A Little Bird Called Magpie

CHAPTER ONE

  Do you ever take a moment to look around and ask yourself, how the hell did I get here? It's a stupid question, I know how. What I really mean is, why am I still here? Another stupid question, I know why I'm still here. I guess that's the way the human brain tries to tell you that you should do something about it, but I don't think I'm ready for that. I am currently sitting in a conference room. The long, sharp table is white and reflects the sunlight behind me. The glass door to the room is on the other side of the table, to my right. My friend Agatha sits right next to me. She's the only person I like here, and yet I barely talk to her. We're both what you call CAD designers. We take the sketches our designers make and recreate them in 2D or 3D models so that the team can get a better sense of what it's supposed to look like or use it for advertisements. We also sometimes make patterns. But that's not very interesting, is it? Well, all you need to know is that the "designer" part of "CAD design" is a bit of an overstatement.

  I notice that the sunlight lights up Agatha's head as she scrolls through her phone, and I can't help but stare at her glowing, loose hair. It's beautiful. Her light brown eyes look so sparkly, even in the shadows. I remember that there are people around me, so I stop staring. Lydia and Jeremy sit next to the door, they're either gossiping or talking about shit nobody cares about. I hate them both. They're fashion designers, not very good ones, though. Lydia has horrible taste in fashion. Right now, she's wearing light blue jeans, a black sweater, and a white jacket. She's also wearing white high heels. She probably got the job just because she could draw.

  Our company mostly specializes in women's fashion. We have a team of twelve designers working all week, producing… nothing all that special. Guess who gets most of the attention and "recognition" out of the twelve? A man. That's where that scumbag Jeremy Louis comes in. Everyone treats him with such a level of respect that he clearly doesn't deserve. His designs aren't that good, they're lazy. He's the type of designer that has most of his designs show a lot of skin because it's an easy way for people to think it looks good, when it clearly doesn't. He's also stuck in the past. At least half of his designs are a decade behind in fashion. Any woman wearing something that he designed should take a long look in the mirror and get some self-respect. But enough of that prick.

  Oh shit, Lydia is talking to me. 

  I snap out of it and realize Lydia is calling me from the other side of the room. "Maggie! I heard that you had a funny nickname back in grade school! I was telling Jeremy about it but I forgot what it was? What was it?" She asks.

  I immediately freeze up. Fuck. That "nickname" is the last thing I want to hear. It's the only name in this world that echoes through my head like a church bell every time I hear it. It carries all the pain I've endured through my life and forces me to experience it all again. I'm not going to say it myself. But how do I explain this to a pretentious, egocentric, apathetic bitch with a shit-eating grin?

  "Oh, wait, I remember now. It was Magpie!" Lydia said before bursting into laughter. Jeremy laughed as well. "But why did they call you that? Because of your name?" Jeremy asks.

  In this instant, I am nothing but a glass sculpture covered in skin. My insides shatter and everything but my calm façade crumbles to the ground. I remember all the pain, all the crying, the sound of people laughing… at me. I have less than two seconds to react before Lydia and Jeremy start to suspect that I'm not okay. 

  "Oh, you know, just a stupid pun someone came up with." I say as calmly as possible.

  Lydia laughs again. "That's funny! It's kind of a catchy name, Magpie. I like Maggie better though."

  I don't understand how anyone can find that funny. Lydia and Jeremy only make my life worse, and no matter how, I'd enjoy screwing them over. To throw their lives away. I bet that would feel fantastic.