Vice

14: Home Late

Natara fumbles with the chain on her bike as she fixes it to her mailbox. There is only one house on the street with any lights left on, and it isn't her house. She draws in a deep breath of air, tucks the leftover pizza box under her arm, and approaches the front door.

She struggles to get her house key to fit inside the lock in the darkness. When it finally slots into place, she wonders if she's already been too loud. Natara slowly opens the front door, praying it won't squeak, and only feels safe to breathe once she gets it shut and locked.

The house is dead quiet. Her sister isn't playing any late night Disney music, her mom isn't still tidying the kitchen, and even her dad isn't sitting under a small light reading one of his late night history books. She doesn't know if it's better that they're all asleep and won't notice she's here late, or if it's worse because she came home so long after everyone had gone to bed.

She steps quietly - slowly lifting her feet from the floor and setting them back down as she traces her way through the living room. She wishes her parents had put in carpet instead of fake wood flooring, to make it easier. If she can make it to her bedroom then the only person who might know about her late night outing would be Macey, and her younger sister was much easier to explain things to than her parents.

So far, her sneakiness seemed to be working. No one had flicked on the lights outside when she chained up her bike. Nobody had come into the living room after she fumbled with the lock. And no one seemed to be moving around the house, woken by the sound of her footsteps. Natara may actually successfully sneak up to her room without any commotion, and get away with pretending she was actually in bed all along.

Halfway across the living room floor, a light flicks on, blinding her. 

Natara raises her hands defensively and blinks rapidly, trying to adjust her eyes to the brightness. Her father stands in front of her, hands crossed over his chest.

"Were you out late with a boy?" He squints, judging her expression. Natara shakes her head, her gentle curls dancing in the air beside her cheeks. Her father flicks off the flashlight, still with his eyebrow raised. "Then where have you been? It's the dead of night."

"I got a job." As the words leave her lips, pride swells in her chest. "I'm a secretary at Vicecorp."

Her father drops the flashlight, scooping Natara into a bear hug. 

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He squeezes the air out of her. About this time, usually, Natara would beg for freedom. She'd say, "Dad, let go of me or my lungs are going to explode!" But, right now, she's just relieved her father isn't mad about her late arrival.

But instead of anger or disappointment, all she sees is pride in his expression as he frees her from the hug.

"I-I'm sorry I'm late. I had a lot of paperwork. I think I'll have late days most days." Natara stammers. Her father pats her on the shoulder, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. I'll tell your mother when I get back to bed. I'm sure she heard me drop the flashlight and is wondering what's going on, anyway." He chuckles, still with that proud smile on his face. "Get some rest. It sounds like you deserve it."

Natara beams. Her heart blooms warmth across her chest. She's seen that proud smile before - like at her graduation - but, at the time, she felt too guilty about not knowing where to go from there to enjoy it. Now she almost feels like she deserves the smile. 

Natara nods and heads toward her room. She collapses on the bed with a long sigh. Then she glances at her sister - hoping none of the commotion woke her - but Macey continues sleeping peacefully.

I can do this, she tells herself as she stretches out on the bed and stares at the ceiling. 

If there's one thing Natara can do, it's get through things. She made it through school. She made it through life so far. And she's determined to make it through this job, too.

She sets an alarm to wake up for work in the morning and replaces her nice work clothes with pajamas. I'll have to return those tomorrow, Natara reminds herself as she hangs the work clothes neatly over her computer chair.

Her mind wanders back to her first day of work. Even though Mr. Vice is avoidant, wants to get her fired, and has a temper, he's still bearable. And, even though there's a lot of work to be done during the day, Natara thinks she can handle it.

She's appreciative that her coworkers - besides her boss - seem helpful, though.

Jaquie is so different from her - blunt and unpredictable, and strict about what he wants done - but he's also caring and has good intentions. Jace seems like a genuinely nice guy, who wants to help her get acclimated, too. Natara feels thankful. It's only been a day, but it feels like there are a couple of people at her workplace that might turn out to be almost friends. 

She tries not to think about Crystal but a worry still creeps in. She also tries not to think about the attitude Mr. Vice has but something at the back of her mind whispers that she won't be able to do it. She tries to tell herself that she can fit in at the company, too, but her low self esteem reminds her she never will. 

Natara turns on her side. Her positive mood is spoiling already.

She catches a glimpse of the alarm clock beside her bed. How did it get so late? How long has she been laying in bed, worrying? Natara forces her eyes closed. She forces herself to stop thinking about work and, once her nervousness settles, she goes to sleep.