There are over 70 thousand apartment buildings and over a million residential apartments crammed into New York City's 300-square miles. One may say it was the low, yet still ridiculously high, rent at The Mare's Nest that drew her in. Or the fact it...
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"We wish you the very best. Could you please call a cab for Mara here." Mara mutters the words of her now-former boss, her voice dripping with mockery and contempt.
Metal and glass pans and baking sheets clamor as she slams them down on her kitchen counter. The oven door shuts multiple times throughout the morning, each time a little louder and a little angrier. She has no job. No source of income. No purpose to her independent life anymore. Her one and only hobby - baking - is all she has.
Muffins. Lemon bars. Cookies. Scones. Dozens of baked treats sit on top of every surface of the apartment. She can't recall if she even slept. She remembers lying there in bed, listening to the familiar tick of her defunct ceiling fan. She remembers the early sunrise poking through the dusty blinds. She remembers the smell of coffee being brewed in neighboring apartments as she stirred the flour, butter and sugar. Silent curse words spewing from her mouth to the beat of the whisk hitting the sides of her giant mixing bowl.
"Fuck you, Rob," she says as she grabs a stack of paper plates from her pantry. She places one of each baked good on the plates and covers them with frustrating cling wrap.
"You have an impressive resume, Mara, but I don't think this is the right place for you."
"Fired from Penguin? That's quite the scar to have on your work history. I'm sorry but we're going to have to pass."
"I think you're overqualified for the receptionist position here but we'll keep your resume on file."
Mara had turned in applications to several places and was asked to come in for a handful of interviews, but none had taken her up on her desperation. She had become a recluse in her home. Other than the few people that took a chance on vetting her for a job, she hadn't talked to anyone the past week. Rob's connections did a number on her career and her future now hangs in the balance.
She stacks the plates of goodies on her arms and heads out the door, her worry of being able to afford her new home at The Mare's Nest growing with every step down the hall.
Splinters from her neighbor's front door stick in her knuckles. She hears two girls yelling on the other side of the door.
"Hey! Mara!" A brown-haired girl with glasses answers the door. She wraps her oversized cardigan around her midsection and yells behind her. "MAGS! MARA FINALLY CAME OUTSIDE! Sorry for all the yelling in here. We're working on a new movie and we're not agreeing about the name of a character."
"Hi, Sara. No worries." Mara responds. "Just making my rounds. Baked some treats for you and your sister."
"Don't mind if I do." Mags, the sister, pops up from behind, snatching the plate before Sara has a chance to grab it. "You know, Sara, you can learn a thing or two from Mara here." She pops half a cookie into her mouth. Crumbs fall from her mouth and onto her vintage Orphans band baseball tee as she talks. "She actually leaves her apartment."
