Friday 4 October 2013

In transit 6



Janice stared at the letter in her hand, wondering if it was the right step. Ripped in neat shreds in the waste basket were earlier drafts that she’d written and discarded. But where are you going, echoed in her head as she read and re-read the letter again. It had been in her head for the past few days - the past few months actually - but she could never sit down long enough to write it out. And now she had.

She glanced at her phone again, waiting for Keith to call. It wasn’t the end of the week yet, but she couldn’t stand being so antsy about it. She started to dial his number, but stopped. What if- she shook her head to clear the gathering cobwebs. Obviously this break was a really bad idea. A very, very bad idea - she’d actually written out her resignation letter! With horror she looked at the incriminating letter in her hand and started shredding it to bits again.

“I hate this, Lee!” she growled into the phone when her housemate finally picked up. “I’m stagnating. I’m dying. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Cancel your leave and come back then,” Lee Chin said.

“No- not that. I’ve been waiting forever for this phone call and -”

“Call them. You know you won’t be able to function until you do.”

“But - but I don’t know -”

“Wait. Is it a guy? Nick?”

“Why would it be Nick?” she remembered guiltily that she was supposed to meet him in two days and hadn’t even given a thought to her business model.

“Because obviously he has a crush on you.”

“Nah, he’s just interested in the business.”

“Which is quite non-existent, so what other hold have you got on him?”

“Nothing.”

“Exactly.”

Janice exhaled noisily, blowing her fringe off her face. “Anyway. I need to find something to do.”

“Go hang out with your family or something.”

“And do what?”

“How would I know? Whatever it is your family does together.”

“Nothing. We never do anything together. I don’t know why I bothered coming home.”

“So why did you go home?”

“Stop being annoying.”

“Hey, you called me, didn’t you? I get to be annoying because you’re disturbing me when I’m supposed to be working.”

“Are you working? You sound like you’re eating.”

“Of course I’m eating. And working. It’s tea time. I have biscuits and tea at my desk, don’t you remember? Besides, the crumbs and stains drive my boss crazy.”

“One day he’s going to sack you.”

“Not unless he finds me slacking, like I’m doing now, talking to you.”

“I wrote it, Lee.”

“What?”

“My resignation letter.”

The silence was so long that Janice wondered if the line had been cut off. “Lee?”

“Are you sure you’re fine, Jan?”

“I’m not going to submit it, of course.”

“You so need to get your butt back here.”

“What you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Smack some sense back into you. Why, Janice?”

“I’m restless, Lee. I don’t know where I’m going.”

“And leaving will help you do that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t do anything rash. This is not like you.”

“What’s like me? I don’t know what me is anymore.”

There were slurping sounds on the other end of the line. Finally, Lee Chin said, “Just. Don’t. We’ll talk when you get back.”

“Okay. Now you get back to work,” Janice said.

“Yeah.”

Janice slumped back down on the bed, letting her phone slip out of her fingers to land with a soft thump next to her.

----

So I got round to writing something. Lol. 
Just picking up the stray threads right now. 

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