The Rapunzel Effect

Television Truths

Standing in the tube with Kyle wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the overwhelming stench of non-deodradised armpits and the toxic perfume that all morphed into made the air smell like something that could kill a horse. Or a whole herd of them. Or all the horses on the planet. It was that bad. I tried covering my nose with my sleeve secretly but it gave me no protection from the invading scents from hell.

"How much longer do we have" I asked him, not sure if I would pass out from the lack of oxygen in the cramped train. I heard that rush hour in the morning was awful but I never imagined anything like this. It really just showed how desperate some people were to get to their boring office job in a nameless building. My mother was incredibly lucky for having her job although a lot of the time she acts like she deserves it. For what? Honestly all I see her is taking calls. Never have I ever seen her actually do some real work which started to anger me slightly.

After her telling me that everyone was below us made me upset as she acted like she was god. However she was god over me. I was planning on changing that hopefully when I got home, as soon as she saw how I could look after myself.

"A few more stops left. Hold one, the trains about to stop." He warned me seconds before the train came to a halt and I was thrown into a man with a large abundance of fat. He turned around and pushed me off him, making me collide then into Kyle. I felt like an unwanted toy being tossed around in a nursery.

"Woah what the hell?" Kyle shouted at the man and he gave a grunt which probably meant 'stop or I will sit on you'. I managed to stand up again as the train began to move again and decided that I should hold on tighter to the plastic handles hanging from the ceiling.

It was my first day of work and I was incredibly nervous. I wasn't sure what I was meant to do except walk into an office and do as I said, not that I haven't been doing that my whole life. I don't want to be told what to do anymore, I want to be myself and last night I had a nightmare that mother made sure that Kyle would never see me again. He was my only friend and I knew that if I lost him I would fall back into despair and a constant series of hopelessness again.

Getting off the tube in itself was an incredible feat. A swarm of busy people divided into 2 thin escalators. The escalator terrified me as I felt that it was seriously unsafe. Not to mention the fact it was incredibly sure I would fall off. I crunched my eyes together and held Kyle's jumper, not caring if I was choking him. I decided that if I was to go down then he might as well come down with me. It'd be infinitely kinder than what his mother would do to him if she found out that he let me fall.

We walked towards the building and Kyle tried giving me pep talk that failed. I could barely hear him over the thoughts crashing in my mind. Worry began to set in as I thought of my mother. After work I should definitely go back to the pent house and assure her I was okay. Then I could introduce her to Kyle and maybe she'd see how kind he was as without him I would've have nowhere to go.

"I'll be okay don't worry." I assured him as we walked through the entrance, a blast of cool air conditioning hitting my face. My hair blew slightly in my face and I brushed it out the way, smiling again at that sudden rush of confidence I had received yesterday.

"Kyle, we need you in a meeting and is it Rachel? Mr Egan would like to see you in his room ASAP." Naomi informed us before taking a large sip from the old looking mug that smelt of the heavenly coffee. I turned to Kyle, weakly smiling at him to reassure him that everything would be okay. I wasn't sure who I was trying to reassure more... him or me?

"Just go to the top floor and someone should show you to his assistant." He said warmly, before giving me a brief hug and then followed Naomi across a corridor, leaving me alone.