Morning. The sun fills the bedroom with light. It acts like a natural alarm clock, blinding Hilde to awareness that her day has begun. She looks out her window and then to her clock. The thing is broken, no alarm will sound, yet she keeps it. It is the only thing she truly owns. The old clock has a rectangular wooden body that splinters at one corner, a glass face that acts like a screen for the numbers to rest on. They don't make these types of clocks anymore, yet she still keeps it.
"Oh. My back!" She says as she rubs her sore back. Hilde gets up and glares at her mat. "Stupid thing." She grumbles under her breath as she kicks a corner of the mat. Hilde placed her whole life in Peter's hands. She left her home and moved in with him. Hilde sighs as she thinks back to her life with Peter. It was the best time of her life. Before she met Peter, Hilde was living in a hell-hole of an apartment and was barely making ends meet. She had to hold three jobs plus go to college part time. Life was hell, but the sad part is; that hell was a whole lot better than her life was when she lived with her mom. "Mother . . . " She says softly as she enters the bathroom. This room is small, it has a shower that can barely fit one person, a sink and a toilet. The yellow tiles on the walls are chipping and dirty and the mirror has rust forming on the sides. Hilde looks in the mirror to examine her face. She turns on the water and washes away the morning grogginess. Hilde looks at the mirror again and she looks eyes with her own. "I'm not like you." She says to her mother's reflection. Hilde shakes her head and smiles at her own reflection. "Well, it's time to go to work." Hilde quickly changes into her clothes and heads out for the bus. Since Hilde decided to take a year break from college, the third job wasn't necessary. She now only has two and has some time to be with friends. College was killing her. She worked so very hard for her scholarship but with that, and living on her own, wasn't enough. Hilde didn't want to take this break but since she no longer had Peter to live with, to pay half the bills with, she had no choice but to. "Damn you." She says as she waits for the bus alone. Living with Peter allowed her to drop two of her jobs and still go to school. Now that she doesn't have him, her life seems like it can't go on.
Hilde smiles as she thinks about the Tailor. ("He was cute.") She looks down the road to see if the bus is coming. Nothing. ("Maybe I shouldn't have been mad about the kiss. I mean, it was just behind the ear.") Hilde blushes as she thinks about the kiss. Peter only kissed her lips, check and hands, it was what she allowed. ("Maybe Dorothy is right? Maybe I shouldn't be so . . . conservative. But . . . I don't want to be like my mother. Can't be like my mother.") Hilde touches her shoulder length hair.
"HILDE!" Screams her mom. Hilde hides in a corner between the wall and her bed. She hugs her knees and tries to compact herself as much as she can. Hilde stiffens has she hears her mother enter her room. "HILDE!" She yells again. Her mom holds scissors in her one hand. "Come out here! Come here NOW!" Hilde holds back her tears and prays to God that she won't be found. "I know you where talking to that boy! I saw you! I saw you talk to him even if I told you to stay away from him! Do you want to end up like me?" Upon hearing nothing, she leaves. Hilde starts to cry. She doesn't want to be like her mother. But she didn't know that talking to the new neighbor would cause any harm. Suddenly a cold hand grabs her long hair. Hilde is too scared to scream. "There you are!" Her mom pulls her out from hiding and pins her to the floor. "Hold still!" She says as she tries to cut Hilde's hair.
"No! I don't want my hair cut! Mother!"
"It's for your own good! It's the only way to protect you from dirty boys." Hilde tries to fight but her mom gets her ways. A short time after her mom slams the door to Hilde's room, leaving her sitting in her own hair. Hilde cries as she picks up the cut hair, not understanding (she's only six). She places her hands on her head to feel the new hair cut. Hilde doesn't need a mirror to see, she can tell that her hair is now cut like a boy's. She cries even harder. If boys are so dirty then why did her mom give her a boy's hair cut? Hilde didn't know. She just wanted to make a new friend. She touches her short hair . . .
Hilde ties her hair in the back to keep it out of her face as she exits the bus. She looks up at the hospital in front of her and smiles. All her life she wanted to become a doctor. This was her chance to work in a hospital as a nurse and make some money to go to college. She loves her work, she wants to help people out anyway she can. Hilde enters and head to the locker rooms where she will change into her nurses out fit.
"Hey Hilde!" Says a short haired brunet.
"Hey Stephanie. How are you?"
"Fine. Nothing much in my life. How about you?" She says with a smile. Hilde smiles and blushes as she thinks about the Tailor. The more and more she thinks about him, the more she wishes to see him again.
"Hilde!" Says Stephanie in a gasp. She grabs Hilde shoulders.
"What?" She says, confused by her friends action.
"Who is he and what does he look like! Does he have blue eyes?"
"What? Are you insane?"
"Come on! You where just thinking about some guy! I know that look! My sister gets that way when she thinks about her boyfriend! Now spill."
"Stephanie, please." She says as she frees herself from Stephanie's grip. "His eyes are purple."
"Oh. Well, what else!"
"He has a long braid and his hair is brown. He's a Tailor."
"Really? How did you meet him?"
"Need my dress fixed. Relena told me he is the best. Tho I would have to say other wise."
"Why? He didn't fix your dress?"
"I haven't gotten it back yet. But he kissed me for no reason!" Hilde closes her locker and adjusts her nurse's shirt a bit.
"Is he cute?" She says as she leans on a locker.
"No. He is the hottest guy in the world!" Hilde says with a smile. Her voice is light and happy. This makes Stephanie smile.
"Then he is the best! Hilde, I am so glad you are finally over that jerk Peter." Hilde's face falls and she sits down slowly on a bench. "Hilde? You are over him right."
"I...I am. It just . . . "
"Still hurts? I know but now you have a reason to get over him with this Tailor guy!"
"But he kissed me!"
"Hilde, he's hot. Last time I checked, getting kiss by a hot guy was an 'ok thing'. Come on! Go with the hot Tailor!" She says as she heads out the room.
"But . . . "
"NO!" Stephanie comes up to Hilde. She pulls on her arm till Hilde standing. "Peter is out and the hot Tailor is in! Who knows, this Tailor maybe just the thing you need! You know, 'Good medicine for the soul'!" Hilde laughs and nods in agreement.
"You're right. It might be fun." Suddenly tomorrow seems worthwhile.
The Next Morning . . .
Hilde opens the door to the to a dark hospital room. No one is in here yet but she has to change the sheets anyway. The room is a large square, with two beds that are covered by their own curtain, a sink and a tall dresser built into the wall at her left, a tv set to the right next to another sink and dresser. Hilde pushes a table out of her way, for some reason it was right at the door. She looks at the table as she walks to the first bed. Shacking her head she pulls the curtain open and drops her sheets.
"D-Duo? What are you doing here?" She says as she picks up the sheets. Duo swings his legs over the bed and smiles at her.
"I wanted to apologize for the uh . . . kiss." Hilde looks at him as if he were mad. He stands up and reaches for her. She pulls away, griping the sheets tighter to her chest. "What?" He says hurt.
"How did you know I worked here?"
"Dorothy. She comes like, once a month to me. So I asked her where you worked to tell you that the dress will take one more day and . . . "
"One more day?" Hilde sits on the table. "I hope this won't cost extra." She says sadly.
"No. In fact, you don't have to pay me. It's my fault, I was a little . . . uh . . . distracted." He laughs and rubs his sore wrists, making a not to buy more straps.
"Really? That would help me out a lot! Thanks." She smiles at him. Duo smiles back and a long silence takes over. "Uh . . . Duo?"
"Yes?"
"Is there anything else?"
"Have dinner with me?" Hilde about fell off the table at his suddenly blunt request.
"W-What? Dinner? With . . . you." She becomes pail. Hilde was hurt once and she doesn't want to be hurt again.
"Hilde." He says softly, taking her hands in his. He closes his eyes and kisses both her hands, first with the right, then with the left. He kissed her left hand a little longer and a little harder. He looks at her before straitening. Hilde has a soft smile and her eyes have a beautiful glow to them. Duo pulls her off the table. He comes closer to her, resting his forehead with hers. Duo rests her hands on his chest, keeping her hands in his. "Please. I want you to have dinner with me. Tonight." He says in a voice so soft that it is barely a whisper, but the tone of desire in his voice doesn't pass her.
"All . . . right." Her voice is that of a child. Duo's smile widens as he leans in to kiss her.
"Bring Mr. Smith in here." Says a doctor's voice. Hilde turns to face the nurses who are wheeling a man in. Dr. Po enters looking at a clipboard. She doesn't see them. Duo walks behind Hilde and gives her a little push.
"Hilde?" Says Stephanie. She looks at Hilde who looks like she has just been caught. Everyone turns to look at her. Stephanie looks at the man behind her and smiles. ("Purple guys, long brown braid. This must be the Tailor. Damn Hilde, he is hot.")
"Hilde?" Says Dr. Po.
"Yes?" Dr. Po looks at Duo then back to Hilde. She shakes her head and smiles. "I need you down in room 183. Mrs. Robertson is ready for release and needs someone to take her to her car." Hilde nods and follows the other nurses out but she turns to Duo before she goes.
"I get off at seven. Is that too late?" Duo's smile becomes wicked as he crosses his arms over his chest.
"Perfect."
OK! -_-; *Whips brow* Got another chapter out . . . hope you are happy. I need to rest . . . I think I wrote this in record time! See people, if you just review . . . Oh, sorry about holding the chapter. *hee hee* No chapters where harmed in the making of this! Just review and I won't hold another one! *Evil Smile* Me evil? No. Really, I'm not . . . No wait. I am! Muhahahahahaha!
Review!
^.^
