Jaxyn's alarm clock woke her two days later with the loud 'beep' 'beep' 'beep' that marked every regular day of her life, but now for once it would mark one of the most unusual days. Turning over onto her stomach and burying her face in a soft pillow Jaxyn searched for the off button, pressing it several times for good measure.
It was going to be a long day.
"Oooooooookay," Jaxyn breathed, sitting up on her air mattress and looking around sleepily.
The grey walls of her bedroom were still decorated with the silver mirrors and frames and what-not that was fashionable but all the furniture was out, including her bed. Two days on an air mattress proved to not be as bad as what Jaxyn had expected, but the girl still managed to never fall asleep before one or two a.m.; not that she ever slept well on her regular bed.
With one last groan Jaxyn got up and quickly changed into the black pencil skirt and white blouse her mother had laid out, brushing her mid-length hair into a sleek black ponytail and quickly going over her milk white face with a thin layer of makeup. After brushing her teeth and putting on the black pumps she favored Jaxyn packed up the toiletry bag and stuffed it into her leather suitcase, zipping it up and lugging it down the stairs.
Miss Dubois was in the living room going over a check list. She was dressed in a black suit with matching heels and her black hair was also pulled into a ponytail, but being the business woman that she was Miss Dubois took great care in the placement of said ponytail, making sure it was near the nape of her neck and the hair tie wrapped in a thick strand of excess hair for a more sleek appearance. The only color she wore was the red matte lipstick, the rest of her makeup being a heavy layer of 'natural' tones.
Jaxyn put the suitcase down and looked at her mother silently, the beautiful features so similar to her own void of any expression.
"Right," Miss Dubois finally spoke. "Everything is in order. Are you ready?" She raised her eyebrows in question and Jaxyn nodded silently. "Very good. Let's go then. I mustn't be late for work."
The two of them took the elevator down nineteen floors and went out into the parking garage where the black mustang was waiting.
Yes, another long day, Jaxyn groaned inwardly.
It was not a long drive to the design studio but Jaxyn almost wished it were so that she could postpone staying there all day for just a moment longer. It was such a dreary building, tall and metal like all the others in that fair city, and Jaxyn found it hard to believe that everything going on inside had to do with making the world more beautiful. That's what Miss Dubois always said. "I design because the world is too dull to leave it alone," Jaxyn remembered her saying, but that sentence seemed almost hypocritical whenever the girl thought back to her grey room. In her eyes it was the epitome of dull. In fact, it was something even worse than dull. It was almost...almost...depressing.
"Hurry up, Jaxyn," Miss Dubois said, locking up the car and heading for the stairs. "I can't be late on my last day."
Yes you can, thought Jaxyn miserably. It was true though. Miss Dubois was the manager and would be very difficult to replace if someone decided on firing her. Being a few minutes late was no danger to her career.
When they came in through the rotating doors the receptionist greeted them cheerfully, giving Jaxyn's mother a stack of mail as she rushed by.
"Thank you, Bella. Come along now, Jaxyn."
Jaxyn jogged a couple steps to keep up with Miss Dubois and they took the elevator to the sixth floor where there were two long rows of cubicles all filled with people working at computers.
