Ilona Králik
It was a bright, warm Monday morning in June. The clock struck seven; that was when the alarm went off on Katie’s phone. She quickly got out of bed and started to get ready. After getting dressed, washing her face and teeth, and brushing her hair, she left the house.
Katie started walking to work just like every other day. It was quite a long walk; most people would have taken the bus, but she thought that would be too expensive and such a waste of money. By the time she arrived, she was a bit exhausted and tired; she hadn’t slept much the night before, because she was working on a project. Working extra hours was a typical thing in her life. She took every opportunity to make extra money. Soon the time for lunch break came, so Katie went to the nearest supermarket to get something to eat, since there was nothing to bring from home. She took the cheapest things that she could find on the bakery aisle, which were donuts. While standing in line, she was judging others while noting the prices of their purchases.
Katie was eating her donuts on the way back when she realised it was payday. Quickly a smile appeared on her face. She was obsessed with saving as much money as possible by buying the cheapest groceries, toiletries and clothes possible. In her mind, spending money on these was like throwing money away.
The hours flew by unnoticeably until it was the end of her shift. Before leaving the building, she received her payment. On every payday she walked home on a different route from the one she took in the mornings. It was a kind of tradition for her every month. Katie was walking past luxurious boutiques when suddenly she stopped. She spotted a bag, which was a new model. Without hesitation she walked through the door of the boutique and a couple of minutes later came out with the bag, which costs almost as much as her monthly salary.
She arrived home and unwrapped the expensive bag. After admiring it for minutes, she put it on a shelf next to her other bags and said, this will be the last one, I do not need another one. Just like what she said twenty bags ago.