I slept that night... on the couch. "I still have my reader... I can finish David Copperfield tomorrow," I think, as I fall off to sleep.
I'm up early today and I dress quickly. My wife is still fast asleep from the gin. The bottle lay on the floor next to the bed. A stack of spent cigarettes in the ashtray on the night stand tells me she had been up late. Probably waiting for me to join her, but I was so mad at her for ruining my favorite book. I'm still mad at her. I make a mental note to look for that book again, and buy it if I can.
What shall I have for lunch today??? I suppose ham and cheese. I see my reader on the counter. I'm glad I remembered to charge it. It tempts me to pick it up. I can see it is still bookmarked where I left off my story of David Copperfield. I start to read... "Only a few pages," I tell myself. But the story has me in its grasp... and now I'm going to be late for work. I rush to catch my bus. I can give the excuse the bus was late to my boss. He won't know it is not the truth.
As I find a seat I turn on my reader. The bus is strangely empty. The news flashes on my reader. It must have been saved from when I turned it on to read David Copperfield earlier. The headline states something about an H-bomb and total destruction. David Copperfield is on my mind so I ignore the headline and search for my story.
This time I am careful not to miss my stop. The bus pulls up to the bank just as the City Hall clock strikes 9. I'm not as late as I thought. Closing my reader I get up from my seat and wish the bus driver a nice day. A few moments later I'm at my station ready for work. My boss is in the back room. He didn't see me come in... Whew... I am safe. He nods to me as he makes his rounds and then goes back to his office and closes the door as my first customer walks up to my window.
The day drags on til my lunch. I need to find somewhere to read my story in silence. Too many people about making noises... asking me questions... People talking about the bomb scare. A lot of people stayed home from their jobs today. That explains the empty bus. All this chattering. I can't think. All I want to think about is my books. I wish they would all just leave me alone to read in silence!
Finally it is time for lunch. I have been thinking long and hard about where to read my story and have finally found the perfect spot. For days I have noticed that the vault is left alone at lunch. I can read in there and not be disturbed. It is quiet and there is plenty of room in the back corner. I just need to make sure no one sees me, and that I don't lock myself in.
Cautiously I wait til all the other tellers aren't looking and make my way to the vault. I have my lunch in one hand and my reader in the other. I was smart to charge it as I worked. No one is looking, now is my chance.
Closing the door behind me I am alone at last. I put a block by the door so it doesn't close all the way. It is quiet enough in here. There is a small light for seeing around, but my reader has a built in light so I can read it just fine. I sit in the corner and pull out my sandwich. Darn... I got a fingerprint of mustard on my glasses. I can't see without them. I wipe my thick glasses and all is well. Now I am ready to read as I eat my lunch.
A few pages into my story I hear a noise outside the vault. I pay it no mind, I am almost done with my David Copperfield story and then I can read another story. Maybe a Poe this time. I remember the book my wife ruined. NOW I want to read it all the more.
Suddenly... the vault shakes... I hear a loud noise and things are falling off the shelves. Something hits me on the head and the room goes black!
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