Extraordinary

Chapter 2- Exit Stage Left

Nora's POV:

     Looked like life had a few bombs to drop on me. If only I knew, I’d be better prepared. It just so happened, that after a particularly soothing night with my mystery man in my dreams, I woke up late. My boss was not one to hide her feelings towards me so, of course, as I stepped into the office, my name echoed through the halls. “Nora! What is the meaning of this? Why are you late today? Let me guess? Couldn’t get your lazy self out of bed on time to catch the bus?” my boss Loila screeched in her excruciatingly high pitched squawk of a voice. I walked up to her quietly, head bent, as I usually did, handing her the report I had taken home to complete the day before. Everyone knew better than to try to get an excuse out. It would only make things worse. To my surprise, she pretended to lose her footing after she placed the report on her desk and ‘accidentally’ spilled her coffee all over it. “Nora! What kind of bad luck is this? Go get me a coffee immediately!” Loila roared. 

     I wasn’t particularly upset about it. I could simply reprint the report and going for a new coffee meant less time in the office spent with Loila. It didn’t help that Loila was married to one of the wealthiest men in the city. A wealthy, well connected man to be exact. I rushed to the coffee shop and back with the coffee. I'd bought my boss her favorite cookies hoping to improve her mood. As luck would have it, she was exiting her office right at the moment I was entering. She walked straight into me. The coffee saturated her already see through blouse. She slapped my face into a cross between a grimace and a look of bewilderment. It definitely wasn't hard to tell what her next move would be. She yelled at me to pack my things and leave the office immediately. She promised to make it hard for me to get a job after this and said she would send my check in the mail. A couple of my coworkers who overheard rushed to my aid but she asked them to stop and threatened to fire them if they continued. I only had a few personal belongings which I stuffed into my side bag and the rest of the things on my desk I packed into boxes and placed outside Loila's office. I left the office feeling defeated and headed for the nearest bus stop. Luck! Such a funny thing. Loila drove past me, right at that moment, not forgetting to speed into the puddle nearest me and soak me from head to toe. I waited a long time before the bus got here but that was just enough time for my clothes to dry.

     Thinking things couldn’t possibly get any worse I went home. I wanted nothing more than to take a nap and see my mystery man to tell him what I had been through. My parents should have been at work but that day they were home. My mother was complaining to my father about my unmarried state. She was telling him how much of a burden I was becoming. That with me pursuing my Bachelor’s in Finance and working two jobs I was never around to help her with any of the house chores. My father never liked me much. He would avoid contact with me as much as possible to the point where I wondered if I was biologically his daughter. He sided with my mom on that day. I asked them to cut me some slack considering I had just lost my job; that only got them more upset. They were livid. They couldn't believe there was a chance that they would have to spend more money on the household. They couldn't believe I had found another way to add more to the 'disappointment' I already was. It was amazing how inventive they could be with their ranting and it only made me more concerned about them. As I knew would be best, I remained quiet hoping that would be enough to appease them. Maybe I could calm them down when the yelling stopped.

     It’s amazing how things worked for me. My father was a drunkard, and my mother worked odd jobs when it suited her. I paid all the bills and gave my mom money for the groceries. I'd been working from middle school to help out. This didn’t seem like enough though. I tried explaining that I still had my second job left and I would try to get another job to replace what I’d lost but they would hear none of it. My mother had packed my bags without my knowledge, after I'd left for work. She wasted no time in ridding  herself of me. She threw them out and asked me not to return unless I had made something of myself. Just great! Twenty one and kicked out.

     I made a call to my closest friend, Sarah, knowing very well that she couldn’t keep me in her apartment but hoping to get somewhere to rest my bags and myself for one day to sort myself out. She agreed and promised to come get me. I had to move my stuff out of my parents yard to avoid them pushing my stuff onto the street to lock me out the gate of their property. There were six bags of varying sizes. I opted to carry the heavier ones first just in case I needed to make a run for it on the second go. On my second trip from their yard, I noticed a man walking towards the bags I had already piled at the roadside. I tried yelling at him. He didn't seem to care. I tried to stop him but when he heard me shouting  closer to him he grabbed a bag and made a run for it. I didn't think my day could possibly get any worse. I stopped dead in my tracks, sat there and cried.