Clock Crisis:

Eight days before school began, I had a crisis with my goal. I saw it on my way back from the post office. My heart just sank. The antique shop was going out of business.

No… No! This couldn’t be! It felt like the moment that Danny-boy was found guilty. I didn’t even have enough money to get my precious clock yet. I had to act fast. I drew in a deep breath.

Right! I marched right into the store. The ringing bell nearly made me jump. My eyes scanned the inside. Most of the old merchandise had already been bought up. Luckily, my clock remained. I breathed out in relief; now for business. I searched for the front desk. An old man leaned over the surface, fighting off sleep. I thought about how to approach him. I straightened up my shorts and cleared my throat.

“Excuse me,” I said. He didn’t look up. “Excuse me!” I yelled again. The man still didn’t look up. I walked up closer to the front desk.

“Excuse me!” I shouted. The old man snapped up awake.

“Yes?” he asked. I gave him a serious look on my little face.

“The clock in the window,” I said. “How much is it today?”

“Same price as it is in the window,” he said as he straightened his glasses. I frowned a bit.

“Can you come down on the price some?” I asked. “I can almost buy it.” I pulled out all of my money and set it on the counter. The man looked at every single euro of my allowance that I had saved up since I first saw that beautiful clock in the store window. Only eight euro short of the full price that I had in my possession. I looked at that old man with pleading eyes. He counted up the money in silence.

“Please sir?” I whimpered. “It’s just eight euro off. Can’t you bend it for me? This shop won’t be around much longer. Please?” The clerk shook his head.

“Sorry,” he said. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“It’s the store policy,” he said.

“But…” I whimpered at him. The old man shook his head.

“Look,” he said. “Just find a way to come up with eight Euros before the day is over and the clock’s yours, okay?” I looked at him desperate. Common sense shouted that this was a trick to get me to go away. However, my own desire for that clock knocked it out of the park like a baseball.

“Seriously?” I asked. The old man nodded at me.

“Yeah, you better get going,” he said. I nodded at like an excited puppy.

“Yes sir!” I yelped. I turned and walked out of the store. When the door swung closed, that’s when reality sank in. Where was I going to get that money? I think I was played… Now what do I do? I didn’t have to wait around long to see.

A peculiar sight caught my eye. I noticed Carla coming out of an Aldi with big bags of food in her arms. I blinked trying to piece together what was unfolding before me. She always bragged about using fresh ingredients for cooking in our neighborhood. What was she doing with store bought food? Naturally, I had to fight out. I took slow steps towards the cook.

“Carla!” I called out. The cook looked up with such a shook. I think that was the first time I had seen her so freaked out. Usually, she looks like she’s angry at me. For some reason, I was amused by her reaction.

“Carla?” I asked. “What are you doing out here?” She began backing away in panic.

“Carla?” I kept calling to her. “What’s the matter?” The cook kept backing up until her back came up against the glass doors. She dropped a bag of groceries. I raced over to her and picked it up. Carla took it with big eyes. I had the feeling that I just saw something that I wasn’t supposed to.

Moments later, Carla and I sat on the bench watching the people walk by. She had her bags on the other side of her. The cook fidgeted her hands in her lap.

“I had no other city,” she said. “My family’s farm is getting repossessed.” I tilted my head at her.

“Repossessed?” I asked.

“Those bastards are taking my family’s land!” she snapped.

“The enemy?”

“Yes!” Carla fought hard not to break down crying. I still didn’t understand it.

“Is that why your shopping for food?” I asked.

“Yes!” she wailed. “The strain on the farm is so bad that I had to do shopping for cooking to keep the house and buy back the farm!” The cook turned to me in desperation.

“I can’t let anyone know about this!” she wailed. “My family’s reputation rids on this, but I have to make ends meet in these times!” I slowly nodded at her.

“Okay,” I said.

“What can I do to guarantee your silence?” Carla pleaded. I was going to say that her secret was safe with me no matter what, but that eight Euros filled my head. Hello, clock! I smirked to myself.

“Well…” I said. “How about for eight Euros, I won’t tell a soul?” Carla quickly nodded.

“Done!” she said in one breath. I sat there in surprise. I hadn’t expected that getting the money to get my beloved clock would be that easy. It’s wrong, but it just made me flip in my head. Moments later, I walked out that closing antique store with my new beloved white clock. I wouldn’t even leave my room for the rest of the night as I stared at such beauty on my desk. Just looking at it made me feel so proud at what I did to get it – dirty or not.