Unpromised Home

delivery

'in which you deliver some mail'

You stare intently at the dry foliage of the plant, sticking a finger into the dirt. It was still dry, to little surprise. You were the one crazy enough to pack it down to this meeting room to try and revive it. Clearly, you didn't get that far. You were too busy moping in your loneliness.

You groan loudly as you push the rolling chair away from the table. Man do you miss Vivian... Justin too. Has it really only been one full day since you last saw them? It feels more like an eternity.

The sound of a ticking clock resonates through the room. You spin in the chair, turning to read the time. California had dumped you here a whole hour and a half ago, with no signs of her return being anytime soon.

A yawn fills the room. You lean back into the chair, rubbing your forehead. Mumbled curses fall from your lips as the pain in your head shifts from ignorable background noise to a throbbing menace, more or less incapacitating any thought. If that state could just hurry up, then you could be out of here. If only.

Slowly the hour hand makes its way around the clock. Once, and then twice. This was getting a little bit ridiculous. What happened to a quick stop? Three hours was not quick. Not by a long shot.

A sigh falls from you as you plant your feet onto the floor. You shake yourself back and forth, not daring to fully spin yourself around. You may seem to have a bit of a death wish, but you were no masochist. This headache was not fun.

This continues for a while. You shift the direction of the chair continuously. Back and forth and back and forth. The rudimentary movement was easy to focus on and alleviated a small portion of the pounding headache you were subjected to. It wasn't an amazing use of your time, but it made the agonizing wait a little bit more bearable.

"Oh! It's you!" Startled by the sudden voice you kick off with one foot and begin spinning in circles in the chair. A moment passes by with you blindly spinning in the chair. It takes a moment more for you to regain control of your thoughts and for you to plant a foot down to stop yourself from spinning.

"Uh... Hi there." What a wonderful first impression this is, "Can I help you?"

"If you wouldn't mind." The woman's voice was warm and a sweet smile fell on her face "I have a couple of parcels and messages that need to be delivered to the second floor, and I've not been able to find anyone else to help. They all must be off at a meeting somewhere... I wouldn't normally ask someone that doesn't work here to help with errands but..." She sighs, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Shouldn't you also be in a meeting then? If everyone else is?"

"Oh... Not that I'm aware of. I'm just this buildings secretary, I've never really had to bother with meetings as..." She stares at you knowingly, raising an eyebrow. "Trivial as the ones that most employees here have to face."

"You're... the lady who brought America that letter yesterday...," She chuckles softly as you stand up from your seated position.

"That I am." She places a hand on her hip, "And you must be [Name]? You've been quite the conversation starter around here."

"I have?" She nods.

"Oh, and you can call me Layla."

"Layla?" You test the name on your tongue, raising an eyebrow at the brunette, whose hair dangles around her shoulders in soft waves "Just Layla?"

"Yes. Just Layla." She laughs again, shaking her head slightly, "I promise you I'm no state."

"If you say so... And you need help packing parcels?"