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chapter one 01| mundane
All he did was continue to stare into my soul with his generic blue eyes. It didn't take long before I was rolling my eyes at his behaviour. "Sir, I just came here for coffee."
He straightened up at my remark, not being able to internally justify his previous behaviour. And just like that the barista returned to brewing my coffee to go.
"What is it with you and, well, everyone?" Angela's dangerous smirk toyed with her thick red painted lips. "One of these days you're going to run into someone who hates you."
I chuckled at the naivety of her comment, I was sure that many people have hated me. It was just never openly expressed for me to hear.
"Well I'm just glad I'm so easily likeable," I slipped the dollar bills over the sticky counter and retrieved my coffee, "otherwise I wouldn't have the world's most annoying best friend."
Angela's deep laugh followed me out of the coffee house and onto the miserable weathered street of Detroit.
Without looking where I was going I overstepped the sidewalk and ended up crashing into someone.
Luckily for me my coffee decided to stay in the premises of the too bad for the environment cup.
My gaze was stolen by the deepest brown eyes I had ever seen, they compelled me to stumble all over myself like a fool.
The stranger's insanely large hand secured the stability of my own body by tightening his grip on my upper arm. "Could you watch where you're going?"
"A please would be nice." was all I managed to stutter. There was something oozing out of him, something dark that frightened me.
"Common curtesy shouldn't trump basic awareness, ma'am." he let go of my arm, leaving me stumbling over myself once more as I watched him walk away.
Angela immediately patted my back, "I spoke to soon, didn't I?"
I sent her a bitter look, but it didn't distract my mind from the blackness that had just ruptured my tranquility.
-
"I let you guys out for lunch and all you get is coffee?" Larry's patronisingly warm voice penetrated my ears as we entered our office block.
Angela and I worked for a liaison company. We managed the agents and victims of FBI cases, any family members or recommendations.
Being a government purposed facility meant we had many odd cases, we were not mutually exclusive to the FBI.
"We had the weirdest little adventure," Angela set her cup on my glass desk, abandoning her now cold coffee to ditch her rain soaked jacket.
Larry produced two plastic cartons from behind his back, setting them down beside Ange's coffee. "I'm all ears."
"Elle quite literally bumped into someone who didn't like her."
Larry's chubby face seemed startled, he too believed Angela's theory that there wasn't one person who didn't take an odd liking to me.
He was no exception to her theory. The balding middle aged man was overcome with joy when he met me, I was his immediate favourite. Ever since, Angela, Larry and I have all been having lunch together. Occasionally joined by Larry's wife.
"Don't look so shocked guys, it's not abnormal for someone not to like me." I shrugged it off, but it got to me a little. It was strange for me to have such a negative impact in such a short period of time.
There was a jacket potato and a tuna melt sitting in front of me. I knew Angela would have whichever I didn't want, so I grabbed the potato and shovelled forkfuls down my throat.
Georgia Wendall, Larry's magnanimous wife, always packed extra food for Ange and I in Larry's bag.
At first Larry was annoyed about the extra weight, but his promotion to boss of government facility meant an upgrade from his shabby rusted bike to his sleek cruiser.
I blamed that beautiful car for his dramatic weight gain, yet it sort of suited his character.
"So...do I have a patient scheduled or do we all have to wallow about the completely deluded theory?"
Ange chucked a tissue my way, her tanned skin a complete contrast to the bright white. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you over that potato."
Angela De Santa came from small island heritage, her tan skin and full lips were God given. The bright island she came from seemed present in her shining personality. Her beauty was too advanced for the average man.
Larry clicked his fingers, trying to remember something off of the top of his head. "You've got a detective from Detroit Police Department."
"Larry, with all due respect, no." I choked on my potato, the flavour suddenly bitter on my tongue.
He pursed his thin lips at me, "You're an adult, the cops are assigned to us sometimes, you're just gonna have to get over it."
Angela swiped her tuna melt and crept towards the door, "Good luck with that honey."
"But-" I argued.
"You will finish that lovely potato my wife so generously baked you and then you'll prepare for the detective." Larry ordered before leaving my office.
Sure, the man was benevolent but he sure as hell didn't lack a backbone.
I smoothed down my think white silky blouse that was slightly unbuttoned and readjusted the tight black knee length skirt which it was tucked into.
Preferring to wear a skirt with a large slit in the back was so I would be taken seriously as an adult, I didn't want to look like an overgrown schoolgirl.
