"Hey you! You!" a voice shouted in her ears and her eyes opened in an instant. The first thing those glassy green orbs saw was a brown balloon, which happened to be the sheriff's belly, pregnant with food.
She pushed him away, not with much force or he'd end up rolling all the way out, and stood up. Her hands brushed through her wild hair and she stretched her way out of the cell, a big yawn escaping her lips.
Her eyes fell on the grey digital clock on the sheriff's table flashing a big, digital black '4:15'. Her furrowed eye brows rose at the sheriff.
"Phone, ringing, ringing," he said and pointed at her black worn out, supposedly gifted by Queen Victoria, bag. Another big yawn escaped her lips. The sheriff, who was watching Olivia, yawned in turn.
His yawn made a huge 'aaa' sound to which Olivia could only glare. She had totally forgotten to inform Hanna about her night arrangements.
She dug out her ancient 19th century phone, with a small screen and keypad in which you have to press 1 three times just to type the letter 'c'.
21 Missed Calls. 61 Unread Messages.
Wow! The perks of having an overprotective best friend—overload of calls and texts.
Olivia couldn't help but smile while thinking and out of nowhere a yawn escaped her lips.
Olivia wanted to call her, hear her soothing honey toned voice, hear her console her, encourage her, but she decided against it.
She powered off the little black device and threw it inside the bag, not before messaging Hanna back—I am safe love, won't be in contact for 2 days, meet u at our place after 48 hours love ya~
She stretched and looked up, sheriff's beady black and her glassy green orbs clashed and they both yawned. Again.
The sheriff continued to work on his file, sitting on his wooden desk that was bent under the weight of paper files, cardboard boxes and food remnants. The light blub hanging off the ceiling glowed a little above his small forehead, making his eyebrows gleam with sweat. With every breath, it slightly swayed left to right.
Olivia noticed that his taco was still half eaten, kept abandoned in the plate. He ate slower and chomped more than a cow.
The brunette settled in the detention chair, it was rocky. One of its wooden legs was chipped and Olivia enjoyed leaning back and forth on it. Like a pseudo-swing. She clicked open the table lamp and opened a blue folder. Upon hearing another loud 'aaa' sound, another yawn escaped her lips.
And for the next two hours, there were snores from the ever sleeping guard at the door, loud chomping from the sheriff, flicking of papers and loud yawns from both sides.
Another poorly written report caught her eye.
"The gai was gotten bitten buy a gurl who was trying steeling the pocket purse. Akording to the corset of aktion…."
Instead of just cracking up, Olivia laughed out loudly. The guard at the door broke out of his snoring pattern.
"Officer Billy has that effect on people. He can capture the hearts, the hearts, of people with his writings-writings," Sheriff spoke up. "I work from 8 P. M. to 8 A. M. and he works from 8 A. M. to 8 P. M. He's the day's hero, hero, and I'm left to correct his reports. And I'm the Sheriff, ha ha," Potbelly sheriff
ended dryly.
With an amused expression Olivia continued to read about the pick pocket girl whose bite was 'venomous' as the victim puts it.
There was some hustle and fidgeting from the outside as another small round man came in. He was dressed in a white suit, contrasting his brown skin, and his center parted black hair covered with a black hat.
On his face was plastered the brightest smile Olivia had ever seen, even brighter than Hanna's at Christmas. His cheeks seemed to be settled in the ever smiling expression. His warm brown eyes found the beady black ones and the two brothers shared a hug.
Olivia watched the union with a lopsided smile, and a small frown. "Your stash for the day, brother Willies!" the stout brown man exclaimed in his thick British accent. He thrusted a big pile of papers on the sheriff's already paper laden table.
"Thank you Wilkins, thank you," Sheriff Willies replied in an appreciative tone, nodding.
Olivia watched the interaction with a blank face; she still had 2 more hours to kill before she could go job hunting again.
"One copy of all vouchers, pamphlets, advertisements and wanted and missing poster from the town. Took me an hour extra this time. Hard to get the job pamphlet form the Holmes house. They like to be private about everything, even breathing," Mr. Wilkin snorted, wiping his forehead with a napkin.
Upon hearing the word 'job,' Olivia sprang up from the musky old chair faster than flash and all but flung herself beside the round brothers.
Wilkins furrowed his thinning eyebrows and threw a questioning glance towards his brother.
"Community service, service," came the whispered reply. The brothers nodded in sync as Olivia pulled the stash infront of her and got busy going through the shiny, colorful pile of papers.
"Need for waitress…chef, lost mobile…teddy bear…fish scales…car…need a driver…" she kept mumbling on as she flipped the pamphlets one by one.
"Excuse me, miss?" Sheriff Willies cleared his throat.
"Miss?" Wilkins tried waving his hand, but Olivia did not budge.
"Missing car keys…honeymoon planner…trip to Japan… needs a maid…" she kept mumbling on.
The brothers shrugged and Mr. Wilkins picked up Mr. Willie's half eaten taco and began chomping on it. Eating habits runs in the family, Olivia supposed.
Sheriff Willies continued to erase and re-write another horrible report while Mr.Wilkins witnessed Olivia's grim face light up like the fourth of July. Suddenly there was a squeal of delight.
The guard at the door broke out of his snores again.
"I Got it!! This is it!!" Olivia shrieked, jumping up and down on her spot. Her face broke into a million dollar smile as tears glistened in her eyes.
The sleeping door guard tripped off his chair because of the sudden sound. He brushed his hair, settled his head on the chair and slept again. While still sitting on the ground.
"Thank you, God! Thank you!" she squealed like a tape on auto-repeat. She flung her arms around the standing figure of Mr. Wilkins and hugged him. "You are an angel! Thankyou so much!" She choked out.
The round brother just stood there flabbergasted by the sudden change in her cranky demeanor.
Olivia rushed back to the detention chair, shoved her belongings inside the bag and shouted back, "See you tonight, Sheriff!" Olivia ran through the open doors with a smile, waving behind her.
Sheriff could only stare, by the time his brain realized what happened, the girl was gone. "But you still have an hour and 45 minutes of detention!" he called out to no one in particular.
"Weird people…" Wilkins muttered and continued chomping his ancient taco.
"It feels like God created this job just for me!" Olivia exclaimed in delight as walked her way back home. More like, to Hanna's apartment.
'We are urgently in need of a full time secretary for the Holmes Corporation.'
The big, bold, sentence on the shiny pamphlet stuck in her mind. The words echoed in her head as she skipped all the way from the bridge upon the shiny sparkling water and along the children's park.
The kids were squealing, laughing, cheering, and Olivia waved at them. Another sentence crossed her mind.
'$500 per hour of working!'
Olivia could not control her body as it broke into a sprint on the deserted streets. The lemony, bright yellow colored apartment was now in her view.
'You need to be fluent in English, French and Spanish,'
"I was raised in a household of an international business holder."
'You must have a nursing degree,'
"I've nursed my father from the last 5 years. Hanna Parker is the witness!" she exclaimed, while entering the password of Hanna's door.
'You need to have cooking skills,'
"I have been cooking since I was thirteen, with Hanna and Aunt Parker, I am perfect for this job!" she whispered to herself and shut the door behind her. The smile did not leave her face. It grew wider. Her heartbeat accelerated in pace. Blood rushed through her body, warming it.
Warm flutters of expectations.
She flicked open the bright white light switch and Hanna's little colorful heaven lit up.
Surrounded by quotes, posters, stuffed animals on all side with bright blue, green, yellow and pink walls.
Olivia pulled open a drawer and searched out a pair of scissors.
'You need to look perfect at all times,'
She stood in front of a mirror and casted a last glance at her think long brown pony tail. Her hair was dry and in desperate need of fixing. Her skin was dry and blotchy with dirt patches. Her teeth were yellowish and dark circles enveloped her eyes as if a bad makeup to be a panda lookalike.
Nodding to herself in self determination, Olivia brought the scissors to her hair and snipped it off. Memories, girlish desires, societal beauty standards, she let go of them all.
She chopped her hairs off until they were too short to cut.
She went inside Hanna's blue and white tiled bathroom and shampooed her hair deeply, removing all the brown-dye from her hair. Leaving, her natural black curly hairs. She squirted lumpsum amount of conditioner in hair until they regain their original gloss.
'You need to be brave, confident and a good decision maker,'
She stepped under the cold shower, withered for it was too cold for her warm body, and showered thoroughly.
She opened one of Hana's white cabinets above the sink and took out a box labelled, 'bandage.'
She pulled it out and fished out crape bandage. She blinked at the mirror, staring at her naked chest for a few seconds before calling, "fuck it up," and wrapped the bandage around her chest.
She was brave, she was still alive, she made it through a lot and she believed that she would still make it through further challenges as well. Olivia Stevenson is a survivor.
Staring at her bandaged chest, Olivia smiled at her. This is good. This is her armor. This will protect her. She liked herself like this.
Olivia walked out of the bathroom, dripping on Hana's bright blue rugs and opened Hana's closets. Rummaging through, she took out a black button down shirt from Hanna's closet.
'You need to dress in dark colors and be within the Vice Chairman's line of sight all the time,'
She pulled out a pair of lose black pants and pulled them up.
'You need to walk, talk and look like a professional all times,'
She straightened her posture, stomach in, chin out, back straight and with confident strides she made it back to Hanna's dressing table. Her childhood lessons will pay off now. Olivia opened another drawer and picked out a pair of black framed, powerless spectacles. She brushed her hair and blow dried her fluffy curls.
Finally, she looked at herself in the full length mirror. A weary smile on her face. "I am finally going to achieve it…I will finally be of some help," she muttered, staring at the reflection in the mirror.
'You need to be a BOY,'
Was the last condition on the pamphlet that was now folded neatly in her pant pockets, and well enough Olivia completed all of them.
Her short black hair, bare face, bespectacled eyes, flat chest, dark clothes…what more did she need to be a boy?
She pulled out the baseball cap Hanna had given her and put it on, shading her face from the world. To be or not to be was never a question to begin with. She was willing to do whatever it takes.
What is to be, she will do.
What it takes to get the money to treat her sick father, she will do it. Even if it means to become a man.