CHAPTER 1
1066 Words
"Mummy, can I stay at Allison's house tomorrow after school?" 5-year-old Amelia bounced
with a Teddy in her arms.
Right beside her was her anxious mum, Charlotte peering over their computer screen.
"I'll speak to Allison's mum, ok dear?" Charlotte moved closer and tried to wipe a smudge
from the screen. The computer was fairly used but Charlotte made do of it, as it was a
goodbye gift from their old neighbours, the night before their trip to Mexico.
"Mummy, can I have a sleepover for my birthday?" Amelia smiled.
"Amy" Charlotte sighed turning to face her
bubbly toddler " Mommy's quite busy now, how about we talk about this tomorrow?"
"Okay" Amelia calmed down.
"It's almost bedtime, I'll be done here in a minute, how about you wait for me In bed?"
"Okay mummy, don't take too long" Amelia warned before skipping to the bedroom.
Charlotte smiled as she turned back to the computer and was glad it had finally rebooted.
She began searching through her email as her heart beat faster. She had gone through so
many of these, but every new one felt like the first.
The search for a new job had been an exhausting ride for Charlotte. Ever since the coffee
shop she worked at in Green Port went bankrupt, vacancies had become as scarce as gold.
She needed a new job quickly, as the rent papers piled up and utility bills doubled the price,
her savings couldn't keep her unemployed for too long. She needed a miracle
She applied to 3 new jobs and waited anxiously for their response for 2 weeks now. Staring
at her screen, she saw the three emails lined one after the other; Grasbro, Walters, and
MacChip. She took in a deep breath, adjusted her position on the squeaky chair and clicked
on the first one.
Grasbro
Dear Charlotte Reese,
She skimmed through and caught the words she dreaded. REJECTED.
She took another deep breath dragged her shaky hand over the mouse and clicked the next
one.
Walters,
Dear Reese Charlotte,
REJECTED
Her eyes shut to stop the tears attempting to spill over. It was a good thing she sent Amelia
to bed, what a tragedy it'll be for her to watch her mum in this position.
She wiped her eyes and with the little faith in her, Charlotte clicked the last one. She was
already prepared for the bad news, MacChip was a successful nationwide tech company, if
the local Walters didn't want her as a sales girl, she must be Joseph the dreamer to think
MacChip would hire her as an assistant.
MacChip
Dear Mrs. Charlotte Reese
She read through and her mouth fell agape. She refreshed the page and read the words
again "..we are delighted to welcome you into our team. Congratulations as the job offer for a
personal assistant is now yours.."
Charlotte couldn't believe it. She stared at her screen in complete awe.
"Oh My God!" She screamed when the realisation hit her.
"Mummy!" Amelia ran into the room, concerned for her mother.
Charlotte smiled and she picked up her daughter "I'm fine baby, everything's fine, guess who
just got a new job?"
"Mummy?!" Amelia smiled and her missing front tooth was visible.
"Yes, baby!" Charlotte pressed her foreheads together as they laughed into the bedroom.
************
Charlotte pulled herself from her bed sluggishly as the rays of the harsh sun pierced fiercely
into her drowsy eyes. She yawned and stretched a few muscles before waking Amelia. She
opened the curtains and stared at the street as she reminisced the last night. It was a sunny
Monday morning, which was a good thing, hence the rainy days the month started with.
What a perfect way to start the day.
Charlotte smiled as she sat next to Amelia on the bed and cajoled her into getting ready for
school. After getting Amelia ready, Charlotte prepared a bowl of cereal as breakfast for her
toddler, whilst she waited for the hair dye in her hair. She had a look In the mirror and could
still see some ginger strands which she quickly covered with black hair dye. It wasn't that
Charlotte hated her natural hair colour, but that was behind her, that life was behind her.
She left the bathroom and walked towards her closet to find something official to wear. It's
quite intriguing how a 23-year-old doesn't own a decent suit set. Probably a result of her lack
of real job experience. She settled for an off-white top and a wine skirt she hadn't worn in
ages. She got dressed and got ready quickly. As she put the last roller in her hair, she heard
a knock on the door.
"Mummy!" Amelia yelled from the kitchen.
"I'm on it, honey!" She laughed walking to the door.
"Are you done with..." She lost her words as she opened the door "...breakfast " she said in a
low whisper.
"Aren't you happy to see me?" The deep voice filled the tiny apartment.
"What are you doing here?" Charlotte questioned the being towering over her as he walked
in.
"Mummy?" Amelia walked into the living room.
"Go to your room baby, I'll be there in any minute,"
"What about the bus?" Amelia looked scared
"I'll take you to school baby before I go to work"
"Work?" He scoffed "Is that why you're dressed like this?"
"What do you want Mike? Yes I need to get to work"
"Ain't this my house" he laughed " aint I your husband, where's Amelia? Let her say hi to
Daddy" he laughed and Charlotte could smell the liquor like it was perfume
"And what makes you qualified for that role? Huh! Cheating on me with different women! Or
leaving us all alone when I couldn't even fend for myself! You can't even pay the rent! I do
everything!" Charlotte yelled
"Don't yell at me, woman!" He yelled before his hand landed on Charlotte's face "You're
lucky I stuck with you two fools for this long" he spat and the liquor choked Charlotte the
more.
"I don't even know why I came here?" He scoffed before stomping out of the door
"Never come back you prick!" Charlotte yelled down the stairs before locking the door. She
sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes before returning to her vanity, it'll take a lot of
makeup to hide this bruise.
- Writer
