The 5th Time Around
Chapter 2
The breeze was subtle, gentle, and cooling in the warm spring air as a small flock of Pidgey flew overhead. The sun was in mid-day position in the great blue sky and it poured shimmering waterfalls of light into the window of her bedroom. From underneath the bed sheets she slowly crawled into conscience. She yawned just like that of a Snorlax and slowly fluttered her eyes open. The light was warm and inviting like a kiss from a lover, but she was in no mood for romance. She rammed her eyes shut faster than a speeding Doduo. A Pidgey landed upon her open window and chirped nosily. She was not going have her ways swayed by such minor annoyances however. The curious Pidgey tilted its head, leapt from the window right onto her sleepy body. She immediately awoke at the sensation of sharp bird feet upon her. She cursed at the Pokémon and shooed it away. It flew out her window only to disappear into the sunlight. She sat up, cracked her back, and groaned with displeasure.
"I get my own place finally to get away from everybody, and I get annoyed by the local wildlife. Great, that's just… ugh."
She leaned her head against her hand and sighed. Almost immediately at the sound of her dismay, a cute and whimsical Eevee scampered into the room. The tiny Pokémon jumped up onto the bed and then to her lap.
"Good morning Star-Shine! How's my special little boy?" She greeted him happily as she petted his head.
Star-Shine, as she liked to call him, was her nickname for him, though she often just called him Star for short. Star tugged on her pajama sleeve until she finally decided to get up and out of bed, it was just about noon after all. She got herself ready with her usual daily routine. She brushed her teeth like anybody else and while staring at herself in the mirror, she couldn't shake that feeling, the feeling of being just like anybody else. Then, she took a nice long hot shower. She always thought it was best to start the day in a nice relaxing way, but this seems to be escaping her today. Ordinarily, she would shower with a smile as the warm water embraced her like the warmth of the bed sheets she had just left. Usually, she would also spend this time, planning out her day, after work of course. However, today was a little different. She spent the whole time looking down at the drain, watching hypnotically and the water swirled and swirled down.
She spoke aloud to herself, "Nora, what are you doing with your life?"
And those words echoed again and again and the water swirled and swirled down. The steam was becoming too much now and she had to shut off the water. The air was becoming more steam than it was air. After drying herself off and getting dressed, she decided to skip breakfast today. Her excuse to herself was that she was watching her figure. A silly notion, though she would not believe it coming from others nor herself, she was a pretty young lady. Full figured to her height, with long black hair that had waves and flow in it just like the oceans. She was a little shorter than most girls, but not by too much. She felt comfortable with the way she was born and grew up. She stepped out of her house as little Star followed close behind. She looked down at Star as he happily trotted alongside her and she couldn't help but smile. She remembered the first day they had met. It's a tale that always makes her smile and yet, sometimes almost makes her cry. They finally arrived at the flower shop Nora worked at, and despite her slowness that morning she was right on time. Laurie, she caretaker of the shop during the shift before Nora was surprised to see her on time. Ordinarily, she would be around ten to fifteen minutes late.
"Well look at this. You know Nora, if you're going to start coming in on time you should tell me. Because of you I get a little over time, it adds up nicely at the end of the month. I'd hate to see that disappear you know." Laurie said with a snarky attitude.
"Hahaha, aren't you the funny one? Shut up. You're in the wrong line of business if you're looking to be a comedian." Nora replied.
"I'm just saying, now that you're finally here maybe I'll be a little early for my date in a bit."
"How are things going with you and your little Joshy? Does he still have to use a step ladder to kiss you goodbye?"
"Hey! He's only little shorter than me! At least I have somebody."
"Having somebody doesn't always mean something."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be mean. Look Nora, you're a nice enough girl, you should get out there you know? I'm sure lots of guys would date you."
"Sorry, but I'm perfectly comfortable with the way things are right now, just me and Star."
"Well, eventually you're going to grow tired and want some real company. One that can do more for you than fetch the newspaper for you."
"Don't talk bad about little Star!" She turned and Star and scratched his head gently, "Isn't that right baby? Who's my good boy? You are! You are!" She said with a slightly disturbing atmosphere.
"Right well, when you finally come around let me know ok? I'm sure Josh has a few friends who'd love to come on a double date with us."
Nora rolled her eyes at her and she poured some fresh coffee from the coffee maker into a mug.
"You really should do more you know? I'm not just talking about dating either. It's a big world out there; you should go out and see it. You live day to day doing the same old thing. It's been that way since you got your own place and started working here hasn't it?"
"How would you know?"
"Because, I'm out and about all the time all over the place. You live from point A, your house, and point B, right where you stand. If you walked out of that line, I would know."
Nora looked down and to the side as she tried to hide behind her coffee mug, "I'm happy with the way things are." She set the mug down," Just let me live how I want ok? I really don't feel like talking about it, not today at least."
Laurie shook her and opened the door to leave, but right before she headed out, she turned back and asked, "Nora, what are you doing with your life?"
Nora looked down into her mug and sighed, "Nora… what ARE you doing with your life?"
