When the alarm clock went off early in the morning, I startled. I had not slept really well...again. My hair was sticking out in all directions and a dried drool trail stretched from the right corner of my mouth to my chin. My eyelids were still so heavy that I didn't manage to open my eyes. So I blindly reached for my alarm clock to put an end to the awful screeching sound. Instead, I accidentally hurled this annoying monster under my bed, where it remained, happily continuing to sound the alarm. I groaned - increasingly irritated - and rubbed my eyes. Just then, I heard my roommate through the wall. "Whoa, Demi! Turn that fucking thing off already!" "Sorry!", I yelled back through the wall and crawled to the floor to silence the alarm...whew, done! "Crap thing...", I muttered. Coming up, my head took the edge of the bed with it: Jackpot!!!

Standing in the kitchen, sipping my coffee, I first burned the inside of my mouth. Silently suffering the pain, I closed my eyes briefly and waited for it to subside again. My roommate Jenny came slurping in and reached into the dish cupboard. Then she poured herself a cup of coffee as well. "Careful, it's hot...", I grumbled dryly, which earned me an amused glance from her. "Seems like it's going to be your day today." She snorted, trying to stifle a laugh. I just set my cup down and sipped - more carefully this time - a small sip: better! Shrugging my shoulders, I gestured in her direction. "You know how it is...I warned you at the interview that time that I...oh FUCK MAN!" Coffee spilled over the rim of my cup and onto my fresh, light blue blouse. I pressed my lips together. "Ooommm..." For Jenny, however, there was no holding back. She threw her head back with laughter, holding her stomach with her free hand. How she managed not to douse herself in the process as well was to remain an unsolved mystery for me. I waved silently, put my cup on the counter and disappeared into my room to change. From the radio came this one song, which droned in the refrain: "Besser geht's nicht schau nur hin..." (It doesn't get any better than this).

Even at work, the blues just wouldn't go away. I condemned myself for not having just stayed down this morning. I worked at a well-known fashion label as a specialized saleswoman. The customers there could be pretty snobby at times. Again today, I had a wonderful discussion with a customer who wouldn't accept that she just didn't fit into a size 36 with her ass anymore. She called me an incompetent whistle and demanded to speak to the management. When they couldn't help her with her clothing size problem either, she simply turned away and left. As she did so, she muttered something about never having been treated so rudely by anyone before.

"You don't seem to have shopped in many stores...", I muttered so quietly that no one could hear.

I was truly not an unfriendly person. Quite the opposite! I was a peaceful, delicate little plant that strove for harmony. Again and again I found it a pity when I met people who were just waiting to make someone stupid, simply because he was just there. Such with itself in the unclean and dissatisfied persons I wouldn't understand till the end of my life. Sure, everyone could have a bad day - today I was living proof of that - but that didn't give them the right to take their frustration out on others.

Fortunately, a merciful God left it to me to send more such special customers to the store, so there were no more unpleasant encounters until my closing time in the early afternoon. My mood improved the more I thought about the Lucky Ones animal shelter, regularly volunteer helping out with care.

At the end of the shift, I made a checkout cut and filed it away to accounting. Then I grabbed my things and headed for the pleasant part of the day. I had always loved animals and they never seemed to be averse to me as well. So when my parents explained to me one day that many animals are bought thoughtlessly and then just as quickly given away, mistreated and even abandoned at the slightest problem, it broke my heart at the time. How can people be so heartless? Humans could be so cruel when it came to animals. That's why I decided to get involved in the animal shelter for these poor creatures and at least make their stay there more pleasant.

Just as I was about to leave the store, my colleague Gina called out to me. "Oh, uh, Demi?" I turned and looked at her questioningly. "Yep?" She began to fiddle with her shirt. "Say, could you possibly cover my afternoon shift on Tuesday?" "Sure." A grateful smile appeared on her lips. "Thanks, you're the best."

I left the store and walked to the nearestBus stop. From here, I could ride through to the shelter. I sat down in an empty seat and picked up my book while I waited to get where I was going.