5 Steps Ahead

1

I walk down the streets, watching my reflections in the windows as I pass by.

I check my watch. 8:30 am.

Good, I think. I'm on time.

A man passes by me, and I recognize the keychain hanging from his shoulder bag. He's always 5 steps ahead of me, and because of that, he makes it across the road before the signal changes, and I'm left waiting. Every time.

Just like today. He glances at me before crossing the road, and I come to a stop, watching him walk away as I wait for the signal change.

I sigh.

Its Thursday.

I just have to get through today and tomorrow and then the weekend is here.

2 more days. I can do this.

Rolling my neck, I cross the road, mentally preparing for another day at work.

***

'Ms.Laliya!'

I look up from my monitor to see my supervisor dump a stack of papers onto my desk, grunting from their weight.

I lift the first sheet, peering at the contents. 'This is...?'

'The materials that you need for next week. Will you be able to get a PT ready by next Friday?' Mr. Han gives me a rueful smile.

I narrow my eyes at the 100 or so sheets - stapled into bunches, in front of me. '...Yes. I think I'll be able to get it ready by then. However, my first priority is this current project. I will not back off from this one.' I side-eye my supervisor, daring him to contradict me.

He scratches his head. 'Alright, if you can handle them both, then go for it.'

He leaves and I dive back into work, determined to finish inputting a large portion of the data by tonight.

Several hours later, I sigh and lean back into my seat, drained of energy. I wanted to stay put for several hours, but one glance at the clock has me jumping up again.

The clock reads 4:55 pm and I quickly clean my desk, packing my stuff up.

'Leaving already?' My co-worker Nina leans out of her cubicle, smiling.

I grin and point at the clock. 'I want to leave on the dot. I need to take a well-deserved bubble bath.'

I smile and wave goodbye, padding down the stairs, since waiting for the elevator would take too long. Just as I'm about to exit the building, I realize I've left the stack of papers on my desk, and I groan, going back to get them.

It's already 5:10 pm by the time I get back to the exit, and I silently pray that the bus hasn't come yet. I half-walk, and half-jog to the bus stop, letting out a sigh of relief when I notice that there are still people waiting.

A few minutes later, I get onto the bus and settle into one of the back seats. I plug in my earbuds and lean my head against the window, gazing at the buildings that rush by.

Thursday is over. One more day until the weekend.

I step off the bus and walk to my apartment, 2 minutes away. As soon as I get inside, I dump my bag on the ground, kick off my shoes, and rush into the bathroom, hunting for the bubble bath bottle with a smile on my face.

Nearly an hour later, I exit, fully refreshed and content. I turn on some music and hum, dancing around the kitchen, looking for something to eat. After opening a few cabinets and the fridge, I pause, debating. I frown and open the fridge again, expecting to see something I can eat.

Nothing.

'Agh! Whatever. I want chicken!'

I search up the number of the nearest eatery and dial, waiting. 

'Hello! You've reached KFC! What would you like to order?' I prattle off my order, thank her, and hang up.

Looking around the living room, I tap my chin thoughtfully.

What to do now...?

30 minutes later, I lounge across the sofa and stare at the ceiling blankly.

My ringtone cuts through the silence, and I answer, without looking at the caller ID.

'Hello?' I yawn.

'ARE. YOU. READDYYYYYYY?!?!' A shrill tone blares through and I wince, bringing the phone away from my ear.

I scrunch my nose in annoyance and glance at the screen. A photo of Riley, my closest friend, flashes, and I grin, taking a deep breath.

'HELL YES I AM!' I yell back.

Laughter erupts from the phone and I sit upright, squealing.

'Of course, I'm ready! I've already packed and you booked our tickets! No one can stop me from our plans!'

She laughs even louder, agreeing with me and my excitement. 'I keep on looking at the pictures of the area! I can't believe you really snagged a booking at Fairmont Banff Springs! I'm so excited, I can't even focus on work!'

I grab my laptop and scroll through the images, my grin growing wider and wider as I see the photo-worthy locations.

My smile deflates as I sigh. 'One more day, Riley.'

'Yep. One more day.'

We get lost in conversation, catching each other up on the day's events, listening to her rant about how her day went, and how many fussy customers she had to deal with.

My doorbell rings and I quickly hang up, telling her my food's arrived.

Once I've positioned myself in front of the TV, I happily munch away, watching the newest episode of DemonSlayer.

A/N:

Hello! Welcome! I'm so glad you're giving this book a chance, so thank you for that!

So this story popped into my head after reading a Tumblr post of someone's real-life occurrence! It was super cute so I quite literally jumped on the gun when I figured, this is what Ima write based on! But yeah! Welcome to Laliya's life! Keep in mind that the Tumblr inspo is prolly not gonna be that big it just kinda spawned all of this LOL

Peace out my fellow potatoes,

-Z

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