"it takes approximately 500 pounds to crush a human skull." "but the human emotion is a much more delicate thing." "take suzy, my first real girlfriend." "my first real breakup, happening right in front of me." "i never thought it was going to be similar to car crash." "i've slammed the brakes, and i'm skidding towards an emotional impact." "so is this all my fault?" "me. ben willis." "it's funny what goes through your mind at a time like this." "the two-and-a-half years we spent together." "the promises we made." "the holidays we took with her parents." "the lamp we bought at ikea together." "it was my final year at art college." "and in the weeks that followed the breakup, i tried to figure out what went wrong." "why did we break up?" "it's funny, but when i think back now the reason seems so small." "one day she's with me, and she's saying "i love you, "" "and the next week she's with someone else." "probably saying the same thing." "so did she really love me?" "what is love anyway?" "and is it really that fleeting?" "forget about her. you don't wanna waste your time thinking about a girl that dumped you for a loser like steve jenkins." "she didn't dump me." "why did she chuck you anyway?" "it ended 'cause suzy thinks the grass is always greener on the other side." "she's always worrying about there being a better party to go to." "or a better boyfriend to be had." "i just felt i could never make her happy." "and then steve jenkins started texting her." "how did steve jenkins get her number?" "it was a good point." "i only imagined the worst." "i don't want to think about it." "you need to go out with a beautiful girl. a model or something." "why?" "well, because if you've got a beautiful girl on your arm, then you must be worth having." "women are in competition with each other, you see." "suzy sees you with a sexy baby, she'll think to herself" ""if i can get ben back from that beautiful girl, then i must be more beautiful than her. "" "sean's success with women was pretty impressive." "it's true." "ask your mom." "the age-old question." "what is love?" "excuse me." "that's good. that's perfect." "ben, mr. adams here has given his time up for you." "don't you think we should show him a little bit of respect?" "excuse me." "i live in student accommodation not far from the college." "it's basically a four-story concrete block housing some 120 hormone-crazed students." "this is the haunting period." "the time when the demons of regret come for you." "she stood right there when i said those words:" ""i'm sorry." ""i don't think i can make you happy." "maybe we should break up. "" "and that's when she got angry." "hello?" "suzy, it's me, ben." "ben!" "i was asleep." "what is it?" "suzy, um... i'm sorry." "i'm sorry too." "do you think there's any chance we'll get back together?" "i don't think so, ben." "i think it ran its course." "besides, i'm with steve now." "have you slept with him?" "yes." "was it good?" "i mean, is it better than... i don't wanna talk about it with you, ben." "i've gotta go." "sorry, ben." " suzy?" "" "to think about her now with someone else, it felt like all the oxygen had been sucked from the room." "after my breakup with suzy, i just couldn't fall asleep anymore." "the more i tried to sleep, the less tired i felt." "i was wide awake." "i tried everything." "i'd just become immune to sleep." "i suddenly found i had eight extra hours." "my life had been extended by a third." "i wanted time to pass quickly, but instead i was forced to witness the passing of every second of every hour." "i wanted the hurt i felt to go away." "but in some cruel trick of events, i now had even more time on my hands." "more time to think about suzy." "would you mind getting out?" "just checking that wheel?" "i took the bus with no real place to go." "i watched the landscape slowly change as it clung to the last hours of sunlight, before leaving me to get another sleepless night." "i started to read all the books i wished i'd had time to read." "with the extra hours, i even had time to reread my favorite ones." "but she was never far from my mind." "two pounds 75, please." "ah, how much is it without these two?" "one pound 70." "it was getting obvious that i needed to trade some of my time." "yeah, yeah, yeah." "yeah, yeah." "yeah. yeah." "mmm, mmm, mmm." "it all looks fantastic, man." "i think you'll fit in very well here." "it's a great feeling inside, ben." "it's marvelous. we hope you've enjoyed reading about what it's like to be part of sainsbury's and listening." "i know, i've been through this with you." "there's so many opportunities, ben. it's a life thing." "i could feel a faint shift in a faraway place." "a current of unknown consequences was on its way moving towards me like an unstoppable wave of fate." "t-e-a-m-w-o-r-k. work." "teamwork, ben." "welcome aboard." "and so i started working the night shift at sainsbury's." "during the hours most normal people are sleeping, i'm busy trading my time." "i give them my extra eight hours, and they give me money. cash back." " hi." " oh, hi." "i'm late again. jenkins is gonna kill me. see you later." "yeah, see ya." " sharon!" " yes, mr. jenkins?" " late again, sharon." " i'm sorry, mr. jenkins." " second time this week." " i know, mr. jenkins." "i'm sorry, it won't happen again." "okay." "my first year at art college was boring to say the least." "but it helped me to appreciate the fundamentals of still life." "i'd like to remind the customers that there's a special two for the price of one offer on aisle ten." "fresh bread and cakes. that's aisle ten for a special two for the price of one offer." "well, don't just stare at it, ben!" "clean it up." "you see, i've always wanted to be a painter." "and like many artists before me, the female form has always been a great source of inspiration." "i've always been in awe of the power they unknowingly possess." "now, are you going to clean them up or not?" "there is an art to dealing with the boredom of an eight-hour shift." "an art to putting your mind somewhere else while the seconds slowly tick away." "i found that all the people working here had perfected their own individual art." "take sharon pintey." "sharon knows rule number one." "the clock is the enemy." "the basic rule is this:" "the more you look at the clock, the slower the time goes." "it will uncover the hiding place of your mind and torture it with every second." "this is the basic art in dealing with the trade of your time." "any cash back?" "this is barry brickman." "you see, barry thinks of himself as a bit of a daredevil stuntman." "for a start, barry is quite well-known." "when one of barry's bike tricks went wrong, the cameraman put it on the internet." "barry has stuck to his scooter ever since." "matt stephens is also a king scooterer." "and what was the other thing?" "and what was the other thing?" " sausage!" " oh, yeah." "now barry and matt are good friends." "there you go." "take care." "between them, they have come up with a very different way of dealing with the trade of their time." "look. look." "theirs is an art to finding anything to do that isn't work." "a few days later, barry and matt were reported for what they called "helping the ladies. "" "it was these shampoo bottles that sent them on their quest." "barry and matt knew what they looked like." "and they knew that the women in the supermarket knew what they looked like." "their theory was that even though it was a sex toy masquerading as a bottle of shampoo, women would like to try it as a sex toy but were embarrassed to buy it because they knew what it looked like." "the decision to buy it would be an easier one if they were already at the checkout." "if they didn't object, then barry and matt knew they'd helped a bottle find a happy home." "barry had challenged matt to a scooter race in which they would sprint down one aisle and up the next." "they would do all 14 aisles, and then back to the starting line." "they had been waiting for the day the manager called in sick." "the art of doing something else other than the work you're supposed to do, is addictive." "the excitement of doing something that you shouldn't be doing, along with the consequences if you're caught doing it, are so strong that it often pulls others away from their own art." "on your marks, get set, go!" "we got winded!" "i hadn't slept in two weeks." "my breakup with suzy had left me with a sense that time had become unhinged." "i drifted between imagination and reality, between past and present with increasing ease." "i feel like a real man." "you like men." "you like real men, don't you?" "when i'm out there in the kit, on the pitch with the boys, i look like a god, i'm an adonis." "i keep myself in good shape." "i see the looks." "i ignore them." "i feel the bolts of time slowly coming away from the breakup." "time manipulation is not a precise science." "like any art, it's personal to the individual." "so what is the art in making my shift go so fast?" "i imagine the opposite." "that time is frozen." "i imagine the remote control for life has been paused." "within this frozen world, i'm able to walk freely and unnoticed." "nobody would even know that time had stopped." "and when it started back up again, the invisible join would be seamless except for a slight shudder." "not unlike the feeling of somebody walking over your grave." "that moment when you see someone walking down the street who is so beautiful you just can't help but stare... well, imagine as i do, that with the world on pause it becomes very easy to understand the concept of beauty." "to have it frozen in front of you." "captured." "unaware." "for me, this fascination with beauty started at a very young age." "i was six or seven, and my mom and dad had taken on a foreign student." "she was in her late teens, and was studying english at a nearby school." "being swedish, the walk from the shower to her room didn't need to be a modest one." "it was at that moment that something very profound happened to me." "i was exposed to the female form in a way i had never experienced." "i felt fascination and wonder at the beauty of her nakedness." "and i wanted to freeze the world so that i could live in that moment for a week." "i have never had a feeling of such completeness." "to this day i still think it was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen." "you dropped these." "and would it be wrong?" "would they hate me for seeing them?" "i mean, really seeing them?" "i read once about a woman whose secret fantasy was to have an affair with an artist." "she thought that he would really see her." "he would see every curve, every line, every indentation, and love them because they were part of the beauty that made her unique." "and when i'm ready, all i have to do to start time again is crack my fingers." "you look like shit." "cheers." " still not sleeping?" " no." " feeling any better about suzy?" " no." " wanna talk about it?" " no." "no?" "why?" "because every morning you come by, and every morning i talk about the same thing." "and i'm bored of saying the same thing, and i'm bored of feeling shit about it." "and most of all i'm bored of being awake 24 hours a day." "eew!" "look who didn't get out of bed on the wrong side this morning." "very funny." "but seriously, you're gonna feel like shit. it's gonna take time." "for instance, how long ago did you think about her before we started having this conversation?" "about ten minutes before you knocked on the door." "oh, yeah." "and what was the thought?" "i thought about the dust." "the dust?" "god, you're weird!" "anyway, whatever. my point is, every day you think about her and the things that you associate with her less and less." "before long, you'll go a whole day without thinking about her." "you know what might help speed up the process?" "what?" "me and sean had been friends since we were five." "we lived across the street from one another, and grew up together." "for his 12th birthday, sean's mom and dad had bought him a state-of the-art computer." "oh, mom!" "come on, boys, it's a nice day." "why don't you play in the park?" "no. we're okay playing this." "okay, i'm off shopping. you be all right by yourselves?" "yes, mom. bye, mom." "bye, mrs. higgins." "i won't be long." " wanna see something?" " what?" " what are they?" " girls with no clothes on." "sean had found the magazines under his mom and dad's bed." "the swedish student was one thing, but this was something completely different." "the smiles on the girls' faces and the total lack of shyness about what they were showing the camera was so confusing for me." "i had never seen the female part up close and in so much detail." "i guess i imagined something neater, like a smooth hole drilled into a piece of wood." "the sort of hole where you might place a wooden peg." "but the reality was much more sexually aggressive." "it was hard to imagine that my teacher, mrs. booth, had one under her skirt that looked just like it." " - mom!" "forgot my purse." "hey, what have you two been up to?" "after that, sean's mom always thought we were gay." "what will help speed up the process?" "you need to distract yourself with a couple of natalies." "a natalie was a term that sean had coined for any sexual encounter that happened with a girl you weren't in a relationship with." "the term had come from a girl called natalie who lived across the street from sean." " hello. is natalie in?" " yeah. natalie!" " yeah?" " it's for you." "you see, sean had worked out the connection between the smiling faces of the girls in the magazines and the fact that they were naked." "fifty p." "that's it." "natalie became one of the most popular girls on the street." "croissants on special offer." "she had massive tits." "very funny." "we were only having a laugh." "who's that?" "that's a new kid." "apparently he's a martial arts expert." "hey, mate!" "come here." "what's your name?" "brian." "ben says you know kung fu." "yeah." " so you reckon you can have me?" " yeah." " oh, yeah?" " yeah." "show us your moves then." "grab my arm." "that's not funny." "hi." "hi, ben." "you're not working tonight?" "no, i swapped two hours this week." "is that a pickle sandwich?" "oh, ah, yeah." "could i have a bite?" "i'm starving." "mmm. thanks." " what?" " you got some there." " mmm." " there." "let me." "thanks." "i wanted to freeze time." "i wanted to savor that moment." "to live in that moment for a week." "but i couldn't stop it." "only slow it." "and before i knew it, she was gone." "after the door closed, i felt like the last person on earth." "what are you doing?" " jenkins wanted us to go and fill the shelves. - so here we are." "iiiieeee." "take no notice of him. he's love struck. he asked sharon out today." "you did?" "what did she say?" "she said "yes. " he's taking her to the pictures tomorrow night." "then it's back to mine. i'll need about half an hour to talk away me face." "and then, she's gonna get some of this." "crush." "it's funny how the same word for the feeling of attraction can be used for the feeling of disappointment." "the oxford english dictionary states one of the meanings for the word crushed as "a strong and unreasoning, but transitory attachment. "" "i had three crushes when i was young." "the first was an athlete called zola budd." "she was 18, and looked like a tomboy with a small, slender frame." "but it was the fact that zola budd defiantly ran barefoot that made her so completely attractive for me." "it was the los angeles olympics that would go down in history." "in the 3,000 meter race, zola budd clashed with the american, mary decker." "budd's heart for the race was left where decker fell." "zola finished seventh." "ben, it's time for bed now." "you've got school tomorrow." "well, well." "what an upset." "can somebody tell me something about the white blood cells?" "tim?" "uh, they help fight off bacteria and germs in the body." "very well done." "types... of cells." "the second crush was for my biology teacher, mrs. booth." "okay, class, who can tell me something about cells?" "she was a confident woman whose figure-hugging outfits hinted at the sexiness that lay hidden beneath." "i imagined mrs. booth asking me to stay behind after school and showing me the same thing under her skirt as the girls i'd seen in the magazines with sean." "but the main crush i had was with a girl called tanya green." "when i looked at tanya, i didn't just see her, i felt her." "the white blood cells and red blood cells work together." "oy!" "the next day, tanya caused a lot of excitement in the class." "tanya had broken her arm falling from a swing, and her cast had caused much excitement amongst the other kids at the school." "settle down now, please, class." "that's enough." "but i saw it differently." "it was the way tanya dealt with it." "the way she scratched an itch." "the way it restricted her movements." "the increasing amount of graffiti that appeared on it during its six-week life span." "would you like to sign it?" "just here." "thanks." "go away!" "stop it!" "on the day the cast finally came off, tanya's arm was covered in hair." "go on back to the jungle." "the six weeks without light had caused the hair to grow thick and black." "but while the other kids joked and called her "monkey, "" "it only heightened my fascination for her." "don't cry." "you don't have to worry about them." "i think you're beautiful the way you are." "will you be my girlfriend?" "yes." "there was a place that i often went to by myself." "it was just behind the school." "it was close enough to still hear the screams and shouts of the kids playing their games." "but at the same time, it felt hidden away from them." "i had arranged to meet tanya there." "whatcha?" "whatcha?" "you wanna kiss me?" "so this was to be my first kiss." "yeah." "hey!" "where you going?" "i gotta go." "i'll kiss you tomorrow." " but tomorrow's saturday." " meet me here at 11:00." "i often came to play around the school grounds on a saturday." "the familiar building, so unfamiliar in its quietness." "peaceful, as if time had frozen still." "it's like the walls of this room." "it keeps the whole building standing." "tanya's parents had taken her on a surprise holiday to america." "they set up home there, and never returned." "it was the first time my heart felt the other meaning of crush." "checkmate." "what's wrong with you?" "you normally kick my arse at chess." "have you met someone?" "well, come on." "give me the juice." "no, it's nothing really. just a girl at work i think is nice." "nice?" "nice what?" "nice rack?" "no." "well, yeah, but nothing like that." "what?" "girlfriend material?" "she got small hands?" " what's that got to do with anything?" " makes your willy look big." "you're such a loser." "so have you asked her out?" " no. someone already beat me to it. - ahh, she got a boyfriend." "no, but one of the guys at work asked her out. she said "yes. "" "they're going to the pictures tonight." "that doesn't mean she fancies him." "she might just like him, and want someone to go to pictures with." "how many girls have you taken to the pictures and then snogged?" " oh, yeah!" "" " - what?" "quite a few." "there you go." "can i have that?" "yeah, yeah, that's right, rory." "well, of course i played professionally, before the injury." "any day, rory." "you name the date, me and my boys'll be there." "all right. sunday." "just don't go crying to your mama." " ciao." " whatever." "tosser." "game on." "2,000 feet jump." "can't beat it." "3,000, kill ya." "there he is!" "so, how'd it go with sharon?" " oh, mate!" " so, did ya?" "of course i did." "she loved it." "couldn't get enough of it. she went like the toilet door on a bombay shrimp trawler." " rack?" " well, put it this way." "at least you know your kids will never go hungry." "and?" "like an artist's pocket." "okay, champs." "rory brown." "manager of sainsbury's, islington, has challenged us to a football match on sunday night." "finished?" "good." "the reputation of this supermarket is at stake." "your reputations, as employees, are at stake." "this is not just a game of football." "this is what it means to be a modern-day gladiator!" "now, i want you to think of me as russell crowe." "and you, you're all the other slaves." "and as slaves, you will play to the death!" "for what happens on sunday night, will echo through eternity." "sunday. 8:00 p. m." "sunny sports center." "you have got to got to be joking, right?" "we're gonna get murdered." "aaah!" " hi." " all right." "ah, bollocks!" " playing on this right wing. like a train, i am. - hiya." "heads up!" "gather round, whitechapel." "whitechapel, gather round." "okay, chaps, this is it!" "that is islington sainsbury's over there." "all i can see are a lot of pretty uniforms." "take a good look at one another." "why?" "natural-born killers!" "every one of you!" "so let's get stuck in there and settle this!" "huh?" "huh?" "huh?" "|" "hey, barry, i've got this really great game." "all right, rory." "jenkins." "there's some pretty uniforms you boys got." "see you've brought your top team this time." "looks can be deceiving." " well, that's obvious." " what?" "right. call." "heads." "no, tails." "tails it is." "come along!" "we've got one goal." "all right." "get in your spaces." " ahh!" " look at that!" "get it!" "come on, take it, come on!" "come on, after it." "i'm playing!" "i'm playing!" "the safe keys are hanging off, on the top shelf!" "get it!" "get it!" "what?" "triangles!" "triangles!" " foul!" " no foul!" "play on!" "play on, my ass!" "i'm all right!" "i'm all right!" "i'm all right!" "what are you doing?" "grow up." "forget about the money." "what money?" "what are you doing?" "what am i doing?" "i'm talking to an empty phone is what i'm doing." "'cause there's a dead man on the other end of this fucking line!" " i love that film!" " pachino. didn't you hear though?" "you oughta see the bank job shootout scene on me plasma screen!" "come on, whitechapel, we can still win this." " come on, lads!" " shoot!" " - aye!" "dipstick!" "sorry!" "the ball, the ball, the ball, the ball!" "for the love of god!" "yeah!" "finally!" "oh, my lord!" "get a life, dipstick!" "time out, ref." "time out." "well, chaps, could be worse." "how could it be worse?" "it's 26-nil." "it doesn't matter." "what matters is, there's less than a minute to play." "and we are not leaving this pitch until we score a goal!" "matt, get the ball to ben." "ben, this is your moment." "i need you." "get your little legs." "run up that right flank like the devil were after you." "i'll be in the center waiting for your cross." "use barry if you need to." "matt, stay on my left flank." "i need that cross." "i need that ball here." "i'll take the shot." "and we, we will share the glory." " got it?" " yeah." "now let's score a goal!" "come on!" "come on!" "come on!" "come on!" "come on, boys, come on!" "no!" "i often wonder what it would be like to spend the rest of my life with the world on pause." "to live out the rest of my life between two fractions of a second." "to die of old age, and then have time continue." "the young me gone, and a dead old man in my place." "was i spending too much time in this frozen world?" "it felt safe, untouchable." "but how safe is anyone's world?" "hello?" "anyone there?" "it's funny, but the last thing i imagined was that maybe i wasn't the only one who could stop time." "oh, my god!" "you all right?" "don't just stand there!" "drive me to the hospital!" " can you make sure sharon gets home all right?" " yeah." "cheers, mate." "right, i'll see you both tomorrow." " see ya." " bye." " thanks." " thank you." "i felt that game was never going to end." " matt's face when the ball hit jenkins. - oh, i know." "do you think he'll be okay?" "it was ego more than anything, i'd say." "it's probably none of my business, but, are you and matt seeing each other?" "no. we went to the cinema the other night, but just as friends." "hmm." "why?" "what has matt said?" "he said he slept with you." " so you didn't?" " no, of course not!" "what do you take me for?" "sorry." "did he say if i was any good?" "i think it was the best sex he's never had." "so you don't have a boyfriend?" "no. we split about six months ago." "he went off to university in the states and it became impossible to see each other." "and you?" "do you have a girlfriend?" "we broke up a few weeks ago." "i'm sorry." "how are you doing?" "better." "so how long have you been at the supermarket?" "'bout two years." " did you get to college?" " i was doing p. t. therapy, but i dropped out." "why?" "it wasn't me. and besides, i needed to start earning money." "what are you saving for?" "putting myself through evening classes." "yeah?" "studying... spanish." "spanish?" "yeah. what's wrong with that?" "n-n-nothing. i just wasn't expecting it. so what can you say?" "mmm... tu equipo de futbol es una puta mierda." "which means?" "it means your football team is shit." "26-nil." "so why spanish?" "i've lived here all my life." "i've worked at the supermarket for two years and, even though it's happening slow, i just feel that my life's ticking away a second at a time." "i thought that spanish would be one way that i'd be able to find a job that would involve travel." "like being an air hostess or teaching english at spanish-speaking schools." "i've always dreamt of traveling to far-off places..." "like south america." "to places where the sun kisses every morning." "but more than that, i wanna be able to talk to people about their lives and about their dreams." "silly, really." "no, it's not." "that's your dream." "knowing what you want is half the battle." "most people go through their whole lives not knowing what they want." "it's easy to find if you know what you're looking for." "so what is it that you're looking for?" "i've always wanted to be a painter." "maybe have my work hung in a gallery one day." "i've always wanted to meet a painter." "why?" "don't know." "i think it might be something to do with their ability to see beauty in everything." "to then capture it, and hang it on a wall for all to see." "i find it romantic." "well, this is me." "number 34." "thirty-four." "it's on the top floor." "nice." "adios." "hasta luego." "night, ben." "that first kiss." "i've always made such a mess of it." "come!" "hiya. i just wanted to know whether you were all right." "oh, yes, yes." "i'm fine." "'cause it looked really painful last night." "oh, no." "i've worse than this." "and the hospital said you'd be okay?" "ah, you know." "they said i'd live." "are you sure you're all right?" "oh, yeah, yeah, yeah." "do you know?" "i've almost forgot it happened." "i really can't feel a thing!" "i'm thinking of having a party on saturday." "you know, cheer everybody up." "sure you'll all be there." "won't you, sharon?" "um, yeah." "great." " hiya." " whatcha?" "thanks for walking me home last night." "that's all right. thanks for sharing your dream with me." "so have you heard the party rumor?" "no." "jenkins' birthday on saturday." "he's throwing a party." "we've all got to be there apparently." "oh." "will you be my date?" "sharon?" "it's my lunch break." "can you relieve me?" "so, will you be my date?" "yeah." "great." "shelf stacker to aisle ten, please." "can we have a shelf stacker to aisle ten?" "steven, if you're in the shop, can you report to aisle ten?" " it's your lunch break." " no, it's not." " it is. it's your lunch break." " i don't want one." "hama-vama!" "come." "you wanted to see us?" "take a chair." "not there!" "here!" "now, we were a bit unlucky last night, chaps." "but to lighten the mood and to celebrate my birthday, i'm throwing a party at my house on saturday night, and you're all invited!" "good!" "now, no birthday party would be complete without a surprise stripper." "and i want one of you to organize it. ben." "me?" "yes. here's 200 quid." "that should be plenty for some top-shelf entertainment." "i'll put the details on the staff board this afternoon." "well, get going then." "so, where are you gonna find a stripper?" "i don't know." "but i know a man who will." "so, your boss has given you 200 quid to get a surprise stripper for his own birthday." "i like him!" "yeah, i'll help on one condition." " what's that?" " i can come to the party." " shouldn't be a problem. - cool. right, let's find you a stripper, eh?" "two halves, please." "what was the other one?" "two halves." "oh, yeah." "i just found the world's stupidest barman." " sean, i'm not sure about this." " no, it's gonna be fine." "that's three quid, mate." "yeah!" " how much?" " a quid." "each." "i was, uh, wondering if you could help us." "um, it's his boss's birthday on saturday, and we were looking for someone who could come and do a surprise, uh, strip." "i'm busy on saturday." "oh, um, well, do you know anyone else who might be available?" "i know one." "but she's very expensive." "that's cool." "is she here?" "no. she only does private venues." "she's gorgeous." "top of the line, you see." "hiya, ben." "will you be my date?" " ben!" " huh?" " 200." " what?" "200 for the stripper." "oh." "don't worry, love, she's class." " okay." " great." "two tickets to pittsburgh!" "it was now my fourth straight week without sleep." "i had slowly stopped thinking about suzy and had dragged myself into the present." "the extra eight hours of my life had done nothing to slow the effect of time." "the minutes flew into hours, the hours into days." "and the days joined the fast rushing river of time." "the bad news is that time flies." "the good news is that you're the pilot." "most of my shifts were now spent thinking about sharon." "i drew her endlessly." "over and over." "her pale, milky skin." "her delicate frame." "in her eyes, i could see the world." "i thought about sharon escaping the life-sapping neons of the supermarket... traveling to south america, pursuing her dreams." "i thought about her asking me to go with her." "both sharing in our dreams." "her love of people, and my love of painting them." " you off home?" " yeah." "you still wanna be my date for the party tomorrow night then?" "yeah, of course." "will you come by and pick me up?" "yeah." "8:00?" " yeah, 8:00." " okay. see you tomorrow." "sharon had broken the spell." "for the first time in weeks, i slept." "i slept right through to the following afternoon." "mmm. yeah?" "there's a call for you, ben." " hello?" " hello, is this ben willis?" "yeah." "my name is alex prout, from the prout gallery." "i saw some examples of your work at the university yesterday." "y-you did?" "yes. and i'd be very interested in putting on a show of your latest works." "hello?" "um, ah, yeah, yeah." "i would love to." "great. why don't you bring some more examples of your work down to my gallery next monday?" "say 10:00?" "okay. thank you." "no. thank you, ben!" "bugger off." "you're the talent." "better get ready for the party." " hello?" " hey, it's ben." "hi, ben, i'll be right down." "hiya." "you look lovely." "thanks. you too." "are you okay?" "i had some great news today." "what?" "there's a gallery interested in showing my work." "ben, that's fantastic!" "look at you." "you're beaming inside out." "wow. you're on your way." "well, come on." "let's go and celebrate." "we can leave if you want." "welcome!" "hello, mate." "oy." "oy." " ben, this is, ah..." " katrine." " katrink." " katrine!" "katrine. ben." "this is sharon. sean." "i've heard a lot about you." " nice to meet you." " very sweet." "hi." "oh, no." "hi, ben." " hi." " how are you?" " uh, good, good. and you?" " thanks." "suzy, this is sharon." " nice to meet you." " and you." " what are you doing here?" " it's steve's brother's birthday." "what, jenkins?" "yeah. he's steve's older brother. do you know him?" "yeah. he's our boss." " you're working at sainsbury's?" " yeah, i work the night shift." "that's great." "well, i'd better get back." " it was good to see you." " you too." " nice to meet you." " you too." "you all right?" "no, that's disgusting." "no, sorry." "isn't it great, your brother's face!" "come on, jenkins, you rotten git!" "kon-a-nichi-wa!" "yeah!" "oh, no!" " natalie!" " sean?" "who's natalie?" "it's a long story." "well, your act's grown leaps and bounds since the garage." " god, how long ago was that?" " uh... will you, ah..." "will you stay for a drink?" "yeah, i'd love to." "is this the queue for the loo?" "sharon!" "thanks." "happy birthday." "thanks." "so, you wanna come up to my bedroom?" "eat some popcorn?" "shag?" "no." "why?" "what's the matter?" "don't you like popcorn?" "barry's gonna do a stunt!" "barry's gonna do a stunt!" "barry's gonna do a stunt!" "everyone!" "no, but seriously though, sharon." "i always thought that one day you and me might... are you wearing eyeliner?" "hey, ben." "hey." "we really made a mess of things, didn't we?" "wasn't that bad." "i just wanted to say that i'm sorry about everything." "i know i never really gave you a chance to make me happy." "you can't rely on other people to make you happy, suzy." "i know!" "is that you?" "yeah. jungle survival course, mexico." "but enough about me." "you." "you!" "you look gorgeous tonight, sharon." "i still think about you all the time, ben." "why are you telling me this?" "have you seen ben?" "five!" "four!" "three!" "two!" "one!" "go!" "no." "you can speed it up, you can slow it down." "you can even freeze a moment." "but you can't be rewind time." "you can't undo what is done." "i thought about what she'd seen." "i thought about what she hadn't seen." "i thought about how i could explain." "but the more i thought about it, the more i knew nothing i could say would make her anger go away." "how long could i just wait there delaying the inevitable?" "i had sat there with the world on pause for two days and still no solution had come." "i thought about the night at the sports center when i'd seen a person move when time was frozen." "if other people could move within the frozen world, then maybe it was something i could bring sharon in on." "it was the best i could come up with." "sharon?" "i'm definitely winded." "i had forgotten how fast everything was moving." "hello?" "sharon, it's me." "hello?" "this felt familiar." "i tried to explain that suzy was an ex." "and she had attacked me when my guard was down." "sharon had seen the wrong second of a two-second story." "but she wasn't listening." "member of cleaning staff to aisle three, please." "cleaning staff to aisle three quickly." " what language is that?" " russian." " do you speak russian?" " no." "can i get it back on to english?" "yep?" "can i help you?" "i've got an appointment with alex prout." "yeah, that's me." "hi. ben willis." "you called me about my work." "there must be some mistake." "i've never heard of you." "you didn't call me?" "bastards." "ah, sorry." "someone's played a joke on me." "well, since you're here, let me take a look." " these are yours?" " yeah." "you got any more?" "yeah, i've got hundreds." "can you bring them by?" "sure." "why don't you make an appointment with lucy." "proper one this time." "and we'll take it from there." "yeah." "ben." "ben." "all right, ben." "well done." "wonderful show." "thanks." " i'm anna. anna shapiro." " ben willis. nice to meet you." "i've got a gallery in new york." "i'd be interested to talk to you about your next show." "my next show?" "yes. any ideas of what you might like to do?" "um... i'd like to go and paint in south america." "well, that sounds wonderfully romantic." "here. take my card." "call me." "well done." "hey." "hey." "congratulations." "this is... so great." "thanks." " how have you been?" " good." "i haven't seen you at work." "no, i've got a job at a travel agent's." "so you're one step closer to your dream." "listen, i'm sorry about what happened at the party." "whether you saw the second after or not, it doesn't matter." "i've learned it's what you do with every single second that counts." "shh. it's okay." "this tells me so much more than you could ever say." "it's snowing outside." "do you trust me?" "why?" "i need to know." "what happened?" "i need to show you something." "once upon a time, i wanted to know what love was." "love is there if you want it to be." "you just have to see that it's wrapped in beauty and hidden away between the seconds of your life." "if you don't stop for a minute, you might miss it." "barry!" "barry!" "barry!" "barry!" "barry!" "ooh!" "oh!"