The next day morning, Annabella was late for work as usual. She quickly wore a formal outfit and applied light makeup before rushing towards the main door.
"Wait! Eat your breakfast before going." Her mother yelled, coming out of the kitchen with a dish in her hands.
She quickly prepared the dining table for her daughter and pulled out a chair saying, "Come and eat."
Annabella froze when she recalled the spicy-looking curry. However, she didn't say anything to her mother. She simply sat down on the chair like an obedient child.
"Here, eat." Mrs Parker handed over some homemade burgers and pancakes along with pizza. The spicy-looking curry was nowhere to be seen.
Annabella was utterly stupefied.
"Mom, where's the curry you made?" Although she didn't want to remind her mother about that horrible curry, she was curious to know what had happened.
"It's not good to have spicy stuff in the morning." Mrs Parker said.
"Hmm..."
"Do you like... the food I made?" She asked after a while.
Mrs Parker felt guilty for yelling at her daughter. That night, she cooked Annabella's favourite food as compensation.
Annabella could understand this without difficulty. She felt bad about making her mother exhausted.
"Mom, they are yummy. The most delicious food I've ever eaten." Annabella said, her brown eyes sparkling like two gemstones.
Mrs Parker chuckled. "You are flattering me!"
"No, I'm not." Annabella took a bite from a pancake before sipping some milk.
"Mom, I'm sorry." She blurted out all of a sudden.
Mrs Parker's eyes turned red. "I'm sorry too. I won't bother you by asking you to marry... for two days."
"Mom!" Annabella pursed her lips.
Then they both laughed.
Annabella took a deep breath after eating the final piece of her mom's homemade pizza.
"Mom, I decided to meet him today." She said, acting like she sacrificed her entire life and soul to take that decision.
Mrs Parker's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really?" She asked with a beaming smile on her lips. "Then don't forget to send him the address and time for the date."
"...Aah okay, I'll do that."
"Did you forget something?" Mrs Parker asked again.
"No, I got all of my stuff. File, purse, phone..."
"Okay, then. Go quickly!"
"Aye, aye your grace. Bye, Mom!"
Annabella drove her not-so-expensive small red car towards a tall and large government building. There, she swiftly parked her car in the parking lot before running towards the elevator wearing her high heels.
This time, she was wearing a white shirt along with a red pencil skirt and a red coat over her shoulders. A small red handbag was hanging on her right shoulder.
Click Clack
Click Clack
Click Clack...
"Dancing ducks." Heidi blurted out when she heard that clacking noise which was caused by Annabella's high heels. It sounded more like some guns shooting without stopping.
Marie scoffed sarcastically. "Not ducks. It must be dancing Annabella!"
"Wait, wait, wait..." Annabella shouted still running like she was in a Marathon competition.
When she saw that the elevator was about to close completely, Annabella used her high heels to block it without hesitation.
The elevator door opened again. Annabella entered inside, panting heavily. She took her water bottle out of her bag and drank a sip before letting out a sigh of satisfaction.
Other ladies inside the elevator looked at one another. Their faces were darkened like the bottom of a pot. Clearly, they weren't glad about Annabella's behaviour just now.
"Anna!..." Heidi said.
"Bella!..." Dannie completed her word.
"Why are you like this?" They asked disdainfully.
"Like what?" Annabella pretended to be dumb.
Marie sighed, shaking her head.
"You're always late for work, do you know?"
"No, I didn't know. Thanks for letting me know." Annabella said, yawning.
Marie gritted her teeth in anger. "You..."
"Listen, Annie." Heidi butt in.
"Don't call me that." Annabella snapped. This time, she also became furious that her face turned red.
"Why? It's just a name!" Heidi scoffed sarcastically.
"Because..." Annabella inhaled and exhaled heavily in order to calm her anger down.
"...You aren't worthy."
This time, Heidi became angry as well.
"Ha! Really? Yah, you're a high and mighty princess after all, right?"
"Don't mock her," Dannie said. "Who knows whether her ex-boyfriend used to call her 'Annie.' It's a pity that she can't move on from him."
"Yeah, right?" Marie chimed in. "That's why she's still single. I'm also 25 but I have a kid already!"
Annabella's eyes turned red as tears welled up.
"You guys are so cruel." She mumbled. "So heartless."
Fortunately, the elevator door opened this time and without saying anything further, Annabella ran outside. She was used to run wearing high heels. If she didn't, she would probably fall on the floor because of her speed.
"Anna, Anna..." Grana called out to her when she saw that the latter was crying while running appearing like a mad girl. She felt a bit angry seeing her like that.
Annabella heard her and ran to her, hugging her tightly.
"Grana..." She sobbed. "They are mocking me once again."
Grana sighed, patting her back.
"What did they do to you?" She asked disappointedly.
"They called me... that.. that.. name.." She stuttered, wiping the tears that flowed down her cheeks.
Grana lifted Annabella's chin using her middle and index fingers, making her look into her eyes.
"Look at me, Anna. You can't act like a weakling, do you understand what I mean? They will step on you if you kneel in front of them. No one is afraid of an innocent bunny. But can we say that it's the same with a lion?"
Annabella shook her head meekly.
"Yeah, so you must be a lion. Not a bunny. Trust me, they won't even think about bullying you." Grana said again.
"But..." Annabella bit her lower lip hard that it almost bled. "It's the weakest spot I have. The sorest part in my heart."
Grana clicked her tongue.
"Sometimes, our weakness can make us even stronger, Anna."
Annabella chuckled self-sympathetically.
"It can't be applied to me, Grana. Nothing will change because of your stupid lectures. She won't come. She'll never come into my life ever again. Just leave me alone. You know nothing but telling some dramatic dialogues. Just go away!"
Annabella pulled herself out of Grana's embrace and went away with long strides, clacking her high heels across the wooden floor like a typewriter.
Grana giggled. "What a crazy girl."
"Hey Grana," Someone called out to her at that moment. "Where's Annabella? Didn't she come? She still didn't scan her fingerprint. That's why I asked you."
"Oh no!" Grana blurted out. "This girl is crazier than I thought. Wait a minute, I'll bring her right away."
Luckily, Grana was wearing sneakers. Hence, she could catch up with Annabella easily.
"Annah, Annah! Wait." She stopped her by holding her wrist tightly.
Annabella tried to break free from her clutch. "Let go!" She snapped a bit loud.
Grana looked around embarrassingly.
"Hey, don't shout. Otherwise, others might think that I'm abusing you."
Annabella snorted coldly. "You're indeed abusing me right now! Help, help, somebody, help me! Mmm..."
Grana covered her mouth. "Psycho, you forgot to scan your fingerprint. It's almost time for work. Go and scan right now."
"Oh, shit!" Annabella smacked her forehead. "Because of my gloomy mood, I forgot everything."
"Including the fact that I'm your current bestie," Grana added, crossing her arms on her chest.
Annabella scratched her head.
"I was impulsive. Sorry, Granny." Saying that she quickly ran towards the red door room where the employees reported to their work.
Grana: "..." 'Granny? I'm still 22. Sob, sob...'
Author's note:
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Thank you!
XOXO...