Burden: a story about one character sharing or demanding to share a burden of the other
Burden
56 stairs. 56 bloody stairs.
The charm of a third floor turret office wore off quickly for Edith, even before she discovered she would be sharing it with another new professor. By the time she got to know Dr. Anthony Strallan, the charm had fled entirely.
But, at least he had a strong back.
"How many more boxes?" Anthony asked through clenched teeth as they ascended the last landing and staggered down the corridor towards the open door of their office.
"Four!" Edith gasped, as she dropped her box perilously close to Anthony's feet. He jumped aside and rapped the top of his head against the door frame.
"Bloody hell!" he swore, rubbing the top of his head vigorously and glaring at Edith's attempts to stifle her laughter. "What are you storing in these boxes that you feel free to chuck them about with abandon at my feet?"
Edith grinned at him and bent to open the box. Anthony peered in and his eyes widened in shock.
"Are these…" he whispered, awestruck.
"Yes they are," Edith proclaimed, lifting a mint condition, still in the package, Dr. Who action figure from the box.
"You have a Destiny of the Daleks set!" Anthony enthused.
"I have TWO," Edith informed him with a smirk. One's in the package for display; the other's in one of the boxes still at the foot of the stairs… Along with all my OTHER spare box sets that I've opened."
Anthony stared at the package in Edith's hand and then into the box, full of other packages.
"The open ones are in the other boxes downstairs yet?" he asked absently, finger's twitching as he restrained himself from snatching and grabbing. At Edith's nod, he immediately straightened up.
"I'll just go and fetch them, then."
