DELIVERY | KTH

1

The familiar ring of the doorbell loudly resonated through the residence. Upon hearing the obnoxious ring, the petite, young woman with glasses on top of her head supported by her messy bun, lazily uncrossed her comfortable legs off of the couch, trudging her body to move towards the door for the anticipated individual behind it.

Her warm, clammy palm rested on the cold, metallic knob as she flung open the front door. She was appalled when her eyes met with a different pair. She noticed that the delivery man who always stood behind the door wasn't the same anymore. She felt her shoulders sinking a little, realizing that the routes changed, meaning she'll never see the former delivery man ever again.

"Miss?"

The woman's head perked up, brought back into reality as the young male dressed in uniform held out a cardboard box, labeled fragile. "Oh, this must be my new mug set..." She mumbled, scribbling on the electronic device handed her way. The man with the blank expression then extended his arms out to hand over the box, causing her arms to extend as well.

In a quick second, he thought that she had her grip on it already, causing him to retract his arms back.

Once he let go, the box slammed onto the floor in an instant, and audible ceramic shattering could be heard. She shrieked, squirming against her slightly coffee-stained white tee and loosely tied gray shorts. She gasps, "My mugs!"

She turned to the delivery man who stared back at her in complete horror, gulping hard. His heart hammered against his chest as he frantically bent down to the ground to pick up the box, "Oh my g- I-I'm so so sorry, miss." The man stuttered, embarrassment fueling to his face.

The woman sighed frustratedly, pulling the box into her exposed arms with slight aggression. He pathetically apologized again with guilty eyes, causing the woman to roll her own pair, "Shouldn't you know how to handle fragile packages?" The woman retorted, pointing to the fragile labeled sticker.

The male bobbed his head immediately and held it down in shame as he stared at his black sneakers that stood over the simple-looking welcome mat. "I'm so sorry. I'll take responsibility for itㅡ I'll evenㅡ"

She scoffed, extending her arm out, waving her palm, "Whatever. Forget it! Just be careful next time." She harshly said before slamming the door shut in the delivery man's face while he jumped from his position due to the loud, unexpected noise. He shut his eyes in utter disappointment in himself, sighing.

He sighed another time, going down the concrete, steep steps and hopped back into the truck. With hands on the wheel and determined eyes forward, he continued to deliver packages for the day, not letting the traumatizing memory escape his mind.

The woman frustratedly fumbled with the large box until she finally opened the strongly taped package to see the expected, scattered pieces of ceramic. She sighed as she pulled out a piece of the mug handle, followed by other big broken pieces. Hissing as she accidentally cut herself, she sucked on her index in annoyance. She looked back into the box and saw two mugs that were still in their original shape. Her eyebrows jumped in curiosity, taking both of them out.

They broke into pieces as soon as she lifted them up, not even completely out of the box. She groaned in vexation, however, she chuckled afterward at her case of luck. "Ah, whatever. These were cheap anyway. I'll just order different ones..." She mumbled, trying to reassure herself of the unfortunate situation. Then, her mind traveled to the male who previously delivered the package.

He seemed new. He probably is new...