Chapter 1: Waking Up

My head throbbed painfully while I opened my eyes as the sun's light bounced into my head. I groaned and rolled onto my other side, trying to ignore my head splitting apart and the nauseous feeling of my stomach. I banged my head into the pillow and breathed deeply, enjoying the smell of mint.

Mint? I struggled to think what was wrong. I washed my laundry with lemon washing powder, not mint. As I came to this conclusion I sat up and the quilt fell of me letting the coolness of the room hit my skin. Skin? I practically squealed at lying naked in someone else's bed with no clothes on before realising I still had my underwear. Half-naked then.

I blearily tried to think through the blur that was last night. Michiru and my other friends had took me out to cheer me up and bought me a couple of drinks. I struggled through the distorted images of my memory and clutched my head as my temple throbbed painfully. I'd gotten lost from the group so went to the bar and ordered drinks…for a while. Then…

I groaned again and thought hard… then someone had come along, grabbed my stuff and taken me by the arm outside. I remembered breaking the heel of my stiletto's and being really annoyed and starting to cry. After that… I was stuffed into a car. I struggled harder to think what happened afterwards but came up blank. The question remained, who had picked me up from the bar last night and whose bed was I in?

I couldn't help but think my mother would turn over in her grave if she could seem me now. What a way to wake up on your eighteenth birthday and with that brought along fresh hot tears as I hunched into a ball and let them flow freely down my face.

I didn't notice the door open or the two people in the room until arms wrapped around me comfortingly in a tight hug.

"A-A-Ayako?" I sobbed questionably and clung onto her tightly. My brain was truly short-circuiting if I was hallucinating.

"Are you done yet?"

I hiccupped slightly as I stared at the doorway to see my boss staring coldly at me, his dark eyes boring into me. Only then did I begin to feel ashamed for my less than modest appearance. I made to grab the quilt to cover myself up but his voice stopped me.

"No need, you haven't really got anything to hide and the outfit you wore last night wasn't any better than what you're wearing right now," normally this insult would have had me kicking and screaming but in my current state I simply teared up again. Naru sighed, "Mai I don't care what's going on in your personal life right now but it's not to affect your work, which is bad enough as it is! Now, the next time I get a phone call at three in the morning by some bartender to tell me to come and get my drunk assistant you're fired with no letter of recomendation. Now get up and dressed to be in ready in work in an hour. You're already three hours overdue at the office which will be docked from your pay," Naru stated unemotionally, I wasn't sure, but could I hear a hint of disgust in his voice? My already depressed mood lowered even further and I nodded my head, knowing I wouldn't be able to force out any words at the moment.

"The clothes you were wearing last night were cleaned after you puked over them and they're sitting on the dressing table," Naru paused slightly as if considering his next words and I was hoping for something caring or kind, but since when has Naru ever been anything but? "Now get out my house before I kick you out,"

Whew so what'd you all think? =)