Teaser 01
The warmth of the sunlight filtered through the leaves, the coldness and humidity of the soil under her feet left a lasting sensation, and the youthful laughter echoed through her dream, slowly being replaced by the sunlight brushing against her eyelids in that early morning. With a frowned face, she snuggled deeper under the covers before reluctantly opening her eyes to a new winter day. The house was quiet in that cold morning. The bright light coming in from the window warmed the surface of her working desk in front of it, the orange rays extending their reach up to the foot of her bed.
“Urgh… just five more minutes…”, she mumbled, reaching towards the alarm on her phone on the nightstand. Don’t you dare to be late tomorrow, Millie. Groaning, she threw the covers away and put her on the floor. Her fluffy purple socks covered in small white dots kept her feet warm in those chilly mornings. Dragging herself over to the bathroom, she had a hard time keeping her eyelids up. Her usual low blood pressure made her feel even colder inside the ceramic-tiled bathroom. With her shoulders covered by a cream robe, she turned the hot water in the faucet. Almost boiling hot water to warm her face and wake her up.
In front of the mirror, she looked straight at herself… her round eyes a mix of dark brown and honey shadowed by her thick eye gave her an extra tired look, though the dark circles under her eyes were visible. Those extra nights at work were taking a toll on her appearance. I feel I lost a few years of life, she thought. Despite not being a workday, she pulled her brown thick hair into a loose bun on top of her head and put on some light clean-girl makeup. Now I look like a human being, she said to the mirror.
Today there was a team barbecue at the local glamping site, supposedly to help everyone relax after the end of the year frenzy. The company had rented a big indoor rustic space to hold the festivities, and she was one of the people responsible for the decorations – a victory for her friend Anne, who after much discussion managed to convince her to help. If it wasn’t for that, she probably wouldn’t even be at the event. After about five years working at the company without any incidents, this year was coming to an end with the entire company talking about her relationship with her coworker /namemale. The last thing on her wish list was chitchatting with the same people talking about her around the corridors.
“Better get this over with… give the people what they want.”, she said signing at the mirror.
She changed into a pair of wide jeans with a black and golden belt, a cream t-shirt, a sweater, added her lucky horseshoe necklace, a pair of simple small circle earrings, and distributed her rings across five fingers. Putting on her favorite lug soles heeled boots and a long coat, she was out of the door.
The sky was clear that morning as she waited for Anne to pick her up at the nearby bus stop. The snow had started to melt into a gross brown mess, making pedestrian slip when crossing the street and cars splatter the mud around, sometimes hitting someone unaware of the moving traffic on the sidewalk. She herself had to take a step back a couple of times to avoid being hit as a bus passed by. Despite the gross mud, the weather was something to celebrate. Luckily the weather was not so cold, reaching almost 10 degrees Celsius – a miracle for December. A clear sky was a rare event during this month and the sudden warmth gave her a new wave of energy.
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A few minutes later, she saw Anne’s brand new Ford Bronco turn the street. Her friend parked in front of her and welcomed her with a huge smile.
“Good morning, sunshine!”, Anne yelled with her usual high energy.
“Hyped as usual, Anne…”, she greeted her friend with a warm smile and got into the car.
“It’s always a good day when you get to have fun with the company’s money!”
“Such a professional…”, she joked.
“Come on! You’re only like this because you’re this year’s gossip….”, Anne poked.
She laughed at her own expense. The two of them had started at the company around the same time. As the two youngsters of the team, they hit it off pretty fast. From lunches to regular coffee trips in the afternoon, Anne and her became close friends and jokes with a touch of sarcasm was a daily occurrence between them. Their own unique way to break each other’s barriers and get real. Together, they had quite a lot of fun on previous years at the company’s retreat. As usual, Anne’s excitement was contagious and reflected her taste in music that filled the car. The bold pop with R&B beats took over the trip on the way to the site. The twenty minutes trip was filled with the Anne’s latest favorite group, which she had showed to her before several times, enough to get stuck in her head.
“I feel the rush, ain’t nothing gon’ top this. Get it how you want it. Pull up and tell me, who really run this?”, Anne sang as they crossed the entrance of the camping site. It would be a long day with Anne this hyped up, Camille thought.
To be continued…
