Do you consider yourself a generally stressed out person?
No.
How many hours a day do you spend at work?
About twelve. Usually more.
How often do you eat a home cooked meal?
Ugh, I don't understand why these questions are such a big deal. Honestly, why does it matter if I have home cooked meals? They're overrated. Besides, the Chinese live much longer then we do, so I can only benefit from eating their food every night, right?
Do you have eight glasses of water every day?
Yes.
Sometimes.
No.
I wind up my watch impatiently. "Excuse me, are these questions really necessary?"
"We just want an idea on the life that you are living. How stressed you are."
I quickly fill out the rest of the questions without paying much attention to them. I thrust them at the lady and she reads over them carefully and slowly, like she has all the time in the world. Doesn't she know that some people have places to be?
"It seems as though you are a very… stressed person."
I groan loudly. "For the love of god, I am not stressed!"
She raises an eyebrow. "I am going to help you relax, Elizabeth. Just, relax."
She presses a button on a tiny cassette player and a mixture between panpipes and sitars blares out of them.
"You're under a lot of pressure, Elizabeth… Am I correct?"
I roll my eyes. "I thrive under pressure." I check my watch. 9:48 AM.
"You can take that off, Elizabeth."
I sit up on the padded table I am lying on. "Excuse me?"
"Your watch. You don't need it here."
I laugh a bit. "No, I really need to know the time."
"Elizabeth," She says sternly. "Look around. There are no clocks. You do not need to know the time."
I look around the tiny room. It's dimly lit and is scented with incense. I don't understand why my best friend and work manager, Loretta, would send me here to relax. I couldn't even think clearly, the incense was giving me a horrible migraine.
I reluctantly take off my watch and she takes it away.
"It needs to be winded." I complain. She ignores me.
"I'm going to rub your feet, okay? You need to clear your mind, okay?" I fee
I feel the cool lotion pour on my feet and desperately try to relax. Even though I didn't understand why… I was perfectly fine.
I close my eyes for a while… Clear your mind…
My eyes flew open. I had almost forgotten my lunch plans with my boss to discuss my new position as partner!
Of course it was only ten o clock… Probably. I didn't have my watch. But I was always early. It was my trademark appearance! I needed to call Loretta, who also happened to be my work manager, to call the restaurant I reserved, to set my lunch fifteen minutes later, just in case. If my boss showed on time, he would think he was early, or if I was already there, it would leave a great impression! Yes! It was a perfect plan.
"Excuse me; I need to use your phone for a moment please." I said, eager to speak to Loretta.
She stood up slowly. "I can't allow you to do that, Elizabeth."
"What??" I exclaimed, desperately. "Come on… Patty."
"Pam."
"Pam!" I quickly corrected. "It's business."
"Is that not why you came here? To avoid business altogether?"
I sigh. "Look, Pam. I know that I came here to be relaxed, but this is an emergency. You've probably never worked in a hospital, you wouldn't understand. Not everyone can have… hippie-dippy jobs like yourself. This session is taking longer than I expected…"
"You've only been here ten minutes." She interrupts.
"And I need to make a call." I say sternly. "Okay Pocahontas?"
you.could.say.she.was.attractively.built
I never got to finish that session. I did, however, get to use the phone, which was on Pam's secretary's desk. I paced back and forth, occasionally winding my watch, talking very monotone to Loretta.
"Loretta, come on. Just call them. I swear, I need the fifteen minutes." The secretary watched me pace angrily across the room. "Pay them! I need more time!" I was getting slightly annoyed at two things, one, Loretta refused to call the restaurant without a better reason, and two… the secretary wouldn't stop watching me. "Hold on a second, Loretta." I hold the phone under my ear. "Excuse me, can I help you?"
She blushed and looked down. "No, sorry."
I give her a look, and then quickly dismiss my call with Loretta.
I sit on a chair next to her desk. "Uh hi… Mrs Feeny."
"Lucy." She corrects, and then hides the brass nameplate that I read it off of.
"Lucy. Look, Lucy, is my hair okay?"
She perks up at the question. "Sorry, what?"
"My hair is it okay?"
She shrugs. "Yeah, it's fine."
I groan. "Fine is not good enough! I need to get a job as partner, and I need to be looking beyond fine!"
"You look great!" Lucy exclaims, obviously slightly annoyed.
"Great. I sigh. I shake my head. "I love my job,. But I hate these things that people do to help me relax. Honestly, I'm not stressed!
Lucy chews on her lip/ "Are you sure? Because you certainly seem stressed."
I give her a cold glare.
"Sorry." She scribbles something down. "I know you aren't stressed, okay? But when you get that new position…which I know you will… here's the number you call to celebrate, okay?"
I take the paper. "Uh, thanks. Is this a therapist or something?"
She laughs. "No, it's my brother. He helps… relax, you know?"
I stuff the number in my pocket. "I don't know if you are planning to arrange a one night stand, but if you are, I'll let you know that I am not really into that kind of thing. But thanks, it's the best suggestion yet."
still.you.dont.regret.a.single.day
I straightened out my dress pants and adjusted the forks on the other side of the table. Everything was perfect. I checked my watch. 11:30. Still one hour and thirty minutes to go. I smiled and sat up straight, hoping the waiter would note my business like appearance and pass it on to my boss.
My only wake up call was one of the waiters tapping me on the shoulder.
I smiled broadly. "Yes?"
"You have a phone call, Miss Parker."
I bite my lip. The only person who would know the number to this place was Loretta.
I followed him to the front desk and picked up the phone.
"Elizabeth Parker." I answer.
"Elizabeth, Jim called." Shit, it was Loretta. Jim's my boss.
"Yes, what did he say?"
"He cancelled lunch. He cant make it."
My stomach sank. "Did he say why?" I asked, my throat dry.
"He said he's busy."
I closed my eyes.
"Elizabeth, don't let it get to you, alright? He's a very busy man."
I sighed. "I know.. I wont."
"Are you okay?"
I swallow the feeling that made me want to throw up. "Yeah."
"Because there's more."
I open my eyes. I don't know if I should ask. "Good or bad?"
"I don't know… maybe…"
"Don't beat around the bush, Loretta."
"He's putting up more people for the job."
I let out a gasp. "Oh my god, WHAT?? I worked so hard for that job!! Who??"
"I don't know if I should tell you, you might kill her or something…"
"WHO IS UP FOR THE JOB??"
"Phyl!!" She screamed back.
"Phyl?" I repeat, feeling like I had to throw up again. "From floor three?"
"Look Elizabeth, don't worry about it. You can get the job, no problem.
"Ugh, I cant believe Jim!! Double crossing, pig face, idiot… Moron!"
And I turned around to see the worst face I could ever possibly see…
Jim.
i.get.by…
I drop the cardboard box on Loretta's desk.
"Fired."
Loretta gave me the most passionate look she could manage. "Oh, Elizabeth."
I collapse in a chair beside her. "It was horrible. He completely ignored the fact that I've been giving him everything since I was there, and he fired me because… because I couldn't respect him as a human being."
"Oh, I know Elizabeth, he's horrible."
"I love my job. Everyone knows it. I tell everyone. 'Hey, I love my job!'" I sniff. The tears are rolling down my face. "You know what? I bet Phyl says a lot of bad things behind his back. But she's going to get my job!!"
"Well, you actually never got the job…" Loretta points out, and it only makes me wail louder. "Oh, Jesus Elizabeth." She snaps, annoyed.
I look up. "What?"
"You never cry. Not when your grandmother died, not when you went bankrupt, not for the war, and not at my daughter's Christmas play."
"That's because you're daughters play is full of shit! Donkey's don't sing!"
"Everyone
cried at my daughters Christmas play!
She sighed. "Anyways,
that's not the point. The point is, you never cry at anything. You
loose your job and you're a freaking waterfall."
I sniff. "So?"
"So?" She laughs. "So do something! You have no job to go to tomorrow, you aren't married…" She nudges my shoulder. I smile. "Go, have fun."
two.of.us.riding.nowhere
"I've got a feelin', a feelin' deep inside, oh yeah." A girl with curly hair sang at the front.
I was sitting beside Loretta, straight in my chair. I sipped my bottle gingerly.
"Come on Elizabeth. Drink. Have fun."
I took a longer sip for her amusement.
She groaned. "Come on." I took another. "Elizabeth, like this…" She drank the entire bottle and slammed it on the table.
I laughed. "Okay." I chugged mine and slammed it down. I felt a bit light headed. "Now what?"
"Let's find us some boys to take home."
you.and.me.chasin.paper
The rest of the night was foggy. I remember getting a few more drinks, and then meeting a shaggy blonde. Apparently, him and I had a few more drinks before going to his house, which is where I am now.
"Oh my god…" I groan, rolling off the bed I was sleeping in.
I stood up, immediately alarmed.
Where was I?
Clothes were strewn everywhere. The plates and food were underneath clothes and socks, and the smell was horrible.
It was only then when I realized I wasn't wearing any clothes.\
I groaned loudly. I stood up, off the floor, and grabbed a dark blue robe off of the door handle.
I stumbled into the bathroom and quickly locked the door.
Considering how messy his bedroom was, his bathroom was really clean. There wasn't anything on the floor, and everything was sparkling around the sink. There were two tooth brushes and soap bars. I smiled and smelled the soap. Strawberries.
I turned on the shower, and the water sprayed out perfectly on my fragile body. I found some strawberry shampoo and washed my messy hair. I got out and wrapped my self in the blue robe. I opened the door and walked out.
There was a man about the age of me, I suspect, but he didn't look anything like the boy I had followed home.
He had dark, patted hair unlike… Max, that was it. Unlike Max's messy, greasy blonde mop.
"Uh, hi." I say, awkwardly. He looks up from the tale.
"Hi…" He says. "Who are you?"
I wince. "Elizabeth?" I say.
"Oh." He sees the bathrobe. "You and Max…"
I coughed, indicating that he was exactly right.
"You want some breakfast?"
I look at my wrist, and curse when I see that my watch is gone.
"No?" He suspects.
I'm about to tell him that I have to be heading to work soon, however the cold fact that well, IM FIRED comes back to me.
"Uh, well… I was just fired yesterday, so I don't have anywhere to be, but…"
"Great." Max says, and I turn around and see him, hair messed up and a sloppy grin on his face. He kisses me on the mouth, jabbing his tongue between my teeth. It was disgusting. It tasted like a mixture between… old beer and warm beef jerky blended together.
I try to hide my disgust as he walks past me and into the kitchen.
"I'll make pancakes." He decides.
Maybe a bit slow, but there is more Max in the next few chapters. Anyone want to guess the song titles of the dividers? (:
