The Girl In Black [On Hold Till Further Notice]

Impressed by her...

Impress \im-‘pres.\

to produce a vivid impression of

to affect especially forcibly or deeply: gain the admiration or interest of

(Merriam Webster)

---------------------- -----------------------------

Zahra was visibly shaking from head to foot, her knees buckling in anticipation of the aftermath of the disaster that she had just caused. Her eyes were firmly shut, so hard that her mind screamed with pain. There was an eerie silence throughout the whole corridor and in the room ahead. The CALM before the STORM.

She was having Goosebumps now. ‘Ya Allah, please help’ she internally prayed. It couldn’t get any worse than this. It just was the limit of her bad luck, which, unfortunately for her, was riding at an all-time high. She never used to be this clumsy, did she?

Finally, as expected, the silence broke. But, instead of the whole crowd coming on to see the drama like a wild storm, only two people, her supervisor, Mr. Hammond and Walworth Jr., came out of the room, hotly arguing over something. She was sure of getting a huge amount of scolding. But, what she got was much worse than that.

When they neared her, David Walworth looked up at her with so much hatred that it seemed as if he was jabbing her with knives all over, and if looks could kill, she would have been dead and buried by now. He came beside her and in an irritated, angry undertone, said “You will have to pay for this. There is no way I’m letting you get away with it. And you’ll have only ten months of training, unlike the others. Mind your manners, control your actions or don’t come here. Did you get it?” he asked, looking at her with a questioning glare. Staring at the ground, Zahra nodded in acquiescence. “Well then, Hammond, tell them that the meeting is over. We’ll talk later” he said to the supervisor and sauntered away.

Mr. Hammond stood there, contemplating whether to go after him, or go into the meeting room and wrap up the discussion or stop for a few seconds to talk to the poor girl. He chose the third option, as he found it the only sensible thing to do at the moment. After all, mistakes are made by everyone, and she was only human.

“I asked him to just cut your stipend and leave it at that, but he was totally adamant and wouldn’t listen to anything. I am really sorry Zahra. I tried my best. If you want, you can come to me and I’ll help you out with your work. Itis hard upon you, I know that. Two whole months less of training is a big thing. So, think over my offer, and if you agree with it, do tell me, okay” Mr. Hammond whispered to her, so that HE wouldn’t overhear. He was a man of about forty five years of age with an affectionate face, but could be very stern and unforgiving at times. Thankfully, he was in his former mood right now.

At least, somebody was trying to help her out. Otherwise, all the people here, acted like leeches, always ready to suck the blood out of anyone who came in their way. It was all just an accident, maybe because of wrong timing, but who was going to listen to her measly justifications….no one. “Thank you very much for the offer, Mr. Hammond, I would really like that, but, I just don’t have the time. My schedule is already overloaded with work and I will manage with whatever time I’ve got” she said, her voice faltering, ever so slightly.

She checked her emotions. There was no way she was going to expose herself as weak and vulnerable in front of this sympathetic man. He was pitying her and she thought of it as the worst kind of weakness anyone could have. “It’s okay. But do tell me if you ever need the offer” he said and went inside.

Needless to say, once she was left alone to herself, her tears, which were as yet, threatening to spill out, now ran freely down her cheeks. She was pained beyond measure, and it wasn’t something she was going to forget that easily, any time soon. Never had she been humiliated like this in her twenty three years of life ever, by anybody, let alone, that loathsome man who thought so highly about himself. Before anyone could see her like this, she ran to the washroom to wash her face, so that she wouldn’t look puffy eyed and arouse other people’s curiosity. She patted her face dry and came out making her way to the third floor where her cabin was, and reached the desired place without causing any further damage to any of the Company’s properties.