The Able Sisters

Chapter 10

Label stood behind the wooden desk of the post office, rolling a pen back and forth on the desk. All mail had been sorted for the day, and outside, the sky was turning dark. She heaved a heavy sigh, ready for the day to end.

Her job at the post office, while giving her more bells, had been one of the poorest experiences of her life. She ran around all day, sorting mail, helping villagers with obscure problems, and wasting her day away.

When the job had died down like now, she would daydream about designing in the city. As soon as she grabbed her sketchbook though, the ideas would fade, and her pencil wouldn't even touch the sketch paper.

"Label, did you get everything done?" Pelly asked as she came out of Tortimer's office.

"Yes," Label replied without turning to face her.

"I guess you're free to go for the day, then. Phyllis is taking over soon."

"All right. Thanks," Label spoke, grabbing her things.

"Oh, actually, Label, I was wondering if you could take a different shift next time," Pelly suggested.

Label spun around. "What?"

"Phyllis needs some more help tomorrow night. Would you be willing to take the night shift for a few hours?" she wondered.

Label bit her lip, wanting to say no. The last thing she wanted to do was waste her night and be in the presence of the abrasive Phyllis. But she knew Sable would be upset. They needed the money.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Oh, great! I'll let her know!" Pelly exclaimed happily.

Label exited the warmth of town hall out into the snowy night. She tugged her sweater around her and mushed through the snow. As she came toward the house, she noticed the smoke spewing from the chimney and the lamps illuminating the upper portion of the building.

She reached into her pockets and retrieved her key, entering into the dark and quiet store that had once been lively with customers and her parents sewing. She thought back to what Sable had said about re-opening the shop.

Looking around the dark room, she wondered if perhaps Sable were right. Maybe it was time to reopen. But then she remembered that neither of them were as skilled as their parents and that it would only add more stress to their already hectic life.

She headed up the stairs, finding Sable and Mabel resting by the fire. A pot of soup was on the stove for Label to enjoy.

"Hey, how was work?" Sable asked.

Label shrugged. "It was fine," she replied as she grabbed a bowl and began spooning soup into it.

"We had a fun day!" Mabel explained.

"What did you guys do?" Label asked.

"Well, we did the normal chores, but Mabel wanted to build a snowman today, so we worked for an hour making a perfect one, right Mabel?" she asked.

Mabel giggled. "It looks good! You should see it, sissy."

"I think it's too dark and cold for that right now," Label told her. She felt slightly on edge, knowing that her siblings got to have some fun while she worked all day. It felt unfair. She couldn't even remember what fun felt like. Almost all the time she just felt numb to all emotion.

"I'm taking night shift tomorrow," Label explained as she spooned soup into her mouth.

"You are?" Sable wondered.

"Yeah, Pelly wanted me to take that shift instead. Which means I get to deal with Phyllis..."

"You'll be fine," Sable assured her. "I'll keep the lights on for you tomorrow then. You better bring an extra coat."

Label narrowed her eyes. When had her sister become her mother? She was older than Sable. If anything, she should be the one taking charge.

But she didn't want to. Label knew that. Still, the authoritative nature of her sister felt odd to her. She let out a grunt in response and put her plates away.

"I'm going to go to bed," Label said.

"Already? It's not even Mabel's bedtime yet," Sable spoke, surprised.

"I'm tired," Label replied.

She sunk into her bed and turned off the light, wrapping herself in blankets. Silent tears flowed down her face. She hated her job, she hated her situation, and she hated this house. Slowly, her breaths calmed as she dreamt of city lights.

The next day, Label headed to work after dinner, wearing two coats as Sable had told her too. The day had been calm, and she'd even joined Sable and Mabel on some of their chores. But she knew another shift was coming, and after that, the rest of her day was filled with dread.

She walked quickly to town hall as the cold air bit at her skin. As soon as she slipped inside, warmth filled her again, and she let out a sigh in relief. She stepped behind the counter, hanging her multiple coats on the wall.

"Are you Label?" came a snarky call.

Label spun around to face the pink pelican speaking to her. Label had only seen Phyllis off work sometimes, though she'd heard of the harsh bird and how her personality was almost opposite her kind sister's.

"Yes," Label choked out.

"You're a minute late. Get started on organizing these letters," Phyllis told her, dropping a stack of envelopes in front of her.

"Who sends this many letters late at night?" Label wondered.

"I don't know. Just do it," Phyllis replied.

Label sighed and began shuffling letters. The few villagers who wandered in left as quickly as possible as the pelican shouted at them. Label awkwardly watched as she went through with her work.

Her eyelids began to loosen, and she did her best to stay awake. Her mind often wandered as she worked, and at one point, Phyllis snapped at her for merely staring out the window.

It was nearing the end of the shift that Label actually began to think straight again after getting over her exhaustion. She glanced around, watching Phyllis grumble and work. She glanced outside, watching the snow float down in the dark. She glanced down at her claws, forever moving envelopes around.

She couldn't do it. She had hated working this job since she had begun it. It was a good way to make money, but it wasn't good for Label. And it wasn't even the job that upset her so much as the town.

She couldn't stand this town anymore. She couldn't stand the quiet, the few villagers, the lack of excitement. She couldn't keep being reminded of her parents' death and struggling family.

"Hey, what are you hesitating for?" Phyllis snapped, noticing that Label had stopped working.

Label took a deep breath and dropped the stack of envelopes she was holding. She stared at Phyllis directly in the eyes and said, "I quit."

She immediately moved to grab her coat as soon as Phyllis began screeching.

"What do you mean, you quit?! You have a job to do!"

Label wrapped her coats around her and headed to the door.

"Well, even if you weren't serious, you're fired! And don't expect my sister to let you back! I'll have a good talking with her, I'll—"

Phyllis' screeching was cut off as Label slammed the door behind her. She stood under the light of the building, watching lights twinkle on the trees. She took a deep breath and took a step forward. She had never felt so much freedom before.