The fresh aroma of cedar danced around the small watch tower, It'd only been a few hours on the job and nothing in-particular has happened. I stretched and walked sluggishly towards the radio, lazily it sat alone on the wooden desk. The desk was dusty enough to write on it, while the radio laid untouched and shined with a sense of something new. Endless beginnings I thought to myself, Endless beginnings. Suddenly the voice of a man beamed from the radio,
"Hello! And welcome to the shit hole in which you have undeniably agreed to come too! Why by the way?" He seemed wasted, that or just a little too excited for a job were you sit around and do nothing.
"Um, hi?" I answered, not sure whether to match his enthusiasm or to be scared of it.
"Hi to you too doll." Doll? You've got to be kidding me.
"Doll? Nice pickup line." Sarcastically I peered through the glass windows and towards a tower I guessed was his.
"Thanks love, I try my best. Okay so what am I doing right now?" The question was like a mock.
" I don't know, I can't see you." Unless I was a stalking maniac with no life and a handy pair of binoculars. The man sighed, "Your binoculars love, there behind you." Turning I scanned the room with my brown eyes to see a pair of binoculars laying face up on a clipboard. I got up and heard the annoying voice of the man narrating my movements.
"She moves casually towards the mysterious goggles, sweating she picks them up and examines them. They seem to be fine she thinks to herself, slowly she turns to face the west tower known as the unmistakable Westwind tower, who's maintained by a dashing 23 year old man." I couldn't help but giggle at his commentary, he sounded so sure of himself.
"Whose name is?" I asked, generally curious. I've have a full conversation already with someone whom I just met and don't know their name yet. There was a hush of silence that lasted for less than a second or two when he answered my question.
"Bryan, the names Bryan. And you are?" He so casually asked as if he'd said it a million times before, I twiddled my thumbs as I looked at the binoculars in hand. Bringing them to my eyes I looked at the Westwind tower, "Angie Meadows, whose a normal 24 year old."
"Fantastic! What am I doing?"
I looked towards the tower to see him raising one hand with a radio in the other. I couldn't make out his face, only the hazy silhouette of him waving was what I could manage.
"You're waving, what am I doing Bryan?" Putting down the binoculars, I grabbed the clipboard and shook it wildly. "Easy, your shaking your clipboard, which reminds me, I should probably explain to you what you should do. You know, show you the ropes." I nodded my head, "Right, right. Um what exactly does one do around here?"
"Hmm, just what you'd expect really. Sit around day after day, look for fires, but that's mainly my job. Your job is to walk about the park, make sure nobody screwing around, stuff like that."
"Sounds easy." I joked, surely this job wasn't what it was cracked up to be. Job opening! Anybody stupid enough to live the entire summer out in the woods in complete isolation is wanted!
"Yep, it's a piece of cake doll."
"I was being sarcastic Bryan." I said, making sure he didn't think I was completely serious. I sat down in my chair and relaxed. It has been a while since I could actually sit down and have no worries drift around me. Ever since Mark left me, things have been different. I had to get away from everything, just needed a little down time. If only I had a beer, maybe that would ease whatever the hell I was feeling.
"You there love? Oh sorry, Angie. Angie you're radio didn't die right?" Bryan's voice echoed through the speaker, he sounded antsy.
"Yea sorry, I just kinda zoned out."
"It's easy to up here, hey uh I was gonna ask you. Nobody just comes here without some type of reason behind it, like there must've been a reason you decided to-"
I cut him off, "Yea yea, look I'm really tired Bryan, I think I'm gonna go quiet."
"Uh, right right. I'll leave you be, night love."
Letting out a long held in sigh, I replied one last time for today. "Night Bryan."
