Resolve : Episode 2 : Ripples in the pond
Chapter 1: The Weight of Routine
The first rays of dawn slipped through the blinds, casting faint stripes of light across Paul’s cramped flat. The notebook lay open on the table, the ink of yesterday’s entry slightly smudged. Paul sat by the window, sipping coffee from a chipped mug, his gaze fixed on the man walking the dog.
The dog moved in perfect sync with its owner, too perfect. Today, Paul noticed the dog’s legs didn’t bend, its gait unnervingly stiff. He stood, his coffee forgotten, and rubbed his temples. “You’re imagining things,” he muttered.
He glanced at the notebook, the words What now? glaring back at him. He flipped the page and wrote: Day 2. Everything’s too still.
Chapter 2: A New Day at Fresh & Save
The shop lights buzzed faintly as Paul stepped inside. The smell of cleaning fluid lingered in the air, sharp and sterile. Claire manned the tills, her fingers moving with robotic efficiency. Paul noticed the way her jaw tightened after each scan, like she was biting back a scream.
Tom wheeled a trolley of frozen goods across the floor, whistling softly. His tune was inconsistent, each note sounding slightly off-key. Paul hung his coat on the staff hook, the hum of the lights settling in his body like a second heartbeat.
“Morning,” Paul said to no one in particular.
Claire responded with a curt nod, Tom with a faint grin. The shop felt heavier today, the air pressing down on his shoulders as he grabbed a clipboard and moved toward the stockroom.
Chapter 3: Jane’s Hesitation
Paul found Jane near the alcohol aisle, her posture tense as she stacked bottles of wine. Her clipboard sat crooked on the shelf beside her, covered in hurried doodles of masks and stage lights.
“Hey,” Paul said softly.
Jane startled slightly, turning to him with a forced smile. “Hi. Sorry. Just… thinking.”
Paul picked up the clipboard, studying the sketches. “Are these for the audition?”
Jane hesitated, her fingers curling tightly around the neck of a bottle. “Yeah. Graham doesn’t get it. He thinks I’m being silly - says I’m chasing something pointless.”
Paul tilted his head, glancing at her sketches again. “What do you think?”
Jane exhaled, setting the bottle down more forcefully than she intended. “I think I need this. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that I’m… wasting time. Like I’m not supposed to want something this badly.”
Paul studied her carefully, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “I don’t know. Wanting something that makes you feel alive doesn’t sound like a waste to me.”
Her eyes softened, and she gave him a small, grateful smile. “What about you? What makes you feel alive?”
Paul opened his mouth to respond but paused, his gaze drifting to the notebook in his pocket. “Writing did. Now? I’m not so sure.”
Jane’s smile widened slightly. “Maybe it still does. You just need to remember why you started.”
Chapter 4: Tom’s Restlessness
In the frozen section, Paul found Tom arranging bags of chips with uncharacteristic precision. His usual relaxed demeanour was absent, replaced by a tension that hung heavy in the air.
“Everything alright?” Paul asked, leaning against the freezer.
Tom shrugged, his gaze fixed on the shelf. “Stacy’s been on my case about the future. Wants me to quit here, take that job with her dad. Says it’s time I ‘get serious.’”
Paul frowned. “And what do you want?”
Tom hesitated. “I don’t know. I used to think it was photography, but… I haven’t picked up my camera in months. Maybe she’s right.”
Paul shook his head. “Or maybe you just need to remind yourself why you cared about it in the first place.”
Chapter 5: Claire’s Frustration
Claire was at the tills, scanning items with sharp, jerky movements. Paul approached cautiously, sensing the tension radiating off her.
“Busy morning?” he asked lightly.
Claire snorted. “Not busy enough.”
Paul leaned against the counter. “Something on your mind?”
Claire hesitated, her fingers tightening around the scanner. “Alex. He canceled on me again last night. Said he was working late. I know it’s not true.”
Paul frowned. “Have you talked to him about it?”
Claire laughed bitterly. “What’s the point? He’ll just lie or twist it around like it’s my fault.”
Paul nodded slowly. “Maybe it’s not about him.”
Claire didn’t reply, her jaw tightening as she scanned the next item. Paul lingered for a moment before stepping away.
Chapter 6: Strange Patterns
As the day wore on, Paul began to notice things he hadn’t before. The whole store felt almost like a kid’s playset, things set out but somehow still. Colours looked muted and the fluorescent lights seemed to blink in unison. Customers moved through the aisles with unsettling precision, their footsteps seemed eerily synchronised.
In the break room, he found Jane scribbling in a notebook. “What’s that?” he asked.
She covered the page instinctively, then relaxed. “Just… thoughts. Helps me make sense of things.”
Paul nodded, but unease curled in his stomach. Her notebook was filled with abstract sketches—lines that seemed to form pods or capsules.
Chapter 7: The Notebook
That night, Paul sat at his kitchen table, the notebook open before him. He wrote: Something isn’t right.
The faint smell of mildew clung to the air, and the hum of the streetlights outside grew sharper, like a mosquito whining in his ear. He flipped back to Jane’s question: What makes you feel alive?
He wrote beneath it: Writing…
The light above flickered, and Paul’s pulse quickened. He stared at the page, the ink blurring as his mind raced.
