The Nap

On one fine day, Tony was very tired from a long shift. He had been working for more than 6 days straight, and his back was hurting him. For a young 20-year-old, that wasn't a good sign.

He tried his best to sleep that night. However, among the toss and turns, the itching never paused to give him a break. His skin begged for his attention.

And so he laid restless as the minutes went by. Until the sun rose and he was back to work.

Perhaps to his luck, busy hours never came. His colleagues yawned, while others sneakily took glances at their phones. 

I guess I can take a quick nap, he thought, I'm sure after a few minutes some stupid sound is going to wake me up anyway.

And with that, he closed his eyes. 

He had been snoring when he suddenly felt something brush against his arm. He jolted awake and readjusted his glasses; a streak of saliva went down his chin and a few droplets tainted his pants. 

How long have I been sleeping?

He glanced around. Everything seemed normal. His colleagues yawned, while others sneakily took glances at their phones.

Ok, he thought, I guess I'll just head back to sleep.

And he did. This time, he felt very comfortable with his nap.

Until the man felt something tap his back, and he jumped, eyes fully open. 

He glanced around frantically. He had to have missed something by now. 

His colleagues yawned. Others sneakily took glances at their phones.

Still? He thought to himself. 

Then he realized it. Worried, he went over to one of his colleagues who had been using her phone to play Pastry MiniRun.

"Hey," he asked, "Did you do anything lately?"

The woman stared at him, confused. She shook her head and returned back to her game. 

I guess not.

Tony returned to his seat, tired of not having to do anything, yet if it was rush hour, he'd be begging to have a time like this.

He stared at another co-worker, who was in the middle of grabbing something from the cabinet. Out of clumsiness, she dropped a pack of tissues on the floor. He smirked and went back to sleep.

The nap felt amazing. Once again, it didn't last long. 

He thought he heard someone mumbling, which prompted him to wake up. Tony rubbed his eyes and glanced around. Everything seemed normal.

Until he turned and stared at his co-worker, who was in the middle of grabbing something from the cabinet. Out of clumsiness, she dropped a pack of tissues on the floor. 

Didn't that...

He squinted. His co-worker eventually picked up the pack of issues and groaned, carelessly tossing it back into the cabinet and slamming the door shut. He followed her trail and she walked back into her office. She cursed the day and went back to work.

He was about to doze off when his colleague from the next cubicle asked him if he wanted some cookies.

Feeling tired, Tony dismissed his colleague's offer and stated he was going back for a nap, clearly, it's been a strange day.

He shut his eyes and began to count sheep. His mind couldn't fall asleep as fast anymore.

Eventually, he must have, because he remembered what had been occurring and jolted awake. Lifting his head from his arms, he glanced around.

Nothing. 

Phew, he thought, I guess that was all a bad dream.

Then his colleague from the next cubicle asked him if he wanted some cookies.