Sluggishly opening your eyes, you let out a muffled groan as you reach for your cell phone, currently vibrating a rather annoying tune. The dark, wooden tabletop it resides on causes it to echo loudly throughout your room. Giving up your feeble attempt, letting your heavy arm fall, you shut your eyes and roll over, hoping it'll end its horrendously loud white noise. After what felt like hours, in actuality being only five seconds, you let out a heavy, gravelly sigh.
"Alright! Alright!" You yell into your pillow, hoisting your body up by your fists, smacking your palm on the now illuminated screen of the device. A barely audible, 'I'm up' tumbles out of your mouth as your alarm finally shuts off, leaving you to fill the void with a yawn. Stretching, you reluctantly slide out of the warm embrace of your bed and head for the bathroom.
Flicking the light switch, the small, boxy, tile filled room illuminates slightly with a yellow hue. You look up as faint buzzing emits from the ceiling, peering at the lightbulb that rests behind a frosty cage. It flickers every so often. Huffing a sigh through your nose, you reach the counter, resting your hands just before the bowl dips in on the sink. You lean forwards slightly, staring at your reflection with half-lidded, cloudy, tired eyes.
You grimace, noticing the lack of liveliness on your face that, just two years ago, you had. Your eyes weren't shiny and joyous, a matte dullness overtook it some time ago. You had developed dark circles under your eyes, the result of many sleepless overtime shifts your manager dumped onto you last minute before bolting out the door. Your lips were paler than they should be, slightly cracked from dehydration. Your cheeks were slightly sunken in, a result of not eating enough.
I look sick...
You thought, running your fingertips lightly over your jawline. Feeling dejected, you grabbed your hairbrush, running it through the tangled bedhead you oh-so gracefully sported. Hissing a few times as the brush yanked your scalp a little too harshly, you got through the mess, your hair now resting nicely atop your head. Blinking a few times, you reached for your toothbrush, running it under the tap. Lazily, you uncapped the hygiene paste and scraped it against the bristles, smacking the lid shut against the counter. Running your now occupied brush under a second's worth of water, you officially started your mental minute timer.
Spitting, you ran your brush under the tap one more time before placing it back to its spot, grasping a bottle of blue liquid. You took a swig, swishing it around before spitting it out as well, its color gone, now frothy and white. You scrunched your nose as it burned your tongue. Wiping your mouth, the sound of the water decreased and it was then you realized you had to use the bathroom.
Finishing whatever business was left in the bathroom, you trudged back to your room, shutting the door. Grasping your phone that you left on your nightstand, the screen lit up with a news notification.
Armed Robbery at X Bank, 1 Arrested, 10 Injured, 5 Dead. Read More...
It's only 6:30 in the morning...
You exhale at the headline. Of course, another massive strike in your city. You set your phone down and walked to your closet, sliding the door open, you reached in and took a hanger off the rail. The dusty lavender dress seemed to mock you as it swayed slightly, reminding you of your financial struggles. You sighed, lightly tugging the waist apron off. You threw the dress and apron onto your bed, unbuttoning the eight buttons that went from the breasts to the waist. You stripped out of your night tee and shorts, shivering slightly. Slipping on the dress, you poked your arms through the short sleeves, the hems a nice white color you just knew were going to get splattered with drink spillages. Buttoning the dress back up, you grabbed the apron and walked over to your door, looking at the mirror attached to it. You fixed the crooked collar before wrapping the ties around your waist, turning and craning your neck to attempt a nice looking bow. Turning back around, you smoothed out any wrinkles on it, frowning at the fact that you'll have to scrub it once you got home. Children really didn't know how to behave.
You tried your best to smile innocently a few times before walking over to your dresser, grabbing a pair of dark knee high socks. You slipped them on with ease, then wasted no time to grab your phone and a small backpack. You took your keys out of the bag and headed for your living room. Checking the time, your eyes widened as you realized you had 20 minutes to get to work.
"Shit.." You mumbled, quickly pocketing your phone into your bag. Hastily, you grabbed your canvas high tops, not bothering to sit. Dropping your bag to the floor, you struggled to maintain your balance, your hand constantly grasping at the wall for support. You tied your laces sloppily and stomped on the floor. You flung on a black sweater before picking your bag back up. Exiting your apartment door, you turned the lock and stuck the keys in your bag, zipping and throwing it over your shoulder as you basically ran down the hallway to the elevator. Cursing yourself for not eating breakfast, you made a mental note to buy something cheap before your shift from your coworker.
You shifted in discomfort as the silence of the building settled in. The elevator doors opened, and you rushed inside, pressing the lobby button. What was probably only five minutes felt like hours. Entering into the lobby, the receptionist gave you a simple 'good morning' as you gave him a wave and rushed out the double doors. Stepping out into the city, you were instantly hit with a mix of smells and sounds.
Cigarettes were the first to capture your nose. You scrunched your nose as your breathing shallowed for a moment. A man glared at you, his fingers pinched around the cancer stick. You hastily walked past the source of the smell, down the block and caught a bus. You exhaled as you gave the driver what little cash you had on hand, bowing slightly as you walked farther into the vehicle. No seats were available, so you had to stand. You sighed as you grasped onto the rail, pulling out your phone. You now had ten minutes to get to work.
"uhm... E-excuse me.." A voice rang out. They sounded pretty young. You didn't pay much attention to it, so you kept yourself busy on your phone. Something tapped your shoulder.
"Excuse me... Miss?" the same voice called out. You lifted your head, looking to your left. There sat a boy, no older than 15. He was fidgety and nervous, looking anywhere but at you. His green hair was wavy and all over the place. He finally looked at you, his emerald eyes showed signs of anxiousness. His freckled cheeks were a slight hue of pink. He cleared his throat, and stood.
"You.. you can have my seat." he stiffened, his words coming out in almost a jumbled string. You stood there for a moment, processing what he was saying, before a small, warm smile danced across your face.
"Thank you." You bowed slightly, taking the seat. He shifted to stand where you once were, smiling at you as he reached for the rail.
"You looked tired. Please! Get some rest!" He stated, his sentences becoming flustered. You let out a breathy laugh at his attempts of being kind, before the bus stopped near the notoriously famous UA. He bowed to you before slipping through the rest of the crowd, and beamed with joy in front of the building. Your smile slipped from you the moment the bus continued its route, your place of work being two stops away. You looked to your lap, waiting.
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AN
Trying to be inclusive for all hair types, eye colors, etc. :]
YOU ARE READING
Mind Tricks
Romance"It seems I've fallen for you, my dear." - - - Cast out of society, MC secludes herself in her home for most of her days, only going out when she needs to. She takes every compliment with a grain of salt, seeing as she's been nothing but patronized...
