A Penny's Worth (Completed)

Tuesday: Two Cents

               Norah shuffled to the door, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and let out a yawn as she pulled the door open. Her mouth continued to hang open as she saw none other than Trixy standing there.

"Hiiii," The Temp greeted, barging her way in and bouncing her eyes around the apartment. "Nice place! And you get a view of the street." She made her way over to the bay window and pulled the curtain back. "Oh, and a view of the homeless guy peeing on the building. Fantastic!"

Norah closed the door and was on Trixy's heels as she began picking up photos. She snatched knick-knacks from her curious hands and placed them back in their spots, but Trixy wasn't getting the hint as she moved on to other items.

Taking a deep breath, Norah sighed, "Trixy, what are you doing here? How do you even know where I live, and can you please put that down!"

"Sorry, is this special?" Trixy shook the snow globe in her hand. Glitter floated down, coating the mini ballerina inside.

"My Mom gave that to me." Norah pulled it out of Trixy's hands.

"Oh... well anyway, get dressed. We're going out for coffee."

"No, we're not." Norah shook her head.

"Yes, we are." Trixy spun on her heels and headed straight for the bedroom.

"We have to be at the office by eight!"

Again Norah chased after her, but the girl was seriously fast as she gunned for the closet in large strides. Strides that Norah's five-foot-two frame couldn't match. By the time she reached her, the crazy Temp was already searching through her clothing.

"Why is everything so blah? Black, grey, white." Trixy flipped through the hangers like pages in a magazine. "Zero colors. No wonder you blend into the crowd. You're so drab."

"Drab?" Norah furrowed her brows.

"How are you ever going to get Cole Collins to notice you in this stuff?" She pulled on the sleeve of a bulky sweater and released it as if she were disgusted by it.

Standing her ground, Norah said, "first off, you can't just barge into my apartment. Second, you have no right to criticize my clothes and third..." She extended her arm, pointing toward the door. "I would like you to leave."

"Fine." Trixy smiled and began sauntering out of the bedroom but glanced over her shoulder. "I happen to know that Cole Collins gets his coffee at Muddy's, and he usually goes around seven."

With a wink, Trixy continued to make her exit. Before she even knew what she was doing, Norah shuffled after her. Not only that, she thrust herself in front of the door like a barricade causing Trixy to freeze.

"How do you know that?"

Trixy grinned. "I was hoping you would ask! He lives near you. Yup, that's right." She stepped back. "Just let that sink in for a moment."

Norah bit her lip, weighing that very information, and bobbed her head. "Ok, but you still haven't explained how you know."

"It's no secret that I'm nosey, so I asked around." She shrugged. "Besides, one of us ought to win the guy, so if you're not going to do anything about it, then why not me?"

"NO," Norah barked. "I've had a crush on this man for the last two years, and I will not allow you just to swoop in as if this were a game!"

Trixy raised the corners of her mouth into a smile. "Good. Then let's get you dressed to impress but first..." She studied Norah from head to toe. "I'm digging the no-makeup look, but the ponytail has to go."