~Beckett Kavanagh, Class of 2025

The smoke rose in the rail yard as Cooper shoveled the coal. Sweat was trickling down his coal covered face. “ you two need to shovel your coal faster! Yelled Will. He’s always in a bad mood since his wife left him. “ I can’t believe he wants us to go faster,” said Charlie. Charlie has been Cooper’s best friend since highschool. They have been through thick and thin the past ten years. “ ding ding ding!”. “Oh thank god quitting time” said Charlie. “ My favorite part of the day!”. “ See you tomorrow Charlie”. Cooper then signed out and took the trolley home.  He lived in Hartford, a small and gloomy little town in France with almost no community. ‘ I wish I could move to London, but I don’t have any money,’ thought cooper. He walked up the stairs to his small apartment. On his way up he hears the yelling of other tenants late on rent. As he approaches his apartment door he sees an eviction notice on the door. 72 HOURS TO PAY RENT OR YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE PREMISES. ‘ Another notice!’. Cooper takes down the notice and enters the apartment. He throws it in the trash with the three other notices before. He turns on the tv and gets out of his coal ridden clothes. There is ash all over his brown hair as he struggles to get it out in front of his cracked mirror. He pulls a cup of instant ramen out of his almost bare cabinet. He turns the water faucet and nothing comes out. ‘ Not again god damn!’. He pours the flavor packet in and eats it in front of his small TV. 

Cooper wakes up to the screaming of more evicted tenants. He suddenly feels a familiar emotion of disgrace and sadness. He cannot live his life like this anymore, paycheck to paycheck not knowing what he is doing with his life. Cooper reads the newspaper for jobs that pay more, but of course, he is not qualified. He calls up Charlie. Cooper tells him about his conundrum. “ You are just depressed,” says Charlie. “You need to go see a doctor.” “You know well that I can’t afford a doctor Charlie!” “ Not the type of doctor you are thinking of, a hypnotist! They will fix you up for cheap.” “That seems really sketchy though.” “ It’s fine, I will even go with you” “ Well, ok then I will give it a try, but I do not believe it will help. The next day after work Charlie and cooper hop in a Taxi and go to the hypnotists home. “ Hello there, my name is Malawi.” “ Hi, I am Charlie and this is my friend cooper.” “To what do I owe this pleasure?” “ I saw a flier on a lamppost that said you could fix depression for under fifty dollars, is that true?” “ Yes it is. Come sit down right here. Watch my watch as it sways back and forth, remember to keep eye contact. On the count of three when I snap you will get very sleepy. One two three *snap*” “Oh my god it worked” exclaimed Charlie. *snap* Cooper rose. “What just happened” “you fell asleep!” “ Wow! Really? Can you make me confident?!” “ If you wish,” said Malawi. On the count of three when I snap you will be the most confident version of yourself. One two three *snap*. “Cooper, do you feel any different?” “ No, not the slightest bit” “ Oh I know. Would you like something to drink? I have soda juice and water.” “Water of course!” Yelled cooper. “ Okay I will go get you some.” Malawi got the water and came back, but all of a sudden Cooper was not there. “ He left” “ uh oh” “ what do you mean uh oh? Is something going to happen?” “ I don’t know? But somebody out on the streets with complete confidence is gonna cause some trouble.” “ I will go try to find him. “ bring him back.” says Malawi 

Cooper runs as fast as he can through the streets to the rail yard where he meets Will. “ I want to quit this awful job! I can’t live like this anymore!” Yells cooper. Will says with a sad disgruntled tone “ you were a hard worker cooper, I hope you have a good life. Your job will be waiting for you if you change your mind.” Cooper runs out of wills office happy and with full confidence at the decision he had just made. Cooper then wonders what else he can do and how he can better his life. He then has an idea. He runs and catches a taxi. Just as he is about to get in, Cooper sees Charlie panting on the side of the road as if he had just ran a marathon. “What are you doing Cooper?” “ I just went to the rail yard and quit my job” “ you did what?!” “ I am going to book a flight to London with the little amount in my savings.” “ You have to go back to the hypnotist. You can not act like this.” “ for once in my small pathetic life I believe in myself.” “What are you gonna do in London? You will have nowhere to live!” “ I will get a job. A good one. One where I will enjoy myself. Maybe an architect. I have always dreamed of being an architect.” “With what experience cooper?” Wondered Charlie. “Please trust me Charlie, I know what I am doing.” Said cooper. “ Fine,” said Charlie. “ If you ever want to come home I will use what is left of May savings. But you must promise me Charlie if you ever do make it big don’t forget me.” I will never forget you Charlie.” Cooper then gets in the Taxi and drives off to the travel agency. Cooper walks into the travel agency. “Hello there. I was wondering if you had any flights to London?” “When for” “ tonight” says cooper. “Well someone is in a rush”. After securing the ticket Cooper drives straight to the airport and gets onto the plane and before he knew it he was in London. After getting his luggage and all his belongings he goes to the park and lies down on the bench prepared to go to sleep.

The next day Cooper wakes up to the sounds of birds chirping. He gets up with a big smile on his face and proceeds to the mason tower. Home to the biggest architectural company in the world Myron. He walks in with his head held high and waltzes into Mr. Schneiders office ( aka the CEO). “I am sorry but I do not have any appointments today. Who may you be?” “ I am Cooper. I have come from France just to get an architectural job here. I know what I am worth and I know I should have this job.” “ Do you have any experience?” “ not the slightest bit. I used to work at a rail yard.” “Then. Why should I give you this job?” “ Because I am the hardest worker that you will ever have.” Said Cooper. “ Tell you what kid. I am in need of an assistant. It does not pay too much, only about 70000 a year and a 5000 signing bonus. It is not an architect’s spot but you can work your way up.” “ I would like that very much. That is so much money !It is almost double the amount I made at the railyard. When can I start?.” How about tomorrow right after you sign this contract. Cooper signs the contract and exits the building gleefully as he had just got a high paying job all thanks to his confidence. Cooper then looks online for apartments to rent. Knowing that he has a five thousand dollar signing bonus. He looks at a nice studio flat with five star reviews. He then needs to discuss contracts on the apartment. He gets in a Taxi and meets the landlord for a tour of the apartment. He is stunned with how much space is in the apartment. He signed the contract for the apartment for two thousand dollars. He still has three thousand dollars left from his signing bonus. The apartment is almost four times bigger than his apartment in France. He then remembers what Charlie said before Cooper got in the Taxi. Was this new life worth losing his best friend? Is this what Charlie would have wanted for Cooper? Is this what Cooper really wants? Those three questions played over and over in Cooper’s mind. 

The next day Cooper goes to work. He goes into his office. Being the assistant to the CEO is hard work. He must schedule all meetings. Go and do all of Mr Schneiders chores. Weeks later Cooper is too tired to enjoy where he is because his job is killing him. He misses his old job, Charlie and all of his other work friends. Was living in London worth all the work and sadness? *snap* “What happened?” Said cooper. “ You were asleep.” Said Charlie. Could this have all just been a dream?

THE END