Kobi stacks the empty boxes in a corner of the lounge. He sighs and stretches his arms. It’s a good thing he’s not super tall, the ceilings in these apartments are almost low enough that his fingertips could touch it when his arms are raised.


    "Ahh, feels good to be finished." he yawns.


    It''s 2am. He lost track of time while finishing with the tidying. The lounge isn''t very big, it just has a couch, a TV on a TV table and a coffee table, besides that the kitchen is also in the same room, up against the wall near the door. He slumps himself down onto the couch.


    "Woah it got late real fast." he mumbles as he looks at the clock above the TV.


    He looks out of the lounge window, and he can see the dark night sky, illuminated dimly by the moon and its beautiful reflection on the lake. The treetops of the forest behind the body of water rustle in the night breeze. It’s quieter than any town he’s ever been in. There are no parties, no vehicles, nothing but nature at this hour.


    "So pretty," he smiles.


    "I think I could get used to this very quickly."


    He rubs his head and ruffles his hair. He has a habit of messing his hair up whenever he gets tired, it’s one of the tell-tale signs he’s lying too. It''s time he went to bed but suddenly he remembers something.


    "The bed!" he whines.


    The bed didn''t come with a mattress so he had to bring his own, but after sorting out the rest of the apartment, he just doesn''t have the energy to sort out putting the mattress on the bed and then sorting the bedding. It''s just too fiddly for him now that he''s so tired.


    "I''ll just sleep on the couch I guess."


    He resigns to finishing the forgotten task in the morning, afternoon, or whenever it is that he''ll awake. He takes off his jeans and folds his jacket so the zip is inside. In the bathroom he brushes his teeth and then uses the toilet. Slowly he exits and makes his way to the lightswitch.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    He turns the lights off and lies on the couch. His knees bent so that he can fit comfortably and his head resting on his folded up hoodie. It isn''t the most comfortable of positions but he''s so tired he could sleep on worse if needed. The moonlight gently shines on his face through the window and the sound of crickets can be heard faintly. The beautiful mountain town is something you could only dream of.


    Time passes as he sleeps silently. Moving is a stressful process and his rest has been well deserved. It would be nice to say he had pleasant dreams, but he never remembers his dreams well at all. Sometimes he has even thought that he might not even dream at all. Once his head hits the pillow, he just shuts down until morning.


    As the sun rises above the forest and the lake sparkles with dancing sunlight, the sound of birds causes Kobi to stir. His face twitches in the warmth of the late summer sun. His eyes open slowly and a dazed expression rests on his face. The green of his eyes twinkles subtly. He gets up slowly but feels his neck cramping. It hurts a lot but he tries to keep moving it. He rubs it with his hand and it begins to ease off.


    He scratches his leg and takes a moment to admire the view of the lake. He checks the time and it''s 9am. It’s surprising that he feels so well rested after such a short sleep compared to his normal routine of midnight to noon. His cellphone begins to ring but he can’t recall where he put it before sleeping.


    He wanders the lounge and the ringing sounds like it’s close by.


    “My jeans!” he exclaims as he fumbles with the pockets on the jeans he left by the couch.


    He quickly answers the phone.


    “Hello?”


    “Hi, this is Tom from the Hot Springs. You recently made an application to us?”


    “Ah y-yes I did!”


    “Great. Well, we have reviewed your application and would be happy for you to join our team on the male side of the springs. If you could make your way over around noon we can get all the paperwork out of the way and you can start as early as tomorrow if you’re available.”


    “That’s great! Yes. Yes I can start tomorrow. I’ll be over at noon. Thank you so much.”


    “No problem buddy. We look forward to seeing you.”


    The phone hangs up and Kobi gently tosses it onto the couch. He feels happy that his first and only job application in this town has resulted in such success. Of course he still has to go there and sort things out, but he has never been this lucky before. The perfect job for him where he won’t have to encounter beautiful women.