Emily and the Story of Raindrop

Part One

   One day, Emily Taylor was leaving for work. She left her house with her keys, her work bag, her laptop, and her prized possession, a stuffed monkey named Raindrop. At the time, 20-year-old Emily could not leave the house without Raindrop. As she drove to work every day, Emily would put the stuffed animal in the passenger seat and buckle her in with the seatbelt. She hated to admit it, but Raindrop was her emotional support stuffed animal. Emily had needed it after a volcano had erupted in her home state of Hawaii. where her two parents, her brother, Joseph, and her sister, Rose, lived. It had occurred shortly after Emily moved to New York, New York. The explosion had killed her entire family. For the next month, Emily locked herself in her apartment.
     Today, which sadly, was a Monday, Emily drove to the train station. There, she parked her car in the employee parking lot. She grabbed Raindrop and attached her car keys to the monkey. Then, she stuffed Raindrop in her bag and headed to the main desk to check-in. Emily's job was to call out trains and their times on the intercom. Her job made her very nervous because she did not like talking in front of people. In fact, her old office space had walls made of glass so the passengers could see her as they walked by. The first day, Emily fainted. She was so afraid to talk with so many people watching her. Even now, with a closed office in the far corner of the station, Emily would become very anxious. However, she didn't have a choice because no one else would hire her.
     As she walked in, her boss, Bobby Griffin, greeted her. She sat down at her desk and pulled out her stuffed animal. Emily then removed the keys from Raindrop and placed them in a tiny bowl on her desk. She put Raindrop in its designated corner on her desk. For most of the day, Emily called out trains, times, and destinations. After about three hours, she became frustrated. Emily shoved some papers off her desk because she was disappointed in herself. Emily has only gotten this job because Mr. Griffin was an old family friend. No one had wanted to hire a weird 20-year-old with an obsession with her stuffed monkey. When she pushed the papers, Emily heard a soft, thunk! Emily ignored it. She stood up and walked toward the bathroom. No trains were expected for two hours, so she had enough time. Emily sat on a toilet seat, thinking about what she was going to do.
     When Emily walked out, she strolled back to her office, where Bobby was standing, his face full of disappointment. Emily let out a weak, "Hi, uh, Bobby. What are you doing here?" He explained to her how a train had arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule. A total of 37 people had missed it. Emily promised to not let it happen again. For the remainder of the day, she stayed in her office, determined not to miss a single train. Once her shift was over, Emily gathered things to leave. Before she left, she remembered Raindrop. Emily turned around and reached for the monkey, but it wasn't there. Suddenly, Emily began to panic. She took a few deep breaths and told herself to come down. Everything was going to be fine. It was late, and Emily decided to look for Raindrop in the morning. She didn't know how she was going to survive the night. She knew that Raindrop was at the train station, so the thought calmed her because she was sure where to look.