I was originally thinking about this as a screen play... but Enjonine filled the parts perfectly so this was born...
Eponine could not help but let a smirk play on her lips as she walked through the streets like a woman on a mission. Her tall laced up boots clanked against the pavement like a drum beating out her own personal march.
Oh, today was a day long awaited and she was determined to have it play out like it did in her mind non-stop the last two years. She was on her way to work, but this would be the last day, for today was the day she would turn in her two weeks notice and resign at long last.
Due to her plowing, she made it to work at record time, but waited a whole extra minute just to walk in the slightest bit late. He hated that. She tapped her foot, watching her watch with her wicked smile, knowing he would be looking too, waiting to reprimand her as soon as she walked in.
The clock struck 9:01 and Eponine briskly waltzed into the building, making the doorbell chime, not even bothering to acknowledge her co-workers for fear they would sway her spirits.
"Morning 'Ponine!" she heard Marius say from his desk.
"Hey baby-cakes, you didn't text me all weekend." that was Grantire at the water fountain, definitely not drinking water.
"Morning." she allowed herself to quip, but kept walking. "Boss in the office?"
"I think he slept there." Joly replied jokingly.
Of course he was in his office, he was always in there. Eponine didn't even allow herself to pause before opening the door to her editor's office without knocking, something he also hated, and let herself in, closing it rather loudly behind herself.
Don't chicken out now! she thought quickly.
Gabriel Enjolras was reading the morning edition of their paper at his overly neat and organized desk, but Eponine could still see his shoulder's flinch at the slam of the door and could already tell she had successfully pissed him off thoroughly.
He lowered the paper and eyed the brunette with a scowl that was slightly deeper than his usual default scowl. Eponine just beamed at him in reply.
"Morning, Enjolras." she said cheerfully, waltzing up to his desk.
"Eponine." he greeted coldly. "You're inability to knock never ceases to amaze me, but I suppose I should just be happy you're only slightly off clock-in time today."
"I suppose you should, because I quit." she retorted, hardly holding back any bitterness.
That made him pause in surprise, making Eponine's smile broaden. To see the calm and always collected Gabriel Enjolras being derailed was the more satisfying than Eponine dreamed up.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked, giving her his full attention, folding up his paper.
"You heard me, Enjolras," Eponine spoke up, ready to unleash two years of frustration. "I said: I. Quit!"
He frowned and leaned forward in his seat. "Oh really?"
"Yes really," she began. "And don't bother lecturing me about paperwork and getting a decent reference, I
already spoke to the Monsieur Lamarck and he wrote one up for me, I'll also be serving my two weeks upstairs under Combeferre, as to avoid any awkwardness in the workplace. "
"Ah, so you went over my head." Enjolras stated, quite recovered from his surprise and now quietly evaluating the situation.
"I wouldn't take it too badly," she told him, talking to him as if he were a child. "You've loathed my existence since I started here, I've never managed to meet your expectations at all, my leaving I'm sure will be more of a blessing to you."
"None-the-less," he said with an annoyed sigh. "You've still managed to cause me some problems; I'll have very limited time to find a replacement to a hard to manage job… though it's obvious you never took your work seriously… I would've appreciated at least a little heads up."
"I would perhaps be sorry about that, if the last two years working for you hadn't been a hell." she quipped back, mirroring his frown. "But, the truth is, I'm glad to cause you any inconvenience that I possibly can."
"How professional of you." he stated mildly, leaning back in his chair.
"Oh, I'm not done yet, I've been waiting a long time to say this and so help me I will; I want you to know that you are the most pompous, arrogant, spoiled rich boy I've ever had the misfortune to meet! I've wasted two years of my life trying to bend over backwards to please you and all you have ever done is belittle and treat me like I'm good for nothing." she told him. "Well guess what, I'm not worthless; I got the part from my audition which means I never get to see you're smug stupid face ever again! Ha!"
"Your audition?" he asked with genuine curiosity ignoring her verbal assaults. He was probably just trying to belittle her again.
"Yes, for the Madeleine Company." she must have spoken about it fifty times since auditions started, but of course Enjolras probably didn't even listen or care. "But that's not important, you…"
She paused when she noticed that he was smirking slightly.
"What?" she asked annoyed.
"Nothing…" he replied, recovering quickly. "…is your rant quite done?"
She huffed. "Yes, I suppose it is, I will now take my stuff upstairs and then I'll be gone on the eighth, bye."
"Bye, Eponine." he said as she slammed the door, unable to stop himself from chuckling.
Oh boy…
…
She felt like a new woman!
Opening the door to Enjolras' office she was met by the entire body of her fellow staff-mates gaping at her. Not one of these boys, not even Grantaire would ever dare speak to Enjolras like that.
"Eponine… are you for real?" Marius asked. "You got the part!?"
She tried not to flush at Marius' attention and praise, so she just nodded and giggled like a girl in middle school instead.
"Thaddagirl!" Grantaire slurred, picking Eponine up twirling her around the office.
Eponine laughed happily as the rest of her co-workers congratulated her, all clapping and asking questions.
"I can't believe you said that to Enjolras! I can't believe you just quit! What was his face like?" Jolly asked.
Eponine was place back down to earth by Grantaire and mimicked Enjolras' surprised face almost perfectly. She was a pretty decent impersonator and she had Enjolras' down perfectly from his posture to his voice, an act she often used to make the A.B.C. Inquiry staff laugh throughout the day.
The boys chuckled wholeheartedly, but stopped dead as Enjolras stepped out of his office with a coffee mug in hand for a refill.
"This isn't a social, get back at your desks." he ordered calmly, but rather sternly.
Everyone filed back to work professionally, except for Grantaire, who gave the editor-in-chief a drunk salute, making Enjolras roll his eyes.
"Jondrette, shouldn't you be emptying your desk?" Enjolras asked Eponine.
She smiled broadly, giving him a salute as well. "Yes, chief, yes I should."
Her little cubical was hardly a chore to clean. She had her 1945 type writer would be the hardest to move, but she would ask Marius to help her carry it upstairs. He was always such a gentleman. Other than that she only had her laptop three pencils and a few notebooks. Her articles were mostly in the field and she wasn't much of a desk worker like Grantaire and Joly.
Though she would miss the staff downstairs, she was excited to work upstairs to finish her articles. Muscihetta worked upstairs as a secretary and it would be nice to have a little female company. She would miss working so close to the Marius, the center of her attention for the last two years, but she would always see him at the cafe he worked at from 4-7 on the weekends.
Marius was just lovely, almost like a fairytale prince, he was tall lean with copper hair and the greenest green eyes in all the world. He was also came from a wealthy family, but was humble and kind and was trying to make his own way. He was an aspiring overseas journalist and wanted to travel the world. Most of the boys were just graduated and finishing up their last years in college or, like Combeferre and Enjolras, just starting graduate studies.
Eponine made it through two years in college working toward a Musical Theater Major, always wanting to pursue the stage, because of her love of acting, dancing and singing. However, that was before having to drop out due to failing a political science course and losing her scholarship.
Luckily, that was the same year she met Marius at the café' who got her a job at the A.B.C Inquiry, an independent and quite successful newspaper, focused on politics and the fall of society and trying to make a difference in the world. Down on her luck, and with no money, Eponine made the most of it, and was very active in trying to do good work. She was hired because of her destitute upbringing, and her inner connections with the poor of Paris. She wrote articles of the people struggling in the city, making their case known to society.
Quite an inspiring job, but not her dream; she still longed to work on the stage, and was always taking up auditions whenever she could. Unfortunately for two years, she never got any parts with any of the city's companies, and no matter how hard she worked, she was unable to please her editor.
Enjolras, for some unknown reason and despite hiring her himself, detested her since she started. She thought at first it was because he wasn't very personal, nor was he used to women, and though that was true, that proved not to be the case. Enjolras, though a natural jerk, seemed to always be twice as frustrated with her mistakes and passive aggressively managed to make her life miserable.
Even while she was cleaning out her desk, she had no idea why Enjolras hated her so much. It made her quite frustrated. Though not perfect, she was a hard worker, almost always on time, and she a great people person. She was funny, chatty, witty and helpful, all the other guys loved her, and she went out of her way so that Enjolras would like her.
When she first started she brought him coffee, asked if he needed anything, complimented him, tried talking to him, but her efforts were in vain; Enjolras just hated her.
Over time, she gave up her conquest and decided to loathe him just as much as he seemed to loathe her, he was often the butt of her jokes and the pinnacle of her emotional rants and tantrums.
Well, at last we can be rid of each other. She thought, trying not to dwell on the matter anymore, it had been a tiresome two years and she was going to put it all behind her.
With a flirtatious smile, she turned to Marius in the next cubical and lifted her heavy type writer. "Help a girl with some luggage?"
Marius smiled back in amusement, getting up from her seat. "Certainly."
…
The next day, Eponine took the stairs to the second floor. She peaked a her head in to say good morning to Marius, Grantaire and Joly, but was quick to avoid Enjolras by any means.
Sharing a office with Musichetta, she lay across the office sofa, typing on her laptop. Only two articles to go until freedom.
Musichetta, tall, thin, with chopped black hair, seemed bored with her typing. "Oh, I hate being a secretary even more, now that you are a starlet!"
Eponine smiled. Musichetta and she, though knowing each other previously because Musichetta was dating Joly, had hit it off like soul sisters.
"Hardly a starlet, I'm an extra." Eponine replied, typing away. "An extra in Phantom of the Opera! No one will be able to even see me."
"Yes, for now, but wait until you work you're way up!" Musichetta leaned back in her chair dramatically. "You'll be the prima-donna!"
"I doubt it," Eponine replied. "But, insignificant or not, its a dream come true."
"That's the spirit!" Musichetta exclaimed. "So, are you singing anything?"
"Mostly just ballet dancing, but I have a little chorus singing at the opening act." she replied.
"How much will you be making?"
"Not much more than I am here, but that doesn't matter to me, I don't need much." Eponine answered.
"I'm just so excited for you!" Musichetta sighed happily. "Joly and I will be there opening day, you be sure."
"Look out for Female Dancer #14 in the program." Eponine replied.
"Musichetta!" Combeferre called from the room next door. "Enough talking, I need those recites printed up."
"Aye! Aye!" Musichetta called, before muttering to Eponine. "You'll have to get used to Comberfur, he's a bit of a work horse."
"I'm sure he's nothing compared to Enjolras." Eponine grumbled sitting up, saving her draft.
"Oh, you mean Adonis down there?" Musichetta asked with a dreamy sigh. "Is he as bad as they say? Joly complains often, but I don't believe that someone so perfectly gorgous could be that hard to work for."
As much as Eponine hated to admit it, Enjolras was impossibly attractive, she noticed when she first met him. He was tall and lean in the most perfect way; and had a face that seemed to be chiseled by Michelangelo, framed by golden curls. In a word he was angelic; the kind of good looking one would stop and point at.
However, Eponine was soon to forget anything about his looks, as Enjolras' unapproachable personality erased any attraction she had for him.
"He's worse." Eponine replied. "He may be good looking, but he's a mental terrorist, passively bringing you down into a depression, you're lucky to have Combeferre as a boss, Enjolras' personality is so unattractive, you don't even want to sit and stare at him."
"Wow." Musichetta laughed. "Such fiery passion."
Eponine frowned. "Hateful passion, he literally ruined the last two years of my life."
Musichetta just rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're definitely meant for dramatics, darling… I take that he must have been a great motivator to get out of this hive of self-righteous idealists?"
"Chetta, I really need those recites sometime today!" Combeferre called, his voice still calm, but an edge there.
"Hold your horses, Doc!" Musichetta shouted back to him, gathering a pile of stapled white papers.
Eponine just smiled as she sent her draft to the printers. Only two more weeks.
…
There was a sloppy knock on his door, making Enjolras pause in his typing. "Come in."
Grantaire entered with a stack of paper in his arms, looking about as hung-over as one could get.
"Morning, chief!" he greeted, waltzing up to his desk and dropping the stack. "Here all the flyers I've printed for the rally next month."
"Two days later than I asked, but thanks." Enjolras replied, continuing his typing. He was literally swamped as he usually was on Friday evenings. He had four more articles to edit, three paper's due for his Grad School by Monday, a rally to plan next month and (not to mention) his much detested side project coming up.
"Hey, it takes time to print out the number you wanted, we've been low on ink and staples for a while too."
"Yes, I'm aware." Enjolras replied. "I'm sending Pontmercy out today to pick up supplies. As you know, I'm short staffed down here, and soon I will have a void in the editorial where I normally put Jondrette's articles and I have no idea where to start for a replacement for her."
"Yeah, you only had the four of us who could handle your management, I don't think God loves you enough to send in someone else… not someone who's a decent writer and attracts as many readers with the poor's sob stories like Eponine."
Enjolras felt his the vein in his temple throb. He could imagine Eponine living it up upstairs with nothing on the line, enjoying the last two weeks with only three articles to write. Well, let her have her fun now.
"Did you need anything else, Grantaire?" he asked, rubbing a hand through his hair.
"Nope, I'll just stagger back to my desk chief."
…
Her last day, Eponine had already turned in her last article and was eating a bag of microwave popcorn, doing some proof reading for Musichetta who sat on Jehan's desk, listening to a poem he had written.
Combeferre was out on an errand, and the three of them were all that were upstairs. The radio was going, the windows were open, and there was only three more days when she would start rehearsal!
Things were really looking up at last!