Tax Agent, Imad And Caitlin Appears (Part 2)

Tax Agent Upstairs

My first point of duty was to visit the tax agent so I could lodge my tax return. Trying to locate the tax agent I visited last year, I roughly knew where I was headed and when in the middle of Queen Street, I found the little stairway and followed it up. On the tax agent’s door there was a notice reading “For you would be thieves that stole my $30 pen and ruler set, no valuables are left on the premises”.

Apart from his kicking a fuss over thirty dollars and the certitude that the would be thieves probably would never read that message, I found it hilarious how he spelt thieves with the two initial vowels the wrong way around. Stepping into his domain, it was more of a joke how his office stunk of turpentine or whatever that stuff is to peel paint off the walls. The walls looked atrocious and as per last year, he picked a great time to redecorate.

Sitting right next to a girl despite there being two other available chairs, I picked up a muscle magazine and then assured myself that I was in the right place by asking the girl. Within minutes, the girl walked into his office and from what I could hear, she was fined $500 for some reason relating to her tax return and not handing in evidence. With a new guy now sitting next to me and sneezing consistently due to solvents used to strip down the wall paint, we both looked at each other hoping that wouldn’t be our case.

However, as I hoped into his room, confident as usual, I knew that he would be able to notch up the tax-free threshold so that I could claim all my money and that he did. Sitting in there for three minutes, he claimed low wage benefit which notched it up to $6200 and being well above, I could claim all of my $325. However, his fee was as last year $60 but that didn’t phase me the slightest.

Making my way for the door, I started to think about Jett and how he told me that he had $3000 to be taxed but he was only getting back $500. This tax on tax system is not fair on consumers and it’s rude how I can benefit for almost the same amount he gets. All in all, everyone will earn around the same bracket as Jett and I, whether you’ve worked a couple of weeks or the whole year on full payment, what a rort.

Running Into Imad

Briskly strolling up the main street, I put on my hat to cover the freshly dried hair from a prolonged shower. Fearing that it would be all fluffy, I put in on backwards as I normally do and at the start of the one way section of Queen Street near Binh’s shop, I straightened up to cross the road. To my surprise, just in front of me a couple of steps was someone that looked starkly like Imad and as I grunted “Imad” my hunches were correct.

Greeting each other with a salute to the past, we shook hands and then bartered conversation. “When are we going out together” Imad asked me adding “I can’t go out this weekend though” to which I replied “This weekend or next weekend if you like”. Imad was heading to work via the station and as we walked up the station stairs, I revealed that I had to find some way of sneaking in without having to buy a ticket.

Sneaking Through The Gates

Withdrawing $20 from my account before bumping in with Imad, this money was strictly for the exchange of a movie, one that I wish I didn’t go through with now or at least made a better choice. The ticket machines were desolate but as they were open, I had to sneak past an almost asleep guy behind the window at the walk-through part.

Saying goodbye to Imad and walking past that section a touch, I casually snuck myself through and now inside their domain, I caught the next train to Macarthur Square. That Indian Curry Muncher guy who fined me in the first place a couple of weeks back approached me as he saw me curiously looking at the notice boards. “Where do you want to go” he asked when I couldn’t get any assistance from the guys behind the window to which I noted my intention of darting off to Macarthur Square for a few minutes before catching a train back to East Hills.

Helpfully advising me that my train to Macarthur would turn back to the City via East Hills, I contently jumped on, ran upstairs, bought my weekly train ticket and headed back downstairs to board the train. For a few seconds, I was pissed off as I saw an express train head off into the Campbelltown direction but I trusted the guy’s word to which he noted no express trains ran to the City. Figuring that it would terminate in Campbelltown, I sat myself down for the few minutes that he had to wait for our train to depart.

Girl From Airds High

Finding myself a seat upstairs, I noticed a girl that I used to go to school with at Airds High School. Unable to remember her name, she didn’t really hang out with the cool kids and wasn’t as lowly as me with friendship but she hung around with the quiet achievers, having her own bitchy temperament at times. Anyway, making my way downstairs as we were arriving at Campbelltown, I looked over at her but as we both lay a durable glance at each other, neither of us took the liberty of saying hello.

The reason I headed downstairs when arriving at Campbelltown Station was due to my uncertainty of where the train was headed. On the notice boards in Macarthur Square the train was supposedly stopping at Campbelltown Station but now I realize that was only for the express train. As the doors slid open I poked my head out to realize the train was heading to the City via East Hills and in that little gander I was surprised by an old memory.

Caitlin On The Platform

There on the platform stood a girl, reminiscent to the day’s before this chronology ever grew some feet. However, this figure I saw in front of me, looking with the same curiosity as myself was much braver a figure of beauty that what I knew. At first sight I knew that it was Caitlin despite how drastically she appeared to have changed for the better. At this first sight I acted as if I hadn’t noticed her, going about my usual routine but I knew I wouldn’t be able to help myself.

Her eyes were always affixed with a pleasing smile of recognition and as she neared with a large luggage bag, I parlayed with her eyes and our anticipation was now mutual. Caitlin had changed a heap from the old style of what I regarded her to be. As I will get into all the facets of our conversation and my concepts later in these paragraphs, I will note the degrees to which were led to such concepts.

Watching her lug her big bag onto the train, we both made our way to the doors on the opposite side, leaning against them so that we could chat. Caitlin spoke my name immediately and as I knew exactly who she was, she made a joke of how I had forgotten who she was. Considering how good she was looking, I don’t think I was going to forget her so easily.

As the both of us stood next to each other with the luggage being the only distance between us, in our deepened conversation, I could sense the girl from Airds looking over with curiosity and possible envy. From the onset of my starting up a conversation with Caitlin, her eyes were wide open and always agape, watching our every syllable. I figured she probably thought “So he probably would have talked to me if I had spoken with him”, feeling like an opportunity had passed her.

However, with the way I was dressed and the complementary good looks standing right next to me, I couldn’t help but to feel complacent, thinking to myself “Yeah, you probably should have said something”. However, I know that my conversation wouldn’t have been as grand and meaningful as what I held with Caitlin who is like a long time friend. With this other girl I hardly talked to at school, it would have been a contest in itself to speak fluidly as we would have nothing but the weather to talk about. Caitlin and I go back a long, long way.

Clover And Caitlin Long Ago

I’m sure I would have noted this before but when I picked both her and Clover up, I had the opportunity of going out with either one of them. Choosing Clover on that given day at Macarthur Station wasn’t a bad move despite her being only 13 and my being 16 at the time but for a long time, I always thought that Caitlin and I would have been better together.

Even as Clover and I were going out, I used to look upon the things Caitlin and I had in common and the attitude she portrayed and I used to think “I could have picked her”. There was poetry bonding us, my forsythe to imagine just how great she could treat me sexually You could see her ability and I can still see it now) and how she wasn’t like a book to read when it came to going out. Clover, because she was so young was prone to virtually being a slave to my decisions.

I was holding all the cards, wearing the big shoes and making all the decisions and Clover was just a passive whim, glad to be along for the ride and riding whenever I said go. In a way, it was a shame that she admitted herself to such disuse of power by revealing she was thirteen but then again, it was a shame that I broke her idle heart when best my conscience did grasp me. Each decision of life is a correct one no matter how far fetched the reality is on that different scale of thought.