2

Los Angeles, California - Present day

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The water finally came down in a torrential downpour splattering on her face and flowed like a river down her back, she stretched her hands as the shower kept running.

Though her eyes were shut she still managed to find the shampoo from where it was on the sink.  A sixth sense

Her hand stretched out trying to reach the shampoo but failed in the first two tries before it succeeded in the third one.

Eyes still shut she poured some on her hand then rubbed it together causing it to lather before applying it on her hair followed by deep washing of her scalp with her fingers before she finally proceeded to scrub her body.

She stepped out into the room, her roommate was sprawled on the floor still passed out from the previous night's hangover.

They had partied all night and unlike her roommate she didn't take much alcohol.

She crossed the sleeping girl who was drooling on the floor quietly and made her way to the mirror, the person who stared back at her was a young girl twenty one of age with red hair, freckled face and a dent on her chin. She was of Irish descent.

She reached for the lotion on the table and poured some on her hand, the scent wafting into her nostrils, it had the smell of cinammon and papaya and she began applying it on her body.

A groan behind her drew her attention away from the little moment of exaltation she was having and she side glanced as her roommate made noises like one who was faced with death.

The noise stopped and she turned back to the mirror, the after effects of a hangover were never pleasing to her so she tried as much as she did to not get one, she was in her second year in college majoring in English and alcohols was a no for her.

The last time she had alcohol was during her high school days, when she went for a friend's birthday, it was a girls sleepover and they had shots of vodka back to back, the parents had no idea that their underage daughter snuck in alcohol to share with her peers.

She spent that night cuddled on her side while some girls made out on the couch and some gossiped, she was really drunk and everything was regretted the next morning when she awoke with a headache and threw up in the toilet. She swore never to get that drunk ever again. "One shot now and always" that was her motto.

"Dixie" a croaked voice called from behind her, "Did you apply my lotion?"

Oops

She had been caught, there was no point of her trying to cover it up.

"I'm sorry Rachel, I just took a little"

"Go get yours" she coughed low, "Broke bitch"

She snickered at that comment  waving it off as a joke, that was how they were all the time. They called each other names and threw insults at any slight opportunity.

"Sure I will"

Once she was fully dressed and her bag slung on her shoulder she made her way out the door then her steps halted as she pivoted and found her way to her roommate. She helped the girl up on the bed and began tugging her into the sheets.

She groaned again,"you smell so good, what is it? "

"It's a perfume and it's mine"

She chuckled, "I know it's yours sugarface, I just wanted to know the name, you know maybe in case I go to the store and happen to come across it" she groaned again this time loudly, her hand reaching for her forehead

"It's the newest collection from the Kim and Kylie collaboration, it won't be that hard to find" she patted the blanket on her, "Plus it didn't break the bank"

She laughed low, "Ok noted"

"Have you seen why I kept telling you not to take too much alcohol yesterday, you are in pains"

"Thanks for the concern but this is nothing that I can't handle besides this isn't my first hangover and definitely won't be my last" she made the peace sign and suddenly she jerked, her hand reaching out to her mouth she began gagging. Dixie helped her get up and they made their way to the bathroom and she threw up in the toilet then coughed and threw up again and coughed in repeated actions.

"You sure this still won't be your last hangover?"

"Never" she coughed,"Not in a million years"

Dixie sighed and shook her head, she reached for her bag and felt something sticky glue to her hand, she lifted her hand a little and there it was, Rachel's hangover puke.

She grimaced and got a little cloth, turned on the tap and rinsed it under the sink and began rubbing on her shirt trying to get the puke stains off which she succeeded but the water left a visible mark on that spot.

"I'm going to be late for the interview so I have to be going, there's ibuprofen on the table, help yourself to it" she began leaving

"Ok, thanks"

"You are welcome"

"Dixie" Dixie stopped, "Go get 'em tigress"

Her smile was bright and it reached her eyes, if she nodded she didn't remember and she made her way out the door and down the stairs, her apartment was situated in one of the quiet places in Los Angeles and she didn't have a car so she rode on a motorcycle which she got for her birthday the previous year by her then boyfriend.

They were together for four years before she broke up with him because he had cheated on her with a mail girl. She found them on her bed in her own apartment and she kicked him out after that then put up for a poster for a female roommate.

The bike was a souvenir to their failed relationship. It took her a while to soak up the tears and when she finally did she had opted to take the bike to the scrapyard but thought otherwise.

She was broke and she needed a means of transport to and fro her various locations.

She turned the ignition key and the beast roared to life, the noise disrupting the peace and silence of the neighborhood then she took off down the road.

She drove past her old school, her roommate's church and went deep into town.

She wasn't a believer but Rachel was.

Her mother was also one and before she had died she taught Rachel about God and the Bible. When she died she doubted if God even existed

If he existed then why did he take her mother?

It never made sense to her while she was growing up and she was being tossed from one foster home to another and all of them were Christians still she didn't fully believe.

Was there a God?

She always asked herself that. When her friend got a scholarship, when her foster sister gave birth, when the drunk driver that lived next to her old neighborhood got his first car, all of them said "Thank God" but she didn't see why they should be thanking him.

Was there a God?

When she finally turned eighteen, she got into an accident and fractured her left hand, she stayed in the ICU for three days and the process was painful

Was there a God?

If there was then she wondered why he let her get wounded, if he existed then he should have stopped the accident

She knew deep down inside her and a little voice also kept telling her

There was a God

She almost died if she hadn't been brought earlier to the hospital, she had lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion. She was close to the other side. She had caught a glimpse of the grim reaper's face that is if he even existed.

Her recent foster family was with her through out her ordeal. Her mother even stayed nights with her there. She was grateful for them, she wasn't their daughter but their kindness didn't go unnoticed.

She knew it. There was a God but she was stubborn to accept it.

Her bike finally came to a stop, she checked her phone to see if the address was correct.

She double checked again to see if her eyes might be deceiving her, it was correct.

She got off her bike and walked up to the company and into the receptionist's office. A frail black woman was seated, Dixie came close to her and the woman although she was on another call smiled at her, a warm smile revealing a missing molar and flashing her diastema.

"I will get back to you later ma'am, thank you for calling" The woman hung up on the call and stood up to regard her customer.

Dixie glanced at her nametag Sasha

"Good morning ma'am" The woman greeted her, she was like two decades older than her and she felt weird being called ma'am by a woman who was way older than her.

"Good morning, I'm here for the interview.."

"That's right, please could you sit right there" she pointed to a seat at the corner just opposite her office, some people were already seated there, some went through their files that they had in their hand scrutinizing it in order to make sure that everything was complete, few went through their books that was brought with them hopefully to revise on anything in case if a question pertaining to society was asked and the remaining just typed away on their phones, "You are number fifteen and the last person" she handed her a card.

"Ok, Thank you" she began walking to the seat while staring at the card that was given to her flipping it to and fro to see if anything was on it and it turned out to be blank. There was nothing but the number fifteen on it.

The receptionist called her back, "I like your hair"

"Oh, thank you" she responded shyly

"Did you dye it, what dye did you use?" She furrowed her eyebrows

"It's my natural hair color" she but on her lip in a non sexual manner

"Oh" that was all she could say.

She wasn't the first person who had commented on her hair, a lot of people had even during her high school days some threw cute comments at it and sometimes some mean people gave hateful comments which she always ignored.

"By the way" her eyes found the receptionist's, "Do your best in this interview, okay?"

"I will try" she gave a small smile and went to the seat.

She placed the card on her lap as she crossed her leg, her hand reached for her bag to get her phone and began squirming inside it. She couldn't find her phone then she remembered that she left it on the bed while helping Rachel.

She face palmed herself which drew the attention of the person beside her

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes I am" she lied. She couldn't believe she had forgotten her phone.

This would have been the right time for her to listen to a music by Frank ocean or Ed sheeran.

She regretted having to stay and help Rachel get to the bathroom but on second thoughts she was happy she had helped or the blankets would have been in a big mess covered with puke and saliva.

She pictured the scenario in her head and it disgusted her.

"Number nine, you are up" the ninth person stood up, a male dressed in tuxedo, he walked with confidence flashing a beaming smile like he had won the world cup.

She remembered soccer and she regretted helping Rachel again. She was human, she couldn't help it.

She wished she had her phone she would have been going through the previous match highlights while waiting for her turn.

Seconds turned into minutes and she began tapping her foot in a rhythmic action.

"Excuse me, could you stop that?"

She looked at the young girl who was seating right beside her, she was american and she looked displeased

"Okay" she stopped with the tapping, she didn't want anything that would ruin her mood for the day or that might paint a bad picture of her as this was an interview and she needed to do her best.

Few minutes later the next number was called and the Number nine came out, he wasn't looking so happy. She probably figured that he didn't get the job or was told he would be contacted later. Another thought popped into her head, what if he was faking it?

If anyone was going to get the job, judging by the expression, dressing and self confidence, she had bet her money on him. He would make the perfect secretary not her. She forgot her phone heck she could even forget the office's important files because of her clumsy attitude.

She began playing with her fingers, anything that could help stop the boredom she was feeling and when that didn't happen, she looked up at the ceiling and began making weird drawings that were in her head and the movie she saw last night popped into her head too.

She bit her lips and then subconsciously began humming.

"Excuse me, could you stop that?" The same girl regarded her again

She got irked, she felt like telling the girl straight to her face that she could kiss her flat ass which she knew with no doubt that she had, she couldn't deny. Her flat ass greeted her in the morning whenever she stood in front of the mirror and at a time she had began doing squats but her efforts proved futile because she expected fast results and lost hope in the first two weeks.

She ignored the girl but she stopped humming, she didn't want to break out into a quarrell with the nosey girl who was asking for it and she could barely hold herself anymore.

Dixie looked around and noticed that the person on the far end had been chewing gum loudly but the miss goody two shoes didn't take notice of that or the fact that the person right beside her was typing away on her phone and the notification sound was too high.

Dixie gulped hard, she needed to control herself, she glanced at the receptionist's desk and noticed that she was looking at her too, she had noticed the exchange that ensued between the two. She gave Dixie the 'ignore her' look which Dixie nodded at.

One hour later and miss goody two shoes entered the room, Dixie scoffed, she  expected her to fail in the interview, she was nosey and stupid and anonying. In the little time she knew her, the girl had already made a bad impression on her and she was sure of one thing, they wouldn't get along.

When the girl came out of the room, adrenaline seeped into her because it was finally her turn. She stood up from the seat, her fingers intertwined in front of her, she made her way to the office.

The office was painted white with the faint smell of disinfectant still evident in the air though clouded by the scent of air freshener placed in a corner she couldn't spot. Her eyes didn't need to find it to know that it was present in the room. Nothing could smell as good as strawberries in the morning.

She spotted a man seated before a table and an empty seat was right in front of him, an open invitation for her. She sat down but didn't cross her legs.

"Number fifteen, right?" His eyes were on a file which she figured would be hers

"Yes sir" her voice was low which had the man glancing at her. He had an intimidating stare which could make anyone flinch but she didn't.

She had seen worse than him, she had list a mother at a tender age, she had been through different homes, she had met mean people, she had gotten into an accident, list a lot of blood, broken her hand, probably met the grim reaper which she still wasn't sure of, it could have been her imagination and she carried a sling for six months before the doctor agreed for her to take it off.

And right there she stood in front of a man who thought that maybe giving a stern face would make her roll into the blankets like a lost and scared puppy. He was dead wrong.

"Why do you want this job?" He looked at her file, she had submitted that earlier three days before the interview as was stated by the company rules

"I believe that I would make a good secretary and be able to keep track of the files and serve this company to the best of my ability" she blurted out

His eyes still on her file, he scoffed,"I didn't ask you that" his gaze met hers, he had red eyes which she failed to notice before and she figured maybe it was contacts, his lips twitched, "Why do you want this job?"

She remained silent, trying to think of the best answer to give him and she finally decided to let it out, there was no use hiding it anyway. If she didn't get the job in this company, she would find somewhere else and if she fails again she would still try again.

She was taught never to be a quitter and she wouldn't start now

"I want this job as a means to help my livelihood, I have what it takes to succeed in this company and.." She hesitated "that's just it, I need my life to change for the better"

He gazed into her eyes searching for something, whatever it was she didn't know then he scoffed again seeming unimpressed, "The youths of these days trying to turn everything to a pity party even an interview"

She felt insulted, he had asked her to explain why she needed the job and when she made it known he accused her of playing the victim to society's faults.

"I'm not trying to turn anything into a pity party, I was just.."

"Is this how you talk?" He interrupted

She gulped. She was losing her patience

"Are you ill mannered that you talk back at me, I am..."

"No sir, I didn't mean it that way" she raised her voice interrupting him unbeknownst to her.

"You just did it again, you lack etiquettes, don't you? Do you really want this job?"

"Yes sir, I do"

"Then you behave like a responsible person and don't raise your voice at me"

"I'm so sorry sir"

He looked away from her and back to her file.

"You can leave, you would get a call later then you would know if you got the job or not"

"Ok sir" she stood up and began leaving when she heard an inhuman sound coming from a door behind her and she turned around, the sound came again and for a brief moment she wondered if it was a dog.

What kind of a company kept a dog inside?

She thought it was unethical for dogs to be in  companies, she tilted her head to the side and watched the door and she swore she saw a shadow pass from beneath the door, she couldn't make out what the thing was.

"Why are you standing here, aren't you going to leave or do you want to get thrown out?" He arched an eyebrow and she turned and left.

She passed the receptionist again who gave her a small smile which she returned before making her way out of the building. She wore her helmet, brought out her key, started the engine and drove away.

She stopped at a park and took off her helmet, the scene at the office didn't leave her mind.

Was that a dog?

The sound was beast like and only an animal or creature could do that.

She pushed the thought aside, she had better things to think off than an animal in an office.

She shook her head

Stop thinking Dixie. Stop it.

She chanted it like a mantra.

The drive back to her place wasn't too far compared to when she had left and once she got back, her roommate had already prepared food.

"Welcome back sugarface, I prepared a special dish for you, guess what it is?

"Noodles?"

"No" she grinned wider, "Guess again"

"I can't, please tell me what it is"

"Ok, i will since you are so boring, it is your favorite" her smile had disappeared

"Thank you so much" she hugged her tight,"Thank you"

"No problem" she coughed lightly,"Could you let go of me now?"

"I'm sorry about that" she let go of her immediately, Rachel laughed and gestured to the seat which she took, "Now tell me all about your day"

Once Dixie was done explaining it to her, she wasn't happy, "That man is an ass and that girl is a bitch"

"Exactly my thoughts too, exactly" Dixie couldn't help the smirk on her face

Rachel poured herself contents out of a bottle into a wine glass and filled Dixie's own too, "Here's to you getting that job"

"Cheers" their glasses clinked and Dixie brought the glass to her mouth.

She wondered if there really was a God, he should help her out in this interview, she really needed the pay. Her life would change for the better once she got the job.

But If she didn't get it then she would be fine, she would still survive.

And with that she tipped the glass taking in all the contents.

She saw it before she tasted it. Vodka