One of those days

Bethany was woken up by the sound of the trash collector's truck. Realizing how bright it was outside, she glanced at the clock. Damn it! it was 9 a.m. and she was supposed to be at work at 8. Luckily she left her clothes out to wear, but when she looked at them there was a huge wet spot with a horrible smell.

She tried some bleach and sprayed it for five seconds and let it hang. In the meanwhile, she did her morning ritual, fed the cats, and checked her emails in a hurry.

After shutting down her computer, she went to brush her teeth in a hurried motion. She gagged on the sour taste as what she thought was toothpaste reached her taste buds. She looked at the white tube. "Hem Miracle Cream-Natural Hemorrhoid Relief!"

With an awful taste in her mouth, smelly clothing, and on high heels, she jumped into her Austin. One turn of the key … nothing. Another turn … nothing. Then she remembered she’d forgotten to put in gasoline the other night.

She remembered that set aside in the shed, she had a container filled with a gallon of gas for the lawnmower. When she poured the gas into the tank, some of it missed the hole, splashing over the side of the car and on her shoes.

Swearing like a sailor she put on some rubber boots she found in the shed, tossed her high heels in the back, and drove away in a rush, with the pebbles on her driveway flying around in the air. It was 9.45 a.m.

About five miles into driving, she noticed a loud popping sound, which was obviously her tire. After pulling over and popping her trunk open, she realized that her sister borrowed her jack.

And then it started to rain. The sky opened up. First only some small drops but within minutes it poured. She was soaked.

To escape the rain, she got back in the car. She punched the steering wheel a few times in frustration before digging in her purse for her cell phone. After emptying the contents of her purse onto the passenger seat, she came to the conclusion that she left it at home.

With a mind that blew up, run down mascara, soaked to the bone and on high heels she left her car and started walking to the nearest bus stop. After 25 steps she lost her first heel, after 10 more meters the second one.

She removed her shoes and walked barefooted to the bus stop. Feeling emotionally exhausted and with aching feet, she sat down on the metal bench next to a young girl about four years old. The mother of the child instantly grabbed her daughter, giving Bethany a nervous look.

Immediately the girl began to cry. Bethany tried to look as friendly as she could, but there was no stopping the sobbing.

Within a few minutes, the city bus arrived. As she walked through the center aisle looking for a seat, each person blocked her from sitting next to them. They either scooted over to the aisle seat or put something on the seat blocking her from sitting. When she reached the back of the bus, a man with a large smile void of teeth welcomed her to sit next to him.

Grateful she sat next to him, an uncertain look on her face which he immediately mistook for more. As she was trying not to lean too close to the man he grabbed her thigh and started to caress it.

As he leaned in bringing his face closer to hers, the smell of beer filled her nostrils. "I've gotta bed, so I'll make ya a little trade so you don't have to sleep on the street tonight."

She tried not to vomit over the unbearable stench that was penetrating from his clothing, thanked him graciously, and looked around. She didn’t recognize the route the bus was driving at all. Did she take the wrong bus?

In a panic, she pushed the red stop button next to her seat. Once the bus stopped, she left the bus. At the bus stop, there were brochures explaining bus routes, so she configured the routes she would need to take to get to work. It was now 11:30.

While waiting for the right bus she noticed a car driving past the stop several times. When she looked closer she identified a co-worker of the same building she was working in. He lowered the window and offered her a lift. With a sigh of relief, she jumped in the seat next to him. That’s when she saw the two figures at the back seat, they were wearing ski-masks and one of them was holding a gun. Before she could leave the car again it spurted away.

"I..I..I seem to have some g..gam..gambling debts." John, her co-worker, spoke in a nervous stutter. "Y..you woo..woo...wouldn't happen t..to have $2,000 d..dollars would you?"

“Or else what?” She froze and looked behind her. The two men smiled, she could tell, but they kept silent.
“They are going to hurt me … bad...”, he stammered. “I will pay you back, honestly!”
Bethany did quick thinking. They would hurt her too if she didn’t help him. And she had the money, which was not a real problem.
“Go to Main street,” she ordered him, “I will get some withdrawal from the bank.”

In order to pay the men off, it took the remainder of her savings account. As soon as she gave the money to the men, they pulled John out of the driver's seat and sped off in the car. At that point, the frustration of the whole day surfaced. She yanked John's cell phone out of his pocket and punched him square in the jaw. "Asshole! find your own ride, I'm calling a cab for myself. Oh and this phone is mine now." Wide-eyed, John watched his barefooted friend walk away while calling the Yellow Cab company.

With the cab, she drove to her office. There she found the place shut down. It was 14:00 hours on a Saturday afternoon. Weekend, so no work. She got back to her own apartment, ran upstairs, and threw herself on the bed. Just one of those days!

Written by Warped Sanity and WakeUpAndLive~doingNaNo'24