Say the kid wasn’t a student, Zane could lose his job. Losing his job would mean he would have to put effort into finding another. He wasn’t up for that kind of hassle so…nah, let the kid struggle, wasn’t his problem.

As if Bailey could read minds, he quickly asked, “Can’t you let me in?”

“No,” was Zane’s immediate stern reply with no explanation whatsoever.

By then, he was already at the door, having swiped his card and made it in. Bailey panicked, waved his arms about for a moment then tried to follow but Zane slammed the door in Bailey’s face. It hit the poor boy in the nose causing him to stumble backwards while rubbing the slightly red appendage.

“What the hell?” Bailey yelped, glaring at Zane through the glass doors while his eyes watered. “There has to be another way to get in!”

“Yeah, find your card.” Zane waved teasingly at Bailey, finally showing the pitiful boy a smirk that was the definition of pure evil. The sight made Bailey curse while Zane left the boy there.

Zane actually passed the student worker on her way back to their station. A second later Bailey’s voice echoed in the halls, “What an asshole!”

Zane was confident Bailey spoke of him. It made up for the fact that Bailey bothered him earlier. It wasn’t his job to tell the kid though, that all he had to do was wait and he could sign in.

That was the kids problem, not his.

Zane finished his work for the evening not long after with a tired yawn that he had been doing all day anyway. Sluggishly, he made it back to the custodians break room after putting everything away, changed out of his uniform into a pair of black sweats and a blue hoodie and clocked out for the day. He had Sunday off, thank god, and walked to his car with about one hop in his step, which for him was a miracle.

If Zane ever went faster than wandering it was best to take him to a hospital because something was obviously wrong.

Like most days, Zane stopped for food, since he clearly wasn’t making something himself. Who even cooked anymore? Standing in front of the stove, watching the food, stirring it or putting it in a skillet? Ugh, no way.

He got himself a hoagie from a nearby gas station and a blueberry slushie then made his way home to his one room apartment that most people would probably find inconvenient. It was cramped with Zane’s futon pressed up against the left wall, a short but long bookshelf beneath his window full of games and movies and a large flat screen mounted on the wall.

He had what he needed though, a fridge, a microwave, a stove, though he sure as hell didn’t need that since it was clear by the dust on it that he didn’t really use it, and a bathroom with enough room for a shower, toilet and sink.

Why else would he need a bigger space? Then it would get dusty everywhere and he would have to clean it. It was tiring enough cleaning at work and his one room place. The idea of cleaning a large apartment made Zane want to take a nap, not that he didn’t always want to do that.

And like every day before, Zane stripped down for a shower, finished it in less than 10 minutes and planted his ass on his futon in nothing but his black boxers. The TV was turned on and he was ready to get comfy when…he glanced to the right, seeing his hoagie sitting like a bright shining star for his grumbling stomach on the kitchen counter but ugh, getting up was so tiring.

Zane groaned and for a very brief moment he pondered, his blue eyes darkened in thought when he raised his hand. For a moment, he sat completely still, devoid of any emotion yet his eyes seemed filled with so much that one couldn’t possibly pinpoint just one. Taking his bottom lip between his teeth…Zane dropped his hand and got up to retrieve his food before sitting back down.

With his hoagie now in his hands, Zane was content, watching movies, eating, crumbs dropped all over his chest and bed while he chewed, and his day came to an end the same way it always did, the same way he hoped for it to always be.

Simple. Easy. Mediocre.

That was Zane’s life and that was the way he wanted to keep it.

Sadly, we didn’t always get what we want.