Totem

Sam looked carelessly at the violently shaking door. It had just occurred to him that the rent due date had arrived. The cursed old Franklin wouldn't spare him another minute.

'Why not use my power, open the door, slip out alongside Franklin, and act like I was never in the apartment?' Sam was instantly intrigued by this logic.

He was escaping the cursed old man, Franklin, and testing his ability. He was confident he had recovered and wouldn't strain himself.

Sam cautiously approached the door, placing his hands on the wall and smacking his forehead against it. Before he could even reach it, time stopped.

Quickly, Sam opened the door, struggling but ultimately succeeding. He found himself face to face with a short, bald, bearded black man.

Sam swiftly closed the door, then descended the stairs, gradually hearing Franklin's shouts returning.

You fu*king bastard! I know you up in here! Slide outta here before I bust your head open and you pay me that damn rent!" Franklin yelled as loudly as he could.

Sam smirked sarcastically and exited the building. He felt no rush to go anywhere and wandered randomly in New York City.

'This time. The time freeze was longer, and time itself was entirely frozen.' Sam mused, connecting it to feeling well-rested and well-fed.

Sam encouraged himself to eat consistently as it seemed to be the nourishment for his ability. He also felt improvements in his understanding of the ability, as darkness no longer engulfed his knowledge entirely as before.

Sam aimlessly roamed the city. Then he made a decision. He needed a phone, having smashed his previous one in a fit of anger. He felt somewhat embarrassed about his tendency to break things during those fits.

Sam decided and then head to a small, trusted phone store with limited security. He planned to wait for someone to enter the store and buy a phone, so he could steal it.

The decision was risky, but he had reasons for his actions. Firstly, he needed a new phone. Secondly, he was training for the jewelry store heist, and didn't want to cause a scene there to earn Angelica's favor.

Sam stood bored on a street bench, then spotted an older lady and a teenager entering the store.

'Perfect' thought Sam, watching them until both the mother and son headed to the cashier after a while, buying a phone.

Sam noticed there were no cameras on the street and no one watching, so he walked quietly to the wall next to the store.

He grabbed the wall with his hands and smacked his forehead against it again, freezing time as usual. Sam hurried into the store, grabbed the phone bag, and rushed out.

Time resumed...

But fortunately, Sam was already outside the store with the phone bag in his hand. He walked steadily, hearing some noises behind him, but he didn't care. He kept walking forward.

He stopped at a cafe, entered, and sat in the nearest available seat which has beautiful window in the side. Besides two other customers, the cafe was mostly empty.

Sam calmed himself, then took the phone box out of the bag. It was a new iPhone.

Sam smiled strangely. Luck had truly decided to bless him this time. He opened the box, entered his previous account details, and waited for it to load his data.

Sam waited patiently when he saw a kind waitress coming towards him. She asked, "do you need something, sir?"

Sam glanced at her for a moment and said, "Just some water, please."

The waitress nodded slightly and went to fetch the water as requested. Sam relaxed on the comfortable seat and looked out the window at the massive crowds of people moving endlessly.

For a moment, Sam felt the movement was a bit bothersome, and he wanted to halt it, even just for a moment, but he quickly restrained himself. He didn't want to strain himself at the start of the day.

The waitress arrived, handing him the water, and Sam handed her a few cents as a tip.

She skillfully smiled, thanked him softly, then left.

Sam returned his gaze to his new phone and found that the data had already loaded. He took it and browsed through what he had missed in the previous days. He had several messages, mostly ads. Among them was a message from one of the administrators at the factory. It had been sent around three days ago.

"Where the hell were you, damn it? This your second day missing! You don't know that your paycheck's gonna get cut in half or what? Answer me quick." was the gist of the message.

Sam smiled and typed, "My bad, Mr. Brown. I smashed my phone in a fit of rage. As for the work, fu*k it, fu*k the paycheck, and of course, fu*k you personally. I sincerely hope my curses reach every worker there, especially the managers.

fu*k you with all my heart.

Sam."

Then Sam blocked this contact. He checked for any unread messages and didn't find any. He pocketed his phone, headed to the cashier, paid his bill, and left.

He raised his phone and noticed it was already 2 PM. He decided to head to his apartment and relax a bit before meeting Angelica.

On his way, he noticed the library where Christina worked. Sam pondered for a moment before deciding to make a quick visit to take her number before heading to his apartment.

Sam entered the library and noticed its calm atmosphere, but there were a few people around, mostly diligent youngsters seeking knowledge.

'Foolish idiots' Sam thought mercilessly before heading to the reception desk when he saw Christina and another girl. She was surprisingly short, even for a girl. Sam suspected for a moment that she might be underage, but upon closer examination, he realized she was indeed an adult.

"Sam! Good to see you." Christina noticed him and warmly greeted him with a big smile.

"Hey there, Christie." Sam greeted her with a friendly smile.

Suddenly, a deep feminine voice said, "Who's this, Christina? And why he is calling you Christie?"

Sam looked towards the source of the voice and was surprised to find the same short girl. Sam was on the verge of bursting into laughter at the situation, but he held back with sheer will power.

"This is Sam, my very dear and incredibly sweet Mary. someone I got to know during your absence." Christina introduced him with an exceedingly pleasant smile.

'Dear and incredibly sweet friend? What is this nonsense?' Sam wondered before his thought process was interrupted by Mary's ridiculous deep voice, "Ah, and what did my little girl do in my absence, you tall poor lifeless fu*k fool? Tell me now you son of bitc—"

Before Mary could continue her rant against Sam, Christina stopped her by placing her hand on Mary's mouth, saying with a slightly embarrassed smile, "Excuse me for a moment, Sam. She tends to get like this when it comes to me and my safety. Just set on one of the chairs for a second, I'll be with you in moment."

Sam patiently waited at one of the table seats, a bit away from others who seemed slightly annoyed by the noise at the reception.

It seemed that Christina was scolding Mary for causing a ruckus, speaking in hushed tones but with explosive hand gestures and body language. It looked like she had finished as she came over to Sam.

"Sorry about that earlier, she's my friend Mary, my childhood friend, she has always been by my side, protecting me. I genuinely consider her like a sister." Christina said with a tone filled with embarrassment and regret. Then she quickly occupied the seat next to Sam.

"No worries, must be really nice to have a friend like that." Sam said with a easing tone, but his face betrayed him a bit, showing a slight pout.

Christina felt concerned that she had upset him, but before she could apologize further, Sam got a little closer and smiled simply. He then pulled out his latest model phone and said, "I came here to give you a quick shout-out and get your number."

Christina felt her heart race in her chest, and she hurriedly took out her phone, almost dropping it but managing to keep it in her hand somehow.

Sam chuckled at her reaction and said, "You can just enter your number in my phone." Then he looked at her, his gaze meeting her beautiful blue eyes.

"Um, yeah, I guess so, but I also want you to enter your number in my phone, and I'll enter mine in yours. You know, as a kind of luck totem or something like that..." Christina said with embarrassment and a shy smile.