By now, Martha had walked so far that she could only see the lights coming from the recreation center. She was tired and decided to sit down and rest; she sat down on the sidewalk and looked at the plastic bottle in her hand. She reluctantly opened it and was greeted by a wind of pure, fresh air; she relaxed before the bottle emptied itself.
"My first time in Thneedville and I already cause an incident. What are the odds?" She muttered with an empty chuckle. "At least I got away from that pint-sized cretin; what a pervert. Ugh! I hope I never come back here after this. This place is the worst."
It was then that Martha began to sing to herself, a song she wanted to hear more than anything right now.
"Fahoo fores, dahoo dores" She lamented.
"Welcome Christmas, come this way
Fahoo fores, dahoo dores
Welcome Christmas, Christmas day
Welcome, welcome fahoo ramus
Welcome, welcome dahoo damus
Christmas day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp
Fahoo fores, dahoo do
Welcome home, welcome home, welcome home..."
She started to cry.
"Are you okay?" An unfamiliar voice asked.
Martha jumped and turned around to see a little girl with red hair and wearing a sea foam green night shirt and yellow pajama pants and socks standing before her. Martha wiped her eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. "Am I bothering you?"
"No. I couldn't sleep, that's all. What are you doing out here?"
"I needed to be alone."
"But you're not alone. I'm here. But I can leave if you want."
"What? Oh, no. You don't have to leave. I'll... be glad for the company." Martha gently patted the sidewalk with her right hand and the little girl hesitantly sat down next to her.
"What's your name?" The girl asked.
"I'm Martha May." Martha answered.
"That's a pretty name."
"Thank you. What's your name?"
"I'm Audrey."
"It's nice to meet you, Audrey."
"Nice to meet you, too." They shook hands before Audrey noticed the dress Martha was wearing. "That's a pretty dress."
"Oh, this?" Martha looked at her outfit and smirked. "Thanks."
"Did you just come from the Rec Center?"
"Yeah. That's where Fashion Week is being held."
"Fashion Week?" Audrey's eyes suddenly lit up. "Wow, I've always wanted to go to Fashion Week! What's it like? Did you have a good time? What was your favorite thing about it?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, sweetie. Slow down." Martha breathed as the little girl calmed down. "To answer your questions... I wasn't having fun at all."
"You weren't? What happened?"
Martha paused, trying to convey her message in a way a girl as young as this would understand. "...I'm guessing you know all about Mr. O'Hare?" Audrey nodded. "I figured. Well you see, Mr. O'Hare... he, um... he tried to kiss me. But I already have a boyfriend, so... yeah."
YOU ARE READING
Working in Fashion
General Fiction[The Grinch 2018] Martha May went to school to become a teacher and she thought that would become just that. But instead, she ended up getting a job at Who Runway Fashion Magazine... and she hated it.
