Eleanor
The shrill beep of my alarm clock pierced through my eardrums for what felt like the 10th time this morning and I let out a loud groan as I reached out blindly, smacking my bedside table twice before finally finding the snooze button.
The silence that followed after that was a relief and I let myself sink back into the pillow for a moment, my eyes half-closed.
I rolled into the side and grabbed my phone, squinting against the brightness of the screen. As I swiped away a few notifications, my gaze landed on the date.
February 5th…
February 5th???
My heart skipped a beat and with that I jolted upwards, my phone nearly slipping out of my hands.
Oh my gosh. The interview.
My interview was today!
My excitement chased every ounce of sleep out of me. I rubbed my eyes and stared at the date again, just to confirm if I was seeing things but I was not. Today was the day I'd been waiting for and dreading for weeks.
For a tiny moment, panic threatened to overtake me. But I took a deep breath and forced myself to swing my legs over the edge of the bed. There was no time to waste. Frankly speaking I had all the time in the world because I had set the alarm a bit too early just in case I didn't wake up on time.
I didn't want anything to go wrong today.
I shuffled to the bathroom, my bare feet cold against the creaking wooden floor. I had been living in this apartment for years now and I had gotten used to leaky pipes and rats in the ceiling. It's not like I could complain or anything, I was even lucky to get a house like this for just $1200 so I didn't even have the right to complain.
But now…I had a shot at working at one of the best firms in New York City and then maybe I could think of getting a new apartment. Splashing water on my face, I glanced at myself in the mirror. My curly hair was a freaking mess and my face looked puffy from sleep.
"Not exactly the picture of professionalism." I mumbled to myself picking out a little crust from my eye and a lint in my hair.
I then let out a small sigh before saying, "Well whatever happens, I know I'm definitely not messing things up today."
By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, my mind was already running through my to-do list. Outfit, makeup, hair, definitely double-checking my bag and breakfast, maybe.
Who knows I might be too excited to even eat.
As soon as I got to the doors of my closet, I dug through my small wardrobe, pulling out the clothes I'd picked out days ago: a white blouse with lace cuffs and a beige pencil skirt.
I wasn't really a fan of formal wear but considering the fact that I'd only worked in restaurants, malls and stores…especially restaurants, I had to get a few pairs of these.
I held them up to the light, inspecting them for wrinkles or stains as I could never trust this rusty old house, before laying them carefully in my bed.
Next came my makeup. Sitting in front of my mirror, I worked quickly on my face, dabbing on foundation and blending until my brown skin looked flawless. A hint of blush warmed my cheeks, and I applied a soft pink lipstick that added just the right touch of color. Just because I wasn't rich didn't mean I wasn't going to make myself look good for my interview.
I then finished with a quick coat of mascara, my lashes fluttering as I blinked at my reflection. My hair proved to be more of a challenge. After scowling at it for a few minutes, I added my moisturizers and brushed it out before securing it in a low bun with my pins.
Well, when a girl had 4c hair that was the quickest hairstyle she could do other than a high bun. Letting it loose was not an option as I wasn't ready to deal with the shrinking.
My hair wasn't exactly perfect but it would do. I glanced at the clock. Seven fifteen. I still had time.
I guess I was going to help myself to some food. Who knew how long I was going to stay there.
Well, I already knew how long because of the time frame they gave me but I wasn't sure if I was going to stop for something later on or not, so it was best to eat.
Padding into the kitchen, I poured myself a glass of water and grabbed a granola bar from the counter. I nibbled on it absentmindedly, my mind already at the interview.
Stonebridge Publishing.
Just thinking about the name made my stomach flutter.
I'd been dreaming of working there ever since I could remember and now, this interview felt like a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I didn't actually expect them to accept my application when I applied, I guess all of my hard work actually paid off.
I took another bite out of my granola bar. I'd spent hours preparing and researching the company. I memorized facts about their latest publications. But no amount of preparation could stop the tiny voice in my head from whispering,
"What if you're not good enough?"
I pushed myself off the counter before shaking my head. "Nope. Not, today." I muttered, tossing the half-eaten granola bar into the trash.
I quickly grabbed my bag that was already packed on the way out and opened it to double-check if I had packed everything I was going to need. Satisfied, after skimming through the bag, I zipped it up and slipped into my heels and with one final glance around my apartment, I stepped outside.
The cold morning air hit me immediately, waking me up even more. Not that I was sleepy or anything, though. The city was alive, cars honking in the distance, people rushing past me on the sidewalk. From the look of things, I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to get a cab here with all these people swarming all over the place.
Crap.
My eyes swept through the crowd as I searched for a better place to get a cab. Luckily I found one…but it was on the other side of the road so I had to cross. The thought of moving drew a huff out of me.
Of course moving from one side of the road to the other wasn't a big deal but I was wearing a white blouse for crying out loud and this was Manhattan we were talking about. The place was always packed, who knows if the next person was going to spill a cup of latte on my shirt or ruin it with jam from his so called "breakfast", but as usual I didn't have a choice but to move and I was already running out of time.
I brushed past the crowd heading for the crosswalk but when I was almost done crossing over I felt someone brush past me knocking my phone out of my hand and sending it plunging to the ground.
"What the actual fudge?!" I yelled turning to stop her but then I turned and realized I wasn't even sure of who had hit me in the first place. I rolled my eyes before bending over to pick up my cracked phone but before I could reach it, someone brushed past me again and his feet kicked it away from him.
I was about yelling at him as I was already losing my temper but he immediately turned towards me and apologized before running off. From the looks of it, he was in a hurry but he also decided to stop to apologize.
Well that made up for it.
By the time I had picked up my phone, the crosswalk was already cleared and I was glad I didn't need to brush past those people again. I was also glad that I also managed to get past them without getting my shirt stained but just when I was crossing, a loud horn pierced through the air and I turned to find a car heading towards me.
From the way the driver swerved it was obvious that the driver had lost control of the car and as expected I wasn't the only one who noticed. The people around started panicking but I didn't have time to even panic, if I wasn't careful I was even going to be late for my interview.
I quickly moved out of the way, heading to the other side of the road. I needed to find a cab as soon as possible. Being late was definitely not an option.
I was busy zipping my bag when I heard more loud screams and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Sometimes people can be a bit overly dramatic. I mean what was so scary about a…
My thoughts halted when I lifted my head from my bag and that was when I understood why their screams had increased. I had assumed that they were screaming because they were scared and freaking out. But the truth was…they were screaming because the car was heading straight at me.
I tried to move but my body couldn't even react.
Damn it.
I stared at the red car heading towards me and that was when I realized I wasn't going to make it to my job interview.
Just then I felt a huge force crash into me sending me straight to the ground. My head then collided with the asphalt and everything went black.