Once again, any and all feedback is welcome. Thank you.
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Aren't we having fun
Chapter 1 - Live (in fear) a little
Aren't we having fun
Chapter 1 - Live (in fear) a little
Turning her head as little as she could, Hannah looked one way, then the other. She glanced at the clock at the bottom right corner of her laptop screen. She saved the project she’d been working on and shut down her computer. As the screen went blue and then faded to black, she stayed hunched over the keyboard, as if still working. Like prey wary of predators, she strained her ears, trying to listen to the wax and wane of the office chatter around her, trying to find out if something, anything, was amiss.
Now.
She got up from her chair as quietly as she could and slid it under the table. Keeping her head down, she stole furtive glances each way as she walked toward the changeroom in the back. She turned the handle and slipped in through the smallest of cracks.
The small changeroom was empty. Hannah rounded the corner, popped open her locker and pulled out her bag and sneakers. Heartbeat pounding in her ears, she pulled off her low heels, set them carefully into the locker so as not to make noise, slipped the worn once-pink sneakers into her feet, slung the bag to her shoulder and turned to leave.
She walked to the door, opened it - and was met by a woman standing in the doorway. “How come you’re in such a hurry, then”, the woman asked. She was dressed in a grey pantsuit and black heels, her blonde hair pulled into a tight bun and a bit too much make-up for office on her face. Face that was currently somewhere between a smile and a sneer.
Hannah’s eyes went wide. Without thinking, she backed into the changeroom. The woman crowded in after her, followed by her four companions. “Linda, please, I really have to go”, Hannah tried to plead.
Linda laughed in her face. “I bet you do, but we both know you’re not going anywhere until we say so. Right, ladies?”
The foursome behind here were eager to join their leader. Hannah knew them far too well - they were Linda’s current hangers-on, the latest in a long string of employees who had chosen to ally with the ‘queen bitch’ of the company. They came and went, numbering three to six, new members appearing seemingly randomly - and staying until they incurred Linda’s boredom, wrath or some random whim and got booted first from the group and usually, soon after, the company.
Hannah backed further into the room, glancing around as if to look for an avenue of escape. None was available. Chuckling and giggling among themselves, the five women corralled her further and further into the room.
There was a knock on the door. Linda glanced over her shoulder. “Sandy, Tonya”, she said. On cue, two of her entourage peeled off and headed to the door. Linda shoved Hannah into the back corner of the room and slapped her hand on the mousy brunette’s mouth. “One peep out of you and you’re in more trouble than you thought possible”, she hissed between clenched teeth. Hannah stood silently, her back pressed against the wall, hoping against hope that whoever was at the door would at least notice what was going on.
No such luck. There was a brief conversation at the door and then someone ducked into the room and was gone just as quickly. There wasn’t a person in the department who dared even think of crossing Linda. Nominally, Linda was a run-of-the-mill employee, but everyone knew she had the HR director wrapped around her little finger. She had gotten people fired for nothing before and nobody doubted for a moment she’d do it again if someone gave her a reason to do it.
Sandy and Tonya returned. “We won’t be disturbed again”, Sandy said, earning and approving nod from Linda, who then turned toward Hannah.
“Isn’t that nice? We get to have a bit of nice girl talk without anyone butting their nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
Hannah tried to calm herself down. This will be over soon. They’d just bully her for a moment, have a few laughs at her expense and then let her go. That’s how it always went, she told herself. This was, if not daily, then at least several-times-a-weekly occurrence.
“But then again, why stop at girl talk? Why not spend a bit more time together? After all, we know you don’t have anything else to do. That latest shitty Fifty Shades ripoff you got from Amazon isn’t going to go anywhere, you know. It’s Friday evening, we’ve got the entire weekend ahead of us! Why not have a little fun, let your hair down, go out and live a little? What do you say?”
Hannah shook her head. “No, I can’t, I have plans for tonight.”
Linda took a half-step closer, forcing Hannah to back up further until her back was literally pressed against the wall. “I wasn’t exactly asking, you know. I don’t give a shit about your plans. You’re coming with us, period. End of discussion - and if I was in your shoes, I’d try very hard not to attract any kind of attention. Understand?”
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I'm thinking about posting Chapter 2 on Friday - although... should this get more than a comment or two, I might be persuaded to post it earlier...
