Early Reitrement - Part Three

Between glasses and a few minor cosmetic changes I quickly finish off, my eyes darting up to my cart as I add it to my calculator app. My lips quiver as I quickly begin to type away on the device, my pounding heart leaving my hands shaky as I try to avoid any sort of miscalculation.

"Five-forty-five... plus the three-hundred..." I huff, working out how much I would have left at the end of things and after buying my hypothetical house. "That between a high yield... and term deposits should equal...thirty-six thousand in income... so like... seven hundred a week..." I muse, slumping back in the seat as I stare at the cart in disbelief.

Biting my lower lip I reach up to the cart, slowly exhaling as I tap through to proceed wit the sales and purchases.

"I've lived off of less... and without rent... that's basically..." I ramble, trying to justify my decision only to be cut short the moment I tap 'Confirm'

"Mr Hughes!" shouts the woman from reception, the short middle-aged receptionist looking out around the room. "Mr Hughes, please come to the counter" 

Early Reitrement - Part Two

Unfortunately, I couldn't see the prices the Swap Clinic was offering without going into one of their branches. There was no way to tell just how much I would need to add to the rather ample sum I had been left as a part of my grandmother's inheritance. When she had passed, her large family home had been sold off as a part of the estate, the multi-story home having been bought for a reasonable sum in the 1940's now easily drawing in well over a million dollars.

For my part, my grandma had left me a sizeable chunk of the funds from that sale. The wayward grandson, the one seeming to flounder in his thirties apparently needing the leg up even more than her own daughters. 

I had left the lawyer's offices $750,000 dollars richer, and having drawn the ire and jealousy of many of my own family. Still, it was not enough to merely retire on, not without a home to call my own. However, a trip to Swap Clinic could easily solve that issue.

Early Retirement - Part One

Standing in the queue of the Swap Clinic waiting room I shuffle awkwardly, my hands wringing themselves before darting in and out of my pockets in search of something to distract me before repeating the process over and over again. The waiting room, while quiet, is certainly not empty. Nearly a dozen other patrons sit around the room, spaced out seemingly for privacy as they slowly tap away at a small tablet in Swap Clinic branded hard cases.

"Just like a catalogue" I think to myself, my eyes darting to a pimply and rather heavy-set young woman as she holds up the screen for an older woman to review.

The Trait Exchange - Part Three

My body finally wins out, causing me to race to the fridge and the build blocks I so desperately craved. As I rip the door open I barely even notice six new offers come in.

I'm practically drooling as I stare inside the fridge, my gaze rapidly racing over each of the scant few essentials I had left. I had been needing to go shopping, to refill my shelves with the necessities I had been living off of thanks to my limited budget.

The Trait Exchange - Part Two

"I mean... What's the harm in just looking?" I mutter to myself, my teeth clenched as I knew just how impulsive I could be with other purchases. "I'll need to open it anyway to try and block these stupid fucking..."

I stop mid-sentence, my eyes going wide as I recoil at the sight of the offers that had been made just between last night and this morning. As the app loads, I find myself staring at six new offers.

The Trait Exchange - Part One

Wandering past I the kitchen counter, a plate of breakfast in one hand and a mug of piping hot coffee in the other, watch as my phone light's up once again. The screen flickers on, the notification leaving me sighing and rolling my eyes as I read the phrase I had seen what feels like a thousand times before.

New Offer Made: Open Trait Exchange App to View Details

Inhaling deeply I just walk past, not wanting to engage with this nonsense so early in the morning. As I drop my plate of plain and cheap buttered toast on the coffee table I take my seat, grumbling under my breath.

"Stupid fucking... Things..." I huff, looking down at my slender pale arms and the partially revealed shoulder beneath my loose black cotton shirt. "I mean... they're worth it but... I need to work out how to set them to private."