Stay still, stay still. Emily kept her back turned towards her husband, Jimmy, and tried her best to lay very still. She heard some movement, then felt a warm breath on her neck. Eww gross. Please don’t touch me please don’t touch me…
To her relief, Jimmy got off the bed and left the room. She rolled over onto her back and sighed. She wasn’t sure when it started, but she had begun to find Jimmy revolting. It didn’t help that they were growing distant by the day, as they barely communicated apart from a very brief chat about their day. She couldn’t remember why she married him. She picked up her phone and scrolled through the messages, until she reached one called ‘Victor’.
She eagerly keyed in the message: ‘I'm on leave today. Usual time?’
---
GERALD (and LUCAS).
It’s 7.20 AM. Gerald peered through his peephole, and didn’t see anyone. All’s clear it seems. He stepped out of the house, and held the door open for his son, Lucas, to step out.
“Hey! Morning!”
Gerald froze. Crap. It’s him. He forced a smile to his weary morning face (when you have 3 kids, you will always have a weary morning face) and looked over to the lift lobby. Lucas scrambled behind his legs to hide, and for good reason too. This Jimmy is really creepy.
Back when he first moved in, he remembered how Jimmy practically pounced on him and asked him a million questions about his personal life. Such an overbearing character. He doesn’t seem to know any boundaries. Every time he met Gerald, he would ask a dozen probing questions. Even his children were beginning to fear Jimmy. He remembered how Jimmy bent over and pat Lucas persistently, and pinched his cheeks. Who does that to someone you just met?! The poor boy gets so frightened when he sees Jimmy now.
‘So how’s the renovation project?’
What the heck? How did he know about that? Is he some Grade A stalker or something? Maybe he is a registered sex offender or something… “How do you know about that?” Gerald asked.
Jimmy laughed, in the creepy, staccato way he always does. ‘I saw you bringing home a new drill last week, and then saw the deliveryman bring in some disassembled stuff.’ Jimmy suddenly lowered his voice, and gave a weird wink: ‘I’m quite the Sherlock Holmes you know’.
Gerald felt goosebumps when he saw the wink, and laughed nervously. ‘I need to be careful… maybe I’ll need security cameras…’ he thought. ‘This is so awkward. How do I change the subject. Oh right, Lucas’
“Lucas, say hi to Uncle Jimmy!” Gerald stepped aside to allow his son to greet the weird neighbour.
Jimmy bent over, and did what Lucas hated – he ruffled his hair. Gerald could see Lucas flinch, but he stood his ground. ‘What a brave boy. I must comfort and praise him later. I know I teach him to be nice to people… but… Jimmy is just… so weird. Better get Lucas to say hi, otherwise Jimmy may keep ruffling his hair.’
“Lucas…”
‘It’s alright! He’s just shy!’
Gerald looked at the optimistic smile beaming across Jimmy’s face. ‘Or maybe he just hates you, weirdo.’ Gerald smiled back.
---
THE GIRL.
It’s seven thirty in the morning. I rubbed my eyes and continued scrolling through my Instagram feed as the train rumbled on. My other hand grasped tightly to my Life Science textbook, as I consciously tried to steady myself. The train had a slight lurch, and I stumbled a step and looked up.
Oh shit!
I inadvertently locked eyes with someone familiar. What was his name… Jason? No that’s not it. Jimmy? Yes. Jimmy. That perv. His double chin wobbled as he gave me a big smile and a thumbs up, which made me shiver. I nodded and quickly looked away from his acne-scarred face.
I remember that day very clearly. How could I not? They say that our sharpest, most lasting memories are those that have emotions attached to them. This one had plenty. Mostly fear.
I was on the way home, and it had begun to rain. Jimmy approached me, and offered to share his umbrella with me. I wasn’t in a rush, so I politely declined, but he insisted – he threw his arm around me and pulled me along! I was stunned and too afraid to make a commotion, as I felt his firm grip on my exposed shoulder. That began the most awkward ten minutes of my life, as he peppered me with questions about where I studied, how many siblings I had, and more. I think he even mentioned something about my nose… and the whole time I was seriously considered spinning free and just dashing through the rain. He walked me all the way to my block, and thankfully, he went off after that. I had to keep looking back to make sure he wasn’t hanging around to suddenly dart into the lift with me.
I shuffled deeper into the train to get further away from him. Who knows, the train may jerk and he may ‘accidentally’ brush my boob or something. What a perv.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look up again at me. Whew. Good thing I’m further away.
---
MS CHAN.
It’s eleven fifty in the morning. Ms Chan rubbed her temple with her forefingers as she glanced furtively at Jimmy, who sat across her desk, looking cocky. Jimmy was her worst employee. He always made mistakes, and always had weird ideas about how things should be done. She scanned the documents in her hands, and tried to ignore the glaring typos. ‘I need to put this in a tactful way… but this is really a horrible job,’ she thought. She flipped to look at the figures in the excel spreadsheet. ‘Oh my god. How can he mess up a simple formula? The figures are all wrong’.
Ms Chan looked up at Jimmy, who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. ‘Is there anything between his ears? He was so confident when he presented what he called his ‘3 point argument’ earlier. Every point is utterly useless. I’m not ready for this. I need my post-lunch coffee. Maybe I should fire him. I’ve endured this for quite some time.’
“Jimmy, let me get back to you again on this ok? Perhaps we can discuss after lunch.” Ms Chan finally said.
“Sure Ms Chan!”
--
RACHEL, JUNE, AND STEPHAN.
It’s twelve noon. Rachel and June were huddled at Stephan’s desk. ‘Did you see Jimmy’s submission to Ms Chan? I was CC-ed in it… ok words can’t describe how bad it is. Come see,’ Stephan said.
Rachel and June went around and looked at the screen. “Why did he indicate that the trend is positive? Isn’t it a clear negative trend?”
“Maybe he was looking at it upside down?” June offered, and both Rachel and Stephan guffawed. They quickly stopped as they saw Jimmy come around. ‘Lunch?’ he said.
“Oh yes, definitely! Give me 5 minutes!” Rachel said hastily. June shot Rachel a look, but just gave Jimmy a weak smile.
When Jimmy walked away, June harshly whispered, “Didn’t we say we would try to avoid having lunch with Jimmy today!!?”
“Sorry… I panicked… what excuse could we give?” Rachel sheepishly replied.
“You could have said you were busy with work?” Stephan said, while turning his head upside down to look at the screen, which made the two girls laugh again.
Nobody liked Jimmy. The only thing worse than being stupid is to be stupid yet think that you are clever, which was exactly Jimmy’s problem. And Jimmy seemed oblivious to the fact that his work was not up to par, or that his colleagues were all gossiping about him behind his back.
--
EMILY.
It’s six thirty in the evening. Emily lay in bed naked, panting, as Victor lay next to her, his manhood flopped to the side.
DING.
Emily glanced at her phone. “Shit, it’s six thirty already? My husband’s coming home!”
Victor rolled over and wrapped his leg around Emily’s hip. “Screw him.” He said, as he nuzzled her neck.
Emily giggled, and playfully pushed Victor’s head away. “Hang on, let me find out how long we’ve got.” She used one hand to key in a reply, as her other hand caressed Victor’s hair.
“Why are you still with him anyway? For his money?”
Emily sighed. “I’m not sure too. Haven’t found a lawyer to settle the divorce?”
“You already say he neglects you every day and just spends the entire night on his games or shows. He’s growing fatter by the day. Never helps out with any chores. I can take better care of you babe.” Victor crawled to his knees as he mounted Emily, and flexed his arms.
Emily laughed and pulled Victor towards her and kissed him.
DING.
Emily looked over at her phone, and quickly keyed in a message. “We have fifteen minutes. What do you want to do?” She asked playfully.
“Let’s make it twenty.” Victor said.
“I don’t think you can last that long,” Emily grinned.
“Try me.”
---
Victor adjusted his shirt collar as he waited for the lift to travel down. When the lift doors opened, he felt his hairs stand as he recognised the short, pasty man who was about to walk in. Jimmy… in the flesh. Wow, he looks worse in person. Victor quickly turned his face and strode past Jimmy.
Jimmy took the lift up back home.
“Honey, I’m home!”
