Semi Sweet

5

Something is ringing.

"Who's at the door?" I mumble, visions of delivery pizza and mysterious packages dance through my mind.

There's something on my face.

I reach up, pulling the candy wrapper stuck to my face - how had it even gotten there?

The ringing continued. Absurd thoughts race through my head.

What if it's a secret admirer delivering chocolate-covered pickles? Or a troupe of salespeople dressed as clowns, offering the ultimate deal on office supplies? If it was a circus, I'd atleast want cotton candy to go with it.

With a jolt I snapped awake, my heart racing as I fumbled for the source of the sound.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" In my groggy state, with my mind playing tricks on me, and for a fleeting moment, I am convinced that the ringing is coming from the door.

With a sense of urgency, I stumbled out of my chair and made my way to the door, my movements sluggish and uncoordinated. In my half-asleep haze, I fumbled with the handle, my fingers tremble as I struggle to open the door.

But as the door swung open, I was met not by the familiar sight of my apartment building, but by the hallway of my office complex.

Confusion washed over me like a tidal wave as I blinked in disbelief, my mind struggling to make sense of my surroundings.

Slowly the pieces began to fall into place, and I realised with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I wasn't at home in my cozy bed - I was still at the office, my nap interrupted by the incessant ringing of my phone.

"Dang it."

With a sheepish grin, I sheepishly retreated back into my office, my cheeks burning with embarrassment at my momentary lapse of judgement.

As I fumbled for my phone, my heart raced as I glanced at the caller ID and saw the name of Denise flashing on the screen.

With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I hastily answered the call, trying to mask the sleep fog that clouded my thoughts.

"Hello?" I mumble, my voice thick with drowsiness.

"Please tell me you didn't sleep at the office again?" came the familiar voice of Denise laced with suspicion.

"Denise! Hi!" I winced knowing full well that my unplanned nap was far from professional. I tried to shake off the remnants of sleep.

"I need you in top shape at this breakfast. And you better look like a million bucks!" Denise says dead serious.

"Heh!" I laugh nervously. Then suddenly, I see Denise walking straight up to my office. I duck under the desk.

Panic surged through me like a bolt of lightning, my mind was racing with possibilities of what would happen if she found out I fell asleep at the office from working all night - none of them good.

Had she found out about my impromptu siesta? Was I about to face the consequences of my momentary lapse in judgement.

"Don't worry! Everything's under control," I whisper hoarsely so she wouldn't be able to hear me.

"Why do you sound so strange? Are you sick?" Denise asks suspiciously.

I clear my throat. "Uhm, no. I'll see you in 15 minutes," I say as cheerfully as I can.

She has one last look around my office before hanging up the phone and walking away.

But as I sat there on my knees in front of my desk, the sudden awareness of my appearance made me pause. I lifted my arm to smell if I was okay.

With a resigned sigh, I glanced around the room, desperate for a solution. My eyes landed on the magazines that were on my coffee table. They always have those small perfume packets in them!

Without a second thought I crawled to the coffee table in the middle of my office on my hands and knees so that no one could see me.

I snatched up the perfume packet from the magazine and hastily rolled it under each arm, the absurdity of the situation not lost on me.

Here I am, moments away from delivering a high-stakes presentation, and I was frantically applying deodorant in a desperate attempt to stave off any potential embarrassment.

Suddenly, my door opens.

In one fast move I jump to the couch, which is luckily right next to the coffee table, so it's not that far a jump. I pretend to be asleep on my stomach.

"Carla Jennings reporting for BFF duty," Carla announced as she strolled into my office. I glanced up to see her holding a shake bottle with a vibrant green smoothie in it and a straightener.

I look up and groan.

"You pulled an all-nighter again, didn't you?" she exclaimed, her voice a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"Is it that obvious?" I groan, sitting up.

"It looks like you made out with a tumble dryer," she replies oh so sweetly.

"No!" I groan again and try to smooth out my cotton button.

"Not to worry. I brought breakfast and a straightener," She holds out the shake bottle with the radioactive liquid in.

"Ew. Can't I rather drink the straightener?" I scrunch up my nose.

"No. Drink." She holds out the bottle for me to take.

I take the smoothie, eyeing the murky blend suspiciously but trusting Carla's enthusiasm. I raise it to my lips, took a big sip and immediately recoiled.

I groan, wanting the taste out of my mouth.

"Now I know what turtle brain tastes like," I stick out my tongue and try to get rid of that awful taste. I grimace, my face scrunching up as if I had bit into a lemon.

"Sissy!" She exclaims.

With a surge of adrenaline, I leap to my feet, scrambling to gather my thoughts and compose myself before the impending disaster.

"Okay! I have a meeting with Denise in 15 minutes and after that, breakfast," My heart skipped a beat as the reality of the situation crashed down upon me like a ton of bricks.

"Not in the same clothes as last night," Carla reminds me. She watches me with a mixture of concern and amusement, offering reminders and advice as I frantically attempt to salvage the situation.

I gasp as I remember that I still have the same clothes on as yesterday. How could I have been so careless, so foolish, to let myself give in to sleep at such an important moment?

"I have an extra shirt in my car," I suddenly remember about the spare shirt that I keep in my car for emergencies.

I push my folder into Carla's hands and grab my key off the table, without a moment to spare I dash out of my office and down the hallway.

What if I trip and fall flat on my face infront of everyone in the same clothes as yesterday?