Carpe Diem

He was yelling at her when she called him right when he was about to draw back the curtain on a very laidback morning.

“Listen, this is extremely urgent”, she demanded.

“Oh come on give me a break. I’m not on my duty!”

“But you’re the only one who knows me well, we used to work close by remember?”

“That was like decades ago”

“Come on. We have a very important case to solve. So, Brunch? It’s on me!!”

Without saying anything, he hung up the phone and buried himself in the thick duvet. He’s not even sure if he can handle much more of this ‘getting out of bed’ routine. Ever.

She didn’t expect him to arrived in their usual brunch place earlier than her, with a newspaper and a cup of coffee on the table

“Never thought you’re an early riser”, she muttered as soon as she seated in front of him.

“I am made this way”

“Even though you’re not on duty?”

He nodded whilst adjusting his lazy sitting position.

“Let’s just get things straight, shall we?” he demanded.

“Relax, we haven’t talk for ages. There are so many things I need you to know”

“I don’t have all day. Go on now” he demanded once again with a cold tone.

“Alright—I’ve been meaning to tell you that ever since the culprits joined in, our company have been stuck on a never ending crisis”

“So I’ve heard”

“And this leads to–“ She paused and blink her eyes in disbelief

“Hold on, so you aware of these changes? I mean – I never heard you complaining”, she muttered.

“Of course I’m aware. People.. I mean our customers hate me, alright? And I’m starting to get used to the fact that I will never make them happy”

“That is exactly why I called you. We should make those culprits pay the price, what do you think?”

“What? I don’t get it. Why is this so important to you ? It’s none of your business anyway. Our costumers didn’t hate you. They even made abbreviation of a ‘Thank-God-You-Exist’ kind of thing, they’re rooting for you”

“But look what the culprits have done to you! You used to be the alpha guy, the leader. You used to be full of excitements”, her voice risen.

“I’m not up for your pep talk okay? They’ve changed me. This is who I am now. And it’s none of your business”

“But—”

“I am not like you. You might be the start of freedom, full of excitements and celebration. They made you that way and you’re not even thankful for that. People likes you, for god sake! Is this what you called as a ‘Very important case to solve?’. Is this the reason why you brought me here?”

Both of them realized that their conversation is getting more tense. He sipped his coffee and start gazing through the window, trying to catch his breath.

“Okay, calm down! I’m sorry if this upsets you—“

“God! I am not upset. I told you I’m getting used to it. I get it that they hate me because I ruined their laid-back days, I disturbed them from their good night sleep and made them curse throughout the day. I might be their beginning and the start of everything. But they never like or even accept the fact that IT IS ME they have to start with”

“Alright, I understand. This isn’t about us, it’s about the quality of our relationship, and so as with the three other guys, we used to work close by, there’s no distance between the five of us, we are all equal, they love us for who we are. But then the two culprits joined in and now there’s 7 of us. Then people started to hated you, they thank god for me, and they ignore the other three like a passing whirlwind –“

“And they love the culprits like no other”

“Exactly my point. They’ve treated us differently”, she snapped her finger in excitement.

He looked at her suspiciously with his hands cupped in front of his mouth. He was trying to make sense of the problem that she believed is important.

“So what’s the plan?”, finally his question beamed a light in her eyes, as if she finally get to the part which excites her the most, the plan.

“The humans, our customers. They need us as much as we need them. They used to respond and treat the five of us equally. No harsh feelings, no mixed emotions. We take our duty lightly. Now there’s 7 of us, with the two culprits squeezed in and ruined everything. They looked at us differently, calling us names, but they love these culprits like no other –“

“You’ve already said that. Could you please just get to the point?” He insisted

“Since killing is considered as a crime and a deadly sin, we’re not taking the hard way”

“O.. kay?”

“We’ll make the culprit’s life shorter”

“How?”, she could see his eyebrows crumpled as he muttered the question.

“Easy peasy. Let’s just say, we make our customer’s life more boring and harsh during their workdays, we shove advertisements of fun things that await them at the end of the week, we make them crave for a complete getaway with the culprits. And then, as they desperately exits my service..”

“I abruptly pull them back in to my service so before they know it the rest days are over.” He responded quickly.

“Clever!” she clapped her hands in excitement.

“But wait. We didn’t even come up with a step by step plan. What exactly are we going to do?”.

“I’ll tell you on our way home”

He nodded silently, starting to agree to jump on the boat.

“So with this plan.. our customers’ life will be..?”

“Shorter on weekends and stronger on weekdays”

She stated within a snap of her fingers in excitement

“No wonder they thank god for your existence. TGIF!”, he chuckled.

“Well Monday, my friend. It is our time to seize the Weekend!”, she chanted and give him a powerful high-five.