The Tower of Endless Worlds Read Online Free PDF

It’s honest work.”
    “It’s miserable, tedious, and an underpaid waste of time,” Simon said. “And you wouldn’t know what it’s like. You never had a real job.”
    “Whatever, Simon. As if dealing with your father, and then with you, weren’t a full-time job in and of itself.”  She reached for her purse and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. “Since you have so much time on your hands, go to the store and get some milk and eggs.”
    “But Mom,” said Simon. “I’ve got at least five hours of homework to get through before tomorrow. I don’t have time to go to the store…”
    “It’s two in the afternoon. You said you wouldn’t be back from work until six. You have ample time, boy.” She thrust the money into his hand. “Go.”
    “Yes, Mom,” said Simon. 
    “And hurry back. I don’t want to be here alone.”
    “Why not?”  Simon paused halfway to the door.
    “I heard noises in the woods. Someone’s out there, I think,” said Maura. She turned the mute off. A laugh track blared through the living room. “Hooligans, probably.”
    Simon rolled his eyes. “How can you hear anything over the air conditioner and that TV? Besides, why would they come here? We have nothing worth stealing.” Maura ignored him, her attention focused on the TV. Simon went back to the dining room and shut the door, gasping at the heat. 
    He went upstairs to his room, sighing in relief as the air-conditioned cool, free of cigarette smoke, washed over him. He shut the door behind him and cranked the air conditioner as high as it would go.
    Simon sat his desk and arranged his work for the evening. He had to continue working on a major paper for the end of the summer semester, not to mention the two hundred pages he had to go through to prepare for class tomorrow. He really didn’t have time to go to the store. 
    Nevertheless, he stuffed the money into his pocket and headed downstairs to the driveway. 

    ###

    Simon balanced the bags in his arms and started across the parking lot, wishing he’d thought to get a shopping cart.
    Tires screeched, and the front bumper of a battered old blue Chevrolet skidded to a stop six inches from his knee. An elderly woman sat behind the wheel, blinking at him in befuddlement. 
    Simon growled and kicked the fender. “Watch where you’re going!”
    The old woman blinked at him. No doubt she had been calling Marchson Appliances customer service earlier today.
    Simon sighed and managed to get the groceries to his van without getting run down. He had only been in the store fifteen minutes, but the van had heated up like an oven. He cranked down all the windows and started the engine. After a few moments of careful driving, he escaped the parking lot and headed for home. 
    His eyes felt gritty, and he kept wanting to yawn. He had only gotten five hours of sleep the night before. Maybe he could get some extra sleep tonight. Or, more likely, he would stay up all night working and drink five or six cups of coffee in the morning. 
    The glamorous life of the doctoral student.
    He reached an intersection, pulled into the left turn lane, and waited for the light to change. At least his expedition to the grocery store hadn’t taken too long. The light changed, and he turned onto the narrow one-land street that would take him home. Parked cars lined both sides of the street, shaded by the trees. A red car one the right had been parked a little too far into the street.
    And in the wrong direction, too.
    A moment later Simon realize that car was coming the wrong way down the street.
    He cursed, slammed on the brake, and tried to swerve. The red car clipped the front of his van. Metal screeched and glass shattered, and his van skidded sideways and almost crashed into the parked cars. The red car slid another ten feet and screeched to a halt. 
    “Darn it, darn it, darn it.” Simon turned off the ignition and climbed out. His front left headlight and turn signal had been smashed to pieces,