The Agency (2026)

Chapter 3: Tick Tock

“Mommy!” my kids scream in unison as they see me walk inside the daycare.

“Hey babies! How was your day?”

“Good,” says Mia.

“I got in trouble,” says Matt.

“You did?” I ask. Please don’t let my baby get put out of this daycare.

“Yes,” he says. “I forgot to put away my toys.”

“Well, you’ll remember next time,” I say. We gather their things and walk home.

“Mommy, we’re hungry,” they say.

“Y’all are always hungry,” I say. “We’ll get something when we get home.”

Once we get into our apartment, I find some cookies in the cabinet for the kids to snack on. Otherwise, our shelves are pretty bare. Working at the grocery store allowed me to run a tab when money got thin. Lamar ruined that. I sit at my tiny kitchen table and hold my face in my hands. I don’t know what to do. I am tired–tired of holding it all together.

***

Knock knock, I hear as I raise my head from the kitchen table. I must’ve fallen asleep. I look at the time on the microwave, 6:00pm. I try to get my bearings and slowly head for the door.

The kids run towards the door like they always do. “Get away from that door. You don’t know who that is!” I yell. They obey and go back to their cookies. I look through the peephole. It’s Mr. Lee. Oh God, I thought I had until Monday. I open the door and see Mr. Lee with a medium-sized paper bag. I see a loaf of bread sticking out of the top of the bag.

“Jasmine, Ms. Wilkins asked me to bring these to you. She says it isn’t much, but it should help you and the babies with a couple of good meals.”

“Thank you,” I say with tears forming in my eyes. “Please tell her thank you for me until I can tell her myself.”

“I will.”

I take the bag of groceries from him and close the door. I place the bag on the table and begin taking the items out. There’s a loaf of bread, a bag of rice, spaghetti noodles, and a jar of sauce. There’s also a small pack of ground beef. Ms. Wilkins is on a fixed income. I know for a fact that she doesn’t have the money for this, but if I try to give these back, she’ll give me a good tongue lashing. “Stop being selfish, Jas! Those babies need to eat and so do you! That won’t happen if you give it back!” I’m sure Mr. Lee helped but he would never admit it.

I decide to make spaghetti for dinner. I grab my largest pot from the cabinet beneath the counter and fill it with water. I place it on the stove and turn the burner on. While I am waiting for the water to boil, I put everything but the spaghetti noodles and sauce into my cabinet. In the background, the twins are singing along to their favorite cartoon. Today is getting better. I head to my room to put on my comfortable clothes.

As I’m changing, everything goes dark. “No, no, no” I think to myself. “Is today the 22nd? OMG, it is” The disconnect notice listed today for the date and with me getting fired and the eviction notice, it slipped my mind. The twins are crying and screaming for me, “Mommy, where are you?” cries Matt.

“It’s dark, and I’m scared,” Mia screams.

“Mommy’s coming. Don’t be scared. I’m coming right now,” I say as I head up the hallway. The twins are still in the living room and run towards me. “Don’t be scared. The lights won’t be out for long.” At least Mommy hopes they won’t be off for long.

I fish my cellphone out of my bag and call the power company. “Thank you for calling Prestwood Power. How may I help you?”a chirpy young voice says on the phone.

“Hello, how are you?”

“Fine ma’am, I hope you are doing okay. How may I help you?”

“Yes, my power is out, and I was wondering if you could help. I know I received a disconnect notice.”

“Let me pull up your account. Is this number you’re calling from attached to your account?”

“Yes, I say.”

“Allow me a few moments to look at your account, may I place you on a brief hold?”

“Sure.”

I wait for about 3 minutes. The chirpy voice returns to the line.

“Ms. Wells?”

“Yes,”

“Thank you for holding. I have researched your account and you are two payments behind. We needed to receive payment by 5pm today to avoid your service being disconnected. It looks like you were already extended twice. Are you able to make the payment?”

“How much do I need to restore service?”

“At minimum, you would need to pay at least one of the past due bills. That amount is $115.87. Your full balance as of now is $330.52. That includes both months plus the reconnection fee from last month when your service was disconnected. Keep in mind, there will be another reconnection fee of $50 added to your account. Ms. Wells, are you prepared to pay the $115.87?”

“No, I don’t have that much. Can I make a smaller payment?”

“I’m sorry. Since you failed to honor the payment arrangement from last month, we cannot accept a smaller payment.”

‘“OK, thank you,” I say as I disconnect the call.

I call Trey. It goes to voicemail. I call again. Voicemail. I call again. He answers on the third ring.

“This better be important, Jasmine.”

“It is. My lights were disconnected. I need you to pay the bill so I can get the lights turned on again.”

“You hung up on me earlier.”

“Trey…not the time. Will you help?”

“No. I do not have it.”

“Trey.”

“Jasmine, every time you call you want money. I am not an ATM.”

“Obviously not, ATMs dispense money.”

I hear female laughter in the background. He’s putting on a show.

“See with an attitude like that, that’s why I don’t help you.”

“Trey, if you won’t help me, will you at least let the kids come stay with you until I get this figured out?”

“No can do.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you. Goodbye Jasmine.”

I am out of options. I can’t let my kids see me cry.

“Mommy, hungry,” says Matt.

“How about a peanut butter sandwich?”

“Ok.”

The jar of peanut butter is practically empty, but I manage to get enough to spread a thin smear on a slice of bread. I make another slice for Mia.

“Let’s have a picnic.”

We sit cross-legged on the floor and eat our sandwiches. The streetlight outside makes a dim light in the living room. “So I have an idea, do y’all wanna make a fort and sleep out here tonight? Or do you want to sleep in mommy’s bed?”

“FORT!” they scream.

I get the sheets and blankets plus pillows. Mia and Matt begin assembling the fort. It’s starting to get a little stuffy, so I open the window to let some fresh air inside. I grab a pillow for myself and lie down on the couch. It’s almost 8pm. The twins are obviously sleepy. They can barely keep their eyes open. They climb inside their fort and moments later they are both asleep.

I scroll social media on my phone. I know I shouldn’t, but I find Trey’s page. He posted a few moments ago. It looks like he was at a club with some of his friends. I’m sure they were popping bottles. No money for his kids but money for clubbing. I place my phone on the table beside the couch.

The clock is ticking. I have to find rent money or a place to stay by Monday. My lights are off. I have $10 in my checking account and a paycheck for $81. That won’t even pay the light bill. I hear her voice in my head. You have 24 hours. That lady was kinda weird. What kind of name is Minerva anyway? How did she know my name? I stare across the room. I can see my purse on the kitchen table where I left it. Wait, is something glowing? Did one of the twins leave one of their toys in my purse? I turn on my side. I need to sleep so I can figure out a plan.

You have 24 hours.

The glow is bothering me. Frustrated, I get up to see what was left in my purse. The glow is coming from the inside pocket. I know before I unzip the pocket.

THE AGENCY

M. CRANE, PROPRIETOR

The red letters are glowing. Nice touch. I flip the card over and see the number. One phone call just to see what she’s offering. I can do that.