(Hello! So my pal mentioned that it would be pretty rad if I made a Coraline AU for my ship and I thought it sounded super awesome so I am turning it into a full novel thing.)
Marina let out a small sigh and leaned her head against her steering wheel. Thirteen hours of endless driving, and now she was finally here. She climbed out of her little car and stretched her back, earning a few pops. Making her way to the lobby of the little apartment complex, she took in her surroundings. It was a lot different from her little town in Georgia. Everything was so big and everything was always moving. New York wasn't called the city that never sleeps for nothing. She entered the door of the front lobby and approached the older woman at the front counter.
Marina put on a small smile, "Hello, I am Marina Goodwin. I am moving into room 104, may I have my key?"
The older woman returned a small smile. "Yes dear, I remember you. Here you go." She handed Marina her key.
Marina muttered a thank and turned back to door to grab her things. She got to her car and popped the trunk. She stared at the pile of her belongings and let out a long groan.
"I'm to tired for this..." She mumbled to herself as she grabbed slung her purse over her shoulder. She walked to the back to grab her large suitcase and a box. The other stuff could wait. She walked up the stairs to her apartment, becoming increasingly more worn out from the weight of her baggage.
Propping the box on her hip she grabbed her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She let out another tired groan at the sight of the apartment. Who knew a place could get so filthy over the course of a month?
She dropped the box and her bag on the floor. It was still another day or two until the moving truck came to deliver the furniture she bought. She walked around the small living area and sighed. It would have to do for now.
Tapping her chin in thought she visualized where she would place her couch and other decor she purchased. It really wasn't a bad little apartment, it just needed to be cleaned up a little. She heard the sound of her suitcase falling over, causing a cloud of dust to fly up. Scratch that, it needed to be cleaned up a lot.
Marina roamed over to the master bedroom and looked around. It had a small little twin bed with a new mattress on it, contrasting the other wise old apartment. It would have to do until everything else came in. She walked back to the empty living area to get her suitcase and rolled it into her new room. Unzipping it, she pulled out a pair of pajamas and her sleeping bag.
After changing she laid out her clothes for the next day on top of her luggage case, after all she had to wake up early and it would be awful to go to your first day of work wearing mismatched clothing. Rolling out her sleeping bag on the mattress she climbed in and set her alarm for the next morning. Once that was said and done, she fell into a deep slumber.
Marina woke up with a start as the loud alarm on her phone jolted her awake. It's obnoxious beeping caused her ears to ring in protest from the sensory over load. Groaning, she forced herself out of bed and trudged her way to her suit case to grab her clothes, makeup, and toiletries.
She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she blindly walked to her bathroom and flicked on the light. She flinched at the drastic brightness of fluorescent lightbulb, she would have to change that eventually. Marina sluggishly brushed her teeth and washed her face and mindlessly slapped on some makeup. She dressed herself quickly and glanced in the mirror to make sure there were no wrinkles in her clothing. Shrugging at her appearance, she shuffled to her room to grab her purse and keys.
Once she arrived at the incorporation she was recently employed at, she couldn't help but gasp in awe. The building was so tall. They definitely did not have buildings like that back home. She took a deep breath to prepare herself and strode into the main lobby.
"Hello, and welcome to Peabody Industries! May I help you?" A young woman with brown hair asked. Marina timidly walked over her hands wrapped around her torso.
"Hello, I recently got hired as an assistant for a Miss Adams? What floor would I be on?" Marina asked, her voice shaking slightly from nervousness.
The woman gave Marina a large smile. "You will be on the forth floor, ma'am. Do you have any more questions?"
"No, thank you." Marina responded quietly with a small smile.
Marina walked over to the elevator and clicked the button to signal the elevator down to the lobby. She could feel her heart to begin to pound, she was in a new state that was ginormous and was working in an equally ginormous building, all alone. Her eyes flickered downward at the thought. It was hard being alone.
The doors to the elevator opened to allow her to step inside. Pressing the button for the fourth floor she watched as the doors slowly closed. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing.
Before she knew it, she was at her destination, the doors dinged signaling her ride was over. Stepping out she rounded a corner, holding her head down, causing her to collide into someone. She shot her head up, eyes wide as saucers. A pair of ice blue eyes glared down at her, her arms crossed and manicured nails tapping on her forearm. Marina's eyes flickered down to her name tag. Ms Adams. Marina silently cursed herself as she continued to stare at the taller woman in horror.
"Why don't you watch where you are going?" She asked, still glaring down at the quivering Marina.
"I-uh, ah. I-" Marina stuttered, trying to find the right words. "I am really sorry ma'am-"
Ms Adams cut her off, "Well you should be!" She snapped, spinning around and a strutting off.
"Wait! Ma'am, I am your new assistant." Marina said, following behind her new boss.
She scoffed and looked at Marina. "I didn't know they started hiring pigs here."
Marina looked up at her in shock. "I- Wait, what?"
"Deaf ones too, apparently. Listen kid, take this as friendly advice, drop a few pounds. You'll thank me later." She jabbed Marina in the stomach, causing her to recoil.
"Just what I needed to make life harder."