Chapter IV
May 27, 2000
William was having a rough day at work. He got called in on his day off. Darryl
worked the 5 AM shift and had hit it big on a scratch-off. He called the owner and
quit over the phone. The owner immediately called William and told him he had to
come in or he would be fired. He received a two- hour notice and had to be there at
9 AM.
He had planned on going to a golf scramble with his grandmother, father, and sister
but had to back out at the last minute. Willow's boyfriend got talked into going.
William was sure that made his sister happy.
Darryl, as usual, hadn’t done anything during his shift. The coffee pots were empty
and needed to be brewed. The soda machine needed an ice
refill. With Darryl gone, William hoped the next employee would do their job
instead of leaving it to him.
It was a typical Saturday morning at the station. Most people came in for coffee
and lottery tickets. A few stopped by to fill gas cans before doing yard work.
During a lull around eleven, William tidied the shelves. He secured the salsa jars
beside the chips so no one would knock them over.
Once noon hit, he was glad he didn't have to go to the golf outing. It had started
getting hot out, and he liked being in the cool gas station. If he were outside, he