Norma
Her face shines with the sweat trickling down her forehead to her Snow White face. She licks the salty sweat from her cherry lips, swallowing it hard down her dry throat. The hot July air seeps through the air vents and windows of the busy factory. An extra burst of heat escapes from the running machines and the breaths of the sea of employees. The humid and sticky air remains trapped within the thick walls of the small, cramped building. She unbuttons her collar, revealing the nape of her neck. Even with her exhausted state, Norma's beauty remains unchanged.
A towel sits behind her untouched, as she continues working persistently. She presses her callous hands on each package, sealing each lid firmly. Norma's work continues in a cycle of sealing and receiving packages every day, from morning until afternoon. Everyone else continues working in the factory without saying a word. Like Norma, the employees are struggling to work hard and earn enough to pay for their financial needs.
Norma's closest friend, Kat, works at the opposite side of the building from afternoon until nighttime. Norma and Kat only talk to each other for ten minutes a day during their lunch break. Norma leaves her station and takes her towel with her to the cafeteria. She seats herself next to Kat, pulls out an egg sandwich from her pocket and begins eating. "Hi Norma," Kat greets her. "How's the rent coming?" Norma looks down at her sandwich. "The rent for my apartment just went up. I can't seem to find any cheaper apartments in this city." Kat takes Norma's hands into hers and replies, "Norma, the prices of the apartments will continue to rise while our paycheck remains the same." The girls take a deep breath and wipe each other's faces. Kat takes her ice-cold water bottle and pushes it against her flushed face. "We'd better eat up," suggested Norma. And so the ladies finish their lunches and walk back to their stations.
The red buzzer sounds to mark the end of the 5 o'clock shift. Norma exits her station and walks up to her boss' office. Her boss, Mr. Cavalli, sees Norma approaching from his office window. She opens the door and a gush of cool breeze blows past her. The Italian midget sits on a pillow rested on his leather office chair. Mr. Cavalli's mahogany desk takes up half the space of the cubic office, separating Norma from him. "Mr. Cavalli, may I receive my paycheck?" Sternly, he mumbles "Sure" and hands Norma an envelope. She opens the envelope to find that she is short five dollars. "Excuse me-"
But before Norma could finish her sentence, Mr. Cavalli tightens his eyebrows together so that wrinkles form on his forehead and veins bulge out of his temples. "Miss Norma, do I need to remind you that in this time of Depression, it is difficult to find another job? I suggest you continue working and accept the paycheck you've been given." No words came out of Norma's mouth. What Mr. Cavalli said was true. No matter where she looked, she could not find a better paying job to help her meet the rent nor an employer who could hire her with her only skill, which is sealing boxes. She lightly holds the envelope in her hands and exits the factory. As she walks down the crooked sidewalks, she makes a wish as taxicabs go by. Then, the aroma seeping through the café doors pulls Norma into the shop.
At the table, Norma gulps down her black coffee and chokes. While she continues to drink the bitter coffee, she looks at the women dressed in their pencil skirts and flower brooch bouquets. If only I were one of those girls..., Norma thought to herself. Then she turns her attention to the man sitting at the table beside hers. The gentleman wore a long coat that covered his neck, arms, and legs. Norma watches the gentleman as he stands up from his seat and exits the café. Then she looks at the empty table to find a wallet on the gentleman's seat. She quickly moves over to the other table and presses her fingers against the flaps of the wallet, ready to open it.
But despite her desperate state to pay off that dreadful rent, she hesitates to take the money out of the wallet. He must have worked hard to earn this money, and must need it for something important, she thought to herself. She quickly leaves the café with the wallet in her hand and looks for the gentleman. And there he was, three blocks away going down to the subway station. Norma tightens her muscles as she exhausts all of her energy into running after him. Just when the gentleman was about to board the train, he sees the woman from the café and pulls his leg away from the train doors. Norma catches her breath and hands him his wallet. The gentleman looks down at his wallet, and then at Norma's pink face. He places his hands on her shoulders and thanks her. "Thank you so much for your honesty. Do you have time for dinner?" Norma's tummy grumbles and the gentleman chuckles. Both of them walk to a restaurant.
"Please eat up," insists the gentleman. Norma drinks the thick tomato soup and savors the taste. For the first time in a long time, Norma felt full. "My name is Jay Parker," the gentleman introduced himself. "Norma Jean," she replied. Jay looked at the old-fashioned dress uniform that embraced Norma's curvy body and wondered. "So tell me, what is your occupation?" "I seal packages in a factory." Surprised by her response, he said "You don't look like the type to work in a factory. I- I mean, you're quite the beauty. You could be a model or an actress." Jay's comment made Norma blush and chuckle. Jay is instantly hypnotized by Norma's captivating beauty. Words flowed out of her mouth like a song and her wavy hair remained in place (which Jay found unusual for a hardworking woman). On top of all that, she was honest.
It's late at night and Norma did not want to bother the gentleman any longer. "I'd better head back home. Thank you for the dinner." Norma springs up from her seat and Jay grabs her hand, placing his business card on her palm. Norma looks at Jay's name on the business card and notices the water logo behind his name. "Jaywood," she utters softly. Jaywood – a major film studio. "You're everything I'm looking for in an employee," Jay said. "Please call me when you've decided to resign from your job at the factory. And please help me look for more honest and hardworking employees." Norma and Jay look at each other as they shake hands. Both walk their separate ways.
The following morning, Norma is back at her work station. Kat looks over her shoulder to check on Norma. She recalls seeing Norma frantically leaving the factory and wonders if her friend is in desperate need for help. During their lunch break, Kat walks over to her overjoyed friend. "Kat, I found us another job!" Kat quickly sits herself down. "What kind of job?" Norma was unsure of what kind of job Jay offered, but she was confident that it was an opportunity she could not afford to pass. So Norma whispers in Kat's ear, "We'll be working at a major film studio." Kat tries to contain her excitement, but her body shook and her mouth stretched to the corners of her face. Norma paused for a moment to look around. The factory seems so much smaller than before. Then Norma looked at the busy employees. She felt it was unfair for the other employees to continue working with burdens on their backs. Norma looks at Kat with mixed feelings. "Please keep this a secret until I sort things out," she said as she holds Kat's hands in hers. Kat goes back to her station and Norma exits the factory.
Suddenly, Jay and Norma spot each other while going to the café. "I assume you were about to call me," Jay laughs as he points at the phone booth next to the café. "Mr. Parker," Norma started, "I would like to share your offer with everyone else in the factory." Jay's eyes widened in front of her. "That sounds wonderful. I look forward to seeing everyone." And so the two shake hands once again and walk their separate ways. Then Jay turns around and watches Norma run towards the factory. So that's where she works.
Employees who worked the night shift continued to work at the factory. Cautious of being spotted by her boss, Norma sneaks through the back entrance and to Kat's station. Norma crawls underneath a table and talks to Kat. "Can you help me get the word out about the job opportunity? This opportunity is open for everyone in the factory." Kat nods at her friend and carries on her mission. Norma sneaks her way back out of the factory filled with excitement for what tomorrow brings.
The next day, everyone gets word of the job opportunity and stops working at their stations. All the employees take their sweat towels from their stations and gather around Mr. Cavalli's office. When the boss noticed the large crowd outside his office window, he storms out and yells "Get back to work!" But the employees raise their sweat towels and yell in unison "We resign!" The boss stares back at the crowd with a ghostly face and falls on his back. Cheers drown the sounds of the running machines and echo throughout the factory. Out of the blue, Jay walks through the factory doors with a silk purple suit and bellows "Congratulations!" Everyone instantly turned their attentions to Jay and roar in excitement. Jay walks over to Norma to personally say "Congratulations" and to shake her hand. The employees lift Norma on their shoulders and cheer.