Emergency

Chapter 2: A Calm Day

Blessed silence greeted Alex in her cosy one bedroom flat. After six more calls, she had clocked off for the night, grateful for Ada offering to walk with her. The two of them lived pretty close, with a few blocks' difference. The solitude of her home enveloped her comfortingly after such a long day. With a content sound, she hopped into the shower.

Twenty minutes later, she sat eating dinner and trying not to brood on the conversation she had had with a young woman in one of her calls. A harsh ring disturbed the silence, and she picked up her phone to see that the caller ID read 'Dad'.

"Hey, Dad!"
"Hello, sweetheart, just checking in, how are you?" Her father's gentle voice spoke.
"Oh it was alright, kind of disturbing as always, but what can you do?" She picked at a loose thread on her cushion. "How about you, how was your day?"
"Oh, I just went to your Grandma's today for the most part, nothing too interesting," He hummed, "Anyway, you should get some rest, I'll see you on Saturday?"
"As always."
"Alright then, goodnight"
She ended the call and went over to lie down. As she pulled up her covers, the panicked voice of the young woman came back to her.

In the morning, the insistent ringing of her alarm clock annoyed her out of bed. Grumbling, she got ready for another dismal day.
Unable to face food in the morning, she grabbed her coffee and resolved go eat in the mess at her job.

"Morning, Ada." Her friend was as usual glowing with energy ill-suited to the hour.
"Good morning, Alex, and guess what?" Ada trilled, expectantly looking into Alex's dead eyes.
"Mm, what?" Was said dead-eyed person's response.
"We're gonna get off early today!"
"Oh, really?" Alex perked up and looked around at everybody, noting the slightly less miserable air around everyone." Why?"
"Probably because we have some new people so they want to give them a taste of what's to come," Ada peered into her coffee." Does this have creamer?"
"What's to come is depression, and yeah it does." Alex thought of her first day here, so hopeful, so stupid in thinking this was a good idea.

"Don't say that to them anyhow." Ada sipped Alex's coffee unapologetically.
Alex snorted, reaching to activate her phone, and started in surprise when she didn't get the on flood of calls she expected.
"Wow, is it gonna be calm today?"
"Hopefully,"Her left cubicle neighbor, Max, peeked over the partition." I didn't get many calls in my shift either, and mine was 2 to 8."

There was a rustle, and Max stood up, tiredly rubbing his eyes.
"I can almost feel my pillow," He sighed," Well ladies, I wish you luck." Giving them a mock salute, he turned and left

That very moment, both the girls' phones rang. Ada scrambles back to her place.
"911, what's your emergency?" Alex spoke into the reciever, hearing Ada's voice doing the same.
"Oh, hello, I wanted to report nuisance. A bunch of kids out front on the road are screaming their heads off, so early too! Could you please send someone to stop them, this is a senior citizen street and everyone is disturbed." An old lady evidently.

"Yes, ma'am, if you could tell me your location, please."
Thankfully, the lady rattled off the address quickly, and Alex passed on the message to dispatch.
"Is it from one of those senior citizens for you too?" Ada's voice echoed through the partition.
"Yep."

I have nothing to say for myself. Please enjoy.
<3