Going to work

Judy is not the only one who needs to work. You also need to make a living. You head back to your apartment and get dressed. You are about to head out when you notice that your phone's battery is dead. You curse at yourself for forgetting to put it to charge last night and decide to spent the day without it.

You head out. As you walk in the entrance hallway, you see Mr. Gaspar, the building superintendent pushing his trolley through the entrance door. He is in charge of maintenance and cleaning; a very kind and honest man from what you know.

"Hello John."

"Hello Mr. Gaspar." You reply, nodding politely.

Mr Gaspar kindly holds the door open after his trolley, letting you go through. "Thanks," you say instinctively. Then, you freeze when you remember what just happened in Judy's apartment. The strange ability that you have; is it possible to use it on anyone at anytime anywhere?"

Behind you Mr. Gaspar has already released the door handle and started pushing his trolley. You decide to test him. You quickly go back inside the building and call him out.

"Mr. Gaspar, I want to say thank you for holding the door open for me. As a reward, can you repair my shower head? I broke this morning and I need a new one."

The squeaks of the trolley's wheels stop and Mr. Gaspar looks at me with a confused expression. Then, he let out a dry cough. "John, please don't make this kind of joke. If you need me to repair something in your apartment, you will have to make an official request online and pay the fee. Alternatively, you can do it yourself or hire a company. These are the rules of the landlord. You know I don't like to go around the rules."

"What?" You are taken aback by Mr. Gaspar's answer. Did I lose my ability? Or does it only work on Judy?

You cough drily to hide your embarrassment. You can only pretend that nothing happened. "Alright. I will do it later then. Sorry about that." You watch Mr. Gaspar scratch his head and leave in a hurry.

"Why did it not work this time?" You ask yourself.

...

You work as a cashier at the local grocery store. An average job, paying average wages, fitted for an average person like you. The one positive point about your job is the flexible shift hours you have. As someone who has trouble getting in bed, being able to get to work later than usual is a blessing.

You enter the grocery store a few minutes before the start of your shift to the relief of the exhausted cashier.

"You are finally here." The cashier exclaims. He does not even care about the customer in front of him and waves at me, urging me to walk faster.

You shake your head while sighing.

"Do you not check your phone? I tried calling you a few times earlier. I need to leave earlier than usual today! Please take care of the rest of this customer's items." The cashier says. He rushes to the back to grab his bag and disappears without asking for your opinion.

You turn toward the poor customer waiting at the line. It was a pretty woman, purchasing a meal deal for her lunch. With ****, you obedient walk to the counter, apologise and start processing her items. "I am very sorry for my colleague's rude attitude."

"That is fine. It is not your fault." She smiles to reassure you.

"Thank you for understanding." You reply. Your lips lightly tremble when you say the words 'Thank you'. You ask yourself, "Will it work this time?"

You have been thinking about it on your way to work. You are willing to give it a try a few more times. Judy's behaviour has been too abnormal earlier.

"To reward you for your patience and consideration, how about I give you the opportunity to make a good action?" You smile brightly and grab a few scratch cards on the side.

"These are special scratch card by APIE, A Partner In Education. It is a charity who is raising funds. Each scratch card cost $5 but you have the chance to win a trip for two to Paris." You faithfully explain the background of the scratch cards; earlier this week, they were brought here by the boss and all the cashiers were told to present them to all the customers. You watch the woman's every move, curious whether or not your ability would work. At worst, you can just brush off this incident as if nothing happened; the rewards you are offering this time are not exaggerated at all and can pass for a joke.

The woman pauses, thinking about what you just said. She is intently watching the scratch cards when the corners of her lips suddenly curl up. "Really? I can? You are so generous. I won't take advantage of you. Just give me one scratch card please."

The woman's silly smile and overjoyed attitude feels familiar. Her eyes flashes with envy. You are full of doubts. Nevertheless, you hand over a scratch card and start the payment procedure. She swipes her credit card and starts packing her meal deal.

You look behind her. There are two other customers in the grocery store but none in the waiting queue. The woman is about to leave when you decide to test the water again. Fear and excitement fill your heart. "Thank you very much for shopping at our store. I would like to give you an additional reward."

The woman stops in her track. "Another reward?" She brightly smiles and looks your way expectantly.

"Yes, how about I take care of the weight of your wallet? Just give me all the heavy bills and coins you have."

Just like that, you find yourself $46.25 richer.