𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝒑𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐱 .

1 . 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙾𝙽𝙴

" You've gotta be kidding me-. "

Slapping the opened bill upon the countertop , you find yourself sighing away to look at the electric payment with a sense of disarray . The last thing you needed at the moment was something else to shove money you didn't have at . And yet , this has been your norm for the past 5 months . As if it couldn't get any worse ...

You didn't have time to sulk , nor were you the kind of woman that ever did that sort of thing for too long . ( Or so you'd like to tell yourself on those tougher days ) .

Shoving the haunting stack of overdue payments into the corner of your coffee table coated in coffee stains , you find yourself slouching shoulders back into the seat-cushions - wondering if rock bottom could get any more ... well ? /Bottom/ .

Head leaning over the back of the couch do you take a deep breath to calm your already spiraling train of thought , making that subconscious to-do list for the day . Then the week , perhaps the month ? UGH .

" I'll figure it out , always have . "

A bit of a pep-talk , although a bit weak  do you finally lift yourself from the warmth of your cozy seat as you stare to the clock hanging against peeling wallpaper of your run-down apartment .

6:46 pm . Just shy of fifteen minutes till your diner shift would have to start .

With a slightly lazy drag of your flatted feet upon the creaking floorboards , you grab for the leather strap of the messenger back upon the rickety coat-rack before scrambling through your pockets for the key . Just it case . You don't want a repeat with your ' scummy ' landlord again like you did a week ago when you locked yourself out . Sleeping out in the hallway that night ? Wasn't entirely memorable , let alone comfortable .

With a turn to the speckled knob of the door , you swing it open with a sense of urgency to get out of the door . Last thing you needed was for Paula ( your boss ) to get all antsy about your untimely unawareness . Considering all you needed to make to catch up with your bills , you needed every single minute to count on that paycheck of yours you'd get this Friday .

Sauntering out your ' bubble ' , the door click behind you with a signal it's secure before taking the glorious trek down the stairwell - since the elevator of course was out of order . Had been since Monday , give or take .

With a huffing press of the wooden door out of the complex , flatted feet make the first steps toward Paula's Diner with blatant rush around the block's corner .

With the faint mist of the humid air of Gotham to rest upon your face , it takes a moment for breath to adjust to the change -- lungs a bit taken back initially while nearly pulling a half-sprint toward the back of Paula's establishment .

" Well, look who decided to finally show up for us hm?"

The sound of Paula's southern drawl nearly slaps you in the face as you come to turn fully around from shutting the back door closed as silently as possible. A subtle wince formed upon your brow, offering that facade of a smile you wished could establish some innocence to your current circumstance. But Paula, who basically became the closest thing to a mother to you, was already reading right through your sense of expression. Sharing a faint form of a show-down with your brunette of a boss, her hazel eyes were stern against your own, leaving you to lower your gaze in defeat with a sigh.

" ... Hi, Miss P. "

Scratching the back of your head, part of her began to chuckle to the way you offered the sweet sentimental nickname , leaving her to toss aside the moment of frustration to pull you in her arms to hug. Feeling a bit less down, you wrap arms around the woman with a tightness you'd been lacking. One more mishap and you truly thought you'd lose your sanity and start screaming into every single pillow you had in your apartment for some therapy.