Schrodinger's Watch

The next morning had started off typically. Getting up, getting into the bath, getting a quick breakfast, and putting on his shoes. At least, until he remembered he didn't have anywhere to go anymore.

Going back into the house, he idled at the doorway of his room and pondered what to do with the rest of his day.

He lived in a household of four, including him, his sister, Shannon, his mother, Jill Long, and his father, Greg Long. They weren't terribly off; just another average middle-class home with income that sufficed and bills to begrudgingly pay.

Joe, however, was a bit of a stick in the mud. Even if he was going to the community college and working (at least formerly), he was still barely making ends meet. His school performance was mediocre, his job was trivial. Oftentimes, his parents urged him to pull it together.

There it was again.

"I'll just check the internet," Joe decided.

It was finally while surfing the web for movie showtimes that he saw a flick that interested him, one about pirates venturing to the end of the ocean, or however they officially spun it. He was about to click 'enter' when he heard his dad's voice through the crack of the door.

"Hey Joe. Have you seen my watch?"

"Huh?" Joe turned his neck slightly.

"My watch."

"Oh," Joe remembered seeing it in the glove compartment of their sedan, which, by the way, wasn't exactly his own yet. "Yeah, it's in the car."

"Can you get it?"

Joe stood up from his desk. "Alright."

When he passed through the house he bid good morning to Shannon and his mother, who gave him a trite greeting back. The car was still parked on the street under a looming tree. Once he stopped, he unlocked it and opened the front passenger door. As he took the watch from the compartment, something fell. Curiously, he picked up the object. The memories came crashing back in.

"Oh yeah." He spun the ring between his fingers, recalling the tango with Michelle. More like a tangle.

He was still eyeing the ring as he re-entered the house.

"There ya are," his dad walked up, folding his sleeves. His hair was still wet, and his white button-up shirt left untucked. He was planning to meet up with some business associates regarding new acquisition prospects for the distribution company he worked for, the luncheon to take place in about half an hour. "Was my watch there?"

In the background, Shannon had turned on the TV while their mom cooked something up in the kitchen.

Joe, however, was still transfixed with the ring. It really was shiny. What if it wasn't fake? What if it was legitimate? Should he get it appraised?

Unconsciously, he began to slip it on.

"Joe!"

Joe jumped. His dad was giving him a pressing look as he suddenly remembered, The watch! The same watch he forgot to take with him, and probably left in the seat of the car. Brilliant.

"Yes," he absently blurted out, "yes it was there."

Joe looked down guiltily, hoping his dad didn't read his eyes. It hadn't been there, of course. Probably never was. He just made that up to... well, he wasn't quite sure, but considering how common it was for him to evade things, he likely didn't want to make it seem like he was lying earlier, either. Starting a skid in the morning never made things better, as the past had proven.

"Oh, good," his dad went over to the coffee table and grabbed a working pen from it, hooking it onto his breast pocket. He turned back to his son, waiting. "Can I have it?"

Joe froze. "Yeah, just, uh... give me one second!"

Shannon and his dad gave each other questionable looks as he ran up to his room. In his head we was trying to concoct a story of some kind, like maybe it was actually in his room, but he had thought it was in the car. But then when he remembered it had been in his room, it was already too late to correct his fallacy, hence why he didn't have time to explain himself. Only for it to have turned out it wasn't there either. Or something.

Joe took sizable steps from one side of the room to the other. He knew he was making another big deal out of nothing, but still smacked the sides of his legs in anxiety. "If only I actually got some help with this stuff," he thought of Shannon lounging casually in front of the TV, not even lending a word to his credit. It was par for the course; he tended to be a non-presence a lot of the time, and his sister was no Mother Theresa. Still, he felt himself wallow once more. "My sister never gives me a hand with my problems or takes my side," Joe groaned to himself. "It's always just me left to deal with it alone. If she had the choice, she would rather stay at home all day if it meant not spending any time with me."

Not a second later, as he dropped into his chair, the ring emanated a mild heat. Joe winced, this time feeling it. "Ow!"

He quickly removed the ring and looked at it suspiciously, but the heat had already dissipated.

"Hey, pst! Brother!"

Joe pocketed the ring. At the door, he saw his sister, peeking into his business again. He had to admit, even with his self-painted bullseye, it got annoying when she pestered him, sometimes -- but he would be lying if he said he disliked it. Having someone who actually gave him some time of day was one of the few things he enjoyed about being home with his family, and by family he meant mainly Shannon. She, after all, was the one always looking out for him. He'd jokingly swear that she worshiped him by how she practically liked to glue herself to his arm all day and hear all he had to say about this and that, who and what, this video game and that movie.

No matter what he told himself, he couldn't deny it. His sister was attached to his hip. She wouldn't even care about how he slandered her just moments ago, probably just shrugging it along.

"Broother, you there?" Shannon's voice broke through his reverie as she stepped in and sat at his feet, placing her elbows on his knees. "Hey, you're lying, huh? You don't know where Dad's watch is, do you?"

The nervous chuckle that came out of his mouth was all the confirmation needed. He'd call her astute, but it probably didn't take a rocket scientist or well-accustomed sibling to figure that out.

With any other bratty sister, he'd also probably be chastised and chewed out for being such an inept weasel.

Shannon, however, just winked. "Don't worry bro, I already told Dad that I'm the one who lost it."

At the admission, relief, then worry crept into Joe's face. That she liked taking bullets for him was too much for his guilt -- it was part of the reason he ganged up on his self incessantly, because of selfless people like his sister, who were willing to lay down their name for people like him.

"You did?"

"Yep. He left for work already. A little upset, but nothing that time on the road can't fix, right?"

"Are... you sure about that, Shannon?" Joe asked. "What are we gonna do with the actual watch?"

"Don't worry, I know a guy who can get us one that looks exactly like it," Shannon stood up, playfully flicking Joe's forehead, "and at a discount price, too."

Joe remained hesitant. "I don't know... I kinda feel like we've just made it worse..."

Shannon sat on the bed, sprawling her lithe body across it. "Oh Joe, believe me, we're not making it worse. We're making it better! Besides, it's almost Dad's birthday, right? Whatever happens now is a win-win. He won't lecture you for lying, and you'll probably even get extra brownie points for getting him a shiny new watch."

Joe looked at her, clad in her casual pair of shorts and logo-bearing tee, and the slick hazelnut hair that adorned her face so prettily. Her sturdy legs curled under her body, smooth with a slight tan, and a moderate but firm, perky chest. There was a reason she had enough exes to count on a hand and a half. For some reason, though, none of them seemed to do it for her.

Relationships weren't the only thing that differentiated them. They had always been such polar opposites. She had a stronger rebellious streak, but in the same time was a lot bolder and thus likable than Joe ever was. If something was looking dire, she would always try to work her way back up two-fold. Her spunkiness was infectious that way.

"Fine." Joe finally gave in.

Smiling, Shannon placed her elbow on the bed, head in hand. "Sweet! I finally get to go with ya to work today!"

Joe froze. That wasn't quite what he expected to hear. "What?" he monotoned.

"The watch is at the mall, silly," Shannon flicked her hand downward, lightly kicking Joe with a foot. "Sooo since you agreed to the plan, that means," her eyes shone, "I have to come with you!"

That's right, he internally groaned. They still didn't know. And worse yet, Shannon's 'friend' worked at the same mall he did... used to.

"Right," Joe chuckled, cleared his throat, and stood. "Well... shall we, then?"

Shannon mimicked a robot, eyes flat. "Yes, we shall."

As the two laughed, a genuine one coming from Joe, he warily grabbed the keys to the same sedan as earlier and they walked out into the open air. Should he tell her now? Or later? He bit his tongue. It wasn't even that. It was that he was ashamed to admit it. Especially considering he'd hidden it from them for the past two weeks. If he told her now, he didn't know how she'd react; how it would feel if she suddenly looked down on him, or felt the same exact shame as he did. She seemed to look up to him so strongly and for no apparent reason he could think of -- he didn't want to ruin that.

Oh, what was he kidding. He really just didn't want to experience that feeling of rejection again, and he knew it.

Once they'd entered the car, Shannon hummed an upbeat melody and turned on the radio. Wondering what to say if he saw Michelle, Joe just inhaled, stuck his hand in his pocket, and drove away. There was still time to reverse his fortune. In any case, he hoped he wasn't as tongue-tied as before.