liberty // luke hemmings

chapter two

My day started off pretty rough. My alarm went off at 5:45 am, instantly affecting my mood. I rolled out of bed. Literally. When I landed on the cold hardwood flooring, my head made contact with the ground. Almost instantly, I had a brutal headache which I knew would affect the rest of the day. My limp and exhausted body crawled towards my bags with my clothes. I lazily pulled out a white button up blouse, maroon blazer and a black pencil skirt. There were many positives to this job. I got eighteen dollars an hour, free coffee and health benefits. The down side of this job was the attire. I felt like a forty year old house wife. With those thoughts in mind along with my pounding headache, I got ready for the day. I applied minimal makeup and quickly ironed the crinkly blouse before grabbing my purse. I made my way to Grey's room. He lay shirtless, face first on his mattress without any covers. I smile slightly, no matter where we are, Greyson is still the same. It gave me a sense of comfort and settled my overbearing nerves slightly. I slipped my on high heels, much to my discomfort, and exited the apartment without a sound.

It was barely 6:30 am and the city was already busy. There were countless buissness men on the streets already and stressed out nannies pushing strollers. But then I realized, the city never slept. There was never a quiet moment in the city and to my surprise, I was okay with it. Back in Cap May, the streets were always empty with no stories to be told. But here, ever person here was trying to be somebody. It's inspiring. With my new found inspiration and pain due to the horrific heals and damaging headache, I make my way down the busy sidewalk. During my walk to the subway, I stop at a coffee stand. There was a nice elderly man serving baked goods and warm beverages. With every person that stopped by, the man wished the paying customer a good day. The people ahead of me in the line wouldn't even acknowledge the good wishes. But no matter the response, the coffee or pastry the man sold came with complimentary happiness. When it got to my turn, I order a black coffee. I hand him a five dollar bill. He tries to hand me change but I refuse. Have a good day sir. That's all it took to make someone's day in the city. Kindness.

The subway ride was long. There was a sweaty teenager beside me, wearing baggy pants down to his knees. He wore his baseball cap backwards and carried a skateboard with him. To the left me was a woman who I assumed was a Nannie. She was young, only a couple years older than me. She had a whiny toddler on her lap. Everybody on the claustrophobic subway car all has different goals in their lives and different careers with their own different endeavors. It was fascinating. By the time I was done examining each individual on the car and pondered their life goal, I had gotten to my stop. I quickly climbed the stairs which lead me back to the upstairs world. I looked down on my smartphone, the clock read 7:12. I walked quickly down the street. My eyes landed on the tall building just parallel to the sun that was already shining bright. The sign read Holland and Bolt. Along with a herd of seven hundred different busy business men and women, I cross the road to my new job.

When I entered the building, I followed the instructions in the email I had received and made my way towards the south side elevator. I squeezed my small frame into the crammed the elevator. I pressed the elevator button that read FLOOR 17. Almost immediately, the doors slam shut. Almost as if the gods trapped me into this tight and slightly terrorizing space, saying that there was no way out. There was no going back.

The elevator dinged when it arrived at the seventeenth floor. I swear my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I was excessively nervous. But I took a deep breath and walked out of the elevator confidently. My heels clicked every time they made contact with the marble tiled floor. I advanced towards the front desk. There sat a woman in her twenties, wearing a similar outfit to mine.

"Hello. I'm looking for a Mrs. Holland. Could you direct me to where her office is?" I asked politely.

"Down the hallway on your left. Make your way to the end and the glass office on your right is Mrs. Holland." She informed me. "Oh and don't be nervous. She senses fear." The receptionist laughed before sending me on my way. Was she serious or was she just joking? All I know is that I don't want to find out.