More Than Three
(or: Jesus Christ it's a lion get in the car!!!)Sometimes you end up in a place you didn't think could ever exist, because it was too
impossible, that it could never happen to
you of all people...
Only to look back in life and see that,
oh my, yes, there it was all along.Hindsight is always perfect, if splotchy. Sometimes it's the things you
don't remember that make a lot more sense than the things you actually
do.Then again, what is life if it all made sense to begin with?
~*~*~
Internship was awful.
She thought that the first day she stepped into the company, and one month later, the feeling had only been intensified a hundredfold.
I actually have a mind! She fumed to herself silently. Being reduced to brewing and serving coffee was quite a blow to the dignity. Even repeating old cliches about service being a reward of its own failed to calm the disgruntled feminist in her. Perhaps taking that exchange to San Francisco during her university tenure and doing a course on Gender Studies was not the smartest move she had ever made.
Not knowing what she was missing would perhaps be a tolerable alternative to suffering in silence.
To add insult to injury, she found that her favorite coat was missing from where she hung it with all the other female employees. As if being made to wait on half a dozen balding, overweight salarymen was not punishment enough! She inwardly wanted to smack herelf on the forehead, but considered herself in hostile territory and refrained from doing so.
At least there
was a coat left at all. Being the last to leave, there was only the one coat remaining. With the sigh of one who had no other choice, she took the hulking mass of leather and buckles from the rack. It certainly did not match her personal outfit, which she had swiftly put on after being
graciously allowed to leave. She briefly contemplated braving the cold without that atrocious piece of material, but moving within ten steps of the exit changed her mind immediately.
Did it drop twenty degrees during the day? Even with the double doors, she thought she could feel the chill settling in on the ugly tan carpet with the green company logo. She eyed the outside with obvious misgiving, her shifting glance catching the eye of the security guard sitting at his post by the reception. He leered at her, and she felt an odd sense of nakedness under that stare.
Suddenly the cold felt more welcoming than the building. She was out in seconds, having slipped into the coat, or rather, been
engulfed by it, her cheeks flushing against the sudden cold snap.
Her legs moved automatically, her mind numbed by the icy fingers of wind that were evidently dissecting her brain. Vaguely, she wished for a hat, but was grateful she had a scarf at all. No, that did not make sense to her either. Or maybe it did. Was her best friend's airheadedness finally infecting her as well? That certainly would not do.
As if the mere thought summoned said friend, her phone began to vibrate in her bag. She failed to notice it for several moments, being utterly focused on trying to get to the station without being blown off the sidewalk. The wind was not helping, though the coat which was not hers was mercifully warm. And not as musty as she had been dreading. It was just...ugly.
Almost stumbling on a cracked bit of pavement, she managed to save herself from an ungraceful tumble using the athletic grace that had fortunately stayed with her from her days on the team during college. It was also then that her phone finally got her attention by flying out of her bag, still vibrating with a vengeance.
With reflexes that would have put Bruce Lee to shame, she managed to snag her phone in midair, hop around on her heeled boots to prevent a disgraceful spill, and not bump anyone else in the process. She skidded to a stop, phone in hand, a flushed but triumphant smile on her face, then noticed the hidden glances of those passing by her. The scrutiny immediately quieted her, making her shrink and fade away, even as her inner feminist warred with her inner traditionalist for dominance.
The nail that sticks up must be hammered down! Yelled one.
For Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness! Cried the other.
Oh shut up! She imposed radio silence on both voices, before picking up the phone.
The voice on the other end was most definitely
not drunk. Nonsensical and a little strange yes, but that was her best friend. It was normal...
Oh who am I kidding, she sounds like an old man when she's been drinking...wait, she already got started without us?!The monthly get-together, or girls' night out, was something she had really been looking forward to for the past week or so. She was completely ready to get smashed and pass out on the floor in her best friend's huge apartment, hangover be damned. And
she was the voice of reason in the group. Clearly, stress was not helping her keep a clear head.
"Sho...hic...you schee...you better buy a few more cans of beer to tide us over until Yocchan can come over with that carton from her aunt's place...and make it snappy!"The switch from drunken old man to drill sergeant didn't even make her blink. Sure, it made her eyebrow twitch a little, but she was nothing if not easy-going. It helped her maintain her sanity even through the strangest things her circle of friends kept putting her through. Sometimes it almost felt like nothing could ever catch her offguard.
Still, a carton? Just how much is she planning to drink anyway?She figured she'd find out when she got there. Spying a convenience store across the street, her legs propelled her there in double-time. The wind had done a number on her hair, and she was acutely aware that she looked a mess by her usual exacting standards. Well, not as exacting as her best friend when said best friend was sober, but she did always prefer a more natural look compared to the artfully styled manner the other woman preferred.
"You know I luuuuuuuuvvvvvv ya, dont'cha, Shibacchan?"She sighed, her breath forming a little cloud before her lips. The convenience store was only metres away. Now to get this over and done with.
"Yes Rika-chan, I love you too. Now stay where you are and don't move until I get there, alright?"
A few more tipsy giggles and exchanged words later, a very frazzled Shibata Ayumi finally managed to hang up on her longtime best friend, wondering if the world had something against her that week, or whether it was just that day only.
If only she really knew the irony of her own words right then.
======================================================
Now to answer some of the comments I received.
@Commie: Mhm it was strange to have that kind of moment, it felt so intimate. Weird. Especially since it was a total stranger. Thanks! I tried to capture how I felt lol. I'm glad it came through well. <3
@Fen: Yes you missed a lot! And you get a special cookie for guessing right! It is six degrees of separation I was referencing.
@strawhead: Yes, yes, you only got it because I gave you a titanic hint.
But enjoy this part as well. Haha.
@Beecubed: I must have mentioned it before, but your comments make me feel fuzzy inside because of how you phrase them.
I'm a sucker for well written flattery/praise. orz
Hopefully I actually deserve them, but yes! I enjoy vignette writing the most because I cherish scenes so much. Haha. The tense portion, hmm...I did it quite unconsciously to portray the shifting perspectives within Ai's mind. One moment the detached observer reporting her day and the things she sees, the next a blow by blow account as she is taken from her little observer's post and thrust into the front lines. Might not be the best way to get things across, but well...I'm fairly loose on tenses sometimes. ^^; And thank you for reading!
To everyone else, thanks for reading as well! Haha. I'm glad I could bring enjoyment to people through my writing. Also, I would think that the reference for the title is incredibly blatant this time round. I'm sleep deprived and operating on 4 hours sleep and then going on for 18 hours awake today. Insanity! But that's when the loopiest writing comes out.
As well as the corny jokes. Essy goes crazy and writes weird shit when exhausted. Lmao.
And now, I sleep!
Topic: Estrea's Sandbox [6/4 - Treat] (Read 203860 times)