Lilacs Forever

Chapter 2: A New Home

Delilah avoided eye contact with Clarice for the whole 8 hours. There were a lot of files to organize and arrange. Mr. West had told her that it's for a new client. She sat typing invoices and transactions, histories and approving forms. A number of the files to be taken care of were for Mr. West himself, which was fine for Delilah because she didn't do anything to get on his bad side. The thought of those stormy gray eyes burning into her soul frightened her, but was it as bad as being the center of attention for everyone else? And by center of attention she meant it in a bad way, she will forever be known as the girl who spilled water on Clarice Johnson, and got her backside verbally handed to her. She was the girl who made a fool of herself on her first day of work. There was no way she was going to blend into the crowd, she just wanted to disappear. Her eyes stung, tears threatening to spill out. I'm not gonna cry, I'm not, she repeated to herself.

There were papers that needed to be handed to the IT department and some from the sales department. They were all close together so it wasn't much of a walk. As she walked she could feel them staring into her. She felt alone and vulnerable and there was nothing she could do about it. Everybody was going about their normal lives and here she was sticking out like a sore thumb. She dropped a couple of papers on her way to Mr. West's office. As people watched, she bent over to pick them up and sighed.

—-

Delilah had finished her work half an hour early, but she didn't know whether it would be right to leave or to stay. She made her way to Mr. West's office. "E-excuse me?" She called out softly, peeking from the little crack in the door. There was Alexander West, his brow furrowed over many documents. He looked up. "Is there something I can help you with?" He said coolly. His eyes pulled her in like a whirlpool.

Delilah snapped out of her trance. "I'm finished with my tasks, is there anything else I can do?"

"Already finished?" There was a hint of amusement in his voice. He looked through the papers Delilah had put on his desk earlier. "And you didn't do a bad job..."

Delilah's heart skipped a beat. It was the first time someone complimented her work, let alone her boss. He handed her a stack of envelopes. "You can get started on tomorrow's work" he stated. She smiled. "Of course."

It was only 30 minutes until work was over but to Delilah, it felt like decades. It was already awkward enough being in the same room with the people she made a show in front of. At least she didn't have to leave her desk, she was doing tomorrow's work so she didn't have to hand people their papers until the next day. The room was mostly silent, with phones ringing here and there and some light conversations. Delilah could feel the world turning as she sat at her desk, thinking about what she's doing with her life.

Finally, as 5:00 ticked on the clock, Delilah could hear people getting out of their chairs and chatting among themselves. As she made her way to the door, she could feel the push of the crowd, like the waves at the beach. The elevator was crowded by the time she got there, so she had to wait a couple of minutes to get into the next one. As she entered the glass elevator filled to the brim with people wanting to go home already, the walls seemed to close in on her. It was more on the claustrophobic side, she admitted. But, she would rather be stuck in a crowded elevator than let everyone else go and wait any longer.

As she exited the building she felt the cool October breeze on her face. The sky was still as gray as it was in the morning. People were making their way past her and to their cars, where they started their engines and hurried out like they were in a boring, monotone race. She walked over to the bus stop, she didn't have a car. Getting on the bus can be intimidating but living in LA she was used to the bustle of the city, except it was sunnier there than here.

Delilah scanned the bus as she entered it. There were some men in black suits, looking at their watches and phones. She went deeper into the bus looking for an empty seat. She found one next to a mother and her toddler. She gave them a quick smile. The mother gave a tired smile back and resumed dealing with her son's antics and his pulling on her hair.

The sky became darker, the lights of passing cars painting accents of red and yellow. Delilah stared out the window. I really am so far away from home, am I...

—

Delilah arrived at the bus stop on North Street in the outskirts of the city where she worked. It wasn't enormous, but it wasn't small either. And not too shabby to add to that. She could describe it as cozy, the trees surrounding it and the warm lights peeking out of the window sills felt familiar. It wasn't home, but it was a little welcoming. As the sky became darker she headed inside. She was looking down at her shoes , in a hurry until the split second she saw another pair of shoes ramming into here.

"Ouch!" Delilah yelped as her foot got lightly stepped on as the owner quickly shot his foot back. "I'm so sorry!" She looked up to meet a young man, probably in his late twenties. He wore thick, black rimmed glasses and a blue bow tie with a yellow shirt and suspenders. She didn't want to be rude to him or as harsh as Clarice treated her. Her day was not the best, but she didn't want it to get any worse, for her and anyone else.

She was crouched down, her eyes fixed on her throbbing foot. He bent to her level. "Are you alright?" He asked frantically. "Here, let me give you some ice."

Before she could say anything he ran past her and within a few minutes came with an ice pack. "N-no you don't have to do that, I'm fine." She stammered.

"It's okay, we don't want your foot swollen tomorrow, I reckon you'd be busy at work."

Delilah gave up insisting and let him tend to her foot.

"Haven't seen you around, are you new?" He asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm from LA"

"That's so neat!" He smiled. "I hope you'll like it here up north."

"Yes," she smiled back. "But I'm still getting used to everything..."

"That's alright. Um, you're still unpacking?"

"Y-yes..."

"Well, I don't want to hold you up any longer. I'm Jacob, nice to meet you."

"I'm Delilah."

He left briskly, Delilah watched him grow smaller as he walked farther down the hall. And just like that he was gone.

Delilah walked down the hall until she reached the elevator. She was on the third floor, 304 to be exact. When she found her door she rummaged through her purse for her keys. It's got to be in here somewhere, she said to herself.

"Aha!" She triumphantly fished the key out of her bag and opened the door. After she turned on the lights she could see her sparsely furnished room. She didn't bring a lot of stuff but most of her things weren't unpacked yet. A few boxes stood in the corner, waiting to be opened. She had moved in late the night before and just brought out her bed sheets and covers, her bath products, and some of her clothes. She still had jet lag from the plane trip from California.

Delilah took a shower and changed into pajamas. She lay down on the bed and snuggled into the covers . Looking at the ceiling, she replayed the events of her day over and over again. She remembered her awkward conversations, her stuttering, spilling water on Clarice, and the stares. She bit her lip, clearly embarrassed. She had made a fool of herself on her first day of work, after all.