The Beast

Chapter 4

Chapter Four
Stalking Car

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HANNAH

   There's a black car sitting in front of my building, and it hasn't moved in minutes.

   It's possible there's a likely explanation as to why there's a car parked on the street in front of me with the headlights still on. But no one's come in or out, and the windows were illegally tinted to the point that all I could see was my reflection.

   Gripping the handles of my bike harder, I warily rolled it further from the car. Once I manoeuvred my source of transportation onto the road, I checked for cars but nervously glanced at the ominous car one last time before fastening myself on top of the bike.

   For the entire commute, I silently cursed at the weather. While it was forty-one degrees, the wind nearly froze my face despite me dressing warmly in a jacket, gloves, hat and scarf. I hate commuting in the winter. It's times like these that convince me to get a car.

   But in the long run, it wasn't worth it. For one, most of my paycheck went into rent, and the rest went into groceries and bills. I barely made enough money to survive in New York City. I could decide to live with my parents and save money, like what Melina was doing, but I couldn't go back. Not now. Not after everything.

   Besides, I'm only at the start of my career. Eventually I'll make enough to live comfortably. At least, I hope so. For now, I'm okay working two jobs.

   Thankfully, I reached the office in fifteen minutes. Before heading inside, I locked my bike in front of the small but generous space before stepping foot inside. Just looking around made my heartbeat faster with excitement.

   I loved designing. Maybe because I enjoyed organization and making sure everything looked cohesive. But nonetheless, when I had my field placement with this organization during my two-year program, I fell in love with the work environment.

   Well, I fell in love with everything but my team leader.

   The thought of her was enough to sour my expression.

   Swiftly, I peered around the small, squared space. The entire front of the room was covered in windows, so there were tons of natural light. There was a total of six desks in the office, one for each designer. It was an open concept space with no separate rooms except for the owners office taking up space on the far left corner. Even the meeting room—which could seat a dozen people—had no doors.

   My desk sat near the farthest end of the room, away from the people who were "professionals", as my team leader liked to say. Even though I've had plenty of experience, got my degree and landed this job, I've never had my own project since landing this job in September.

   Although, we just finished working on a site down on West End Avenue, so I had nothing to do at my desk except for playing around with designs—specifically, mid-century modern styles.

   The next time I looked at the clock, I noticed it was time for lunch, so I notified my boss before heading out. I chose to walk rather than unlock my bike, since there were several fast food chains around me. I ended up walking less than ten minutes to my favourite restaurant that served ramen.

   Since it was a family-owned small business, the moment I opened the door, I could see the old couple waving from the kitchen, while their teenage son and daughter worked at the front counter.

   Normally, I'd bring the bowl of miso ramen back to work, but I worried that it wouldn't be as hot as I liked, so I plopped myself in a stool facing the windows overlooking the busy street.