“It is half past six now, and you are running late. On such a day!”
Citizen Z368AT, or simply Z, opened his eyes.
“What day?” he asked sleepily.
“You forgot?” The servant was surprised. “Forgot about your own birthday?”
“What birthday, what are you talking about?” Z frowned. “It will be only…”
“Today is your second birthday,” the servant explained patiently. “The moistening cream Newskin endows you with new life and eternal youth. Watch the miraculous effect…”
Z deftly evaded the servant’s wet glistening finger and barricaded himself with a pillow.
“Stop it!” he commanded.
The code word forced the servant to retreat. He looked at his finger thoughtfully and, frowning, wiped it on his pants.
“Let me remind you,” he remarked with dignity, “that you promised to unsubscribe from advertising.”
“I have no money for that,” Z snapped.
The servant bowed.
“I see. By the way, it is thirty-four minutes now…”
“You better watch your people,” Z replied. “They have lost all respect. Our doormat was advising me to buy better shoes yesterday. Be so kind as to remind him of his place.”
“Of course.” The servant bowed. “But, you see, it is difficult to demand discipline from others, when you yourself are falling into advertising mode now and then.”
“I have no money for that!” Z repeated and, sympathetically patting the hollow plastic back, slipped past the servant into the bathroom.
“One could think you’d ever had it,” murmured the servant as Z left.
***
Z did not like his bathroom; the “I have no money for that’ stench was the worst here. The toothbrush, before turning on, pedantically read the rules for cleaning teeth, then, even more tediously and monotonously, narrated the news and novelties of dentistry. The soap dictated the address of the nearest nail salon. The water tap never forgot to turn off the cold or hot water for a second, each time apologizing that only Santa works flawlessly.
The towel was shocked with the state of his facial skin and abundance of dandruff and never failed to remind him that a single drop of Apollo cream would have eliminated both problems forever. As well as wrinkles. And early baldness. Not to mention bad breath. When the towel groaned menacingly, “Oh, how can you be like that?” Z crumpled it up and threw it under the sink.
But the main enemy was, of course, the mirror.
“You!” it exclaimed. “Again! How long are you going to torture me?”
The reflection in the mirror was dressed in worn-out underwear and a dirty white jersey. It was unshaven, unkempt, and smelly, with reddish hungover eyes, a low forehead, and greasy, sparse hair. Sure enough, it hated everyone and everything.
“What a nice day!” Z greeted him. “You look gorgeous. How did you sleep?”
The reflection belched, scratched its crotch, and suddenly disappeared, giving way to a smart middle-aged gentleman. The gentleman had nice pink cheeks, pearly teeth, and wonderful silky curls falling over his shoulders. Despite their differences, Z easily recognized himself in both reflections.
“Right from Hairy Fairy barbershop,” explained the gentleman carelessly. “It’s right there, around the corner and to the right. Highly, highly recommend.”
The gentleman half-turned, showing his profile and shrugged his shoulders.
“The suit, by the way, is from H&M&Son,” he added. “Oxford street, two minutes from…”
“Get out!” snapped Z, and the gentleman disappeared.
The mirror, having completed the trick, finally let the real reflection of Z come to the surface.
“Many thanks!” Z said.
“You are welcome. Have a nice day!” answered the mirror. “And do not forget: the happy man is not one who earns a lot, but one who spends a lot!”
“I remember!” Z snapped.
And, yes, there was hardly a man in the world capable of forgetting the main slogan of the millennium. Nobody had so much money so as to use goods entirely without built-in advertising.
***
When he was leaving the bathroom, Z bumped into the cook, who was waiting for him at the threshold.
“What do you want?” Z was surprised.
“Bread!” was the answer. “I need bread to make toast. Give. Me. The bread. Quickly!”
“Quickly?” Z flushed. “When will you learn the language at last? You have sufficient IQ for this, don’t you? Well, wait here, I will bring your bread. Quickly.”
He went into the hall, took out a loaf from the bag that was hanging on the door handle and, absently examining the wrapper, moved towards the kitchen.
