Just an Ordinary Day: The Uncollected Stories of Shirley Jackson Read Free

pointed over his shoulder. “You see all those things about the parties of the first and second parts? And about the court of law? That all makes it legal.”
    “Well, sign it, then,” he said.
    I thought. “We need a witness,” I said. “I’ll go upstairs and get my roommate.”
    I left before he could say anything. My roommate was asleep.
    “Look, Bobbie,” I said. I shook her. She turned over and said, “Go away.”
    “Bobbie,” I said, “you’ve got to come and witness a contract.”
    “What the hell,” Bobbie said.
    “I’ve got the devil waiting downstairs.”
    “Let him wait,” Bobbie said. She had both eyes open but she wouldn’t move. I rolled her out of bed and stood her up. “Come on,” I said. “He’ll get impatient.”
    “Signing contracts with the devil,” Bobbie said in disgust. “At three in the morning. How’s a person ever going to get any sleep.”
    “Come on!” I said.
    Bobbie sat down on the edge of her bed. “If he’s been waiting all these thousands of years,” she said, “he can wait until I get some lipstick on.”
    By the time I got her downstairs, the devil had smoked four more of my cigarettes. He got up when we entered and bowed very low to Bobbie.
    “Charmed,” he said.
    Bobbie smiled at him invitingly. “Hello,” she said.
    “Come on, you two,” I told them, “I’ve got to get this over with and get back to work.”
    “What do I have to do?” Bobbie said, looking at the devil out of the corner of her eye.
    “Just sign,” the devil said, taking her arm to lead her over to the table.
    Bobbie let out a yell that ought to have waked the housemother and the whole dormitory. The devil backed away and began to apologize, but Bobbie stood there rubbing her arm and glaring.
    “Look,” she said belligerently, “I’m not fooling around with any guy sets fire to you when he touches you.” The devil looked at Bobbie’s arm and made the burn go away, but after that Bobbie kept the table between them. I took up the contract.
    “I’ll sign first,” I said. I wrote my name quickly in the second blank and handed the paper to the devil.
    “You have to sign, too,” I said.
    “Where?” He looked blankly at the paper. I showed him the first place and handed him my pen. He blushed, and looked from me to Bobbie. “I’m afraid…” he began, “do you mind if…” he shrugged and made an X in the space. “I never learned…” he said apologetically. Bobbie’s jaw dropped and she just stood there until I kicked her in the ankle.
    “Sign here,” I said, and she signed in the witness space.
    Then the devil and I signed again at the bottom, and signed the duplicate the same way, and I handed him one sheet and kept the other.
    “Now,” I said as casually as I could, “I guess I owe you a dollar.”
    “What for?” he said.
    “Bobbie,” I said rapidly, “run upstairs and borrow a buck from someone.”
    “What the hell,” Bobbie said. But she turned around and started up the stairs.
    “Well,” said the devil, rubbing his hands, “what can I do for you now?”
    I began to polish my nails on my hand. “Let’s see,” I said. “I’ll start out with an A in Chemistry 186, the power to be invisible when I come in after hours, a date with the captain of the football team for the senior ball—”
    “Throw in something for me,” said Bobbie, coming through the door.
    “Let’s see,” I said, “give her—”
    “A date with that blond guy,” said Bobbie, “you know.” She handed me a dollar.
    “I guess that’s about all,” I said to the devil.
    “Except, of course,” Bobbie put in, “except for a couple of hundred thousand dollars.”
    “You shall have all those things,” the devil promised eagerly.
    “Oh, yes,” I said. “And you get this out of it.” I handed him the dollar.
    “What’s this for?” he asked.
    I looked at the contract. “That’s for your soul,” I said.
    The devil looked at his contract. “Your soul,” he