Laundry Day

Steven hated this.  He hated sitting here, in his old high school reunion t-shirt and cargo shorts.  His feet looked ugly in the flip flops he was wearing.  This is what he had been reduced to.  Susan sat next to him, oblivious as she read her well-thumbed copy of Cosmo.  This was not how Steven wanted to spend a Saturday, sitting in a Laundromat looking like a character escaped from an 80’s teen movie.

            This was never supposed to happen.  Steven had a set schedule.  Every 2 weeks, like clockwork, he would lug his basket down to the dusky basement to make use of the Soviet era washer and dryer his land lord must have dug up in a junk yard.  It was not the most effective, but it was cheap and convenient.  Steven could satisfy his laundry needs without having to venture into the world.  That was always a plus for Steven

            But this time, the beasts had broken for good.  Steven had put off the task as long as he possibly could in hoped the landlord would remedy the situation, but no end respite appeared in site.  So, begrudgingly, and with much goading by Susan, he was forced to venture to the local Laundromat.  And it was here that Steven stewed in silence.

            This place was terrifying.  Children, seemingly belonging to no one, rampaged down the aisles like a pack of wolves.  The air was humid and moist from the exhaust emitting from the industrial dryers.  The vending machine was older than Steven and only served something called RC Cola.  Susan was seemingly oblivious to all this, which, which made things all the more frustrating for Steven.  He could not focus on the issue of Consumer Reports he had in his hands.  He had so been looking forward to reading about this year’s newest power drills.

            One of the machines let out a loud, piercing tone, indicating that it was finished with its task.  Steven threw down the magazine and went to investigate.  The clothes were still not dry.  This had been the third cycle.  Repressing his frustration, Steven reached into his pocket, pulled out four more quarters, and fed them into the diabolical machine.  He was not free of this place yet.