In a small city, usually a bonus for passing tourist, there was a strange event. The citizens knew each other as if everyone lived under the same roof. The strange event turned out to be a sign that people respond differently to the same event. For example, Mrs. Baker was the sweetest person in the city until she flipped like a switch. On the other hand, Mr. Gavy mellowed out from his usual waking up on the wrong side of the bed attitude. Mrs. Baker was a hardworking woman set on raising her rank at her office job. Mr. Gavy was a farmer who lived a simple life with many needs. Stacy was the rookie in the office, shadowing her co-worker Mrs. Baker. A perfectionist, germaphobe and scaredy cat, Stacy always wanted to be on top of things. However, this changed when she was forced out of her comfort zone.

Mrs. Baker became more short tempered as it was a busy season in the stuffy office. Too much work and less sleep was enough to change how she acted towards everyone, including Stacy.

“Nothing new to learn anymore rookie, just keep filing and typing” Mrs. Baker would say dully while hovering around the printer.

It didn’t seem like expert advice but Stacy grew impatient and less eager to be the sharpest pencil in the box anyway. She let time fly and didn’t care about being on time or getting the work right. The only thing that mattered was sleep.

“Sure thing Mrs. Baker” Stacy replied just before yawning on the papers she was using to fan herself. The job sure did get worse, along with the co-worker she thought she had figured out.

Meanwhile, Mr Gavy had a weight lifted off his shoulders. He had more time to farm and was able to keep better track of what produce he grew and sold. He was lucky to have the dreaded event on his side. He was the only one who benefitted from the time change. Stacy and Mrs. Baker were losing sleep and losing work ethics in the process. Since the time has changed, so has the citizens of this small city.