Penter Painters: Repetitive Tasks

Around we go...

Check out the background info for Penter Painter’s Holday Haunts here:

And check out Cole Noble’s first story!

For his first solo decorating gig Ronnie gets sent to the “déjà vu” house. Perhaps you’ve heard this story before…

Repetitive Tasks

              The squeal of the brakes reignited the anxiety deep within Ronnie’s gut. A frown accompanied the feeling, why was he nervous? He was decorating a room for Christmas, that's all. The job wasn't rocket science. And he did have some experience after all, if helping his mother hang ornaments as a kid counted. He put the van in park and leaned back against the seat. He had worked for Chuck for over a year now painting houses but never had he been sent out on a job solo. Perhaps that's from where his anxiety originated, he had never been good at anything on his own. He was a people person to a fault, as his mother would often say.

              Ronnie let out a long sigh and reminded himself that the job shouldn't take long, just a tree and decorations for one room, and then he could get back to the gang at HQ. It was-

              WUMP! Ronnie jumped as a ball of some sort slammed into the driver's window. He looked out to see a trio of kids standing expectedly in the yard on that side. A pair of goals sat behind them. Ronnie let out a chuckle; he remembered playing soccer outside no matter the time or the weather. He opened the door and slid to the ground. The ball lay in the day old snowy slush at his feet.

              “A little help mister?”

              Ronnie threw a wave then scooped the ball into the air with his foot. He kicked it up several times with an increasing level of difficulty before launching it skyward. It arced over the kids’ heads and landed in one of the goals behind them. The kids stared at the ball then whipped their heads back to Ronnie.

              “Wow!” one of them said. “You wanna come play mister?”

              “Maybe another time. Gotta go to work,” Ronnie said with another chuckle. He waved and walked to the back of the van. He smiled to himself, grateful for a wayward soccer ball of all things. The moment had managed to push away his anxiety. He opened the back door and had pulled out the largest box, a Christmas tree box, when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. It was his boss, Chuck. Calling exactly at 9 am, the time Ronnie was supposed to be on-site.

              “Hiya boss,” he said as he answered.

              “Ronnie!” chuck's voice boomed in his ear. “Just wanted to make sure you made it to the house OK. The neighborhoods can get kind of tricky here in Arnold’s Landing. 102 Dale right?”

              A tiny bit of annoyance welled up inside Ronnie. He knew the boss was just doing his job but he knew how to find an address. Even without his phone. He shook the feeling away and looked over at the house in front of which he had parked. He didn't know much about architecture but he'd call this house a Victorian model and maybe even gothic. It stood tall at two full stories with a section that looked like either a third floor or at least a large attic. The place had an honest and goodness tower on the left side and looked a bit ominous even while sitting in the snow. Ronnie couldn't imagine what this place looked like around Halloween.

              “102 Dale Ave, I made it,” he finally said.

              “Great!” Chuck responded. “I know you're going to do good Ronnie. Oh! We drew names for our Christmas party. You got Katie. Remember to keep it under $20. And you're in charge of dip for the party. Have a good one!”

              The call disconnected and Ronnie let out a breath. He had forgotten all about the Christmas party. What the heck was he going to get Katie? He pondered this for a few moments before pushing it all away. He had to get to work. If he could get this job done quickly then maybe he could stop at the store before returning to HQ.

              Satisfied with that idea he grabbed the tree box and another box of decorations and carried them along the snow encrusted sidewalk to the house's front porch.

              Ronnie stopped and looked in sheer awe at the size of the thing. It started on the left side of the house, his right, and stretched across the entire front after which it wrapped around on that side. It was mostly bare, not cluttered like his much smaller childhood porch, with but a couple rocking chairs and a padded bench along its length. Ronnie climbed the steps and set the boxes down beside the ornate front door. He fished its key from his pocket, still amazed someone would give their house key to a complete stranger, even with a reputable company like Penter Painters. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.

              The house opened up to a large four year like space with a long haul running beside a wide, carpet-covered staircase. The floors were wood with matching paneling on the walls that made Ronnie feel like he had stepped back in time at least 200 years. A weird feeling. He fought off the urge to explore the house, going anywhere outside the room he was to decorate was a strict no no, and angled to the door on his right. It opened into the living room. It too was all wood and had a couple of couches set perpendicular to one another and facing a huge fireplace. Despite the impressive Grandfather clock along one wall the room seemed barren and lifeless, probably the reason the owner wanted it decorated. Ronnie spotted a small box on one of the couches and picked it up. It contained a few stockings and an assortment of other decorations. Chuck had told him the owner left some personal items to be used in whatever way Ronnie saw fit. Ronnie wasn't quite sure how he was going to decorate with the company's stock, he really didn't know how to incorporate the personal items in with it.

              “You’ll just have to figure it out Ronnie,” he mumbled to himself as he walked back to the front door. He brought the boxes to the living room and set them by the fireplace. He then returned outside and walked to the van. There he found a couple kids looking in the back.

              “What are you doing mister?” One of the kids asked when he saw Ronnie approach.

              “Um, I'm decorating this house for Christmas,” Ronnie replied. “A part of it anyway.”

              The kids' eyes widened when they saw the house to which Ronnie was referring. They exchanged a glance and took a couple of steps back.

              “What’s wrong?” Ronnie asked.

              “You’re going to the déjà vu house?” one of the kids whispered, face full of fear.

              “The what now?”

              “The Déjà vu house…” the other kid said as he pointed to the house. “Not supposed to go in there. Strange things happen there…”

              The two kids stared at Ronnie for several long seconds. A lump appeared in his own throat as he felt a shiver run down his spine. The déjà vu house was the least scary name he had heard but the kids’ reaction scared him just a bit.

              “Guys! Time to come inside!”

              The kids lingered a moment and ran down the street. Ronnie watched after them and briefly considered jumping in the van and getting out of there.

              “Don’t listen to those kids.”

              The voice startled Roddy to the point he jumped. Seemed like the 100th time he had done so since he had arrived at the house. He turned to see an old man in the next yard over. He shoveled the snow from his sidewalk.

              “Excuse me?” Ronnie said.

              “All these old the houses have rumors like that attached to them,” the old man said. “Don’t believe a word of it. I've lived here 70 years and none of that stuff is ever true.”

              Ronnie nodded, feeling dumb for even listening to those kids for a second. He waved to the old man and grabbed a couple sacks from the van. The last of the decorations. He walked for the house.

              “One more thing young fella.”

              A water bottle arched through the air toward Ronnie. He somehow caught it without dropping the sacks. He looked at the old man.

               “It might be cold but you need to stay hydrated. Drink that water.”

              After another nod Ronnie headed to the house. He reached the porch when a cat ran across his feet. He jumped, again, and scowled to himself. He needed to get this job finished and how. He made his way into the house and to the living room. He sat down the sacks and took in the room once more. A decorating plan began to form in his mind. He nodded to himself and got to work.

              After around an hour of work the room had really started to come together. Ronnie put up the tree first along with the set of ornaments chosen by the owner. Penter’s had a dozen such sets to choose from, from vintage looking to some sort of jazzy modern.  It didn't surprise Ronnie that the owner of this house chose the vintage. He strung the lights around the tree next and had started to decorate the mantle when he heard a loud screech outside followed by a tremendous crash. Ronnie hopped off the step ladder and jogged for the front door. He noticed the time on the grandfather clock as he passed. 10:25 AM.

              Outside Ronnie found the source of the noises. And SUV and a car had crashed a few feet from the van. Their front ends had become embedded in each other at an angle.  Smoke poured from both engines. The driver of the SUV slid out of his door and raced around to the car's driver side. He leaned in to check on that driver. It looked to Ronnie like she was hurt.

              The police and an ambulance arrived within a few minutes along with a large crowd of onlookers from the neighboring houses. Seemed odd to Ronnie that so many people were at home on a Tuesday morning. The medics pulled the woman from the car and strapped her to their gurney. She looked rough.

              “I hope Susie is okay,” a lady to his left said to another. “She’s such a good soul.”

              “I know,” the other woman said. “Didn’t she give you your cat?”

              “Yep. Such a great gift. Really helped me through a tough time. But Toby ran off this morning,” the first woman said with a sniffle.

              “Oh no!”

              The second woman embraced the first as the pair drifted away. Ronnie watched them go then took a final look at the medics as they loaded this Susie into the ambulance. He too hoped she was okay. He checked his watch and noticed that he had been standing outside for far too long. He had to get back to work. He turned back for the house when his phone chimed. He pulled it from his pocket to see a message from Marco.

              ‘Chuck and I bet on when you’d finish today. Hope you’re almost done, I bet you get things wrapped up by noon!’

              The message forced Ronnie into a frown. He already felt enough pressure on this job and now people had money riding on it? He groaned as he reached the house. He’d be glad when the season was over and he could get back to painting.

              It didn’t take much longer for Ronnie to finish stringing the lights on the tree. He dropped to one knee and grabbed the end of the power cord. He spotted the outlet on the wall. He lowered himself to all fours and extended the cord to plug it in. A wave of nausea washed over him in that moment. The room started to spin and everything went negative. Ronnie tried to stand when-

              WUMP! A soccer ball slammed into the van’s driver’s window. Ronnie jumped and stared out the window. His jaw dropped a bit as he saw three kids across the street standing before a pair of goals. One waved in his direction.

              “A little help mister?”

              “What the heck?” Ronnie inadvertently said out loud. How had he ended up back in the van? Had he blacked out? He pushed the door open and stepped to the ground. He stared down at the ball by his feet.

              “Dude! The ball?”

              Ronnie looked up at the kids then back down at the ball. He kicked it toward the kids then checked his watch. His eyes widened; it was 8:55 am. How? Had he fallen asleep in the van after he’d arrived and dreamed the past few hours? It sure didn’t feel like a dream. He leaned against the van and thought about it for a few minutes but no answers popped into his head. He rubbed his eyes and decided not to worry about it. Probably just fatigue and maybe holiday stress. He walked to the back of the van when his phone rang. He looked to see that it was Chuck.

              “Um, hello?” he answered.

              “Ronnie!” chuck's voice boomed in his ear. “Just wanted to make sure you made it to the house OK. The neighborhoods can get kind of tricky here in Arnold’s Landing. 102 Dale right?”

              A deep feeling of déjà vu washed over Ronnie. Chuck had said this exact thing to him a couple hours ago. Hadn’t he? Ronnie lowered the phone and looked at the house. It was indeed 102 Dale Avenue. He rubbed his eyes again. Maybe he was not getting enough sleep.

              “Ronnie? Hello?” Chuck’s tiny voice echoed from the phone. Ronnie sighed and put it back to his ear.

              “Yeah, I made it Chuck.”

              “Great!” Chuck responded. “I know you're going to do good Ronnie. Oh! We drew names for our Christmas party. You got Katie. Remember to keep it under $20. And you're in charge of dip for the party. Have a good one!”

              The call ended and Ronnie pocketed the phone. He had felt déjà vu before like everyone else but not like this. Something jogged in his memory as he looked back at the house. He had heard something about déjà vu recently hadn’t he? He tried to think back but came up with nothing.

              “I don’t have time for this,” he mumbled as he pushed the thoughts from his mind. He had to get to work. He opened the back of the van and grabbed the Christmas tree box and the tote of decorations. He reached the large porch and used the key given to him to unlock the doors. It amazed Ronnie that someone would give a complete stranger-

              Ronnie stopped. He had had this very same thought before. But he had never been to this house until just now, right? He grunted and carried the decorations inside. He ignored the large foyer and angled into the living room. He put the boxes on the ground and headed back for the front door. He lingered a moment, somehow knowing what waited him outside. He took a breath and stepped through the door.

              A chuckle came from Ronnie before he could stop it. He had expected to see a couple kids standing at the back of his van, looking inside. He shook his head, not sure why he had thought anything odd was going on. He trotted down the sidewalk and grabbed the last of the decorations from the van.

              “What are you doing mister?”

              Ronnie jumped and dropped one of the bags in the process. Its contents spilled onto the road. He sighed and turned to see two kids a few feet away. He did a double take; these were the kids he had expected to see.

              “Um, I’m decorating the house for Christmas,” he replied before he could stop himself. He watched as fear filled the kids’ faces.

              “You’re going to the Déjà vu house?” one of the kids whispered.

              That’s where he had heard the term, earlier this morning. Or now, as it appeared. Ronnie knelt and stuffed the fallen decorations back into the sack. He had no time for this weirdness. He stood and hustled back to the house.

              “Don’t listen to those kids,” rang a voice as he reached the porch. Ronnie exhaled and turned to see an old man shoveling his sidewalk in the next yard over.

              “Um, I didn’t,” Ronnie said as she stepped onto the porch. “Excuse me but I have a job to do.”

              Before Ronnie could resume moving the old man tossed a water bottle his way. He contorted and managed to catch it without dropping the bags.

              “It might be cold but you need to stay hydrated. Drink that water.”

              Ronnie nodded and took a step only to find that a cat stood on the porch in his way. He jumped and twisted to avoid stepping on the animal. The cat hissed and raced away. A full body shake threatened to overwhelm Ronnie in that moment but he closed his eyes and willed it away. He carried the bags, and water, inside and focused on his plan for decorating the room. He hoped the work would keep his mind off whatever was happening to him.

              It worked as Ronnie quickly fell into the comforting routine of work. He put up the tree and placed the owner’s chosen set of ornaments on its branches. He pulled out the lights next and placed the first strand on top of the tree when he heard a loud screech followed by a tremendous crash. Ronnie jumped and spun toward the Grandfather clock. 10:25 am. He walked to the window and took a deep breath.

              “An SUV and a car, crashed together at an angle,” he whispered. “Man runs around to check on a woman.”

              He took another breath then peeked through the blinds and sure enough, saw the exact scene he had envisioned. He leaned his head against the glass and tried to control his breathing. None of this made sense. He looked back up and saw two women talking by the curb. He wasn’t sure how but he knew exactly what they were talking about.

              He turned away and walked back to the tree. He grabbed the lights and resumed decorating. He had the main part of the display done within the next 35 minutes. He stepped back and took in the scene. There were several spots in need of adjustment but he was definitely on the right track. He knelt to grab a strand of garland when his phone chimed. A message from Marco.

              ‘Chuck and I bet on when you’d finish today. Hope you’re almost done, I bet you get things wrapped up by noon!’

              Ronnie ignored the message and got back to work. He quickly put the lights on the tree and went to plug them in when a wave of nausea hit him. He stood and stumbled to the side. The room spun around him until-

              WUMP! Ronnie umped and nearly hit his head on the roof. He looked around in shock. He was back in the blasted van.

              “No way…” he whispered. A deep sense of foreboding filled him, bordering on dread. What was going on? He pushed the van door open and stepped out only to put his foot on a soccer ball. His leg twisted and he fell to the ground.

              Laughter echoed from across the street. Ronnie looked to see a trio of kids standing on a yard over there in front of two goals. Anger propelled Ronnie to his feet. There was no way this was all a dream or any sort of déjà vu. Something else was going on here. He wished he knew just what that was.

              “A little help mister?”

              After a hard glare at the kids Ronnie kicked the ball down the street in the opposite direction.

              “Hey! What’s your problem dude?!?”

              Ronnie ignored the kids and moved to the back of the van. He threw the doors open to find all the decoration boxes as he had loaded them at HQ. He let out a breath when his phone rang. Chuck. A possible explanation came to Ronnie’s mind. He answered the phone.

              “Ronnie! Just-“

              “Is this some sort of initiation prank??” Ronnie interrupted.

              There was silence on the phone for several seconds. Ronnie realized he had just practically yelled at his boss.

              “Um, no,” Chuck finally responded. “I just wanted to make sure you found the house.”

              Guilt washed over Ronnie. He rubbed his eyes and turned to sit on the van’s bumper. Not sure what he was thinking, did he really think he was repeating the day? What a ludicrous thought. HE had somehow let those kids get to him with their talk of the “déjà vu” house. He stood and stared at the ground. He hadn’t met those kids yet. That sense of foreboding returned.

              “Ronnie?”

              “Yeah boss, I’m here. I made it. Thanks.”

              “Great!” Chuck responded. “I know you're going to do good Ronnie. Oh! We drew names for our Christmas party. You got Katie. Remember to keep it under $20. And you're in charge of dip for the party. Have a good one!”

              Ronnie ended the call and dropped to the curb. He was incredibly tired though it was somehow still morning. Maybe he needed a vacation. He stared at the ground and tried to work up the energy to get back to work.

              “What are you doing mister?”

              The voice startled Ronnie and caused him to jump. He looked up and saw two kids standing a few feet away. The déjà vu kids.

              “Why do they call this the déjà vu house?” he blurted out.

              The kids exchanged a confused glance then looked at Ronnie. They both shrugged.

              “I don’t know,” the one on the left said. “Our parents just call it that and tell us to stay away.”

              This time a feeling of stupidity hit Ronnie. He had managed to let the anxiety from his first solo decorating job convince him that he was repeating the day. He wasn’t, that was impossible, it was still the morning and he was wasting time.

              “Guys! Time to come inside!”

              The kids ran off and Ronnie stood to his feet. He brushed the snow from his pants and focused back on the task at hand.

              “Don’t listen to those kids.”

              Ronnie groaned as he turned to see the old man. Again.

              “I won’t, thanks,” he said as he turned for the van. He grabbed the tree box and the smaller box from the back. He headed for the house and could see the old man trailing along on a parallel path.

              “Not thirsty!” he hollered before the old man could throw the water bottle Ronnie knew he had. The old man said something that Ronnie ignored as he stepped onto the porch.

              MEOW!

              A cat zipped from under Ronnie’s feet. He twisted to avoid it and managed to fall to the porch. With a stifled scream he kicked at the railing. This was not going well.

              “It might be cold but you need to stay hydrated. Drink that water.”

              He looked up as the old man handed him a bottle of water. Ronnie nodded his thanks and got back to his feet. He picked up the boxes again and went inside.

              In the living room Ronnie put on some music and got to work. He put up the tree and the ornaments, trying to block out the déjà vu that kept rearing its ugly head. He grabbed a strand of lights when he noticed the time, 10:20 am. The crash.

              With a sense of urgency he didn’t expect Ronnie sprinted out of the room and through the front door. He ran down the sidewalk and slid to a stop by the street. He looked both ways and saw the SUV driving from the left. The car drove from the right. Neither seemed to be paying attention. Ronnie was a bit closer to the car so he sprinted in that direction.

              “Hey!! Stop!!” he shouted as he waved his arm frantically. The car hit its brakes and swerved, right at Ronnie. His eyes widened as he tried to dive away-

              WUMP! Ronnie lurched forward, right into the van’s steering wheel. He gripped it with both hands and tried to slow his breathing. He was back in the van and it was 8:50 am. Again. He leaned back in his seat and rubbed his temples. What on earth was happening?

              “A little help mister?”

              “I gotta get out of this,” Ronnie mumbled as he slid out of the van. He kicked the ball across the street then walked toward the neighbor’s house. He had made it halfway across the yard when his phone rang.

              “Hey Chuck,” he said as he answered. “I made it to the house just fine. I know I got Katie for Christmas though I don’t know what to get her. And I’ll bring the dip.”

              Silence emanated from the other end of the line for several seconds. Ronnie continued on to the neighbor’s porch.

              “Um, great,” Chuck finally said. “How’d you know all that?”

              “Later,” Ronnie answered, knowing he was being way to brusque with his boss. “Gotta go.”

              He ended the call and walked up the steps. Before he could knock the door swung open. The old man stepped out with a shovel in hand. And a water bottle. Ronnie noticed the man did not appear surprised.

              “Oh! Hey there young fella,” the man said. “What can I do for you?”

              “Why do they call that they déjà vu house?” Ronnie asked as he pointed next door.

              “You shouldn’t listen to those kids,” he said with a frown. “They like to scare visitors such as yourself.”

              Ronnie leaned close and studied the old man’s eyes.

              “What kids?” he asked.

              Without answering the old man pointed toward the street. Ronnie turned to see the two kids looking into the back of the van. He let out a breath and threw up his hands. He cut across the yard to 102 Dale Avenue.

              “Young fella!”

              Though he knew he shouldn’t turn back Ronnie did so anyway but was ready for the water bottle that flew his way. He caught it and spun back in one fluid motion.

              “It might be cold but you need to stay hydrated. Drink that water.”

              Ronnie continued on and reached the porch. He hopped up the steps and noticed a cat on the far right end. A number of thoughts raced through his mind. If movies had taught him anything, he knew how to get out of this loop. He extended one hand and slowly walked toward the cat. He was pretty sure its name was Toby.

              “Here Toby, here kitty kitty…” he said in a calm voice. The cat looked like it was about to bolt but then sauntered over to Ronnie. “Good kitty.”

              He picked up the cat and moved for the stairs. He stopped when he realized he had no idea where the woman who lost the cat lived. He stepped off the porch and looked to his left, remembering that she had come from that direction.

              With a sigh he sat on the porch and petted the cat as he pondered what to do next. He thought through the events of the day and came up with an idea. It was a bit of a gamble especially since it meant someone would get hurt if it didn’t work. But that had already happened so it was in no way Ronnie’s fault. At least he hoped that was the case.

              Decision made, Ronnie released the cat and went inside. He spent the next while exploring the house, looking through each and every room. Whoever owned this place had a love for clocks, he found ones from all throughout history, including some that looked quite old. Based on his experience during this day Ronnie knew it meant something though he wasn’t sure what.

              As the time neared 10:25 am Ronnie went up to the room furthest in the back and hunkered down in a closet. He covered his ears but still heard the screech and the crash. He shook off the bad feeling and sprinted downstairs. He burst through the front door and slid to a stop at the edge of the porch. He ignored the wreck and pushed his gaze to the left. After about two minutes he saw the woman exit from third house down on the left.

              With a nod to himself Ronnie turned back and went inside. He entered the living room and began to pace. He wasn’t quite sure how this all worked so he just had to wait and see. He didn’t have anything to do so he decided to do some decorating just in case. He had gotten the tree up when another idea came to him. And just at the right time. He pulled out his phone and shot a text to Marco.

              ‘Dude, I’ll be done by 11:30 am so you’ll win the bet with the boss.’

              He sat back and waited for the response. The 3 dots appeared to show Marco was composing a message. Ronnie smiled when a wave of nausea washed over him. He held the phone closer but no other messages appeared. The room spun and-

              WUMP! It surprised Ronnie how ready for this moment he now was. As soon as his eyes opened he popped out of the van. He kicked the ball to the kids and jogged to the rear. He grabbed the decorations and practically sprinted to the door.

              He had never worked so fast in his life. He got to decorating and even ignored the call from Chuck. Once he put the last of the ornaments on the tree he raced back outside. After a few minutes searching around the house he found the cat. He picked Toby up and hustled to the third house down on the left. He took a breath and knocked on the door. After a few moments it opened and the woman appeared. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the cat.

              “Toby!” she squealed as she took the cat in her arms. “There you are!”

              The woman hugged Ronnie and thanked him profusely. She disappeared inside and he rushed back to the house. He ran into the living room and set an alarm on his phone for 10:10 am. He then resumed decorating. By the time the alarm sounded he had nearly finished. Everything but the small details at least. He shot a message to Marco and went back outside. He jogged to the street and hooked right, turning his jog into a sprint. He stopped about 6 houses down and waited. After what felt like an eternity the car came into view, the one slated to crash. Ronnie stepped into the street and waved his hands. The car slowed to a stop. Ronnie moved close and saw the nervousness on the woman’s face. He couldn’t blame her so he put on his best smile. She slowly lowered the window.

              “Can I help you?” she asked.

              “Um, do you know where the nearest gas station is?”

              “Back to the east about two miles,” the woman replied. The window started to rise until Ronnie held up his phone.

              “Could you please show me on the map?” he asked. The woman hesitated then took the phone through the open gap. Ronnie glanced back in the opposite direction and saw the SUV. By the time it passed by safely the woman had handed back the phone. He smiled. “Thank you so much.”

              The woman nodded and drove away. Ronnie breathed a sigh of relief as he headed back toward the house. He had done it. He got back to the house and finished up the last bit of decorating. He had some time now so he added a few extra flourishes to the display. It looked perfect. He bent down to pick up one of the boxes when a wave of nausea hit him.

              “No!!” he shouted as the room spun around him. He ran for the door-

              WUMP! The soccer ball did not startle Ronnie nor did it make him move. He leaned his head against the head rest and fought back tears. He had no idea what to do now. Was he going to be stuck in this loop forever?

              “A little help mister?”

              Ronnie closed his eyes and paid no attention to the kids. He rubbed his temples and decided to take this loop off. He sat there through Chuck’s call and the other kids showing up to gawk at the van. It started to get a little cold so he decided to go into the house to wait. Maybe find something to eat. He got out of the van and walked up the sidewalk. About halfway across he saw the old man headed his way.

              “Howdy there young fella,” he said. “I saw those kids at the back of your van. I wouldn’t listen to anything they say.”

              “I won’t,” Ronne said with a smirk. “You got a bottle of water there?”

              The old man’s eyes sparkled for a split second before he handed over the water bottle.”

              “It might be cold but you need to stay hydrated. Drink that water.”

              Ronnie nodded and entered the house. He went to the kitchen and found a bag of chips in the pantry. He dropped to the table and had half the bag finished in just a few minutes. He opened the water bottle and downed it. He leaned back with a long yawn, surprised at how tired time looping had made him. He remembered a guest bedroom upstairs and went to it. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

              A bit later Ronnie was jarred awake by his phone’s ringtone. He saw that he had 8 missed calls from Chuck. He also had a couple messages from Marco. The first he recognized, the message concerning the bet, but the second read

              ‘Dude! Where are you?? Chuck expected you back hours ago!’

               Ronnie frowned and sat up. He noticed the time. 3:45 pm! Huh?!? The loop had been broken, but how? Did he just need sleep? He drifted to the window and looked outside. Another Penter van now sat in front of his. It was Chuck’s.

              The color drained from Ronnie’s face. He was in big trouble now. The room was not decorated and he had slept on the job! Why did this have to happen on today of all days? He adjusted his overalls and raced downstairs. He reached the front door and tried to determine what he would say to Chuck.

              “Hey, I’ve been stuck in a time loop. Sorry!”

              That wouldn’t cut it at all. Ronnie paused a second and decided to just play things by ear. He stepped through the door and went down the steps. He went through a dozen excuses in his head as he walked along the sidewalk.

              “Bout damn time. I told you to drink the water.”

              Ronnie froze. He slowly turned. The old man mumbled under his breath as he walked toward his house.

              “Told him to stay hydrated. Youngins these days just don’t listen.”

              A wave of nausea overwhelmed Ronnie. But this time, he didn’t loop.