Ordinary Time

Dennis turned over in his bed, opened his eyes, and saw the clock on his nightstand read 7:29. He reached over to turn off the alarm, hoping he’d make it before it erupted into sound, and he was able to make it just in time. Dennis pulled the blanket off himself and sat up on the edge of his bed. He stared outside his bedroom window and saw a blue jay land on a branch right outside the window. He felt something familiar about all this, like he had lived this exact moment before, and it didn’t take him long to convince himself that he had.

Dennis quickly got dressed and ran out of his apartment building onto the sidewalk. The city people were walking up and down the street, consumed by their own concerns about the world. Dennis ran down the sidewalk, accidentally knocking a man onto the ground in the process. Dennis stared at the man in recognition, gave a brief apology, and took off again.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Joey had just arrived at Big Joe’s Pizzeria, while Big Joe was crunching numbers in his notebook. “You’re late again,” said Big Joe without looking at Joey.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that, Pop,” replied Joey. “It won’t happen again.”

“That’s what you say every time it happens,” said Big Joe. He looked up from his notebook and continued, “And every time it happens again.”

“I know, I know,” said Joey, “but I had this essay I’m working on and –”

“And the job you did sweepin’ up last night,” said Big Joe, interrupting his son. “It was horrible. I couldn’t believe it when I came in here this mornin’.”

“I’m sorry about that,” said Joey. “We had a bunch of people come in right before closing. By the time I got them out of here, I had to rush to get the place closed up and get to class. See, we had this exam that –”

“When are you going to realize that college is a waste of time?” said Big Joe, interrupting his son again. He banged on the counter and said, “The pizzeria – This is your future. Those kids goin’ to that college, what do they learn, huh? They come out of that college, bunch of debt, and they still can’t get a job any better than the ones they could’ve got before they went in. What’s the point of that, huh? Why would you want to do that to yourself?”

“Well, Pop, I got ideas, you know,” said Joey, hesitantly. “Working here the rest of my life isn’t –”

“Oh!” said Big Joe, throwing up his hands and interrupting his son once again. “You already got yourself a place of business. Those college kids, they’re going to have to wear monkey suits for the rest of their lives and never have nothin’ of their own. You know what? Not another word. I don’t want to hear another word. I can’t even stand to look at you right now. Get the dough ready, I’m goin’ to Sal’s.”

“Pop, I can get the tomatoes,” said Joey.

“No,” replied Big Joe. “I need to go for a walk before you give me an aneurysm.”

Big Joe left the pizzeria, and Joey got to work. Joey was kneading dough when someone started banging on the front door. Startled, Joey looked up to see his friend Dennis outside the door, still banging on the glass, looking distressed.

Joey walked over to the door and unlocked it. Dennis burst in and said, “Is it happening to you too?”

“Is what happening to me?” asked Joey.

“The time loop,” said Dennis, catching his breath. “This day… Everything… It’s all exactly like it was yesterday. I woke up, I saw the bird –”

“What bird?” said Joey.

“Then I came here, and you were working,” said Dennis.

“Yeah, I work here every day,” said Joey. “That’s nothing new. Hey, listen, my pop’s going to be back any minute, and he’s already pissed at me.”

“Joe, you’re not listening to me,” said Dennis.

“Then spit it out,” said Joey.

“I’m stuck in a time loop,” said Dennis. “I know it sounds crazy, but you’ve got to believe me. Everything that happened yesterday is happening again today. It’s all déjà vu, I’m telling you. I don’t want to be stuck in this tomorrow. You’ve got to help me get out of it.”

“What… Uh,” said Joey, trying to make sense of the situation. “Let’s say I did believe you. I’m not saying I do, because you sound crazy, but let’s say I did. Why come to me? What am I supposed to do about it?”

“You know all that science stuff,” said Dennis. “You’re the only one from the neighborhood who knows anything about that crap.”

“Sorry, pal, but my engineering courses don’t cover time travel,” said Joey, sarcastically. “Anyway, let’s say that you really are stuck in the same day, and you have to live it again tomorrow. What’s wrong with that? You can spend today doing whatever you want. The world is your playground. Nothing you do matters because tomorrow it’s just all going to be like it never happened. You can even try asking out Cristin again; maybe on one of your loops, you can finally convince her to say yes.”

“You make it sound fun,” said Dennis.

“Well… “ started Joey, but he trailed off as he noticed a blue jay perched on a tree outside. By the time he had gathered his thoughts again, Big Joe was walking into the pizzeria with a couple of grocery bags.

“Joey, you’re supposed to be workin’,” said Big Joe. “Aren’t you supposed to be workin’? What’s your friend doin’ here? Again with this friend. Is this a party or a place of business?”

“He’s going to hit you,” Dennis said to Joey.

“What?” said Big Joe, confused.

“This is part of the déjà vu,” said Dennis to Joey. “He comes in here, he’s angry I’m here, and he hits you.”

“Déjà what?” said Big Joe. “Joey, what kind of nonsense is he goin’ on about?”

“Pop, he just showed up and –” started Joey, but he stopped when Big Joe smacked him on the back of the head.

“I don’t care,” yelled Big Joe. “Just get him out of here!”

“Told you,” said Dennis to Joey.

“Dennis, just get out of here,” said Joey angrily, while rubbing the back of his head.

“But –” started Dennis.

“Just go!” said Joey, and Dennis walked out the door.

It was a new day, and Dennis turned over in his bed. He opened his eyes and saw the clock on his nightstand read 7:29. He reached over to turn off the alarm, hoping he’d make it before it erupted into sound, and he was able to make it just in time. Dennis pulled the blanket off himself and sat up on the edge of his bed. He stared out his bedroom window, and shock slowly consumed him. Dennis quickly got dressed and ran out of his apartment.

Dennis ran all the way to Big Joe’s Pizzeria. The restaurant was still closed this early in the morning, but he could see his friend Joey inside, preparing dough, so he started frantically banging on the door. Joey walked over to the door, and the moment he unlocked it, Dennis burst inside.

“It… happened… again,” said Dennis, catching his breath.

“Not this again,” replied Joey. “You need to leave.”

“It’s all the same as it was before,” said Dennis. “I woke up, I saw the bird –”

“What bird?” said Joey.

“Then I came here, and you were working,” said Dennis.

“Yeah, I work here every day,” said Joey. He was about to continue, but stopped himself and shook his head. Joey looked at Dennis and said, “You’re not in a time loop, you’re just living a mundane kind of life. Every day is the same for most people in the neighborhood. I’m here at the pizza shop every single goddamn day, doing the exact same thing, and seeing the exact same people. And you have nowhere better to be, so you come here and bother me. That doesn’t mean the same day is repeating itself. Time is still moving forward… we’re just staying the same.”

Dennis rolled his eyes and said, sarcastically, “Oh, and let me guess, you think that’s fun. We can spend the day doing what we want. The world’s our playground. Nothing we do matters, and I should try asking out Cristin again.”

“No,” replied Joey. “I think… I think…” As Joey tried to gather his thoughts, he noticed a blue jay perched on a tree outside. He was transfixed by the bird for a moment, but the moment passed when Big Joe entered the pizzeria with a couple of grocery bags, looking furious. Joey looked to the tree again, but the bird had flown away, and Joey’s day went on more or less the way it had the day before.