Iridescent

Three

"There will always be a reason why you meet people. Either you need them to change your life or you're the one that will change theirs."

- Madeline Sheehan

Althea Richards was late.

She had slept in for half an hour, not botherning with the alarm that she had set on her phone for precisely six fifteen that morning. The incessant blaring of what once was her favorite song caused to to groan as her eyes peeped open, only grasping slivers of the early, silvery morning light that seeped through her window in shy rays. Her eyes had almost immediately fallen shut once again and she had drifted into a light slumber.

As Althea pushed through the morning rush of the subway station, she pushed through teeming throngs of people and swallowed the fluttering sense of panic that tickled her lungs. She had promised her sister that she would meet her and their mother to arrange and finalize backup flower arrangements for her sister's wedding that was in a month's time, and Althea knew that she would not hear the end of it from her perfectionist of a sister is she were to rush in so late.

Please, please don't let me down, Thea, her sister had said in conversation weeks ago. Althea swallowed her frustration harshly as the station seemed to fill up with more and more people who grew increasingly desperate for their destinations just as she was.

Althea was not a morning person.

She had nearly given herself a heart attack the moment her sleep-ridden eyes had allowed her to actually wake up and blink blearily at the time. Althea stumbled out of bed, fussing around and muttering a wave of curse words inaudibly and incoherently under her breath as the sheets had tangled around her legs, nearly causing her to trip over her own feet. She had rushed into the bathroom, not bothering with a properly planned outfit and instead, she had grabbed the set of clothes that she had worn just the day before as she went out and about town to run a few errands.

Then that morning, inside the subway station as she felt immensely underdressed as businessmen and women hustled and bustled about with their fancy briefcases and roller bags, and shiny dress shoes and clicking high heels.

Althea felt as if she were being watched and she cowered, lowering her head out of self-consciousness as she walked, avoiding eye contact with anyone who passed her. She pursed her lips and let out a dejected sigh as she studied the subway timings, grateful that the next one would be arriving in ten minutes.

She resisted the urge to find out where the nearest restroom would be and sprint to it to touch up on her makeup that she had nearly slapped on that morning; she felt incredibly bare-faced and naked, and could not stand the thought of having someone she her for how she was.

Everything that morning seemed off to Althea that morning, and as she waited within a mass of people for the subway, she muttered and mumbled to herself absentmindedly as more and more people filed in behind her on the platform.

The early morning grumbles and chirpy chatters of people swam through her ears, and Althea sighed to herself in aggravation as she checked the time on her watch. She rolled her neck and her shoulders, and tried to make an attempt to twist the knotted cricks out of her back as she winced, not having enough room as she stood elbow to elbow with people.

Althea huffed as people squeezed past her, trying to get to the front of the platform so that they could snatch up the good seats when on the train. She stared after them in incredulously as they paid no mind to the fact that they were nearly shoving people out of their way. She shook her head.

The air was stiff and humid as people packed themselves against one another, and Althea grew weary of the pushing and shoving and the hot air that she continued to breathe in. She chewed anxiously on her lip and picked at the dry skin around her nails out of a nervous habit she had developed as people continued to seemingly walk through each other, as if they were all in their own little world.