These are the diary notes of a young man whom after taking a summer job experiences changes beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. It also suggests that there may be magic out there, not in the form of dramatic hocus-pocus but a more subtle one.

And sometimes that magic can come from something as inconspicuous as a pair of — Red Shoes.

Monday June 4

Yo Diary!
I’m so excited! Today school’s over and I start my new job tomorrow!

I got a job at a local air-conditioning and heating firm, I guess I will be scheduling jobs, answering phone, doing some computer work and who knows. I can’t wait. Last week it looked like I would get stuck doing nothing all summer and now I got a job.

My ma’ told me yesterday that the person that used to do what I will be doing there just up and quit, just like that. So, I called and went down to talk to them and apparently they liked me because I got the job. And, I’ll get my own cubicle with phone and computer and the works. Totally cool. They have a dress code though, of sorts. No denim jeans or shorts. Seems weird for a small place like that but who am I to argue? Guess I will have to see what I can dig out.

Texted my best friend Mike to tell him about it, he got a job to at the food store up town. Guess that means we won’t be able to hang out much this summer though.

~o~O~o~
Tuesday June 5

Dear Diary!
Today was great! I got to meet all the people at the company, everybody seems really nice. It’s a small company, only about 8 technicians, 2 in-house repair guys, a woman in the office doing book keeping and payroll and the owner.

From what I gather Mr. Richards, the owner, is not in much as he is either out on jobs or in the repair shop. So I guess it will be mostly Paula (the office woman) that I will work with. Not that it matters, she seems quite ok.
We spent most of the day going over the scheduling system on the computer and how the phones work. Good thing I’m quite tech savvy, there’s a few things I can help improve when it comes to the computers!

The one weird thing though was that Kelly, the girl who left, well she also left a lot of her stuff. She didn’t clean out her personal stuff in the drawers and she even left her shoes under the table (on the picture, right next to my bag). How weird is that? From what I gathered she had this big fight with the Mr. Richards and Paula last week and basically got herself fired. Paula said she left slamming the doors and cursing everybody. Well her loss, my gain!

At any rate, the day went by in like no time. Can’t wait to go back tomorrow! I might have to toss out those shoes though. And also clean up in the drawers, if I get the time.”ƒ

~o~O~o~
Wednesday June 6

Dear Diary!
Today was like crazy! The phones were ringing constantly, two guys called in sick and I was ready to go jump off a cliff. No not really! But it was very stressful trying to schedule calls when you are two people short. Paula helped me out a lot though and we managed to get most of it sorted out.

I meant to ask Paula about what to do with the old girls shoes and things in the drawers but I never got around to it. And those shoes really annoy me. I had kicked of my own shoes and when I had to go put paper in the copier I just step into them again. I was halfway to the copier when I realized that I was wearing those stupid red pumps! Luckily no one saw me, not even Paula I think. At least she didn’t say anything.

I swear they are like possessed though, when I left today it was like they were like glowing there under the table but really it must have been the sun reflecting someway. Freaky and totally weird! The red shoes must go!

~o~O~o~
Thursday June 7

Dear Diary!
Another hectic day, still two guys short, but I’m starting to get a hang of it. And yes, I accidently stuck my feet in the stupid pumps again. Honest to Pete! I have to admit though, they are pretty comfortable, I can see why Kelly kept them at the office. They seem to have this soft padding that makes it really comfortable to walk in them and they are really quite cool on the feet which is good because all of a sudden it is like my feet start burning and when I wiggle my toes around it’s like I get air in and they turn really cool again.

Not that I was wearing them a lot though, it’s just something I noticed and I always take them off every day before going home. In a way I wish that I could wear them home but I’m sure Ma’ would find that weird!

~o~O~o~
Saturday June 9

Mike came over and watched some movies downstairs and played some xBox. Then went up to my room playing on my computer but after just a few minutes Mike got the worst headache and went home. Got a bit of a headache myself and went to bed.

~o~O~o~
Sunday June 10
Woke up late, helped clean up around the house. Boring day.

~o~O~o~
Tuesday June 12

Dear Diary!
I can’t believe where the time goes! This last week and the weekend just seemed to fly by!
Today we were not too busy though so Paula and I caught up on some other things that need to be done around the office, like taking care of some of the plants and cleaning up the reception area. Not that I understand what we need a reception area for since we don’t have a receptionist. Probably because we don’t have a whole lot of walk in customers, just the the UPS guy but he’s not really a customer, but still! Well now it looks nice at least.

But I have to tell you about last Friday though. We were scrambling getting everything finished up before the weekend and in running back and forth between the copier, printer, the filing cabinet and Paula’s desk I just simply forgot that I had accidently slipped into those red pumps. I was standing right by Paula’s desk when I noticed and I got like beet red, but it was like she didn’t care. I stuttered something about ‘I didn’t even notice… how did that happen…’ and all she said was “So? They kinda look cute on you!”

Cute on me? I mean, really! I mean, they are cute… nice looking shoes. But still. I really should have got rid of them and I will. But they are kinda comfy though. Especially when my feet get hot and I wiggle my toes!

~o~O~o~
Wednesday June 13

Dear Diary!
I swear, those shoes must be cursed! Today I forgot to take them off after work and didn’t notice until I got home! Good thing Mom didn’t see that, she would have freaked! So, now my sandals are at work and I got the red pumps here, meaning that I will either have to drive to work in my old sneakers or wear the pumps. I’m thinking sneakers it is!

Got a text from Mike, he’s got the flu. Bummer!

~o~O~o~
”ƒ
Sunday June 17

Dear Diary!
Was doing some laundry today, seems like it have been piling up lately. I was hunting for the jeans I wore last week and just couldn’t find them. Then Mom pulled them out from a laundry basket, but I’m not just sure they are the same pants. I mean, they seem shorter in some funny way. They fit great up around but they are way short, like they end almost 10 inches from the floor! And they have this weird pattern on the back pockets. I can’t remember it being there but I’m sure Mom is right, it’s not like they could belong to anybody other than me!

Not that I mind the pants being a little shorter, it actually feels pretty nice and cool around my legs. The only thing is that if I accidently would put on those darn pumps it would be way more visible. I will have to be careful not to let that happen tomorrow.

~o~O~o~
Monday June 18

Dear Diary!
Something feels different; I just can’t put my finger on what it is. I packed my bag today the same way I always do, brought some bananas and yoghurt for lunch with me and headed to work. And the entire day I had this weird feeling that something was off. I don’t know, it’s just one of those days I guess or because of the weird dream I had. Yeah well I’m not really sure if it was a dream but it was weird.

I was dreaming about my shoulder bag of all things, that it was missing. I was looking all over for it and then I just woke up and I saw it where it was standing where I left it, by my closet. And here’s the weird thing; it was like glowing! Then when I sat up in bed and looked at it it was like the whole room was dark again! No more late snacks for me!

At any rate we had loads to do; several calls had come in over the weekend and now that we are back to full strength among the service guys things seems to move along better.

I asked Paula if she had noticed anything weird and she said “Not really, other than you seem to look a little pale.” When I had to go to the restroom I took a good look at myself in the mirror but couldn’t see anything out of place. Still the same scrawny face, small nose, too long hair (according to Mom) and blue eyes. I thought I looked ok, at least as ok that I am able to look!

~o~O~o~
Wednesday June 20

Dear Diary!
Almost had a major disaster today! Paula asked me if I wanted to go out for lunch today since for some reason both of us had forgot to bring anything from home. So I just grabbed my bag and off we went in her car. We stopped by the Dairy Queen takeout window and ordered two ham salads and then drove down to the riverfront park. We had almost finished when I dropped my napkin on the ground and when picking it up noticed that I was wearing the red pumps! Oh no! I was like totally in panic mode and I could feel my face taking on just about the same color as the shoes.

Paula calmed me down and told me it was no big deal and pointed out that they actually did go quite well with my shoulder bag, my white khakis polo shirt. ‘If you would have added a red belt you would have the outfit complete!’ We both giggled at that and I managed to somehow ignore about my predicament as we walked back to the car. Actually, once I knew what I had on my feet I noticed how nice they were to walk in. Much comfier than my old sneakers or sandals.

~o~O~o~
Friday June 22

Dear Diary!
Today was but strange and fun at the same time. Somehow I managed to oversleep and was late in. Well not late really but I really had to stress getting ready to make it in time. I was looking for a pair of regular jean again and al I could come up with was a pair of dark beige cropped pants with much shorter, or so it seemed, legs than the other ones. I really thought I still had those jeans but I must have grown out of them. I even looked through my hampers and all I could fine was the same style cropped summer pants as I am wearing now. Not that I don’t like them, it’s just weird. But I have to admit, with the summer heat it feels quite nice with some lighter clothes, even if the office is air conditioned. I managed to find a nice white polo top with thin red stripes around the collar and arms.

When I got to work Paula was of course already there and we got immediately busy. After finishing some calls and sending the guys out Paula looked at me and told me she thought I looked pale. I told her about my stressful morning and she just laughed a little.

“I know what you mean” she said. As she pulled out a compact and starting dabbing her cheeks and chin she said, “Maybe you should just try putting some color on your cheeks too. It would make you look less zombie-like and perhaps even alive!”

“Yeah right” I replied. “That would be a bit weird!”

“Why is that? It wouldn’t hurt to put a little color on your cheeks. It’s not like it would kill you, you know!”

During a restroom break I studied my face in the mirror. I guess she was right; I did look a tad pale and got to think about something I had seen in one of my desk drawers. I went back out, Paula was on the phone with a customer, and snatched a little bag with flowery patterns out of my desk.

Inside was various pencils, brushes, lipstick and god knows what else, and also a compact, just like the one Paula use. Not sure exactly how it worked I dabbed my cheeks, chin, forehead and neck and immediately liked the result. Although it was completely invisible it did in fact make me look more alive and fresh.

I was afraid that anyone would take notice but no one did. Not even the owner who made one of his rare appearances just before closing time. I still think Paula knew because she gave me a smile and cryptic wink while I was talking to him. But closing time came without any incidents and I reluctantly changed to my sandals and headed home.

I did stick the bag with the compact in my shoulder bag though. I don’t want to risk looking like corpse on Monday!

~o~O~o~
Saturday June 23

Mike was over again but got a headache after just a little while. What’s up with that kid? Must be remnants on the flu.

~o~O~o~
Sunday June 24

Dear Diary!
There’s another thing that bothers me and have been doing so for some days. I seem to itch all over.

I asked Mom and she said that it was because my skin was probably too dry now with the summer and all. That’s weird because I can’t remember it being itchy last year or anything. But I still took her advice and used a skin lotion she gave me and I have to admit, it made it feel a lot better!

Even around my chest, which has been giving me the most grief, I have noticed the itching going away. Not so much around my nipples though for some reason. Upon inspection they actually seem bigger, especially after coming out of the shower.

~o~O~o~
Monday June 25

Dear Diary!
I got to work well in time today, in fact almost 20 minutes before Paula. And it was while watering the lowers that we have hanging out by the entrance that I for some reason didn’t have to stand on my toes reaching up, almost like I had grown an inch or two over the weekend!

Completely silly of course, it must just be the fact that everything seemed a little weird being in so early in an empty building. Even the clicking from my shoes sounded louder!