Hope glanced at the bottom corner of her computer screen and pumped her fist in the air. "Janet!" she yelled through their shared glass wall. Janet swung around to look at Hope. "Janet! It's 4:50! Thank the baby Jesus, it's Friday!" Janet took her glasses off and hit the power button on her computer. She didn't even save her files or safely shut down her computer. She just turned it off, zero fucks given. Hope loved Janet for her devil-may-care attitude. Hope, on the other hand, carefully closed every window and saved every file before she left. She powered her computer down properly and gave her desk a quick dust with a Swiffer Sweeper dust cloth. She emptied out her drawers of that week's worth of candy wrappers and placed her waste bin outside of her office.
Janet popped her head out. "Just leave your door unlocked for the janitors. Geez."
"Can't," Hope replied. "Remember when that intern stole my tripod? I really loved that tripod. I'm not taking any chances, Janet!"
Hope ducked back into her office to grab her stuff and turn off the light. She struggled with her jacket before sighing a long sigh. Why did everything have to feel like a struggle? Wrapped in her black trench she bid Janet goodnight and trudged off to the train. Standing on the platform she rocked back and forth, watching her breath dance off with the wind. The tracks hummed before her lulling her to sleep as her fellow commuters whipped past her, eager to ring in the weekend. Hope could feel her eyes drooping with the comfort of chaos swirling around her.
A sharp rumble ripped Hope from her catatonic state. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered without even checking. She knew that it would be Jake. Jake always called Hope on Friday at 5:00 PM sharp. Jake knew that if he did not catch Hope before her train pulled in, Hope would go home. As far as Jake was concerned Hope was not allowed to go home. She had to join him for Friday Evening Fun. Even if the fun that Jake liked to have was not Hope's kind of fun.
"HOPE! HOPE! You better be boarding the right train, Hope." He meant business.
"I will be boarding the right train, Jake," she sighed.
"It doesn't sound like the right train, Hope."
"How does the right train sound, Jake?"
"Like adventure! Also, like it's going to Waterfront Station and not to New West." She could hear him smiling on the other end.
"Does this sound like adventure, Jake?" Hope held the phone above her head so that Jake could hear the rumble of the train.
"That sounds like a train that you will take you to New West."
"Then I guess you will just have to see where I end up." Hope pulled the phone away from her ear to hang up on her dear friend when she heard muffled cries coming from the receiver.
"HOPE! HOPE! HOPE!"
"What?"
"There's a guy, Hope. A cute guy. I showed him your Facebook picture."
YOU ARE READING
Hope for the Hopeless
General FictionHope Chance has a good life. A boring life, but a good one. Until her best friend Jake calls her after work one Friday night, just like he does every Friday, and begs her to join him at a house party. Hope doesn't like house parties, but this time H...
