Beep, beep, beep...
You don't even open your eyes to turn off your alarm. You instinctively reach your left arm out and hit the button to turn off the alarm beside your bed.
It 5:00 am and you don't really want to get out of bed this early, but part of you is excited to have a job interview this morning at Wilko in Rotherham. The manager Elizabeth asked if you could come in before normal opening hours for your interview. The trouble is that you live in a small village just outside Retford, 23 miles away so you had to get up extra early.
Things would finally have to change in your somewhat mundane life. Your name is Helen, in some ways your typical 20 year old millennial... in other ways you had some quirks and insecurities. After you finished your A-levels, your mum moved down south to be with her boyfriend. She said that you could stay in the house in Retford rent free until it was sold. Luckily for you, it took two years to find a buyer, but now you had eight weeks to move out. This was the reason for you trying to find a full time job, after all your paper round wasn't going to pay the bills. Besides you're 20 years old now... who has a paper round at 20?!
You slowly peel yourself out of bed, while rubbing the sleep from your eyes. Normally you would shower first thing in the morning, but you showered last night as you had to get up so early this morning. "Time to get dressed", you mumble to yourself still sleepy. You remember a teacher once told you not to over dress for a job interview. Normally at Wilko, the staff would wear a red polo shirt and black trousers. So the night before you laid out a white polo shirt and some smart black trousers on your dresser.
You take off your pyjama bottoms and unbutton your pyjama top, before throwing them in a heap on your un-made bed. You pick up your glasses from the dresser and put them on. Standing naked, you look at yourself in the full length mirror next to the dresser. You're 5' 5" tall, a good height you think, not too short, not too tall. You have light brown hair down to the middle of your back. You also have a pretty face emphasised by a pair of designer glasses, but like most girls you also were very critical about your body. You always felt like the top and bottom halves of your body didn't match. Your upper body was very skinny, with only a pair of a-cup breasts, but you also had chunky legs like your mother and you hated the way your toes curled downwards instead of pointing straight out like everybody else's.
And it wasn't just your body you were insecure about. Most of your friends had gone to university, so you didn't have anybody to talk to about your issues... even if they were still around you probably would tell them anyway. Instead you just dealt with things by writing fictional stories on interactive websites. At 20 years old you were still a virgin, but there was a good reason for that. You were a lesbian, but you hadn't been able to come out to anybody... you were only just starting to accept it yourself, how could you tell anybody else. And to top it off you also had a foot fetish. So here you were, a 20 year old lesbian, virgin with a foot fetish and a paper round. You really needed to get this job at Wilko so you didn't feel like such a loser. "Time to grow up Helen!" You told yourself.
You get dressed in the polo shirt and trousers before quickly brushing your hair. You open your sock drawer only to see it empty. You wish your mother was still here sometimes. You head out to the landing and grab a dirty pair out of the wash basket... gross, but who's gonna know? You head downstairs and but on a pair of black converse plimsoles and tie the laces... "these look pretty smart right?" you think.
You really should have breakfast, but you have butterflies in your stomach being nervous about the job interview. You quickly gulp down a glass of Orange juice, at least it's something. You grab your red leather jacket and black motorcycle helmet, then head outside. On the driveway stood your pride and joy, a red Gilera DNA 180. It was a twist and go scooter, but looked and handled more like a motorcycle. You hop on and start it up and head off for Rotherham.
You loved riding and the 50 minute journey to Rotherham flew by too quickly for your liking. You finally make it to Wilko and decide to park down the side alley next to the shop. You really should use a car park, but it's early still, who's gonna know? You open up the storage box on the back of your bike and safely lock your helmet and jacket away. "OK Helen, take a deep breath, you can do this".
Nervously you make your way to the locked back entrance when something catches your eye. On the floor is a glowing green ring... it's really glowing like a glow stick or something. You don't want to be late so you quickly pick it up and slip it on the ring finger on your right hand. You knock on the door expecting to have Elizabeth answer, but instead a man in his mid 30s with glasses opens the door.
"Hi I'm Steven, you must be Helen?" he asks.
"Err, y... yes" you reply nervously.
"Follow me Helen, Elizabeth is waiting for you upstairs".
You follow Steven to the stairwell.
"Just go upstairs and knock on her door, you'll be fine" Steven says smiling.
You start to head upstairs when you see a pretty woman in a suit walking out of an office. This must be Elizabeth. When you get to the top of the stairs Elizabeth greets you holding out her hand.
" Hi I'm H.. Helen" you say reaching out your right hand with the green ring on it, you shake Elizabeth's hand, but when you pull your hand back something is REALLY wrong. Elizabeth is still holding your detached hand and you look down at your wrist, only to see a stump covered in skin. No injuries no blood.
The panic sets in, Elizabeth looks just as shocked as you. You start to feel faint. Before Elizabeth can grab you, you fall down the stairs and end up on the shop floor in front of all the other employees. Everybody is staring at you in disbelief. You try to get up, but you can't then it suddenly sets in. You can't move your head, but you can see a black converse shoe about ten feet away. Oh my God that must be my foot you think before finally passing out in front of everyone. Elizabeth rushes down the stairs still clutching your hand, only to see your passed out body parts scattered all over the shop floor and a room full of shocked employees.