Something new

“Crap!”

I bit my tongue to silence myself, coffee trickled down the front of me, leaving a brown trail on my used-to-be pristine white shirt. I inwardly groaned, of course, right before my meeting, my clumsiness decided to come out for a visit.

Stumbling to the bathroom, I scrubbed furiously at my blouse, the brown smudge clung onto the fabric.

“Oh come on!”

I rushed back to my office, grabbing my jacket and zipping it up quickly, I wouldn’t look as nice as I had planned to, but it’d be better than my stained shirt. My heels clicked on the floor as I walked down the hallway, trying to uphold the proper posture, while also trying to be speedy. My boss wouldn’t like it if I was late, but he also wouldn’t like it if I was, “Unprofessional.”

Slipping into the conference room, I kept my eyes forward, refusing to conform to all of the eyes that were locked onto me, fighting the rising blush in my cheeks. My seat was, naturally, on the far end of the long table. Pulling it out and lowering myself onto it, I sighed in relief as our boss walked in. Just in time. His normally wrinkle free, expertly steamed and pressed to perfection black office coat, was wrinkled and untidy. His hair was knotted and wild, sticking straight up in places. My eyebrows knit together, knowing it would be dumb to say anything, I kept my mouth shut. He plopped into his seat and rubbed his forehead,

“This meeting will now commence.”

He sighed and sat up a bit straighter. Flipping his folder open and droning off. I myself struggled to stay awake, he sounded so, so tired. The exhaustion laced in his voice made my eyes feel like there were bricks tied to my eyelashes. I had drunk at least half of the coffee that now lay on my shirt, hopefully it would be enough energy to get me through the day.

Thankfully, it did. He ended it by standing up, his disheveled form slinking away quickly. I shook my head and peered at my watch, 10:15, I still had two more hours before my lunch break. Meaning I would be stuck in my hot and sticky office with a jacket on, for two. Whole. Hours.

Walking back to my office, I plopped down in my chair, it squeaked silently. Sighing loudly, I started up my computer and leaned back, this was going to be a long day.

There was a loud rapping on my door and I sat up, pulling my jacket closed again, I had been half asleep with my mini fan blowing in my face. Not exactly the look of someone, “Civilised.” Standing quickly, I pulled the door open and was surprised to see my supervisor, Sarah, standing there.

“Oh, um, hi. Can I help you with something?”

She sighed, pushing her glasses back up her long nose.

“Due to, unfortunate circumstances, we have had to let Patrick go, you have been selected to fill in as the manager in his place.”

I was awake now. I blinked rapidly,

“I’m sorry, I never applied for the job of manager, at least not that I can remember.”

She looked down at her clipboard,

“Well, you didn’t, but the board thinks that you are the most qualified for the job. If you’ll accept, the job is yours.”

“Wow um, can, can I think about it?”

She nodded, her blonde hair falling into her eyes. Tucking it behind her ear quickly, she flipped the piece of paper over.

“You have until the end of today. After that we must submit the form of the new applicant, this business can’t run without a manager.”

“Right, thank you.”

She left and I closed the door. Holding my hand out to brace myself, I couldn’t believe this. Me? Manager? How was this even possible, I was just a news writer, nothing else, a small portion of the workforce here. I pulled out my phone, 6:37. Finally, I could go home.

My thoughts raced around in my head as I navigated the long busy roads of Los Angeles, I had been hoping and praying for a break like this for years, or, something like this. I had joined the printing company with dreams of becoming a journalist for a big newspaper. It had dwindled as the years went by, my failure to move up through the rankings discouraged me. I thought I would nothing more than a story finder, and a filing cabinet on legs.

Here was my chance, to do something different with my life. Something new. My house was, as it usually is. Empty. I sighed, could I really do it? Run a whole company by myself. I had never been anything important in that facility. The transition from normal office worker to the manager of the whole thing would be a shock, to say the least. Would I be able to handle it? There was no question that I wanted the job, but if I couldn’t handle the stress and the pressure of it, then would it really be worth it?

I threw my keys on the counter, slipping my shoes off, I slumped onto my couch. The weight of my choice dragging my head to my heart. I rubbed at my head, looking up at the ceiling. It was plain, a bland white, smooth. But there was one spot, where there was a small dent in the perfection of it. The dent had been there long before I had moved in. It made me realize something. I could be like that, a change for the company, something different in the midst of everything that was always the same.

I stood up, grabbing my phone and dialing the contact. After a few rings, she picked up,

“I assume you’ve come to your conclusion?”

“Yes I have.”

“And…?”

I smiled,

“I’ll be taking the position, I’ll come in early tomorrow.”

I sighed, this really was the start of something new.