Good day, fellow traveler, and welcome to the forty-ninth posting of the Blog. Yesterday, you saw the debut of the new and improved version of the Blog. With Oddley as my regular feature, I can get you to come back day after day. As with yesterday, I have only Oddley to give. Give me some time to come up with an article.
And now, part two of Oddley's new debut story...
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The Life of Oddley
Today's Installment: "A Little Girl Walks Into My Life", Part 1
Yesterday, we met Oddley once more and read how he was approached by fellow apartment dweller Mr. Sawyer to take over care of his ten-year-old daughter Joanie. Oddley, naturally, was a little confused why he, a confirmed hard-working bachelor, would be asked to be a parent. So, he decided to talk to his two best friends. As we ended yesterday, he was talking to new best friend, Gilda...
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"I can see your problem." said Gilda.
"Really? The whole thing? The fact that the very idea of being responsible for a child scares me?" I asked her.
"Not that much, but just the basics." she replied quickly.
"So I guess you can see my problem. I'm in no shape to parent a child." I said to both Gilda and myself.
"Good morning, fellow slaves." said the voice of a familiar person as he entered the backroom.
It was my best friend Ogden Hamilton. The two of us have been friends since we were both three years old. His appearance during this time was a collection of various styles. He had his blonde hair cut into a mod bowl. His shirt was your average t-shirt. His pants were faded blue all the way. It was just one of the many versions of Ogden I would see.
"Good morning, Ogden. Are we really slaves?" I said to him as he walks to me and Gilda.
"Is Mr. Randall still our boss?" he asked us.
"Last time I checked." I told him.
"Then yes, we're slaves." he replied back.
"I thought slavery was against the law." said Gilda, hoping to trip up Ogden.
"Not the kind of slavery Mr. Randall has us doing." he quipped back to her.
"You can't get him, Gilda. He's like a nuncluck." I said to her.
You probably wondering what "nuncluck" means. You see, nuncluck is a word I invented. It means a person of little or no mind. It also means someone who too sure of themselves and think that they are the center of attention. I invented it after being told that the normal terms for these kinds of people were in bad taste. Nuncluck is a term that few knows and so they take it without offense.
"Well, I hope you don't have a problem like Oddley has." Gilda said to Ogden.
"What kind of problem does my best friend have?" he asked me upon hearing that.
"The kind of a neighbor leaving his daughter with an underqualified stranger. That kind of problem." I said.
"I'm guess that you're this underqualified stranger." he said.
"Correct, as rarely you are." I said to him.
"So, who is the neighbor with a daughter?" he then asked me.
"Mr. Sawyer, with his ten-year-old Joanie." I said.
"Isn't she that kid you babysit?" queried Ogden.
"Yes, she is." I replied.
"Then why are you nervous?" he asked out of ignorance.
"Because those times, I knew I would be handing her back to her father at the end of my task. He's asking me to babysit her for at a few years." I said.
"I think I'm beginning to see your point. This is the world's longest babysitting job you're being asked to do." said Ogden.
"Once again, you have a way with words. You've summed up my problem wonderfully." I said.
"Well, I guess this will be a new experience for you." said Gilda.
"That it will." I said to her.
"Good morning, employees." said the voice of Mr. Randall as he walked into the backroom.
As I said before, picture Mel Cooley and you'll get a picture of my boss.
"Good morning, Mr. Randall." I said to him.
"Hello, Oddley. I see you're here, along with Tucker and Hamilton." he said, smirking a little as he said it.
I'm the only one he calls by his first name. That's because several months ago, we hired another Mitchell, an unrelated fellow, as a stock boy. To remember us easily, Mr. Randall started referring to me by first name. It seems to work, he's never forgotten that I'm Oddley Mitchell.
"So, Mr. Randall, what jobs do you have for me?" I asked him.
"Check the clipboard. You're being assigned to the express lane checkout for the time being. I hope to increase checkout time and also lessen the burden on the two other cashiers." he rattled off to me.
For your information, Ogden and Gilda are the other two cashiers in the store. The rest of us employees work our assigned areas. Until that point, I had been working as a chief assistant stock boy.
"Thank you, Mr. Randall, for the promotion." I said.
"It's not a promotion. It's only temporary." he said, then he turned and left.
"Anyway, it'll be nice to have you with us for the time being." said Ogden.
"Me, too." said Gilda.
"Nice to know I'm welcomed." I said.
I took my new position as express lane cashier quickly. How could it be hard? I only had to count to ten and check each price carefully. Let me tell you about my first customer. He came in and put down a grand total of eleven items. I couldn't believe it.
"Sir, you have 11 items here." I told him.
"Just check them through." replied the man.
"You have 11 items. You need to go through the other lanes." I told him.
"But I'm in a hurry. Just check them through, please." said the man.
This went on for five minutes. Finally, I solved it by having the man take one item out, check the other ten, and then have him come back through with the one item he took out. My solution to the ten items or less theory when confronted with more than ten.
I was happy to go home at the end of the day. As I took the elevator to my floor, I was tired and ready to crash for the night. I managed my way to my apartment, the little hole in the wall I call home. I walked inside. I closed the door. I stopped for a moment and sighed a big sigh.
A minute later, as I was going through my mind on what was for dinner, I heard it. A knock on the door. Curious, I went over to the door and opened it. As I looked out, I saw her. I saw the hair, tied neatly into a ponytail with a nice, long kerchief. I saw the cute face, the cute dress, and the cute suitcase. I knew then that this is Joanie, my new daughter.
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As you can see, Oddley is now a father, or is he? Is this the moment Oddley has been dreading? The moment that the mantel of fatherhood would be forced on him without objection? The only way to find out is by coming back tomorrow and see for yourself. That's tomorrow here on the Blog.
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The second installment of Oddley's new debut story is going well, from my point of view. How is it from yours? Comment below and tell me. Tomorrow, we'll deliver the next installment of this week's story with gusto, whatever that is.
Yours truly, John Maxwell
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