Clean Getaway

All Teeth and Fangs

"James, make us tea" Stella demanded not leaving much room to object or protest.

Breaks at the station were always the best part of volunteering, other than returning home that is. The three of us, Ada, Stella and I sat around just eating whatever food was about the place and of course it was my job to make our tea; terribly if I do say so myself. Stella liked to joke that I was her lackey and I should always do as she commanded. Who was I to second guess The Great Almighty Stella Hill?

Tea breaks lasted thirty minutes and was a designated free time to do as you pleased, but there was never enough time to go out and buy something fresh as once you've run there, placed your order, waited for it to be ready, paid and ran back to the main office, and given everyone their orders, your break time is up. That's the bad side of the whole break situation; however the upside was that there was often a large amount of free doughnuts about. Sounded stereotypical but sometimes if an officer went to the local bakery or doughnut chain and said that the pastries were for the poor souls on the night shift he'd get them for free, which was a pretty sweet deal if you asked me. It just so happened to be one of those days. The jelly-filled delights were picked up around six and sat in the open air of the lounge for half an hour. All the best choices had been snapped up whilst the three of us worked –as usual but it never bothered us.

With a sigh I rolled off the black leather desk chair and made my way over the stainless steel kettle that had just finished boiling water. Grey steam was rising from the small spout and disappeared into thin air as quickly as it had appeared, gesturing that the water was ready to use. Ada was strange and only drank from a dainty, pink, floral mug that she brought in from home. While Stella and I drank from the standard station mugs that were plain grey. We weren't fussy about it. However, we did respect Ada's uniqueness and always made her tea only in her special mug. It did make for a lot of washing up which of course, was also the lackey's job.

Just as I finished up the tea, Ada walked through the heavy wooden door with a few thick files within her grasp and collapsed into her desk chair with an exhausted sigh. "This afternoon has been manic!" she exclaimed in over-the-top fashion.

"I made tea, Ada" I spoke as I picked up two mugs with one hand and clasped the third in the other. I spun on my heel and walked back to the women's desks to deliver their freshly brewed drinks "and I'll go grab some doughnuts."

Ada grinned from her chair, "You're such a sweetheart, James" slowly she leaned back into her chair to allow the stress of her work load disappears.

As I exited the room, I could hear Stella shout "Get me a lemon one! If there aren't any, don't bother." She enjoyed things that had a bitter tang to them, it suited her personality. On my first week I offered her a chocolate covered pastry from the lounge area only to have her look down her hooked nose in disgust as if I had brought her a dead mouse. She was not impressed; needless to say I have never made that mistake again.

The lounge was a large square room with three mismatched sofas that surrounded a small white coffee table in the centre. At the far right corner of the room was a miniature kitchen, with a fridge, microwave and a toaster, which were also mismatched and seemed like they were on their last legs. Ada told me that the microwave was older than I was; it had been there since she began working at the station which was nearly twenty two years ago. It wasn't much but enough for employees to store and warm their food. The furniture mirrored the antique technology from the kitchen, all of which had seen better days. The chairs were almost broken and unstable with the off coloured fabric pulling away from its structure leaving gaping holes throughout. The station wouldn't pay to replace anything, why would they do that?

Owen sat alone on one of the ancient sofas and stared down at his phone. He looked angry about something. I supposed it would have been rude not to at least ask if he was alright.