Slice of Life 12: “Wasting” Time

Well, I’m a little late to the Slice Challenge to write every day in March, but there’s no time to jump in like the present, right?!

My car has been making a strange grinding noise for about a month, but I’d just kind of let it go. Dangerous? Possibly. But who feels like getting off work just to go sit at a car dealership? *looks around* No one…exactly! Well, yesterday was the first day of my Spring Break, so I decided to bite the bullet and head to the dealership. I got some water, grabbed some quarters for the vending machine (just in case), and packed my purse.

I’m not sure what most people’s purse looks like, but I know that my bookish/Nerdy Book Club friends probably have purses that look a little like mine:

I always have at least one book plus my Nook in my purse. You can never be too prepared for a reading emergency.

When I explained my problem(s) with the car (why does the A/C decide to blow hot air? Not sure.) to the technician he said that it would probably be a couple of hours to diagnose and fix both problems. I just smiled and said, “That’s fine. I brought some books.”

I checked in with my husband about two hours later, and he urged me to get an update and have someone drive me home if it was going to be much longer. He was agitated that I was having to wait so long. But I wasn’t. I had just spent that time: laughing out loud with Tommy, Dwight, and Harvey in The Strange Case of Origami Yoda; fearing for my life and future with Cassie in a preview of The 5th Wave; crying and coming to terms with captivity and hoping for freedom with Ivan, Stella, and Ruby in The One and Only Ivan. I was almost disappointed when my car was ready because I had just cracked the cover of Under the Never Sky!

Because when you have books, you always have company. Even when you’re “wasting” time waiting at a car dealership.