At the End of the Day
Les Shaman Miserables
Eight years after Jean Paijean began his parole, a bustling factory emerged in the small town of Montreuil-sur-Mer. Many people in the town needed this factory, for most of the town's goods and jobs came from it. The workers, however, were mostly poor.
"At the end of the day, you're another day older," they chanted. "And that's all you can say for the life of the poor. It's a struggle, it's a war, and there's nothing that anyone's giving. One more day standing about, what is it for? One less day to be living!"
The poor workers waited in line for their check. "At the end of the day you're another day colder, and the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill! And the righteous hurry past – they don't hear the little ones crying, and winter is coming on fast, ready to kill. One day nearer to dying…"
The foreman, Faust, stared menacingly at the workers from behind his table, with paychecks and money on the surface.
"At the end of the day you get nothing for nothing," he told them. "Sitting flat on your butt doesn't buy any bread."
"There are children back at home," one worker commented.
"And the children have got to be fed," said the worker and his friend together.
"And you're lucky to be in a job," the second worker told the first.
"And in a bed!" one of the women yelled at the pair.
"So we're counting our blessings," the workers sighed theatrically.
A pretty woman with green hair done up nicely walked up to the foreman, asking about pay, when Faust took her into his arms. The woman pushed away and walked off, a bit angered. Faust began to fume silently, handing over a check to a man grudgingly.
"Have you seen how the foreman is fuming again?" one redheaded woman worker, named Macchi, asked another worker. "With his strange int'rests and his wandering hands?"
The blonde woman Maddie was talking to, named Mari, nodded. "It's because little Juntine won't give him his way – take a look at his trousers, you'll see where he stands!"
A male worker, this one named Hao, agreed with the ladies. "And the boss, he never knows that the foreman is always in heat."
"If Juntine doesn't look out," Mari added. "Watch how she goes, she'll be out on the street!"
The workers stood in the long line, sighing and moaning. "At the end of the day it's another day over with enough in your pocket to last for a week. Pay the landlord, pay the shop, keep on grafting as long as you're able! Keep on grafting till you drop, or it's back to the crumbs off the table! You've got to pay your way – at the end of the day!"
Juntine held a letter in her hand, barely visible to anyone. However, a female factory girl with blue hair and a cigarette in her mouth, named Kanna, grabbed the letter easily from Juntine. Juntine tried to grab it, and ran out of line to follow Kanna.
"And what have we here, little innocent sister?" Kanna asked with a grin. "Come on Juntine, let's have all the news!"
Kanna opened the folded letter and read it aloud. "Dear Juntine, you must send us more money, your child needs a doctor… there's no time to lose."
Juntine grabbed the letter forcefully. "Give that letter to me, it is none of your business. With a husband at home and a bit on the side – is there anyone here that can swear before God she has nothing to fear; she has nothing to hide?"
Kanna jumped on Juntine, trying to grab the letter. A small scuffle broke out, and then the owner of the factory, Monsieur Madellee, pulled the two girls off of each other. Juntine held the letter close to her bosom, and Kanna's cigarette had been smashed indefinitely.
"What is this fighting all about? This is a factory, not a circus!" Madellee reminded the two. "Now come on ladies, settle down. I run a business of refute – I am the mayor of this town."
Monsieur Madellee turned to Faust. "I look to you to sort this out. And be as patient as you can."
As Monsieur Madellee turned and headed back into the main building of the factory, Faust sneered, "Now someone say how this began."
Kanna gladly volunteered. "At the end of the day she's the one who began it! There's a kid that she's hiding in some little town. There's a man she has to pay, you can guess how she picks up the extra! You can bet she's earning her keep –" Kanna's voice became one of extreme hatred. "-sleeping around. And the boss wouldn't like it."
"Yes it's true there's a child, and the child is my daughter," Juntine nodded. Her eyes were glassy, as if it pained her to remember. "And her father abandoned us, leaving us flat. Now she lives with an innkeeper man and his wife, and I pay for the child – what's the matter with that?"
The women of the factory saw this in a different way, however. "At the end of the day, she'll be nothing but trouble! And there's trouble for all when there's trouble for one! While we're earning our daily bread, she's the one with her hands in the butter – you must send the slut away, or we're all gonna end in the gutter! And it's us who'll have to pay at the end of the day!"
"I might have known the bitch could bite," Faust smirked wickedly, "I might have known the cat had claws. I might have guessed your little secret. Ah yes, the virtuous Juntine, who keeps herself so pure and clean! You'd be the cause, I had no doubt, of any trouble hereabout – you play a virgin in the light, but need no urgin' in the night!"
"She's been laughing at you while she's having her men!" Hao yelled, pointing at Juntine.
"She'll be nothing but trouble again and again," the women cried.
"You must sack her today!" Kanna screamed.
"Sack the girl today…!"
Faust still had the smirk on his face. Juntine backed away, knowing what was to come.
"Right then," Faust snickered. "On your way!"
Juntine fell to the ground, utterly devastated. Everyone left with their paychecks, as Juntine stared at the stone ground, as the place deserted in a flash.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shaman King or Les Miserables.
Character Notes: Yes, Lee Pailong is Jean Valjean. And since a few people asked me this (reviews and emails), Horohoro is indeed THernardier. But I won't tell you anything about Mme. Thernardier except that it's not Pilika.
About, Tao Jun as Fantine... if Pailong is Valjean, then Jun is Fantine! Perfection!