Chapter 1: Fired

*Mika*

“You’re fired.”

I jolted, realizing far too late that I’d fallen asleep at the desk. My eyes fixed on my manager. She was a woman with flawless pale skin, decent musculature, and long blonde hair falling down her back. The expression my manager always wore was as though she’d smelled something disgusting and couldn’t get over it. Her angry blue eyes fixed on me in utter contempt, and I felt my heart clench.

I opened my mouth to try and defend myself, but then she raised her voice. “Mika, get the f*ck out of here. This is the third time you’ve fallen asleep at the front this week!” I widened my eyes. No customers had been trying to get my attention, I’d been woken up by the angry woman’s words. However, now a crowd was starting to form, causing the swirl of anxiety in the pit of my stomach to intensify.

My body shuddered, and I took in a deep breath, trying again. This time, I got a word in. “But Nancy, you’ve put me on so many hours of overtime this week, a-and with the pay so low I needed to accept all of it, I haven’t gotten the sleep I needed--"

“Excuses excuses!” Nancy snapped, slamming her hands onto the front desk and causing me to jump. Wide-eyed customers began to whisper amongst themselves. The sea of neatly organized clothing was making me sick. Flawless because of me, and for what? My eyes swept over the overly pristine store before looking back to my manager. Tears began to pour down my cheeks, but I grabbed my purse and ran out, not wanting her to call the police or something. I had enough stress to deal with because of the sudden firing.

Trying to swallow both my exhaustion and melancholy so that people wouldn’t stare, I made my way through the busy mall, dodging some kids rough housing with one another and slamming into unsuspecting passerby. The smell of burgers roasting on the grill from the food courts hit my nose, which normally caused me to salivate, but not today. The anxiety rushing through me refused to let me even think about food as a good idea.

The very slow descent to my car took a practical half hour longer than it should have because the mall was so packed. My heart was pounding in my ear by the time I got in and leaned my forehead against the wheel, letting it all out in a heap of garbled sobs. My body was shaking hard by the time I started my car, looking up to the gathering stars in the sky. My shift was going to end at 10:00 PM, about two hours from now, but naturally it hadn’t gone all the way through.

So…tired…

I yawned, turning on my headlights and heading to my apartment. I had enough money to cover rent for this month, but beyond that? I couldn’t pester my roommate Abby, that would be wrong. She was struggling as it was. My thoughts turned to how, exactly, I would give her the news. I bit my lip, coming to a halt at a stop light.

Maybe I wouldn’t need to. I considered looking online tonight, perhaps I could get something quickly. I hadn’t been paid much for my retail work, but had grown a bit comfortable. Maybe I should have been looking for better jobs, but every application I tossed in deemed me overqualified, given my degree, or without enough experience. Truthfully, all that was there would be just as exciting as the job I was just fired from.

BEEP!

I jumped as I glanced up, realizing the light turned green. Putting the pedal to the medal, spooked, I zoomed forward and made a quick turn. At least I didn’t end up flipping the car with how fast I went over that corner. Phew. Stopping at a sign, I caught my breath, trying my best to get ahold of myself. Leaves of deep orange and browns fell onto my window as I saw there, my eyes glancing off to my right.

Welcoming a distraction, I noticed the creepy-looking manor there everyone said was haunted. I passed by it on my way to work and back often, but never thought much of it. Its dark tiled roof and grey walls hosted square windows and angular, geometric shapes of a gothic style. For the year I’d been working at the mall, all of the lights had been off. I furrowed my brow as I realized that tonight, however…they were on.

Maybe someone moved in. Either way, I moved on, soon arriving home and parking in the lot. A depressing walk up the stairs to my apartment later, I entered and collapsed onto the couch, the scent of lavender air freshener hitting my nose and, unfortunately, not calming me down. Dead silent, I listened for Abby, hoping to the heavens that she wasn’t in right now. Having to explain my distraught state without actually having something set caused my stomach to clench, the coils of anxiety squeezing like a starving serpent. Sure, she would understand, but that didn’t lessen the panic or guilt.

I dragged myself to my bedroom, letting out a pathetic sigh. The white walls has some pictures hanging up of various alternative bands, stuff I enjoyed listening to. There were plushies around of little bats and wolves, along with some cat toys I’d collected. Abby and I had been saving up to adopt a cat, and I’d been getting those on sale. All of the fees and veterinary bills would seep into the hundreds, but I really wanted to give a homeless cat a second chance. Our plans may be set back now if I couldn’t actually get a job.

Speaking of which, I approached my desk and sat down in the cushioned computer chair. Starting it up, I resisted the temptation to just start up a video game and get lost in that. Despite how stressed I was, that wouldn’t be productive. Besides, I probably couldn’t stay awake long enough for that. At least this stark white glowing screen with some text on it would do a bit better in keeping me going.

I don’t remember how many applications I sent out, I just jolted awake after some number. My eyes fixed on the web page before me. A maid position…really? Why had I tried for that? Then, my eyes fell onto the salary. Double what I’d been making in the mall?! Well, sign me up. As much as I didn’t want to do that job, it would be good to save up money and be employed while I searched for a new one.

Then, I glanced up to the location.

That creepy manor?! Well, I was desperate. Sure, there were rumors that it was haunted. But the resident who probably just moved in was fine. There would be a lot of cleaning to do. Hopefully they would let me listen to music while I worked, as it could get a bit tedious.

I shrugged, not even sure if I’d get the position, but sending out my application anyway. Too exhausted to think straight, I finally made my way to my bed and covered myself with an ocean of blankets, drifting off into a sleep that wasn’t as restless as I wished.