Wrong choice

Author's note: The words in italics is what Mia is thinking. I think everyone already knows that, so anyways, enjoy!

Mia rushed as fast as she could to CandorCo building. She worked there as an accountant for almost a month. Yet, she could almost never reach there on time. She frantically glanced at her watch and her heart went a second faster. She was already twenty minutes late! What would her boss do this time? She dashed into the buildings and ran up the stairs not even glancing at the long queue waiting for the elevator. She burst into her floor just in time as she slammed into her boss! 

“Ms Amber! Wh- what a su-surprise, seeing y- you here!” Mia stammered as she slowly retreated back trying to avoid those stylish furious eyes boring into hers.

“Mia, fancy seeing you here!” Her boss replied, staring at her sweetly with an air of bossiness. 

Mia faltered, her boss never acted like this. She usually ordered her around assigning her an overload of work, giving extra as she was usually late. This behaviour of hers was different…

“What are you doing standing there with a dumb expression on your face! Get to isle B and take over Irina’s work! You're thirty minutes late this time! This is your last chance! One more time, and you're fired! Now get to it! Chop chop!” Her boss snapped back, that face of sweetness had vanished completely now possessing a look of exasperation. 

Mia sighed. Of course it was an act. How could she have doubted her boss’s personality for a second? Ms Amber would never change that fiery nature of hers. Nevertheless, she admired her boss for becoming so successful and hoped she one day would. 

Snapping out of her daydream, she quickly headed over to isle B and took over Irina’s work. She groaned. The papers were almost a metre tall! How was she ever to finish them! She seized the stack of papers and started her way to her own desk to start on them.

The day dragged on as Mia continued on her papers even skipping lunch to finish them. She hardly glanced at the clock as she focused completely on the papers. At noon, two hours before work ended, she took her stack of papers that she had completed to Ms Amber. Mia proudly placed the stack of documents onto her boss’s desk with a sigh of satisfaction. 

‘What is this nonsense?” Ms Amber asked with disgusted eyes eyeing the documents.

“Th- the work you asked me to do Ms Amber!” she said indignantly .

“Ugh, whatever gets it out of here.” Ma Amber replied.

“Um, where shall I put it Ms Amber? The third floor room?” she asked curiously. The third floor consisted of one room which was called the third floor room.

“NO! No! No there. No one must ever go there!” She practically shouted hysterically.

Mia was taken aback. She had never seen her boss like this before.

Then, realizing what she had said, she quickly returned to her composure. “No, Mia. Don’t put it there. Leave it here, I will sort it out. Meanwhile, grab that stack of papers and start working on it.” she said sharply, gesturing for Mia to leave. 

Still astonished, Mia slowly found her way to the new stack of papers which looked more intimidating than the other one. She clutched it firmly and made her way out.

After placing the papers on her desk, she leaned over to her neighbour.

“Hey, did you see how weirdly Ms Amber acted after I mentioned the third floor? What’s the deal with her?” she asked curiously.

Her neighbour shrugged, “It’s no big deal, we’re used to these outbursts now. She does them everytime someone mentions the third floor. No one’s ever allowed up there..”

“Huh, I wonder why.” Mia asked, frowning.

“Well we don’t know why, but there are rumors she had an extremely bad experience up there which was traumatising. She’s never told anyone anything about it and clams up everytime someone asks her about it.” her neighbour, Sheila replied mysteriously.

Mia snapped back to work and focused on the next big pile of work. The next two hours flew through and before you knew it, the day was over and everyone was going home. 

Mia hardly seemed to notice as she seemed deeply absorbed in her work. Instead, she headed off to the washrooms as she suddenly needed to go. As soon as she had gone, the news turned on and a grim forecaster came into view. Everyone quietened down to listen.

“All citizens, I deeply advise you to head back home immediately. There is a huge blizzard arriving in half an hour. This is the first sign of snow for this year. Unfortunately, it starts off as a blizzard. Please go home now! I repeat, there is a terrible blizzard on its way!”

The moment he was done, the whole office turned into chaos and hurried out of the office, everyone determined to get out first. In a few minutes, the office was empty, filled with silence. 

Mia took this moment to return back from the washroom. She halted to a stop as she scanned the office.

“Um, guys?” she called out. In return, she got an echo. It spooked her out a bit. She glanced at the clock.

“Two thirty already? Gosh! No wonder no one’s here! I better get home!” Mia said out aloud to no one in particular.

She grabbed her coat from her desk and headed outside. Peeking outside, through the huge majestic glass windows, she got a heart attack. “

“How on earth is it snowing? Nope, it’s not snowing, it’s a blizzard!”  she screamed inwardly

Mia spent a good three minutes just gazing at the bellowing blizzard outside. No one could blame her. The blizzard was raging with anger covering anything in its path white with heavy snow. Mia could hardly see anything at all no matter how much she squinted.

She gave out a breath of fear. Now what? How was she to get home? This was bad. Very bad.

“Stop panicking.” Mia told herself. She needed to think.

This blizzard would probably last about an hour or two. 

“It’s okay,” she thought. “ I’ll just wait around here for an hour or two, then go home.” she thought, trying to reassure herself.

An hour or two alone in her office isn’t so bad. She could finish up some work and make Ms Amber happy! Yeah. She’d do that. So Mia plopped herself back into her chair and decided to continue doing her work.

After a minute or two, she stopped, sighing in frustration. It was no use, Mia couldn’t focus on her work.  

She decided to explore. She stopped, taking a walk around the office. Then, she headed to the second floor. She hardly was on the second floor even as she had only been working here for the past one month.

 She trudged from room to room, peeking in and out and playing small games in her head to keep herself occupied. After reaching the end of the second floor, she automatically glanced at her watch. 

“Ugh” she groaned. It had only been twenty minutes! She gazed helplessly at the blizzard, as she sat on a stool twirling herself around on it. Where else could he go? She had finished both levels. There was only so much exploring you could do in a two level office. 

She stopped, a heart skipping a beat in excitement. This office wasn’t a level two office, it was a level three! The mysterious third room! Dare she go up there? 

She glanced at the blizzard again. It wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, okay, she’s going up!

She jumped off her stool and slowly made her way to the staircase. Since there was only one floor on the third floor, you needed to take the staircase. 

Her heart rate increased with every step she took, nearing the second floor.

It couldn’t be too scary could it?” Mia thought as she reached the third floor.

She easily spotted the room at the end of the corridor. The light was dimmed, and it was clear no one ever came up here with a look at the cobwebs and the faded paint on the wall.

Mia haltingly made her way to the end of the corridor nervously looking around her as if someone would pop up from behind.

Taking a deep breath, she clutched the door handle tightly.

“This is it.” she thought, as she pushed open the door.

                                                    ~~~

She closed her eyes as tight as possible as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. In the end, curiosity won over fear as she slowly peeled open her eyes and looked around. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was just an ordinary sort of bedroom.

“Funny,” she thought. “There’s a bedroom in the middle of an office building.” She thought.

She walked around the room inspecting everything.

It was quite an ordinary bedroom. The wallpaper was a faded peach which peeled at the corners. The top of the room was embedded with cobwebs. It appeared to be a nursery, as there were toys thrown all across the room. From toy cars, to dolls, to tea sets and many other toys. Then, there was the bed which was about two feet high which had a plush old fashioned bedspread with two faded fat pillows sitting on it. Then, last of all, there was an enormous wardrobe which stood awkwardly on one side of the room. 

Mia made her way to the bed and plopped herself down comfortably. This wasn’t so bad at all! Ms Amber was wimp if she thought this was scary.

Out of nowhere, a girl appeared from behind her.

“What are you doing in my bedroom!” she asked in what a person might say, creepily.

Mia almost had a heart attack, as she jumped up in fright and backed into a wall.

“Wh- who are you and how di-did you come he-here?” Mia stammered in fright.

‘The question is, what are you doing here. This is my bedroom. I live here.” She replied. 

“She seemed, almost not real. Her eyes looked like plastic and her hair looked like a Barbie doll’s one. Even her voice sounded robotic.” thought Mia terrified.

“Well, I came here to explore.” Mia said, trying to get her voice back. This was a little girl who was probably seven. She couldn’t probably be scared of her, right?

The girl cocked her head for a second. Then she said “Follow me.” with an evil expression on her face.

“She’s just a young girl. She’s just a young girl.” Mia reminded herself as she nervously followed the girl who stopped abruptly in front of the wardrobe. 

“Sit inside the wardrobe.” the girl demanded. Her voice seemed to get more robotic.

Mia was too petrified at this point to disobey. She haltingly opened the wardrobe wondering what she would find inside. 

She breathed a sigh of relief when she found it empty. She hesitated for only a second until she saw the girl behind her. Then, she quickened her pace and sat cross legged inside. She had to admit it. She was petrified of this girl.

Suddenly, the girl’s expression changed in a split second. From completely normal, to face of pure evil. 

Mia couldn’t even squeak. She knew something was going to happen. She had to move. Fast. 

She tried to get up. She became alarmed. She couldn’t get up! She tried several times, until the girl talked again.

“It is no use. You have fallen for the trick.” she said laughing. Her voice now sounded like a chorus as it got louder and louder.

Mia couldn’t explain her fear anymore. Was this what Ms Amber had seen? At least she had the brains to get out of here as fast as possible.

She kicked out, angry at herself. Before she knew it, the wardrobe doors were closing.

“Goodbye, human, whoever you are.” The girl, or the chorus, chanted loudly filling up the room with echos. 

Mia gave a last scream as the wardrobe doors shut close forever.