CHAPTER NINE
Lois felt like crap. Her head was pounding. She had been crying in her pillow all night. Now, it was 7.47 in the morning and she was in a taxi, resting her head on the headboard of the seat. She had decided to wear her Audrey Hepburn sunglasses today to hide her swollen eyes. When they got to her office building, she leaned forward and paid the taxi driver before stumbling out of the vehicle. She thought she looked like crap. Hell, she knew she looked like crap.
Who wouldn't? Her fiancée is still angry with her; the father of her child is probably crying his eyes out somewhere and...
Lois hadn't realized she had walked into the elevator. She was that delirious. She felt a tear coming up but wouldn't bring herself to letting it come out. She let out a deep sigh and massaged her temples. She looked up when the elevator bell made a soft ringing sound. Clark stepped into the elevator and froze for a few seconds when he saw her. But, he snapped out of it when a crowd of busy workers rushed in and pushed him into the elevator.
He stood at the other side of the elevator nervously. She looked over to him and saw that he looked straight ahead, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. She furrowed her brow and looked straight ahead as well. When the elevator came to a halt, Lois and Clark were the last ones in there. The elevator doors had shut and they sat in silence. "Hi," Clark smiled gingerly to Lois.
"Hi," she smiled softly to him.
"I like your…um…sunglasses," Clark motioned to her glasses.
"Oh, thanks" she pushed it up higher onto her nose discreetly.
"So, how come you went home early yesterday?" Lois asked.
"I was pretty tired," Clark cleared his throat.
"Yes, of, course," she nodded understandingly. "This is the longest elevator ride I have ever been on," Lois leaned against the wall of the elevator and shut her eyes.
"So, how's Jason?" Clark's voice interrupted her thoughts. Lois' eyes opened and her head turned to Clark. He was looking at her with his wide eyes.
"Oh…He's…Um…Doing great. Thanks for asking," she stuttered.
"Good. That's good," he grinned.
"Why?" she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Just asking. He's a great kid," he smiled warmly. Lois broke out into a huge smile full of motherly pride. Now, she couldn't hold back her tears of pride. She took of her sunglasses to wipe away her tears.
Clark frowned when he saw Lois' cried out eyes.
"Oh…no…I was frying onions…in chili paste," Lois explained. Clark nodded but he still didn't take the look of concern off his face.
"This is all my fault," he thought to himself. His jaw clenched as he watched Lois fumble to put on her sunglasses again. "Lois," he said.
"Yeah?" she looked up.
"Are you sure it was the onions and chili paste?" he asked softly, facing her. She looked confused. She was about to say something but the elevator bell made a little sound that went like 'DING!' and she stopped short as the elevator doors opened. She drew in a sharp breath as the busy sounds of the co-workers invaded their ears.
She smiled. "It's… really nothing," she shook her head. She hurried off to her desk before he could reply anything back. He stared after her and sighed heavily before heading over to his own desk. He tried not to bump into anyone and kept dodging the workers.
Suddenly, the door to Mr. White's office flew open. "Lane! Kent! Get your asses in here!" he bellowed. They sighed and headed over in there. Clark nodded to Lois in acknowledgement before sitting down. She smiled briefly to him before turning back to Mr. White.
"Lane, you look like shit. What happened?" Mr. White asked bluntly.
"Nothing, Mr. White," she replied, offended by his remark.
"Here's the thing. When you look like shit, I look like shit. Do you need a day off?" he asked.
"No. No, I don't" she sat up straight and shook her head vigorously. No way was she going to have a whole day to think about her screwed up life. Clark stared at her.
"Kent!" Mr. White barked. Clark's head snapped back to attention. "I'd appreciate it if you could keep your little head out of the clouds! And stop making googly eyes at Lane," Mr. White yelled mockingly.
"But-but…I wasn't…" Clark stuttered, pointing to Lois. Mr. White held up his hand to stop him from babbling.
"I loved the piece you two wrote together the other day. That's why I'm assigning you two together once more," Mr. White folded his arms.
"It's not about…?" Lois asked, about to say 'Superman' but Mr. White cut her off.
"No, no, no! It's about Robert Kendell," Mr. White waved his arms about.
"The scientist?" Clark asked.
"No, the leprechaun! Of, course the scientist! But, I appreciate your vast knowledge on famous people!" Mr. White bellowed. "He recently moved to Metropolis. So, I'd like it if you both could do an interview with him. Say…about… noon-ish? Here's the address of his laboratory. Don't ask me how I got it. Just jot this down," Mr. White continued. When he finished he asked them "Got it?"
"Got it," Lois and Clark mumbled simultaneously.
"Now, off you go! And Lane…" Mr. White called as Lois and Clark were about to head out. She turned around with Clark behind her. "Go home and get yourself together before the interview, okay?" Mr. White cringed.
"Thanks for the advice, Mr. White," she replied sarcastically.
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At 10.30 a.m., Lois got up and headed over to Clark's desk. "Hey, I'm going home first to 'get myself together', so I'll meet you in front of the building at 12, okay?" she smiled to Clark. He nodded and they said goodbye.
