𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐀𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 | 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝

☑ ᵇᵘʸ ᵃ ⁿᵉʷ ˡᵃᵖᵗᵒᵖ

ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｏｎｅ

♟

— present time —

Porcelain hued smoke clouded the pristine corners of the area, the tantalizing aroma of vanilla swirling into the sense of smell of every individual around the vicinity. Loud cracking of bones were audibly heard by a certain girl as she tried to relieve the straining feeling that has been settling on her fingers.

Big irises of (e/c) stared sternly on the laptop screen as  she indulged herself into the comfort of the cushions offered by the seat. She grunted after noticing a grammatical error on the editorial that she was encoding on her notebook computer, cursing after realizing that she actually overlooked a lot of amateur mistakes on the overall construction of her work, just like how this book is written by the bored author.

The broad heaved in a barrel of breath whilst gently observing her laptop, her fingers brushing against the grainy texture of its sides from the years of non-stop usage. She breathed out the air that was stuck in her along with the frustrations that she had kept inside. Her eyes were slowly getting heavier every second as she found it so hard to stay awake.

She brought the seventh cup of coffee closer towards her nose, the calming steam wafting on her face in the most relaxing way possible. To justify why she has been overdosing her self with caffeine, she haven't actually had any sleep for 38 hours straight. This is due to the fact that her laptop does not allow her to save any document that's why she has no choice but to finish her report in one go. 

If you're asking why she wouldn't just borrow another laptop or just transfer her file to another PC, the answer is that her USB port is broken. She also does not also currently have an internet connection in her humble home since there has been a complication in the company wires. To add insult to the injury, she already invested hours in her work before finding out that her laptop is not capable of saving files anymore.

What motivates her from finishing this is that she will be able to finally buy a new notebook computer once she receives her pay after passing this document. She's not saying she hates this laptop that she currently owns, it's just that.. it's been with her since she was in middle school that it's older than most of her cousins and her co-worker's fake eyelashes. 

Adrenaline seeped its way towards her veins as she finally typed the last period punctuation mark on her sentence. She got out from her seat whilst joyfully dancing like an old lady under the big 70s disco ball.

The clanking of the glass plates and silverware entered her  eardrums and in instant, she recalled that she was actually in a cafe. Some of the customers smiled at her while the others continued enjoying their drinks. The now flustered young woman choked out some embarrassed laughter before going back to her seat. After calming herself from the embarrassment she just felt, she called out for the attention of the waiter and asked for the store's wifi password.

The teenage boy shyly scratched the back of his neck as the grip that he had on the tray tightened. "The wifi's down today.. the staff that was assigned to pay the bill for it forgot to pay on time so uh.. we're still trying to contact the source to explain the misunderstanding." She choked on the hot liquid that trickled down her throat, her sight immediately shifting to the teen.

Her lungs screamed for air as she tried so hard to not get agitated with the misfortunes that she was unfortunately experiencing. She breathed out a sigh before thanking the waiter and dismissing him afterwards. 

She was frustrated; very frustrated.. however, it would be unfair for the teenage waiter if she chose to pour out her frustrations into him like some middle aged woman experiencing some kind of midlife crisis. She wouldn't want to be the same with some overly dramatic and cliche novel characters.

Her gaze followed the cursor of the mouse and carefully put her laptop on sleep, one mistake in clicking shut down will waste her almost two days of over the top effort. After closing her laptop, she exited the place and started to look for another cafe or shop that offers free wifi. She needs to send this report immediately to her boss to seal the deal.

The sun's yellow hued light immediately peppered small kisses on the exposed skin of her neck as she kept on shifting her gaze from left to right in desperate attempt to look for place to mooch an internet connection from. Her face lit up in triumph after successfully eyeing on a convenience store with an attractive wifi inside sign.

Giddily, she hopped her way to the pedestrian lane after reassuring that no vehicle is gonna pass by. However, her sense of prediction seemed to fail when out of nowhere she heard someone shouting at her along with a very loud honking. It was too late for her to notice a royal blue car speeding and approaching her.

Her instinct immediately conquered the best of her which persuaded her to immediately jump out of the way. She hissed in pain as she felt the warm street cement scraping a rather huge part of her elbow. Cursing in complete anger, she screamed irritatingly to the now fading sight of the car. 

Good citizens who were there during the whole scene started to flock around her and helped her in standing up. Most of them were asking about her current condition to which she responded with an "I'm alright". 

As they assisted her to the other side of the road, her sight caught a view of something so tragic that she swore she felt her soul in the verge of escaping from the grasp of her body. Pieces of silver scattered on the cement ground where she helplessly followed its trail of broken parts. In an instant, her face heated up in pure frustration and she can't help but to bawl in utter vexation.

"M..MY LAPTOP!!"