I'll Finish It

By afternoon, I kept looking at the clock.

It was not that I hated my job.

But the closer it got to the end of the day, the more slowly time seemed to move.

That afternoon, the coworker beside me noticed me checking again.

“It’s not over yet.”

“I wish it would hurry up.”

I had been saying things like that a lot lately.

My drink was empty too.

“I’m going to the convenience store.”

My coworker kept looking at the screen.

“Then I’ll finish it while you’re gone.”

“Please do.”

I was joking too.

Outside, there was still plenty of daylight.

The convenience store was only a few minutes away.

I crossed at the light and went inside.

I spent a moment choosing a drink.

In the end, I bought my usual one and a snack.

I could not have been in the store for more than five minutes.

When the automatic doors opened, it was evening outside.

The shadows of the buildings stretched across the road.

More people were walking toward the station.

I checked my phone.

It was almost time to leave work.

I turned the screen off and on again.

The time did not change.

I hurried back to the office.

Everyone was working as usual.

Someone was speaking on the phone.

A keyboard clicked nearby.

Someone came back from a meeting and sat down without a word.

No one looked as though I had been gone for most of the afternoon.

Only the coworker beside me looked over.

“Welcome back.”

That was all. Then the coworker returned to the screen.

I sat down and placed the drink on my desk.

The bottle was still cold.

I looked at the clock.

There was only a little time left before the workday ended.

I had wished more than once that day for it to be over sooner.

There was almost no afternoon left.

I watched the clock until the next number changed.

This time, I wished it would move a little more slowly.