Happy Monday everyone. Lets get this day started off right with a morning writing prompt. Timers set for fifteen minutes and off we go.
Something bad is going to happen and Walt will be spared. I think. At least that is the way he story leans in my head.
Monday, April 7th: The line snaked around the bollards.
The line snaked around the bollards. Walt sighed. They were going to be here for hours. ‘And they might be sold out before we even get there.’ He tried not to frown. The others were happily chatting away. They were anticipating a good time. They knew without a shadow of a doubt that everything would work out well.
For them it always did.
Walt tried to look on the positive side. He wasn’t pessimistic by nature. He liked to think of himself as neutral. He had expectations of course and sometimes they were exceeded, sometimes things failed to meet them. That was just life. He thought of the glass of water as a glass of water rather than half empty or full.
He was a what will be will be sort of guy.
The last few years had been a bit rough. Too many disappointments, too many expectations not met. He was beginning lose his neutrality and skirt the edges of pessimism. Still as bad as things seemed to be for him at the moment, the others seemed untouched by things. Their plans worked out, their expectations met or exceeded. There had been no disappointments.
‘It wasn’t a level playing field though,’ Walt told himself. He knew the others were more well off than he was. It never bothered him. He had what he needed for the most part and while there were some things he wished he had the extra funds to do, in the day to day he wasn’t in a bad place. The things the others seemed intent on acquiring with their extra cash weren’t really things he wanted. It made it easy not to feel envy.
‘Especially since most of the things I want to do and can’t afford aren’t things that interest them.’ Walt thought. He felt a small smile tease his lips. Perhaps if they were going out and doing the things he wanted to do but couldn’t he would be envious and their friendship would be strained. Things had been strained enough lately for other reasons, but money was never really the issue.
The line moved forward slowly, inch by inch. Walt tried to smile and joke with the others instead of counting people. How many could realistically be allowed inside? Surely there had to be a limit. In truth getting inside wasn’t the issue. He wanted to pick up something from the gift shop. The tour itself wasn’t something that interest him. That was what drew the others. Again, Walt had to admit there was an amusement in the situation.
They stepped forward and they were almost at the velvet robe. The guard tapped his ear piece and seemed to listen. Walt watched as he unclipped the rope and moved it across the entrance.
“I’m sorry,” he said to the crowd. “We’ve reached capacity for the day. If you would like to come inside, you will have to come back tomorrow.”
There were groans from the crowd. Spotting a second security guard, Walt moved to the side. “Would it be possible to purchase something in the gift shop without going in?” he asked. The guard lifted a walkie talkie to his mouth and asked Walt’s question. He nodded and Walt felt relief as his request was granted. He looked back to the others but they were already gone, the line disappeared, disappointment hanging in the air. Walt shrugged and followed the guard to the gift shop.
Ten til Midnight 