Paul WIP

Paul WIP

This is a story about Paul. It's about Del, too, but Paul is really the main character. Paul lived a life in the middle. He wasn't a very hard worker or a brown-noser, but he did his job and didn't slack off-well not as much as some of his coworkers did. Paul paid his taxes usually and most of the time he ate healthy food, occasionally managing to find the time to work out. Paul was like many other workers in this colony which humanity called a city.

Now, our description of Paul could end here, but it would not be nearly so true to his person. Paul had another side to him, a more adventurous, fun-loving side. As you all probably know, in this world of brick and metal which humanity has brought up from the dirt-destroying all that was natural in the process-places were built for people to congregate in. These places helped them to fight off loneliness or to free themselves from inhibitions. These places go under many names and have many additional purposes to them. Paul, as we have said, lives a life in the middle and accordingly he is stuck between two worlds, that of business and that of pleasure. He frequently visited such places as we have mentioned. He was especially common as a visitor of various bars and clubs. He went to these places often enough to be recognized by the employees, but not quite so frequently that he was considered a "regular".

Paul was uncomfortable at work. He didn't fit in with others at his level; half of them were old and out of touch with modern ways of thinking as well as with the new developments of the age and the other half were inferior to him in intellectual matters-not that he would say so, he wouldn't consider them his inferiors even if he was their boss for that was the way he lived, considering all either his equal or his superior. People thought Paul to be sarcastic in his respect for them, but he was actually genuine in his opinions of others.

Del and Paul were "going". What this meant was that they went to clubs and bars together, bought each other gifts and meals, and lived together. If asked, Paul and Del would say that their mutual housing was merely a financial matter-by living together and splitting the rent they saved unbelievable amounts of money. This response was in fact inspired by the fear of commitment that plagued them both. This fear caused family and friends to be in dismay of the fact that they had stayed together for so long. They were, indeed, in love.

One day Del came to Paul's office at approximately quarter of noon to take him out to lunch. It was a lovely spring day and there were birds outside singing sweet melodies that made it hard for Paul to concentrate.