Bleary eyed, I felt around my nightstand, trying to find the evil alarm of doom. When I found the nefarious box I started slapping at it blindly, hoping to shut it up. I scooted closer to the nightstand and began hitting it with my fist. “Ugh— just shut up!” I grabbed the cord and yanked on it until it popped free of its outlet, filling the room with blissful silence. I threw the offensive clock to the ground then rolled onto my back and blinked at the ceiling.
As my eyes came slowly into focus I was tempted to bury myself under the comforter and go back to sleep, but I made the mistake of looking at the time on my cell phone. “Shit.” I jumped out of bed and tripped over the alarm clock. I sent a mental death threat its way as I rushed through my morning routine.
Mom was waiting by the door with my car keys and a to-go cup of coffee as I ran up the stairs. I mumbled a thanks as I grabbed the items and headed out to my first day of work.
I found a parking spot closer to The Nook and debated actually going in. Surely I could find a different job somewhere else. I contemplated where else I could work as I looked up and down the street.
I walked in and was glad to see that it was busy. I glanced around and saw Mary Beth waving from behind the coffee counter. I raised my coffee cup up in greeting and pasted a smile onto my face.
“Good morning, dear! Sleep well?”
“Good morning, yes I—''
“Well, enough chit chat, we've got some things to do today. Come along, no more dillydallying.” Mary Beth fluttered off toward the 'office'. I sighed and began to follow. My coffee cup was ripped from my hand as I rounded the bar.
“What the hell!” I watched in horror as Rosemary dumped the contents out into the sink.
She smiled sweetly and turned back to the customers. “No food or drink brought in from the outside. House rule.”
“Fine, then can you make me a cup? I'm a zombie without any caffeine.”
“Oh, you poor thing. Sorry, too busy.”
“Star! Remember, timeliness is next to Godliness! Now quit making friends, there will be time for that later!” Mary Beth's stern reminder came from the open office door. I sent one last glare Rose's way and headed in.
The office was a chaotic mess. Files were strewn everywhere and boxes of inventory were stacked haphazardly along the walls. I looked around, searching for Mary Beth among the mass of disarray. “Mary Beth?”
“I'm here dear, just trying to get this— umph! Ah, here we are.” Rising from behind a pile of bags, she appeared with a uniform in hand. “I believe these will fit just fine.” She handed them over to me and started sorting through piles of paperwork on her desk. “Let’s see, where did I put those—”
“Can I help?”
“No, no, you just go on to the bathroom and get changed into your uniform. There's a lot for you to learn today.”
“Um, where's the ba—''
“You're going to learn the basics today, nothing too hard mind you. Just our running procedures, book stocking, working the cashier, placement and the like.”
“That sounds fun, but where—''
“And of course you're going to have to fill out that blasted paperwork. Where on earth did I put them?”
“I don't know ma'am, but if you—''
“Mary Beth.”
“What?”
“I told you to call me Mary Beth, dearie. Please try to remember.”
“Sorry, but where is—''
“Well go on now, no use standing around. Won't learn anything that way.”
My head was swimming with Mary Beth's erratic conversation. Shaking my head, I gave up and went in search of the bathroom.
I was grateful that Mary Beth seemed to know what size I was. I braced myself and quickly walked back behind the counter and waited for Rosemary to notice me. She worked through the line of customers, offering soft smiles and quick jokes as she moved from one customer to the next. I hated to just stand around and was growing impatient. I was at my limit already. Whoever said patience was a virtue should be shot. I started to drum my fingers against the back counter while staring daggers into the back of Rose's head.
She glared at me but kept serving the customers. When the last of them left, I kept up the drumming.
“Would you just flipping
“Oh, I'm sorry. Am I bothering you?”
“Look, I don't care who you are, or who your mother is. You're not getting a free ride here, little Star. I don't have time to waste on you so why don't you just quit now and get it over with.”
“I don't know what your ridiculous problem with me is, and quite frankly, I don't care. You want to be a bitch? Fine, but just remember that I can be as big of a bitch. I'm not here for a handout, I'm here to work, and that's all. Either you can do
I glared down into Rose's emerald eyes, my anger rising along with the strange, almost electric, currents. The darkness was beckoning and I was tempted, oh so tempted to let it loose.
“You want to work? Fine. You'll work, little Star, and I'll be damned if you're still here by the end of the week.”
My face flushed with anger as she jabbed her finger sharply into my chest. I gritted my teeth, my temper on its edge. “Do. Not. Touch. Me.”
An evil smile flitted across her face. She poked me again. “Ooh, touchy are we?” I had had enough. My rage flared, sending all rational thought out of my head. I grabbed Rose's finger and flung the offending hand away from me. Getting right in Rose's face, I pushed her. “I told you not to fucking touch me!” At my shout, the remaining customers in the store stopped to stare at us.
The feeling of eyes boring into me fueled my rage even more. I felt the currents flare wildly off my body, starting to connect with objects around me. Slight movements from the counter caught my attention. I was shoved abruptly against the counter behind me, causing my attention to be pulled back to Rose.
She was standing toe to toe with me, her own anger seeping out through her eyes. Again, she pushed me. “You fucking BITCH!”
I snapped and pounced on Rosemary, effectively tackling her to the ground. The display products and merchandise on the front counter were thrown off in sync with my movement, almost like a storm blew in and threw them into the currents of rage radiating off of me.
We rolled along the floor, slapping and scratching at each other while shards of glass and Styrofoam rained down on us like a mock celebration.
Pain radiated through my scalp as Rosemary yanked my head back by my hair, creating a clean shot to my face. My head snapped back as the blow came, pain flicking across my jaw. I threw Rosemary off of me as, causing her to slam into the front counter. The force of the impact made the last remaining products to fall down onto her. Blood was steadily dripping from my mouth, fueling my rage.
I threw myself at her, starting to slap her repeatedly. With each blow, the darkness and waves of the electric currents flew out of me, causing small waves of destruction.
Books started to fly from their shelves, tables started to overturn and chairs were sent flying. Becoming fearful, the last remaining patrons fled from the scene, ducking and weaving, trying to avoid the flying objects.
I leaned back to get a better swing at Rosemary's face and didn't see her foot coming straight at me. Sliding sideways, Rosemary kicked the side of my face, officially dislodging me from sitting on her. I slammed into the ground and began rubbing the side of my face while glaring at Rose.
“Fucking short people!”
