Day in the Life

Alaiah stood for a few minutes, taking a few deep breaths as she peered at herself in her hand mirror, before walking into the tall skyscraper.

Once inside, she approached the front desk.

“Heyy, Alaiah” waved Billy as he checked her in. “Oh my God, your hair!! It looks so beautiful!”

“Thank you,” Alaiah hesitantly smiled.

“Can I touch it?” he asked as he stood to his feet and began to come around the desk before she could answer.

“N—”

“Oh, wow, it’s so soft.”

He stood back and waited for her to respond, but she couldn’t find the words.

“Well, you go, girl!” he snapped his finger and headed back behind the desk.

Alaiah walked on to the elevators, joining two others waiting for it to arrive. As she stood, three more people came, and she was grateful she didn’t know any of them.

They all stepped on, and the doors nearly closed.

“Hey! Hey!! Hold the door!” a woman yelled from outside as she ran up.

Alaiah tried to will it shut with her eyes, but one of the other passengers caught it to let the woman on.

“Thank you,” the woman said to no one in particular as she settled on.

As she turned around to surveil the faces in the tight space, Alaiah tried to covertly position herself behind one of the other passengers. But clearly not well-enough.

“Aaliyaaahhh!!” the woman sang out as she spotted Alaiah’s face, sending all of the other passengers’ eyes to her direction. “Hey, girl!!!”

“Hey,” Alaiah forced a friendly smile as she stepped from behind her unwitting protector. “How are you, Melinda?”

“Oh I’m doing just great this morning,” she said as the other passengers returned to looking at their phones or out at nowhere in particular. “I almost didn’t recognize you because oh my God, your haaaair!!!” Everyone looked over at Alaiah again. “I love it!!!”

Alaiah smiled again. “Thanks.”

“Oh my God, you so should wear it like that from now on,” she gushed and waited for Alaiah to respond. But once again, Alaiah couldn’t find the words.

After what felt like the longest elevator ride in history, Alaiah hurried off as quickly as she could, even as Melinda continued to stare.

“Well, I’ll see you later!” said Alaiah, grateful they worked on opposite ends of the floor.

“Oh yeah, yeah, you, too. Hey! Can I touch your hai—“

Alaiah darted around the corner, pretending her hearing had suddenly failed.

She slowed as she walked the hall that led to her desk and saw her manager Brad headed her way.

“Good morning, Brad,” she smiled and waved.

“Good morning, Aaliyah!” he exclaimed and began to extend his hand, which threw Alaiah as it seemed unnecessarily formal. She went ahead and began to extend hers as well, only for Brad to ball up his fist, turn it to the side, and lower it, waiting for her to bump his with hers.

Which she did reluctantly.

“It’s Alaiah,” she softly corrected.

“Ohh! My bad, my bad. You would think I would know that after a few years.”

Yeah, Alaiah thought. You would think.

As they almost passed, Brad stopped her again. “Oh! I meant to ask…”

Alaiah took a deep breath, as she knew she still needed to finish her report due soon.

“Did you hear that new Kendrick Lamar?!? That thing was sick, wasn’t it?!”

“Oh,” said Alaiah. “No. No, I have—”

“Whaaat?! I’m surprised!! You need to go check it out!”

“Umm.. Okay,” she said. She didn’t want to embarrass him by reminding him, again, she doesn’t listen to rap music.

“By the way, you look different. New makeup?” he called out as her back turned and walking away may have made her hearing go out again.

Once finally seated at her desk, she took another deep breath.

Made it in. Ten minutes down, just seven hours and 50 more to go.

As she waited for her computer to load, another familiar face popped over their shared cube wall.

“Heyy, girl!”

“Hey, Suzanne” Alaiah replied.

“You get that report done?”

“No, you?”

“You know I haven’t! At least we have a week to do it.”

“A week? Brad told me to have it to him by tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Well, that’s weird.”

“Yeah.. Weird,” said Alaiah.

“Will you have it done by tomorrow?”

“I mean, I hope so. It’s a big report.”

“Yeah, just go ask if you can have some more time!”

“Yeah… Maybe…”

“Cool hair, by the way!” Suzanne’s eyes glistened as she observed.

“Thanks.”

“You really should wear it like that more often!”

“Thanks.”

Suzanne turned and returned to her chair.

*************

Despite how badly Alaiah wanted to get away from the office for lunch, she instead decided to stay close to her desk, to get further along on the report.

She headed to the break room to warm up her leftovers from the night before. Gathered at one of the tables was a group of her coworkers chatting and eating their lunch.

“Hey, Aaliyah! You coming to join us?!” One of the guys yelled out.

“It isn’t ‘Al-LEE-yuh’—it’s ‘Al-LAY-yuh’,” said one of the women as she then turned to Alaiah. “Right? Or have I been saying it wrong?”

“No, no, you’re right. It’s Alaiah,” she said as she set the microwave to two minutes.

“Oh wow,” the guy said. “I’m so sorry, how come you didn’t tell me?”

I have told you. Multiple times.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said.

“No! No!!” said the woman. “You shouldn’t let people mispronounce your name! You should make sure they say it correctly every time! I mean, it’s your name, for crying out loud!”

The woman waited for Alaiah’s response, which she had none. So, she instead just politely smiled and nodded.

“Hey, so Al…ay….ah? Alaiah?” the guy said as he grinned. “Did I get it right that time? Ah! Ah!! I did, didn’t I!! Didn’t I!!”

Alaiah force a smile and nodded again.

“Good job,” the other woman said to him. “Want a cookie?!”

“Whaat?! I said her name right this time. I think I should get some kinda recognition!”

Alaiah looked at the ticking microwave and couldn’t believe only 30 seconds had passed.

“So, Alaiah.. ha ha!” The guy said. “We were just over here talking about the latest episode of The Daily Show. It's this news and political commentary sh--"

"I know what The Daily Show is, Tim.”

"Oh. Well, do you watch?"

Alaiah's attention was hyperfocused on her food and that timer, wishing she could speed those remaining minute and 15 seconds straight to zero.

“Alaiah?” he called out to her again.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry,” said Alaiah. “What did you say?”

"I was asking if you watch the show?"

"Oh, sorry. No, not really, but my dad does, and he—“

“You know your dad?” the guy interrupted, and the rest of the group sat silently, their eyes planted on her, waiting for her to answer.

Alaiah turned back around and opened the little oven door, pulled out her dish, and walked out the room.

0:37 remained on the timer.

The guy raised his hands. “What did I say?”

As she returned to her desk, variations of compliments rang out by more coworkers as they passed.

“Wow, Aaliyah, I love your hair!”

“Thanks—“ Alaiah began to say to that first person until the woman continued.

“It looks so much better like that. You should wear it like that all the time!”

“How did you get your hair to do that?!” yelled out the next woman. “I wish mine could!”

“Did you cut your hair?”

“What did you do to your hair?!”

“Wow, look at your hair!!”

“Your hair looks so cool!! Can I touch it?!?”

“I thought you’d put your hair in dreadlocks?!?” one guy said incredulously.

“No. That was Briana,” said Alaiah. “In Marketing.”

By the time she reached her desk, it felt like she’d been through a full battle and just barely made alive on the other side.

*************

As the day was almost over and Alaiah finished up her report, she couldn’t help but notice Suzanne beaming as she returned to her desk.

“Well, you sure seem to be in a good mood,” said Alaiah.

“I am!!” Suzanne exclaimed. “I just got a promotion!!”

“What?”

“I just got a promotion!! Isn’t that great?!?”

“Umm yeah…but… How?”

Suzzane’s brows furrowed.

“I mean, like..” Alaiah tried to correct herself. “You just started a few months ago…”

Suzzane shrugged. “I guess I’ve been doing a really good job!”

“But.. I’ve been here for two years…without a promotion.”

Suzzane shrugged a little more softly this time. “Mmm maybe… I met the qualifications for it?”

“I helped interview you. Don’t you just have your bachelor’s?”

“Well, yeah…”

“Yeah, and I have my master’s and many more years of experience…”

“And you’re suuper-articulate,” Suzanne stated proudly.

“Umm… Yeah,” said Alaiah.

“Hmm,” Suzanne pondered, legitimately puzzled. “Well then yeah, I think I see what you mean. That is weird.”

“Yeah. It is. But… Congratulations.” She tried to force a smile.

“Thank you!!” Suzanne beamed without skipping a beat, grabbed her purse, and turned to leave. “See ya tomorrow!!”

“Yeah. See you.”

Moments later, Brad approached and extended his fist to bump hers again, but Alaiah acted like she was too engrossed in her work to stop and do so, so he dropped it.

“You check out that Kendrick yet?!” he sideway-pointed in her direction.

“Uhh, no, I’ve been working,” she said.

“Oh yeah, how is that report coming along, by the way?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m almost done. Did you say we had a week to get it to you?” she asked.

“No, it’s supposed to be done by tomorrow,” he said.

“Oh. Suzanne said you said a week.”

“Suzanne’s is due in a week. Yours is due tomorrow. Because I know you can!”

“…Oh.”

“Yeah…”

“Umm.. Suzanne also mentioned she got a promotion?”

“Yeah, hasn’t she been doing so great?”

“Yeah, she has, it’s just…”

“It’s just what?”

“Umm… I’ve been here for two years now, without a promotion.”

“Aaliyah, I’m not sure what you’re getting at,” said Brad.

Alaiah sighed. “I’ve been here for two years. Suzanne’s only been here a few months. I have tons of experience and a master’s degree, and she just recently graduated from college with just a bachelor’s. We have the same role, and yet she’s already being promoted?”

In a rare moment, Brad stood there silent, and it was hard for Alaiah to tell if he was genuinely confused as his face suggested or was just pretending to be.

When he still didn’t answer, Alaiah began again. “I mean, any particular reason why?! And my name is Alaiah!!“

“Yes,” Brad said abruptly as his chin rested in his hand and his eyes narrowed behind his eyeglasses.

“‘Yes’…?”

“Yes. It’s definitely something.”

“Well, can you tell me, becaus—-“

“I’ve been trying to figure it out since this morning. It’s been driving me nuts, and I think I finally know what it is—what’s different.”

Alaiah’s brow raised, now the one confused.

“Your hair. You got a new hairstyle, didn’t you?!?”